the_dylaness Posted May 19, 2022 #1 Share Posted May 19, 2022 Now that we can test TWO days prior to embarkation (whew! can you imagine flying to Rome with 2 kids and THEN finding out you have COVID?!) I'm looking around for a rapid antigen test. We have to drive 3.5 hours to the airport so we need to do it in the fairly early morning. I am actually able to get tested in the office where I work but it's not clear what kind of documentation is required. Is just a printed note from the doctor on letterhead acceptable or do they need something from the actual test itself as well? (I work in an office that serves underserved and uninsured patients so we are not getting much call for international flights and pre-cruise testing, in case you are wondering why this hasn't come up before!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmieg Posted May 19, 2022 #2 Share Posted May 19, 2022 10 minutes ago, the_dylaness said: Now that we can test TWO days prior to embarkation (whew! can you imagine flying to Rome with 2 kids and THEN finding out you have COVID?!) I'm looking around for a rapid antigen test. We have to drive 3.5 hours to the airport so we need to do it in the fairly early morning. I am actually able to get tested in the office where I work but it's not clear what kind of documentation is required. Is just a printed note from the doctor on letterhead acceptable or do they need something from the actual test itself as well? (I work in an office that serves underserved and uninsured patients so we are not getting much call for international flights and pre-cruise testing, in case you are wondering why this hasn't come up before!) We get an electronic form from the testing showing negative or positive (and detail of test). Stored on phone or printed out. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twodjs Posted May 19, 2022 #3 Share Posted May 19, 2022 The CDC site is pretty specific - just a note on letterhead won't do. Sorry couldn't cut and paste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_dylaness Posted May 19, 2022 Author #4 Share Posted May 19, 2022 Mystifying, no one in our office knows how to do this. Do you know where, more specifically on the CDC website there is guidance for physician's offices on how to provide these? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fouremco Posted May 19, 2022 #5 Share Posted May 19, 2022 CDC requirements for testing before flying into US. Other than the timing, the rest would apply: A test result must be in the form of written documentation (paper or digital copy). The documentation must include: Type of test (indicating it is a NAAT or antigen test) Entity issuing the result (e.g., laboratory, healthcare entity, or telehealth service) Sample collection date A negative test result must show the sample was taken no more than 1 day before the flight. A positive test result for documentation of recovery from COVID-19 must show the sample was taken within the 90 days before the flight. Information that identifies the person (full name plus at least one other identifier such as date of birth or passport number) Test result Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_dylaness Posted May 19, 2022 Author #6 Share Posted May 19, 2022 Wow! You are fast. So this could be on letterhead then as long as it includes everything, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted May 19, 2022 #7 Share Posted May 19, 2022 If you haven't already done so, you may want to check out this Princess link. It has quite a bit of information about testing when sailing out of Rome. CruiseHealth™ FAQ: Sailings from Europe - Princess Cruises Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_dylaness Posted May 19, 2022 Author #8 Share Posted May 19, 2022 Thanks, that is helpful. It shows all the needed info but still looks like the RNs can just print them on our letterhead. Perfect! Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12cruise2 Posted May 19, 2022 #9 Share Posted May 19, 2022 (edited) Both doctor's offices/lab test reports and drug stores, in my experience, issue a written test result report. It isn't on doctor's letterhead, it's a written test report form showing the entity that did the test (CVS, Walgreens, name of the medical facility), the name of the medical prof. who performed or reviewed the test, the date and time the test was given, what type of test it was and the results of the test. For us, it was either emailed to us so that we had to access it giving our birth date, etc. to match up with the signup info we gave (CVS or Walgreens), or as a lab report in our medical MyChart account at our doctor's office. For us, we then print copies of the report to show at the port. Others photo them and put them on the cruise ap on their smartphones. Always recommend taking a paper copy as a backup, though. I'm not sure why someone provided info re Princess when OP is asking on the Celebrity forum. Edited May 19, 2022 by 12cruise2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted May 19, 2022 #10 Share Posted May 19, 2022 (edited) 10 minutes ago, 12cruise2 said: I'm not sure why someone provided info re Princess when OP is asking on the Celebrity forum. Good point! My bad! I jump back and forth between Princess and Celebrity forums. Sorry about that. Here's the link on the Celebrity website for cruises out of Italy. Travel Requirements for Italy Cruises | Celebrity Cruises As well as general testing FAQs. Health & Safety FAQs: Find Answers Online | Celebrity Cruises Edited May 19, 2022 by Ken the cruiser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_dylaness Posted May 19, 2022 Author #11 Share Posted May 19, 2022 Our tests (in a doctor's office not a pharmacy) do not generate any "reports" so to speak... we observe the result and record them manually. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SbbquilterUT Posted May 20, 2022 #12 Share Posted May 20, 2022 The testing site for these specific tests require the CLIA license as part of the report. This is why home tests are not accepted but proctored tests are as those entities have the accreditation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_dylaness Posted May 20, 2022 Author #13 Share Posted May 20, 2022 @SbbquilterUT Thanks for posting- I am a little confused, though, are you saying we need to include info about our CLIA waiver on the letterhead we are giving to patients, or you are saying that the proctored telehealth companies HAVE a CLIA certification and thus that is why they can do the proctored home tests? