7 hours ago, Sue from Canada said:

Did the Shoppers pharmacist give you a hard copy?  

Yes. We only got a hard copy. 

On 9/15/2021 at 5:13 PM, peacefrogdog said:

Shoppers Drug Mart offers the Abbott Panbio rapid antigen test that I hoping to arrange within the 2 days prior to my Royal Caribbean cruise sailing on Dec 27th (yes it means I would have to go Dec 25th). 

The Royal Caribbean website mentions they accept the results of : 

• Any Abbott brand test administered on site by a pharmacy technician or other health professional is accepted. This includes the common Abbot ID NOW test administered by many pharmacies. The test provider must provide you with a proper results document (no handwritten notes).

I realize it makes sense to assume that, because it is an Abbott test, and it will be administered by at the pharmacy, it is a no-brainer it will be accepted by Royal. However my nightmare is to fly down there while making this assumption only to have a small technicality render that specific test to be ineligible in the eyes of Royal.  Have sent many messages to RC without receiving a reply.

 

For anyone who has done a pharmacy-administered rapid antigen test at Shoppers or other pharmacies that administer the Abbot Panbio rapid antigen test : did RC accept it to let you on board? 

 

Thanks in advance

We did the Shoppers pharmacy-administered rapid antigen test in August.  The pharmacist does it and you wait for your results.  It was accepted by both the airline to fly to the US and it was accepted by Celebrity (I know that is not Royal, but likely they should be similar).  It was an: Abbott Panbio COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test.

16 hours ago, Froufie said:

So I understand Celebrity does offer onboard testing for 'home country requirements - and as  Canadian I am interested in hearing experiences from recent Celebrity cruisers to see what their experiences were.

 

Were you able to 'book' your PCR test while onboard, a few days BEFORE the cruise ended (within the 72 hr window), so that you had your results upon disembarkation, and your flight back home to Canada.  Any issues or problems?

 

Would love to hear your experience and how it worked for you!  Thanks 🙂

We were on the Equinox on August 27.  My experience is below.  We did not "book", they told us the time and place (they were doing lots of people at the same time in a conference room, I'm guessing it was all the people who needed it for travel, kids under 12 that were not vaccinated and B2B), and it worked in our 72 hour time frame so there was no need for us to ask for it to be changed.  We are heading back on the Equinox on October 29/November 7 and I don't expect any issues.  Let me know if you have any questions.

14 minutes ago, Bob7 said:

Great info fellow Canucks, thx.

I'm assuming the medical center on board does the PCR test which has to be 2 days before returning to Canada ... was it hard to get a booking for it? ... can you book it several days ahead? ... cost?

Thx.

Sorry, this relates to Celebrity, and I think Royal is the same. Some other cruise lines are different. I don’t think Carnival is doing testing on the ship for flights home.
 

See details in my post below on the Celebrity Equinox. Test is free. Sign up with front desk when you get on the ship, and they put you on the list. Make sure you let them know you are Canadian and need a PCR test to go home. On our ship it looked like they had contracted with a lab to have a bunch of workers doing the tests in the conference rooms on deck 14 (the ship workers also were getting tested once a week, so lots of testing).  FYI, Canada requirement is test 72 hours before the scheduled departure time to Canada. 
 

44 minutes ago, emairs said:

Can a couple use one ArriveCAN app, or does each person have their own app?

Yep, I agree with Fouremco, I completed all info for me and my husband in my app at the same time and our receipt noted both of our names with one confirmation number.  

2 hours ago, nissach said:

Have any of you cruised since cruises started up again?

We have a cruise booked for March 2022 out of Long Beach. Hoping third time is a charm.

I am just concerned about testing required to enter the US and/or board the ship.

Any insights or experiences you can provide would be much appreciated!

Also, below is an entire thread form a lady that went on Odyssey.

1 hour ago, Fouremco said:

Another quick question on ArriveCAN. The app asks "Which country did you receive your negative Molecular COVID-19 test from?" While I'm assuming that for an RT cruise out of Port Everglades the response would be USA, in fact we would be in international waters at the time. Was there anyone who answered anything other than the US?

