Has anyone done a COVID test on a ship (particularly the Konigsdam)

[Petrocelli]

Like many people, we are slightly worried about getting a COVID test after disembarking.  We are arriving on the Konigsdam at 7:00 a.m. and we have a 1:40 flight.  We are considering all options, including testing at the airport.

 

However, one option is doing a proctored test on the ship.  Has anyone done this?  Is the internet strong enough to hold on through a 20-30 minute test, particularly on the Konigsdam?

 

Thanks!

[Gray Lady]

I read on another thread, don’t remember which one, that someone did and had no trouble doing it. Maybe more cruisers will weigh in soon!

[Petrocelli]

56 minutes ago, Gray Lady said:

I read on another thread, don’t remember which one, that someone did and had no trouble doing it. Maybe more cruisers will weigh in soon!

I saw that one post too.  It seemed like it worked.  I was wondering if others had done something similar.

[julia]

1 hour ago, Petrocelli said:

Like many people, we are slightly worried about getting a COVID test after disembarking.  We are arriving on the Konigsdam at 7:00 a.m. and we have a 1:40 flight.  We are considering all options, including testing at the airport.

 

However, one option is doing a proctored test on the ship.  Has anyone done this?  Is the internet strong enough to hold on through a 20-30 minute test, particularly on the Konigsdam?

 

Thanks!

Arriving where? Flight from where?

If you are in port at 7am, (and not sailing) you should be able to use your own mobile data (US port) to do a proctored test in your cabin before disembarking.  The results are sent to your phone on 15 minutes.

[Petrocelli]

Shoul

5 minutes ago, julia said:

Arriving where? Flight from where?

If you are in port at 7am, (and not sailing) you should be able to use your own mobile data (US port) to do a proctored test in your cabin before disembarking.  The results are sent to your phone on 15 minutes.

Should have been clearer... arriving in Vancouver at 7 a.m.

[Gray Lady]

We are going to do a proctored test on the Nieuw Amsterdam, but it won’t be until early July. That may be too late for you,  but will be happy to post afterwards how it went. How are you doing your pre-cruise testing?

[BEAV]

The proctored tests are the way to go, IMO, after our experience with them last month. 

[barefoot_girl]

For those that have done the proctured test on ship:

Is the have it all Wi-Fi sufficient or did you upgrade to premium?

 

[Gray Lady]

4 hours ago, barefoot_girl said:

For those that have done the proctured test on ship:

Is the have it all Wi-Fi sufficient or did you upgrade to premium?

 

Great question! HAL told me on the phone that we would need to upgrade to premium, but maybe the regular wi-fi works 🤷🏼‍♀️

[kentuckycruiser]

We are on the Koningsdam now. We are going to get the premium package tomorrow (Friday) and do the tests then. We are one short (have 6 people but 5 emed tests) so we practically begged HAL if we could get one test or even buy one from them. Nope. I also brought along 7 of the freebie govt tests and we are going to try getting those to work via one of these pop up companies. What I figure we need to get just one to work and upload to Verifly on Friday then we are good to go on Saturday. We are nervous about getting 1:40 flight on Saturday.

 

[Petrocelli]

50 minutes ago, kentuckycruiser said:

We are on the Koningsdam now. We are going to get the premium package tomorrow (Friday) and do the tests then. 

 

So you can upgrade to premium for one day?  Do you  do that on board?  If so, how?

Edited June 2, 2022 by Petrocelli

[kentuckycruiser]

Just now, Petrocelli said:

So you can upgrade to premium for one day?  Do you  do that on board?  If so, how?

yes, its a per day cost and you can do it for the last day. So we are doing it tomorrow morning and then will have the entire day with it.

Annoyingly, my sister called the front desk and they said just take it at Canada Place. Then I went down today and got the info for Canada Place. Then an hour ago I see that it is closed. 

[Gray Lady]

1 hour ago, kentuckycruiser said:

yes, its a per day cost and you can do it for the last day. So we are doing it tomorrow morning and then will have the entire day with it.

Annoyingly, my sister called the front desk and they said just take it at Canada Place. Then I went down today and got the info for Canada Place. Then an hour ago I see that it is closed. 

Do you have links for proctored tests? If not, I can give you some links.

[morgan1611]

Kentuckycruiser, keep us updated.  I am interested in trying the same thing.  I have a very non-techy husband and an 11 year old, but it sounds so much easier to to it your way than to trek all over Vancouver looking for tests after our cruise.  Our flight out is late night on a Saturday- after all the airport places are closed.  We have purchased a tour of Vancouver for the day, and I don't relish the thought of two trips to the airport.

Are you doing it on a computer or a phone?

[Petrocelli]

16 hours ago, Gray Lady said:

Do you have links for proctored tests? If not, I can give you some links.

 

Yes please!  Thanks for your help!

[Gray Lady]

1 hour ago, Petrocelli said:

 

Yes please!  Thanks for your help!

Both of these companies are based in Southern California and also perform in-person tests as well as proctored tests. All you need to have is an FDA approved kit (all the government freebies are). You make an appointment and they proctor you. One does it over Zoom and the other is web-based. Both give you the documentation for international travel. One is $15 and the other is $18.99

https://onpoint-testing.com/product/certified-teleservice-covid-testing/

https://www.totaltestingsolutions.com/virtual-travel-testing/

we have two different appointments scheduled with TotalTesting. One is pre-cruise and the other while on-board before debarkation.

[BroncoBobblehead]

Going back to what @Petrocelli and @julia were talking about - Is there descent cell service on land at the cruise terminal (Vancouver) such that one doesn't have to mess with paying extra for ship WiFi - and just do it once we disembark (or maybe enough cellular coverage while ship is in the port)? (I'm on AT&T, specifically - if someone has first-hand knowledge of whether that will work).

