Anyone have a copy of a covid Certificate of Recovery?

[helen haywood]

My DH has tested positive (mild symptoms) and has quarantined now 11 days.  He went for an official test last week so he could get a certificate of recovery in case he might still test positive by our next cruise.  I have copied what X says is required from their website but I thought it might help if I could give the doctor’s office a sample letter to look at.  They haven’t done one before.  TIA

[broadwaybaby123]

There's a form for them to fill out. You can get it on the Celebrity website.

[mauimary]

20 minutes ago, broadwaybaby123 said:

There's a form for them to fill out. You can get it on the Celebrity website.

I looked and couldn’t find a form on the website 

[12cruise2]

We will be getting a CofR from our docs as well.  There is no form that I found, but here is the info required based on the FAQ.  I asked Celebrity what should be included for "confirmation of recovery" and was told whatever the doctor feels is appropriate.

Our doc asked us to draft a sample letter to bring to our appointment.

Here is what Celebrity's web site says:

 

For all sailings departing on or after March 18, 2022, Celebrity is now accepting a Certificate of Recovery. We will not accept a Certificate of Recovery in place of a vaccination record. All guests eligible to be vaccinated must also continue to show proof of full vaccination, with the final dose of their vaccine administered at least 14 days prior to sailing. 

A Certificate of Recovery must meet the following requirements:

• Be on official letterhead from a healthcare provider, public health official or telehealth provider showing:
  • The Provider’s name
  • The Provider’s address
  • The Provider’s phone number
  • Confirmation of your recovery and completion of isolation 
• Be typed (not handwritten) and signed by the provider
• Must confirm the sample collection date of the positive PCR test, which must be a minimum of 11 days and a maximum of 180 days before the departure date of your cruise
• Date of validity must extend throughout the duration of your cruise
• Include a positive result document for a COVID-19 PCR test taken a minimum of 11 days and a maximum of 90 days before the departure date of your cruise. An antigen test result will not be accepted with a Certificate of Recovery. The test results document from your test provider must include the name of the lab that processed the test, the lab’s CLIA Lab Number or Certification Number, the address of the lab, your name, the date the test was taken, type of test, and your positive result. This can be a printed document, email, or telehealth app notification. Fully handwritten doctor’s notes (such as those written on a prescription pad) will not be accepted. Minimal handwritten components (such as a check mark on a “positive” box) are acceptable as long as the other required information is printed on the document.

 

[cachouonacruise]

I just obtained my Certificate of Recovery today from my family doctor.

 

I submitted to her our complete Covid Vaccination file as well as a copy of our official PCR test. I also gave her a copy of Celebrity's Requirements as stated by 12cruise2.

 

She asked us a few questions, examined us summarily, and provided us with a typed document, meeting all Celebrity's boxes....

 

Fingers crossed that it will do the trick....My doctor does not speak English ....so my document is written in French.....🤞🤞🤞

[helen haywood]

Thanks for the replies.  I have the information 12cruise2 quoted from the website.  I was hoping for a letter someone has already received…in English 😜.

[CyberTag]

7 hours ago, helen haywood said:

Thanks for the replies.  I have the information 12cruise2 quoted from the website.  I was hoping for a letter someone has already received…in English 😜.

If you obtain one, please let us know.  We are in the same situation with one of our family members for our upcoming June 23 cruise.

[TFree]

5 hours ago, CyberTag said:

If you obtain one, please let us know.  We are in the same situation with one of our family members for our upcoming June 23 cruise.

I have one that I never actually used, because I tested negative anyway. I am traveling today after a river cruise, and I will try to redact and post it tomorrow. 
 

Tom & Judy

[amcco]

If you do a search for covid recovery certificate and look at images you will find a number of examples there that will work for guidance.  If you physician has an electronic medical record they can create a note and print it out (there are examples of this as well)

[amcco]

[Jim_Iain]

@amcco  That is exactly what mine looked like that I obtained in the UK.    I had no problem with it on United.

[CruisinNewb]

My letter of recovery from my physician was brief and to the point. It said:

 

"Patient notified us of a positive home test. Patient had a PCR test performed at 

xxx with a positive result. He has completed the recommended quarantine period and is free of symptoms and cleared to travel. Please contact our office if you have further questions."

 

The letter was on his letterhead and was signed, dated and stamped.

