Italy cruises testing

[Lastdance]

3 minutes ago, p18750 said:

I did read the rest of the thread and I don't believe there was a definitive answer to whether it was a day or 24 hours. 

There was a post from the EU health agency indicating "the day before" but that was clearly a recommendation and not a requirement and in either case does not answer the question since the question is what does a "day" mean.

There was a post from another cruise line which indicated "one day/no more than 24 hours" but that is for Silversea and not Celebrity.

I had posted earlier that Oceania indicates 72 hours but that has no bearing on what Celebrity means. 

 

The common usage of "day before" would mean the previous day, i.e. Sunday is the previous day to Monday. If it is Thursday then "the day before yesterday" refers to Tuesday. But as has been pointed out the dictionary definition indicates 24 hours. 

 

If I have missed something please let me know. 

As it stands now, the day before...not 24 hours.

[p18750]

5 minutes ago, Lastdance said:

As it stands now, the day before...not 24 hours.

I would tend to agree as that is how I interpreted it but as Bx indicates: 

"Celebrity state "Must present a negative Antigen test taken within 1 day prior to sailing". Both the Cambridge and Oxford dictionary provide this explanation of "within" "If a time is X, within 24 hours means no later than 24 later""

Edited May 6, 2022 by p18750

[VitaminSea53]

From the Celebrity Website FAQ

How do I calculate which days I may take my pre-cruise COVID-19 test?

When calculating which days you can take your test, be aware that the day you set sail is not counted as one of the days, unless the country of embarkation stipulates that the test be taken within 24 hours of arrival.

For example, if you are setting sail on a Saturday, and you are required to test 3 days before your sailing, you can take your test on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday; and for 2 days in advance, you can take the test Thursday or Friday.

 

ITALY is the 1 day rule for Up to Date:

Pre-Arrival/Embarkation Covid-19 Test

• Up to Date* Guests: Must present a negative Antigen test taken within 1 day prior to sailing. Testing at the terminal will not be required.

Edited May 6, 2022 by VitaminSea53
Clarification

[cruisingaussies]

1 hour ago, p18750 said:

I did read the rest of the thread and I don't believe there was a definitive answer to whether it was a day or 24 hours. 

There was a post from the EU health agency indicating "the day before" but that was clearly a recommendation and not a requirement and in either case does not answer the question since the question is what does a "day" mean.

There was a post from another cruise line which indicated "one day/no more than 24 hours" but that is for Silversea and not Celebrity.

I had posted earlier that Oceania indicates 72 hours but that has no bearing on what Celebrity means. 

 

The common usage of "day before" would mean the previous day, i.e. Sunday is the previous day to Monday. If it is Thursday then "the day before yesterday" refers to Tuesday. But as has been pointed out the dictionary definition indicates 24 hours. 

 

If I have missed something please let me know. 

My post #239. 

1. Pharmacy opening times in Italy.

2. Not everyone is flying into Rome just before the cruise.

[sunlover33]

9 hours ago, p18750 said:

I did read the rest of the thread and I don't believe there was a definitive answer to whether it was a day or 24 hours. 

There was a post from the EU health agency indicating "the day before" but that was clearly a recommendation and not a requirement and in either case does not answer the question since the question is what does a "day" mean.

There was a post from another cruise line which indicated "one day/no more than 24 hours" but that is for Silversea and not Celebrity.

I had posted earlier that Oceania indicates 72 hours but that has no bearing on what Celebrity means. 

 

The common usage of "day before" would mean the previous day, i.e. Sunday is the previous day to Monday. If it is Thursday then "the day before yesterday" refers to Tuesday. But as has been pointed out the dictionary definition indicates 24 hours. 

 

If I have missed something please let me know. 

The day before means the previous day according to Celebrity’s website. See FAQ 

When calculating which days you can take your test, be aware that the day you set sail is not counted as one of the days, unless the country of embarkation stipulates that the test be taken within 24 hours of arrival.

For example, if you are setting sail on a Saturday, and you are required to test 3 days before your sailing, you can take your test on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday; and for 2 days in advance, you can take the test Thursday or Friday.

https://www.celebritycruises.com/gb/healthy-at-sea/faqs

[p18750]

7 hours ago, sunlover33 said:

The day before means the previous day according to Celebrity’s website. See FAQ 

When calculating which days you can take your test, be aware that the day you set sail is not counted as one of the days, unless the country of embarkation stipulates that the test be taken within 24 hours of arrival.