When I did it "cruise" or anything like that was not an option.  I picked USA as there was nothing else that worked and was ready to be asked that, but no one asked.  The other gentleman who went earlier on Royal (Odyssey I think?) and posted on here that he picked USA and he did say he got questioned on that in Toronto but they were fine with it in the end.  Next time, I will check again, to make sure they didn't add any options, such as "cruise ship".

We were on the Celebrity Equinox on August 27 and are going on the Equinox again on October 27.  Yes, the testing is a hassle, but in my opinion it is worth it to be cruising again!  My current fear though is the rumors of shortages of rapid antigen tests coming.  With the requirement for a test 2 days before the cruise, in order to get one for both our flight and cruise it really needs to be on Wednesday - I have my fingers crossed this won't become an issue!  Celebrity gives you the PCR test to come home free on the ship, which is nice.

My post about our cruise and testing is below (at the time testing was 3 days before the cruise, but we will do the same thing, just go in to Shoppers Wednesday morning instead of Tuesday morning - FYI, I think the Shoppers option is only in Alberta and Ontario).  Let me know if you have any  questions.

9 minutes ago, canderson said:

Of interest - can pull up edocs using Chrome, but not latest Firefox.

 

I tried the 'Mail my luggage tags' button, but within the address form, the "Country" field refuses to allow a selection (Should drop down to a USA/Canada option), so that can't be completed.  Typical X IT performance.  Oh well.  Guess I'll print them from the edocs.  Little by little.

 

Was this just on the first page?  I had the same issue on the first page link and I had more luck in the reservation.  In Manage reservation then the tab that says "Before you Board" and then at the bottom is "Mail Me Luggage Tags".  I know that a lot of people have ordered the luggage tags for our October 29 sailing on the Equinox, back about 9 days ago, and I haven't heard anyone getting them yet.  Some of the people I know are in Florida and usually get them fast.  Someone spoke to an agent at Celebrity about a different issue and they said they aren't sending them anymore.  I know from that other thread that some people have still been getting their mailed ones, but I'm wondering if they really are starting to stop sending them?  If so, they should really remove the link to have them mailed!  In any event, I ordered just in case, but I'm in Canada and lately they haven't been showing up until after our cruise.  For our August 27 cruise, they were in our mailbox when we got home!

48 minutes ago, Magicat said:

For proof of vaccination, did you show your receipt from your provincial Ministry of Health?

I’m from Alberta and ours is different, I showed the two receipts from the two pharmacies I went to. We now have a downloadable card that shows both doses that I will use. 

38 minutes ago, Magicat said:

Just a general question.  If you are required to upload your vaccination records and negative covid test to ArriveCAn to get a confirmation number, why do you need to show all these documents again to the ticketing agent?

You only upload vaccine confirmations not the test result (you just swear you have the proper test and it was negative), but I don’t believe anyone in advance looks through the info in the app and verifies it. Someone could arguably upload blank pictures as vaccine proof and I don’t know the app would know (I would not suggest that and I would guess there would be a fine involved). I believe the info in the app is more used later, if you had to quarantine or something. I believe the reps that call you after you are home (if necessary, we didn’t get called) can access what you put into the app.  It is Air Canada’s responsibility to make sure you have all the proper documentation or I believe they can be fined. In our case, which is not always true, no one in Toronto checked anything but our passport. We have Nexus and our process in Toronto was like pre-pandemic. I’m not sure if when the Canadian customs guy scanned our confirmations from the nexus machines if he received confirmation or not of ArriveCAN being done, but I understand they are heavily relying on the airlines to make sure everything is right. 

35 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

Once you submit your information through ArriveCAN, a receipt will be displayed and emailed to you. Can you recall how long that takes? I won't have WIFI on board, but will have cell service (local, not ship) once entering port, so I'm planning on completing and submitting the information prior to heading to the airport. Hopefully the receipt comes quickly, so there's no delay in checking in with Air Canada. 