 

We haven't had to use it on Celebrity yet, but it worked just fine with United Airlines when we return to the US from Switzerland last month.

 

 

[Flyonby]

A bit presumptive of them, but this is the letter celebrity gave us. The top has my name,bathe ships I'd and royal Caribbean group letterhead 

[hcat]

I'd stick with the samples and clear instructions

 

   A posted copy ( redacted or otherwise) is inviting mischief.

[CyberTag]

10 hours ago, TFree said:

I have one that I never actually used, because I tested negative anyway. I am traveling today after a river cruise, and I will try to redact and post it tomorrow. 
 

Tom & Judy

Just curious, if you have a letter clearing you, why would you bother with the added expense to test?  
 

Kari 

[TFree]

15 hours ago, CyberTag said:

Just curious, if you have a letter clearing you, why would you bother with the added expense to test?  
 

Kari 

That is a fair question.  The answer is a bit complicated, but here goes.  I tested positive in December, 2021.  Our next cruise was April 30, 2022.  But then I learned that in some instances, Certificates of Recovery will be honored for 6 months (there was a 90 day limit for our April 30 cruise, which is why I had not previously requested one).  So I got one.

 

Then I had a weird series of inconsistent test results in March, which would have been within the 90 day window.  But none of the positives was on a PCR test, which is required by Celebrity.  I continued to test periodically, and got a positive PCR in early April.  So I asked my doctor to write a new letter based on the April positive result.  He did, but he made the letter more wishy-washy than I would have liked (suggesting that it might have been a false positive, for example).  So I took it with us on our cruises, but wasn't really sure if the wishy-washy version would suffice.  

In the meantime, before the April positive PCR test result, I had ordered a 6 pack of BinaxNow proctored tests through Emed.com.  They have good expiration dates, but still we might end up having more than we might need, so I had no reluctance to use one for our April 30 embarkation rather than chancing it with the wishy-washy letter, and Celebrity gave us "free" test kits on one of our cruises, so I had no reluctance in using another one for our return to the US yesterday.

The letter I will post after I get home today or tomorrow is the "good" version of the letter, which I am confident would have been sufficient if I had been within the 90 day window.

 

Tom & Judy

[gotcha3]

5 hours ago, TFree said:

That is a fair question.  The answer is a bit complicated, but here goes.  I tested positive in December, 2021.  Our next cruise was April 30, 2022.  But then I learned that in some instances, Certificates of Recovery will be honored for 6 months (there was a 90 day limit for our April 30 cruise, which is why I had not previously requested one).  So I got one.

 

Then I had a weird series of inconsistent test results in March, which would have been within the 90 day window.  But none of the positives was on a PCR test, which is required by Celebrity.  I continued to test periodically, and got a positive PCR in early April.  So I asked my doctor to write a new letter based on the April positive result.  He did, but he made the letter more wishy-washy than I would have liked (suggesting that it might have been a false positive, for example).  So I took it with us on our cruises, but wasn't really sure if the wishy-washy version would suffice.  

In the meantime, before the April positive PCR test result, I had ordered a 6 pack of BinaxNow proctored tests through Emed.com.  They have good expiration dates, but still we might end up having more than we might need, so I had no reluctance to use one for our April 30 embarkation rather than chancing it with the wishy-washy letter, and Celebrity gave us "free" test kits on one of our cruises, so I had no reluctance in using another one for our return to the US yesterday.

The letter I will post after I get home today or tomorrow is the "good" version of the letter, which I am confident would have been sufficient if I had been within the 90 day window.

 

Tom & Judy

Absent your experience, what, exactly does a certificate of recovery get you? Will it get you onboard if you unexpectedly test positive months after actually having covid? If that is the case, why not just take the Abbott EMED test which is rapid antigen and ONLY tests for active (contagious) virus and not just genetic material from previous exposure? And, yes, Celebrity does accept either;

There are two common types of diagnostic COVID-19 tests and we accept either one: 

• A molecular test, also called a PCR test or NAAT test
• An antigen test, also called a rapid antigen test

It is very confusing to me and I must find the answer as I have the whole family (6) cruising Alaska in July and to be denied boarding would be devastating. Thank you.

