Self Testing for Covid

[jwlane]

11 hours ago, cangelmd said:

I’m not handwringing or making more of it.

Then why initiate the thread?  BTW, it's clear ALL lines are moving towards no testing---it's just a matter of time.

[crash3x]

Celebrity still requires you to test before boarding?   Tests are no longer required to fly or cross boarders.

[cangelmd]

16 minutes ago, jwlane said:

Then why initiate the thread?  BTW, it's clear ALL lines are moving towards no testing---it's just a matter of time.

I didn’t. I am curious what’s actually happening at the pier.

Let me be clear, I’m not advocating that ANYONE board a cruise of any length knowing that they have had a positive test for Covid.

BUT, what Celebrity is doing is just preparing to first, not compensate people who get Covid just prior to boarding and second to be able to say “everyone over 9 days said they had a negative test, not our responsibility that you caught Covid from another passenger.”

 

And, I will be very happy when they stop testing, what’s happening today won’t protect very many passengers or crew.

[laslomas]

21 minutes ago, crash3x said:

Celebrity still requires you to test before boarding?   Tests are no longer required to fly or cross boarders.

 

Tests are still required for entry to some countries for unvaccinated. 

[Milly31]

23 hours ago, cangelmd said:

Was your name on the test? Was the photo time stamped?

I just took a photo of the test with my iPhone which shows the date and time the photo was taken. They didn’t seem to look that closely at it though.  

[WorkerBee74]

On 9/26/2022 at 5:04 PM, RichYak said:

All the hand-wringing over this boggles my mind.

 

Yep, same thing before our cruise in April, so many people getting stupid about whether our most-prevalant-online-proctored-test in Canada wasn't going to be good enough to board because it wasn't FDA approved... or something.

 

Feel like the question is more "how can I game the system" vs just following the darn instructions.

[Ipeeinthepools]

Stop all the worrying about the self test.  We boarded the Equinox on Monday and someone just briefly looked at the photo of test results that I had on my phone.  No one seemed to care very much.  As long as you have a picture of your test, you’ll be fine

[Phils01]

I’m currently on the Equinox for a 10 night Caribbean sail.

got on on Monday and it couldn’t have been easier - did a self test on Friday and took a photo of each (mine and the wife’s) during check-in they asked for photo and saw one line on it and were totally fine. Didn’t ask for dates or who’s was who's test. From getting out of the taxi at the port to getting on the ship was about 10mins and we were ½ hour early for our arrival time

we had more hassle getting into the port in the taxi from the security guard at the gate - our passports were in the boot (trunk) of the taxi and we had to retrieve them at the gate to get into the port 🤷‍♂️

[Aunt Tina]

This thread could be valuable to people who are on the Celebrity Summit repositing cruise leaving Boston Oct. 15. Our first port is Bermuda and they are requiring an antigen test within two days or a pcr test within three days.  Celebrity dropped Bermuda for all the TA's - but not for the repositioning cruise.  Since many of us are traveling on one of those days it makes it difficult to plan. Once in Boston we won't have transportation. 

 

Insurance companies are not covering tests for travel.  I have prices of up to $250/ person for the test at home - but they don't schedule it early enough to do before we fly. Urgent care clinics have similar prices and additional charges.  One online supervised site (onPoint) has been hacked.  Others require specific tests to be purchased. Some online sites require personal information be given before finding out costs, times, etc.

 

It would be great if people could just share practical ideas and success stories.  Thanks!  

 

 

[crash3x]

54 minutes ago, Aunt Tina said:

This thread could be valuable to people who are on the Celebrity Summit repositing cruise leaving Boston Oct. 15. Our first port is Bermuda and they are requiring an antigen test within two days or a pcr test within three days.  Celebrity dropped Bermuda for all the TA's - but not for the repositioning cruise.  Since many of us are traveling on one of those days it makes it difficult to plan. Once in Boston we won't have transportation. 

 

Insurance companies are not covering tests for travel.  I have prices of up to $250/ person for the test at home - but they don't schedule it early enough to do before we fly. Urgent care clinics have similar prices and additional charges.  One online supervised site (onPoint) has been hacked.  Others require specific tests to be purchased. Some online sites require personal information be given before finding out costs, times, etc.

 

It would be great if people could just share practical ideas and success stories.  Thanks!  

 

 

I did some searching for PCR testing  and I went to COSTCO  and it was $16 and we got within 90mins...mind you I am in Canada but I am sure you can in US.  

[WorkerBee74]

35 minutes ago, crash3x said:

I did some searching for PCR testing  and I went to COSTCO  and it was $16 and we got within 90mins...mind you I am in Canada but I am sure you can in US.  

 

A $16 PCR test in Canada? Not likely.  This had to be an antigen test...

Edited September 28, 2022 by WorkerBee74

[Arizona Wildcat]

2 hours ago, Aunt Tina said:

This thread could be valuable to people who are on the Celebrity Summit repositing cruise leaving Boston Oct. 15. Our first port is Bermuda and they are requiring an antigen test within two days or a pcr test within three days.  Celebrity dropped Bermuda for all the TA's - but not for the repositioning cruise.  Since many of us are traveling on one of those days it makes it difficult to plan. Once in Boston we won't have transportation. 