Edited June 3, 2022 by BroncoBobblehead

[BroncoBobblehead]

1 hour ago, Gray Lady said:

Both of these companies are based in Southern California and also perform in-person tests as well as proctored tests. All you need to have is an FDA approved kit (all the government freebies are). You make an appointment and they proctor you. One does it over Zoom and the other is web-based. Both give you the documentation for international travel. One is $15 and the other is $18.99

https://onpoint-testing.com/product/certified-teleservice-covid-testing/

https://www.totaltestingsolutions.com/virtual-travel-testing/

we have two different appointments scheduled with TotalTesting. One is pre-cruise and the other while on-board before debarkation.

This is fantastic info @Gray Lady, thank you! I've got tests out the wazoo at home (and more in my office) but no way to officially proctor them and this is way cheaper than buying an eMed test (which are $25/ea if you get a six pack). Anybody have any feedback on using either of these outfits successfully (such as connection reliability, ease of scheduling, amount of time it took, etc)?

[Gray Lady]

28 minutes ago, BroncoBobblehead said:

This is fantastic info @Gray Lady, thank you! I've got tests out the wazoo at home (and more in my office) but no way to officially proctor them and this is way cheaper than buying an eMed test (which are $25/ea if you get a six pack). Anybody have any feedback on using either of these outfits successfully (such as connection reliability, ease of scheduling, amount of time it took, etc)?

I know of one woman who used Total Testing in Anchorage when she found out she had to be tested before land portion of her cruise tour. She said it was very easy and quick. Others have used OnPoint (done over Zoom) and I have heard of no issues. I have emailed and talked to people at both places, and they said that if there are two of you, just make separate appointments, but they can proctor you both at the same time. Somehow I feel that the cruise lines may be getting a kickback from eMed. I just know they are a lot more expensive than other reputable sites you can use. As for scheduling, you can go into each site and see their schedule. 24 hour availability and different time zones are on the Total Testing site. When we take our first proctored test in two weeks, I will post how it went. Good luck and glad to help.

Cindy

 

[kentuckycruiser]

Ok update.

We have 12 in our group. 4 of us used the emed with the prepurchased tests. Worked very smooth and did it in the room Friday mid morning before a Saturday afternoon flight. At first I went down to a conference room but got overtaken by an origami class which was frustrating as we were in the midst of test number 1. Anyway, room worked just fine with the premium package which we purchased that am.

Second group bought FlowFlex in Ketchikan at the Safeway. We did a lot of research and used Azova which charged $20 per test. That group received their email results very promptly. On the Azova website they list the specific tests they will cover which made us feel more comfortable using them. They are also recommended by the Points Guy and are partners with several airlines.

Do not use OnPoint, there have been a lot of consumer complaints. 

We then loaded on Friday by 2 p.m. all the results on VeriFly. Compared to 6 weeks ago it took several more hours for the results to be verified. Maybe 4-5 hours. 

There is an option to pay on Verifly for expediated results. But no need if you do the day before.

 

We disembarked this a.m. on the Koningsdam in Vancouver. We walked off the ship at 8:10 and it was a super easy process.

The customs line moved very quickly got through in about 5 minutes off the ship

NO ONE asked for the Arrive Can even though HAL would not allow anyone to board unless they had the app. The only thing he asked for was the paper declaration page. No passports needed either.

 

We then were about 20 feet from the cab line. It was very short and lots of cabs and lots of workers to put people in line. We were on a cab in about 5 minutes.

 

The cab to the airport took about 20 minutes and cost 40 CAD (that included tip)

 

Security at the Vancouver airport was also relatively quick. We were at the gate by 9:15 for a 1:25 flight. Now I am drinking coffee for the next 3 hours!

 

The one thing to remember is to put liquid and gels into a clear bag. We did that at the airport and it was a small hassle remembering where we put things but the lines were short.

 

Our friends took the airport shuttle and they still are not at the gate. Was just more of a hassle with getting all the seniors on the bus, luggage and everything else. They are sort of annoyed they paid $29 per person for the bus but all of us had been concerned with cab line. But the cab line is inside, covered and just feet away from customs so it is very painless.

Edited June 4, 2022 by kentuckycruiser

[morgan1611]

Thank you Kentuckycruiser, this was so helpful.

May I ask how much the internet access cost on Friday?

[Losnab]

Yes, thanks for the detailed info Kentuckycruiser. I am confused as to coordinating/scheduling the time with Azova.  Ship time? Alaska time? Would appreciate suggestions in sorting that out so I do t mess up that very important appt.

[Petrocelli]

Wow!  This forum is such a wealth of information.  Thanks to everyone who has responded.

[kentuckycruiser]

19 hours ago, morgan1611 said:

Thank you Kentuckycruiser, this was so helpful.

May I ask how much the internet access cost on Friday?

The premium internet package was $29 for one device or $39.99 for four devices. We bought it after breakfast on Friday. You purchase the internet via the Navigator app and go to the internet from there. 

[kentuckycruiser]

12 hours ago, Losnab said:

Yes, thanks for the detailed info Kentuckycruiser. I am confused as to coordinating/scheduling the time with Azova.  Ship time? Alaska time? Would appreciate suggestions in sorting that out so I do t mess up that very important appt.

When you book it use the time on the cruise. We booked it the day before, there were no issues with finding times, all day was available. 

When we got the results from Emed and Azova, both showed a different time than the ship. I just put the ship time down for VeriFLY. For example, the Azova had 17:48 as the time of the test, I put down 1:48 pm. That is perfectly fine and all went through with no hitches. VeriFLY will not let you put down a time in the future so just put current shipboard time.