 

 

[TFree]

18 hours ago, gotcha3 said:

Absent your experience, what, exactly does a certificate of recovery get you? Will it get you onboard if you unexpectedly test positive months after actually having covid? If that is the case, why not just take the Abbott EMED test which is rapid antigen and ONLY tests for active (contagious) virus and not just genetic material from previous exposure? And, yes, Celebrity does accept either;

There are two common types of diagnostic COVID-19 tests and we accept either one: 

• A molecular test, also called a PCR test or NAAT test
• An antigen test, also called a rapid antigen test

It is very confusing to me and I must find the answer as I have the whole family (6) cruising Alaska in July and to be denied boarding would be devastating. Thank you.

 

 

Yes, if I had had a timely, solid Certificate of Recovery in hand on boarding day on April 30, and hadn't ordered a 6 pack of Abbott proctored tests, I would have just relied on the Certificate of Recovery.  Or, if I had unexpectedly gotten a positive test result when I tested myself the day before returning to the US, I would again have pulled out the Certificate of Recovery, rather than hitting the panic button.

 

I am not a doctor, but I have talked to doctors about this.  What I have been told is that what you say is generally true (i.e., that you are not likely to test positive on an antigen test 10 days or more after an infection, it is not all that cut and dried, and you can continue to get occasional positives, even on an antigen test, after the fact.  Maybe they are false positives, maybe they are not, but they keep you off the ship or off the airplane either way.  

 

Tom & Judy

[TFree]

As promised, I am posting the Certificate of Recovery I had.  I actually decided to post the good one (that I think surely would have been sufficient, the one dated April 13, 2022) and the wishy-washy one (that I had some doubts about, the one dated April 19, 2022).

 

Tom & Judy

Certificates of Recovery.pdf

[CruisinNewb]

57 minutes ago, TFree said:

As promised, I am posting the Certificate of Recovery I had.  I actually decided to post the good one (that I think surely would have been sufficient, the one dated April 13, 2022) and the wishy-washy one (that I had some doubts about, the one dated April 19, 2022).

 

Tom & Judy

Certificates of Recovery.pdf 1.74 MB · 6 downloads

 

Thanks for posting both. I can see why you were hesitant to rely on the "wishy-washy" letter

I don't know why your doctor felt the need to provide all the extra verbiage. 

 

[spiritkat090909]

Another why I would want COR...

 

In my situation, I am pretty sure that I will test negative on antigen test pre-cruise. (Have done so today and next cruise is 9 days in the future.) However, I will be traveling with a vaccinated/newly

boosted, previously uninfected individual. IF they were to be contact traced and tested positive... perhaps the COR would come in handy? If I were to be contact traced and they decided to test with PCR?

 

Why I would not...

 

It promises to be a hassle and more difficult to board with unfamiliar dock workers.  It may cause issues with port shore excursions.

 

I really don't know what the 'right' answer is, however...if I have both, then I should be covered in all instances. (Fingers crossed.)  And I could travel to/from Europe, if I were so inclined at the last minute.

[TFree]

2 hours ago, CruisinNewb said:

 

Thanks for posting both. I can see why you were hesitant to rely on the "wishy-washy" letter

I don't know why your doctor felt the need to provide all the extra verbiage. 

 

I don't know either.  Probably just covering himself.  I considered asking him to give me a "clean" version of the April 19 letter, but since by that time I had received the Abbott BinaxNow tests, and had every expectation that I would test negative in any event, I just let it go.

 

Tom & Judy

[helen haywood]

@TFree Thanks so much for posting the letter.  Lots of hoops to jump through to cruise these days!

[CyberTag]

12 hours ago, TFree said:

As promised, I am posting the Certificate of Recovery I had.  I actually decided to post the good one (that I think surely would have been sufficient, the one dated April 13, 2022) and the wishy-washy one (that I had some doubts about, the one dated April 19, 2022).

 

Tom & Judy

Certificates of Recovery.pdf 1.74 MB · 30 downloads

Did you use the one dated April 13? 

[TFree]

2 hours ago, CyberTag said:

Did you use the one dated April 13? 

No - the April 13 letter referred to an infection in December, and thus would have been more than 90 days before the April 30 boarding date.  The April 19 letter, referring to the April infection, might have sufficed, except that it was so wishy-washy.  So I took a proctored antigen test, got a negative result, and used that.

 

Tom & Judy