You don't need the email, you can just show the receipt shown in the app.  I believe the email came quickly (pretty much right away, but I don't really remember), but I didn't use the email for anything.  I took a screen shot of the confirmation number in the app and that is what I showed the check in lady.  The receipt is easily accessible in the app as well, but I thought the screen shot may be easier to pull up in a rush.  She didn't look in detail at that, just confirmed that I had the confirmation number in the app.

19 minutes ago, trtog7 said:

Has anyone used this app to return to Canada. 

If you are flying home right after cruise is WIFI strong enough to fill in ArriveCAN or did you wait and do it in the airport?

Yes, I did in early September, after getting off the Celebrity Equinox.  You can fill it in as soon as you have your PCR test result.  You don't upload the test result but you have to confirm you have it and it is negative.  I completed it the last night on the ship, and it worked fine.  The check in lady at Air Canada at the airport needed us to show the confirmation number from the ArriveCan app, so I suggest you fill it in in advance, if possible.  The Air Canada check in person checked the ArriveCan confirmation, our test results and our proof of vaccination.  It is also good to have your 2 vaccine confirmations available electronically, as you have to upload those as part of the ArriveCan completion.  The ArriveCan app was easy to complete.

Let me know if you have questions.

2 minutes ago, canderson said:

Sweet.  Didn't realize that the window moved concurrently.

I should say, that is my guess anyway.  I was ready to make that argument to them if the price of my December 23 cruise dropped before the 60 day mark!

17 minutes ago, canderson said:

After final payment?  Wonder how that transaction worked.  I could understand part of the difference going back to your card if the difference was more than the canvellation penalty, but that would be a cancel/rebook, so you would net only that difference.  Normally after final, it only comes as OBC for the full difference.

 

Can your TA elaborate?

With the change to final payments for cruises from December 1 to March being at 60 days, I believe yesterday would have been 60 days for a December 4 cruise. I can confirm that if you may payment earlier and the price drops before the final payment date they refund the difference. 

On 9/29/2021 at 4:55 PM, AlbertaCruisers said:

 

When I called Manulife about their Pandemic plan they were clear it does cover medical issues on a cruise (no trip cancellation of interruption) as long as you are fully vaccinated before you leave on your trip.  I just went and downloaded the pandemic policy and it has the below wording that gives me comfort.  This is in Alberta though, so, I'm not sure if other provinces are different.

 

Important information about cruise travel: If you have not received the vaccine, this policy does not provide any coverage for Coronavirus (COVID-19) and related complications on a cruise or at any destination included in your cruise itinerary.

25. Any act of terrorism or any medical condition you suffer or contract when an official travel advisory issued by the Government of Canada states, "Avoid all non-essential travel" regarding the country, region or city of your destination, before your effective date. To view the travel advisories, visit the Government of Canada Travel site. For claims due to Coronavirus (COVID-19), this exclusion does not apply. Exception: Treatment for Coronavirus (COVID-19) and related complications that you suffer or contract while you are on a cruise or any destination included in your cruise itinerary is not covered if you have not received the vaccine. For claims not due to Coronavirus (COVID-19), this exclusion does not apply if your medical condition is unrelated to the travel advisory.

 

26. Any act of terrorism or any medical condition you suffer or contract when an official travel advisory issued by the Government of Canada states, "Avoid all travel" regarding the country, region or city of your destination, before your effective date. To view the travel advisories, visit the Government of Canada Travel site. This exclusion does not apply to claims for any medical condition unrelated to the travel advisory

As an update to my post above, as I mentioned, I didn't end up going with Manulife, so I didn't proceed to get anything in writing from them, but even though multiple different people from Manulife assured me on the phone that cruises are covered right now for COVID medical under Manulife's Pandemic policy, upon reading the above again, and even though some of the cruise wording is confusing in the policy and suggests if you are vaccinated, cruising would be covered, I think that the exclusion in #26 would mean cruises right now, since is at "avoid all..." would not be covered.  It is too bad the people on the phone don't seem to know what they are taking about.