For example, if you are setting sail on a Saturday, and you are required to test 3 days before your sailing, you can take your test on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday; and for 2 days in advance, you can take the test Thursday or Friday.

https://www.celebritycruises.com/gb/healthy-at-sea/faqs

This would have been definitive had the Italy requirements read "1 day before" as in the example in the FAQs. Unfortunately the  wording for Italy is "within 1 day prior". I really dislike it when official notifications do not use consistent language. 

I will reiterate that I believe what Celebrity means is you must have a test the day before but as Bx pointed out in response I could be wrong. 

I believe there are Celebrity cruises departing from Italy in the coming weeks and I would be interested in how it was interpreted by those actually in control of the boarding process. 

 

[Majkman]

I for one am concerned. We sail out on Monday July 4th on the Reflection. It seems as if the labs and pharmacies in Italy close at noon on Sundays. We sail away at 5......and while we can't check in quite yet to get our boarding time.....I suppose, our time could be AFTER 12pm......then what?!?!

 

Hopefully all of this nonsense will end soon, and I can get a good night's sleep!!!

 

Keep the Sun out and the Seas calm,

 

Andy

[hrhdhd]

1 hour ago, Majkman said:

I for one am concerned. We sail out on Monday July 4th on the Reflection. It seems as if the labs and pharmacies in Italy close at noon on Sundays. We sail away at 5......and while we can't check in quite yet to get our boarding time.....I suppose, our time could be AFTER 12pm......then what?!?!

 

Hopefully all of this nonsense will end soon, and I can get a good night's sleep!!!

 

Keep the Sun out and the Seas calm,

 

Andy

You just need to test on the previous day. Hours don't matter.

[Denny01]

5 minutes ago, hrhdhd said:

You just need to test on the previous day. Hours don't matter.

Yup. It doesn’t mean 24hrs prior to boarding/departure, it means one day prior. This came up in the US testing concerns of is it 2 days or 48hrs or what. It is a day prior which means you can test as soon as you get up the day prior, or anytime during that day/night. 

 

Den

[larry_s_taco]

I have a question that I can't find addressed about testing. We are sailing out of Rome (Civitavecchia). We are arriving and spending 3 days prior to the cruise in Rome. Will we still be required to be retested to get on the ship? I'm assuming so, but I thought I may check with some of you who have had experience doing this. 

Thanks

[VitaminSea53]

YES!

[Purplsmurf]

10 minutes ago, larry_s_taco said:

I have a question that I can't find addressed about testing. We are sailing out of Rome (Civitavecchia). We are arriving and spending 3 days prior to the cruise in Rome. Will we still be required to be retested to get on the ship? I'm assuming so, but I thought I may check with some of you who have had experience doing this. 

Thanks

Of course you would. Unless testing is stopped before you sail everyone needs to test before getting on the ship. The information is on the Celebrity website 

Edited May 6, 2022 by Purplsmurf

[hrhdhd]

44 minutes ago, larry_s_taco said:

I have a question that I can't find addressed about testing. We are sailing out of Rome (Civitavecchia). We are arriving and spending 3 days prior to the cruise in Rome. Will we still be required to be retested to get on the ship? I'm assuming so, but I thought I may check with some of you who have had experience doing this. 

Thanks

You'll be required to be tested. There is no testing to enter Italy.

 

Celebrity's website has all the information you need.

[Ronin23]

5 hours ago, larry_s_taco said:

I have a question that I can't find addressed about testing. We are sailing out of Rome (Civitavecchia). We are arriving and spending 3 days prior to the cruise in Rome. Will we still be required to be retested to get on the ship? I'm assuming so, but I thought I may check with some of you who have had experience doing this. 

Thanks

As it stands right now, yes. However hopefully that changes soon enough…

[sgmn]

7 hours ago, larry_s_taco said:

I have a question that I can't find addressed about testing. We are sailing out of Rome (Civitavecchia). We are arriving and spending 3 days prior to the cruise in Rome. Will we still be required to be retested to get on the ship? I'm assuming so, but I thought I may check with some of you who have had experience doing this. 

Thanks

You need to test one day before.  Which in our case is a Sunday,  not easy to do in Rome on  Sunday !

[B x]

I've been shot down on this thread once or twice suggesting my interpretation of the Civi testing requirement of "within 24 hours" was totally wrong.

 

I decided the only way to gain clarity was speaking to them, an hour and a half on the phone and they confirm exactly what I thought, "within 24 hours" does indeed mean that. I felt almost stupid asking and then receiving their interpretation of "within". They said if a test was done for example at 7am on the Sunday for Monday embarkation the test would need repeating as it would be out of the timeframe. No way will they deviate from the current published info and test other than Fully Vaccinated at the pier "for whatever reason" in their words.