 

Insurance companies are not covering tests for travel.  I have prices of up to $250/ person for the test at home - but they don't schedule it early enough to do before we fly. Urgent care clinics have similar prices and additional charges.  One online supervised site (onPoint) has been hacked.  Others require specific tests to be purchased. Some online sites require personal information be given before finding out costs, times, etc.

 

It would be great if people could just share practical ideas and success stories.  Thanks!  

 

 

There are several HUNDRED threads on testing including the sticky at the top of the forum.  Proctored tests can be done from anywhere and are about $15-$20.  A friend did their OnPoint test while flying (at 36000') across the Atlantic Ocean.   We did ours on an island off the coast of Iceland. 

Yes, OnPoint was hacked but back up.and rumming a couple hours later.  ANY government approved test will be accepted by Celebrity- US, Canada or Argentina or South Africa. 

And yes you need to give basic personal information.   How else do you get test results that are yours?   A driver's license suffices.

[crash3x]

2 hours ago, WorkerBee74 said:

 

A $16 PCR test in Canada? Not likely.  This had to be an antigen test...

No it was an PCR test which at the time was required , the airlines and cruise line did not except anything else at the time I travelled in Feb 2022

[Bluewake]

On 9/27/2022 at 11:09 AM, cangelmd said:

I didn’t. I am curious what’s actually happening at the pier.

Let me be clear, I’m not advocating that ANYONE board a cruise of any length knowing that they have had a positive test for Covid.

BUT, what Celebrity is doing is just preparing to first, not compensate people who get Covid just prior to boarding and second to be able to say “everyone over 9 days said they had a negative test, not our responsibility that you caught Covid from another passenger.”

 

And, I will be very happy when they stop testing, what’s happening today won’t protect very many passengers or crew.

You are a very informed poster who always contributes information and logic to the discussion.  With that said, I’d really like to better understand your reasoning for believing that pre-cruise testing has minimal value.  To me, whether a fellow passenger is vaccinated or not isn’t particularly important because it is not a dichotomous “are or are not” status.  Rather, the degree of immunity/protection depends on factors such as how long ago one was vaccinated, personal attributes that may affect efficacy, and whether the vaccine was formulated to address the current prevalent variants.  If I correctly understand it,  being vaccinated may reduce, but not necessarily preclude, the chance of becoming infected and the greatest value of being vaccinated is in mitigating the potential severity of covid.  Accordingly, I’ve come to think that I may be just as much at risk sitting next to a “supposedly” vaccinated person in the theater as sitting next to an unvaccinated person.  It’s whether they are infected or not that matters. Given that, I see pre-cruise testing as being more crucial than being vaccinated. Of course, some cases will “slip through” the testing process because the person contracted covid just prior to the administration of the test (meaning it was too soon for the test to detect) or after the test on their way to the pier.  However, given the approximately 18 R-naught value of something such as B5, even if pre-cruise testing identifies and prevents 10 or so infected people from boarding, that would seem to be a significant factor in reducing shipboard spread.  You are way more informed about this matter than I so what am I missing here?   Much appreciated!

Edited September 28, 2022 by Bluewake

[WorkerBee74]

8 hours ago, crash3x said:

No it was an PCR test which at the time was required , the airlines and cruise line did not except anything else at the time I travelled in Feb 2022

 

Nope, definitely NOT a PCR test.  You could have used a rapid antigen test in Feb 2022, as long as it was observed and not a self-test... no way it was a PCR test for $16.99.

 

As well, PCR tests are processed at a lab, and even with a rush test, you're not getting it back in 90 minutes.

 

Here's discussion about the "$16.99 test" and it is a rapid antigen test.

https://flytrippers.com/covid-19-test-canada-travelers/

[cangelmd]

11 hours ago, Bluewake said:

You are a very informed poster who always contributes information and logic to the discussion.  With that said, I’d really like to better understand your reasoning for believing that pre-cruise testing has minimal value.  To me, whether a fellow passenger is vaccinated or not isn’t particularly important because it is not a dichotomous “are or are not” status.  Rather, the degree of immunity/protection depends on factors such as how long ago one was vaccinated, personal attributes that may affect efficacy, and whether the vaccine was formulated to address the current prevalent variants. 

Thank you for your kind words, I don’t feel very knowledgeable.

 

Absolutely, properly done testing would identify some infected persons and right now, prevent boarding. The unvaccinated are slightly more likely to be infected and will secrete virus longer, so if they are excluded because they are not vaccinated, then you will prevent some spread. Nothing will stop spread, it’s about incremental risk mitigation.

What bugs me about Celebrity approach is that it encourages cheating, and, I think, is setting the customers up to assume all the financial risk when the coved “sail without risk” programs expire. I don’t think it’s right for either party, customers or cruiseline to assume all the riskall. But, if they require testing, it should be done properly, with identification, and if a person tests positive they should have an option for some compensation for their missed cruise.

OR, and this is actually what I think should happen, stop all required pre-boarding testing, develop a risk mitigation protocol, including tips like avoiding crowds 2 weeks before sailing, masking 2 weeks before sailing, etc. Make everybody acknowledge reading this at final payment or check-in. Then have a clearly delineated, sort of sliding scale of compensation. For example, you feel bad 4 days before you sail, have a positive Ag test at home, y ou and your party get an FCC upon receipt of a positive confirmatory test done not at home. You feel ok at the pier, but have a runny nose, you can elect testing with similar consequences pre-boarding, or you can board and know that you may be quarantined, no compensation for time spent in quarantine- some variant of that system