Covid Test - Hours/Days

[david,Mississauga]

50 minutes ago, bluemarble said:

 

For boarding in the US, the test may be taken two days before you board. In your example for boarding in New York on Sunday, a test taken any time on Friday is fine. Another difference compared to boarding in Southampton is the test for boarding in the US must be an observed test.

 

I don't mean to be picky, but does this mean I couldn't get tested at a pharmacy or other testing centre and get a paper certificate?

 

As an aside, for boarding in Vancouver (and presumably for our Québec boarding later this year) Cunard requires the test be taken no more than one day before. The Canadian government requires testing up to two days before and most cruise lines have the same policy as the government.  The difference in rules for boarding in the US vs Canada amused me. Canada has had an infection rate and death rate only a third of the US and a vaccination rate 15% higher.

 

While observed tests are permitted by Cunard, there was a suggestion somewhere on their site that a paper back-up would be a good idea for any test. We had no trouble getting a paper certificate for our test in Vancouver. The pharmacy offered only paper, which pleased us as "non smart-phone" people. Other testing centres which charged more than double the pharmacy send  e-mails but would give paper on request.

Edited June 28, 2022 by david,Mississauga
typo

[bluemarble]

12 minutes ago, david,Mississauga said:

 

I don't mean to be picky, but does this mean I couldn't get tested at a pharmacy or other testing centre and get a paper certificate?

 

As an aside, for boarding in Vancouver (and presumably for our Québec boarding later this year) Cunard requires the test be taken no more than one day before. The Canadian government requires testing up to two days before and most cruise lines have the same policy as the government.  The difference in rules for boarding in the US vs Canada amused me. Canada has had an infection rate and death rate only a third of the US and a vaccination rate 15% higher.

 

While observed tests are permitted by Cunard, there was a suggestion somewhere on their site that a paper back-up would be a good idea for any test. We had no trouble getting a paper certificate for our test in Vancouver. The pharmacy offered only paper, which pleased us as "non smart-phone" people. Other testing centres which charged more than double the pharmacy send  e-mails but would give paper on request.

 

You're not being picky at all. It's important to get these things right. You certainly may be tested at a pharmacy and get a paper certificate. That qualifies as an observed test and whether the certificate is issued electronically or on paper does not matter. I gather.from some of the check-in experiences I have read about, paper certificates are preferred since they are easier and faster for the agents to read and interpret compared to test results on a smart phone. When we boarded at a US port (on another line) we requested a print out of our test results where we were tested and presented that print out at the terminal.

 

It is also important to note as you have that Cunard states antigen tests for boarding in Canada must be taken no more than one day prior to boarding even though the Canadian government's regulations allow two days. The rules for Canada are also a bit different in that they allow 72 hours if you take a PCR test. That's stated as 72 hours, not 3 days, for a PCR test both by Cunard and the Canadian government.

[david,Mississauga]

Thanks, Bluemarble, for the explanation. From the considerable comments on Cruise  Critic I had the impression that an observed test was only something you did on your own with  a nurse, etc. watching you on your smartphone. That makes sense to me now.

 

The Canadian government rules for testing originally said a rapid antigen test (or similar)  had to be no more than one day prior to boarding. That was quickly changed (in early April I believe) to two days.  I was thinking that Cunard kept the one-day rule because they didn't know it had been changed, but after this time they must know.

 

Out of curiosity I checked four other lines that sail to Alaska from Vancouver and they all allow two days.  There was one line that insisted on a test on the day of boarding but that has since changed to two days before.