 

She passed me to someone else who she said had more up to date info, for a moment I had a glimmer of hope, all he had to impart was that pharmacies open at 8am on Monday mornings and what his colleague had explained was correct.

 

C'est la vie, looks like they are asking the impossible short of proctored testing, but that's not an option everyone is physically able to undertake.

 

But of course I and many others would be delighted to hear if anyone who has actually boarded and is cruising having done a test outside the stated timeframe?

 

[Random Cruizer]

I can't believe I'm penalized for being boosted--they'll test folks at pier who are vax'ed but not boosted.  Why, I wonder?  What's the rationale for that?

[Denny01]

8 minutes ago, Random Cruizer said:

I can't believe I'm penalized for being boosted--they'll test folks at pier who are vax'ed but not boosted.  Why, I wonder?  What's the rationale for that?

None of us are ‘in the know’, but my assumption is the ones tests at the terminal will be held there for extended times. Waiting to take the test; taking the test; waiting for results; discussing results and then being cleared. So testing all at the terminal for a 1,000 or so, that would be a Major effort and a Major time constraint.

 

And we’d All be complaining that we had to wait so long when we could have taken the test prior and just walked through. I’d like to think it would be a great fallback if we ran into issues testing ourselves. 

 

Den

[VitaminSea53]

1 hour ago, B x said:

I've been shot down on this thread once or twice suggesting my interpretation of the Civi testing requirement of "within 24 hours" was totally wrong.

 

I decided the only way to gain clarity was speaking to them, an hour and a half on the phone and they confirm exactly what I thought, "within 24 hours" does indeed mean that. I felt almost stupid asking and then receiving their interpretation of "within". They said if a test was done for example at 7am on the Sunday for Monday embarkation the test would need repeating as it would be out of the timeframe. No way will they deviate from the current published info and test other than Fully Vaccinated at the pier "for whatever reason" in their words.

 

She passed me to someone else who she said had more up to date info, for a moment I had a glimmer of hope, all he had to impart was that pharmacies open at 8am on Monday mornings and what his colleague had explained was correct.

 

C'est la vie, looks like they are asking the impossible short of proctored testing, but that's not an option everyone is physically able to undertake.

 

But of course I and many others would be delighted to hear if anyone who has actually boarded and is cruising having done a test outside the stated timeframe?

 

I am really surprised as that contradicts the Celebrity website. 

[lhsail]

3 minutes ago, VitaminSea53 said:

I am really surprised as that contradicts the Celebrity website. 

As am I. We have cruised with Celebrity seven times since August departing from either St. Maarten or Fort Lauderdale. We have always used “days” as a guideline, not “hours” and have never had a problem. Maybe European departures are different. 

[hrhdhd]

9 minutes ago, VitaminSea53 said:

I am really surprised as that contradicts the Celebrity website. 

Exactly. The website doesn't say "within 24 hours."

 

• Up to Date* Guests: Must present a negative Antigen test taken within 1 day prior to sailing. Testing at the terminal will not be required.

[Searanger]

Wow guys.  This has been discussed since the startup began.  It's the "day" not "hours".  Sailing on a Monday with a 1 day test requirement, means anytime Sunday (by the date, not hour. 12:01AM to 11:59PM) Never trust what you are told on the phone as you will get several different answers.   Only believe what's in writing.

[sunlover33]

I am still unsure why  Celebrity are making life so difficult for their guests with this rigid one day testing  before embarkation. It’s not an Italian requirement, a quick look on other cruise websites reveals for all European departures (including Italy)  Viking is two days, MSC 48 hours and Princess three days with the provision of free port testing if passengers are unable to obtain a test results in time. Celebrity are not doing themselves any favours. 

[VitaminSea53]

1 hour ago, lhsail said:

As am I. We have cruised with Celebrity seven times since August departing from either St. Maarten or Fort Lauderdale. We have always used “days” as a guideline, not “hours” and have never had a problem. Maybe European departures are different. 

How do I calculate which days I may take my pre-cruise COVID-19 test?

When calculating which days you can take your test, be aware that the day you set sail is not counted as one of the days, unless the country of embarkation stipulates that the test be taken within 24 hours of arrival.

For example, if you are setting sail on a Saturday, and you are required to test 3 days before your sailing, you can take your test on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday; and for 2 days in advance, you can take the test Thursday or Friday.

[VitaminSea53]

The Celebrity website for European cruises from Italy says:

Up to Date* Guests: Must present a negative Antigen test taken within 1 day prior to sailing

 

and for Barcelona says:

Up to Date* Guests: Must present a negative Antigen test taken within 2 days prior to sailing

 

So for those 2, at least, it is DAYS not 24 or 48 hours.