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SbbquilterUT Posted May 20, 2022 #14 Share Posted May 20, 2022 1 minute ago, the_dylaness said: @SbbquilterUT Thanks for posting- I am a little confused, though, are you saying we need to include info about our CLIA waiver on the letterhead we are giving to patients, or you are saying that the proctored telehealth companies HAVE a CLIA certification and thus that is why they can do the proctored home tests? Wish I had more specifics but am not working any longer. Again this is my understanding that for travel and documentation purposes the CLIA license does appear on the printed report and folks have reported being turned away from validation if it didn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karmamule Posted May 20, 2022 #15 Share Posted May 20, 2022 We've used emed's proctored home tests on MSC, NCL, and RCL and the results they e-mail you look like this... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_dylaness Posted May 20, 2022 Author #16 Share Posted May 20, 2022 TY @karmamulethat's helpful! Our in-house lab is not CLIA certified, we have a waiver (this is pretty standard.) I wonder if that is ok. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark_T Posted May 20, 2022 #17 Share Posted May 20, 2022 Just now, the_dylaness said: TY @karmamulethat's helpful! Our in-house lab is not CLIA certified, we have a waiver (this is pretty standard.) I wonder if that is ok. I'm sure the waiver is fine for your needs, but I very much doubt it would work for travel purposes, which probably explains why nobody there knows how to do this... You should be able to check with Celebrity, but for the cost vs risk I'd say just use one of the certified services... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mauimary Posted May 20, 2022 #18 Share Posted May 20, 2022 Can you just make appointments for your family at a Walgreens or CVS to get an antigen test? Or go on the Celebrity website and buy some of the proctored tests. That is what you will be needing. They are $35 ea. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karmamule Posted May 20, 2022 #19 Share Posted May 20, 2022 2 hours ago, mauimary said: Can you just make appointments for your family at a Walgreens or CVS to get an antigen test? Or go on the Celebrity website and buy some of the proctored tests. That is what you will be needing. They are $35 ea. I can vouch for proctored tests by emed, they're so convenient. We're always anxious to get it out of the way so if our cruise is on a Sunday we do our test Friday morning around 5am and there's always a proctor immediately available and they're very efficient. 15 minutes later the test is done and results are e-mailed almost instantly. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_dylaness Posted May 20, 2022 Author #20 Share Posted May 20, 2022 There are no CVS or Walgreens within 100 miles of us offering antigen tests, unfortunately. I have checked multiple times because I thought it was crazy (we live in a relatively large metropolitan area.) I think the real question is this: If you get a test in a doctor's office, do printed results, on letterhead, signed by the doctor, with date, time, name, DOB, etc qualify? It seems like it would but I am just concerned. The telemedicine testing service told us we needed 2 tests for each person- for all 5 of us round trip this will be about $800 which is nuts, when I can get the tests at least for the way there for FREE in the office where I am already employed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrk2cruise Posted May 20, 2022 #21 Share Posted May 20, 2022 Walgreens is typically the IDNow which is a NAAT test has quick results and is accepted by Celebrity. CVS has recently reduced availability of Antigen testing and no longer offers for free if you only claim travel. I think to get the answer if your employer test would be acceptable you would need to contact Celebrity and get their response in writing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldsmip115 Posted May 20, 2022 #22 Share Posted May 20, 2022 The bottom line is you cannot have your employer attest to your results on their letterhead. You need to have a test that is a very clear type and attestation of the results. Thousands of cruisers, self included, have done this multiple times. It is available through Celebrity website and EMed. You state that you work in a physicians office. What part of this is not clear to you? Just move on from having your doctor employer or nurse provide an attestation. If you want to cruise take the test and provide the results as is clearly articulated by Celebrity and many cruisers! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_dylaness Posted May 20, 2022 Author #23 Share Posted May 20, 2022 (edited) @goldsmip115 I am not asking my employer to attest to results that are not true- I am asking if I go, as a paying customer (in a nurse visit, which is charged to insurance), in the office where I work (because it is convenient and we can be seen at the time we need to be seen...) I want to take the test. I have NO problems with this. But I want to be sure that the test results, if negative, are documented to the correct standard. Edited May 20, 2022 by the_dylaness 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_dylaness Posted May 20, 2022 Author #24 Share Posted May 20, 2022 19 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said: Walgreens is typically the IDNow which is a NAAT test has quick results and is accepted by Celebrity. CVS has recently reduced availability of Antigen testing and no longer offers for free if you only claim travel. I think to get the answer if your employer test would be acceptable you would need to contact Celebrity and get their response in writing. The website says they only accept antigen testing... am I missing something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldsmip115 Posted May 20, 2022 #25 Share Posted May 20, 2022 just get the tests from EMed and stop your drama! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now