I'm much happier with the wording in my Johnson insurance policy.  I'm not part of any group.  The policy clearly does not cover trip interruption or trip cancellation, but that is ok, I knew that going in, but it specifically provides that COVID is covered for Emergency Medical even if a travel advisory is in effect.

17 minutes ago, xcell said:

Thanks.

 

I wish there were either more stories of success or unsuccessful cruises with Canadians to read...to either scare me to hold off or reassure me.

 

I still have the opportunity to cancel to get some of my money back in cash, and other in FCC or cancel 2 days before and get it all in FCC, so that makes me feel better. 

 

I know, no one can predict the future.

We are from Edmonton, we went on the Celebrity Equinox on August 27.  It was great to be back on a cruise!  We are headed out on the Equinox on October 29 and Nov 7 and are excited to go (our count down is on)!  We were really careful in Florida and wore masks everywhere (except on the beach) and stayed away from people, but the ship was only at around 40% capacity and we didn't wear masks anywhere and in general (other then the fact I was caught as a close contact - which was not the end of the world) everything felt pretty normal.

I did post a more full account of my Equinox experience on this board.

Please let me know if you have any questions that may help you.

31 minutes ago, Cruising from Mississauga said:

Hi, I'm hoping someone will have this answer. I have been trying to determine if Celebrity offers the PCR Covid test, as well as the results, while on board. I have tried to get this answer via my travel agent, and direct with Celebrity. When asked specifically if the PCR test is done on board, the answer given twice to my agent was "yes, we do testing". Celebrity has not replied to my enquiry over two weeks ago to the Celebrity Engagement Center email address. It is clear that they provide the antigen test, but this is not adequate for returning home for Canadian travellers, who require the PCR test as per government regulations. I have not found any reference to Canada's entry requirements on the Celebrity website (I see USA and UK requirements only). 

 

Has anyone received a clear answer to this question, or know from Celebrity directly that they do or do not offer the PCR test, with results, while on board? I appreciate any help!

 

Thanks,

Hi,

The link to my post from my experience on the Equinox is below.  The short answer is yes, they will provide you the test you need to go home, even if that is PCR.  They did ask me to confirm I needed a PCR test.  I suggest you contact front desk right away when you get onboard to let them know you are Canadian and need a PCR test to go home.  They put you on their list and contact you near the end of the cruise to let you know the testing date and time.

Also, from the Celebrity website, in the Health at sea section, Country Travel Requirements, travel from the us, Travel Home - US and Abroad it says:

Tests required for home country re-entry will also be administered onboard. Testing will be provided free of charge to our vaccinated guests prior to debarkation. Additional details and registration provided once onboard. 

We had the blue tracelets with the big white egg looking top on the August 27 sailing of the Equinox.  It was fine to wear them, I didn't care and it became "normal" fast for me.  My only concern was that I got caught as a close contact, which would be fine if I felt I actually had risk, but from the information we found out later, I was a close contact at the martini bar and the people had to be far enough over on my right that my husband, who was beside the whole time (on my left) and was not caught as a close contact.  I also wore the tracelet on my right arm, so I may have been just within that 6 feet.  I was at the end of the higher bar, and it would have been someone almost the full 6 feet over to my right.  I had my back turned that way the entire time we were there (as I was facing my husband and people on the other side of him) and did not talk to or interact at all with anyone in that direction.  Again, it is fine, and we were treated well by Celebrity and the 24 hour quarantine went fast, and all my tests were negative (3 PCR tests during that period, 1 right away, 1 24 hours later and 1 a couple days later that wasn't originally planned but they called and said the protocol had changed.  I also had a negative PCR test the second last day of the cruise, which we needed to fly home to Canada), but I was hoping with facial recognition instead they may have some ability to tell if someone was really at risk or not.  In this situation, I don't think I was at risk, and I definitely was not more at risk than my husband.  In a way, the 6 feet for 15 minute basis of the tracelets is a bit arbitrary depending on the situation.

We are Canadian, we were on the Equinox on August 27.  They gave us the PCR test we needed to come home for free.  The same wording about it being free is still on their website (as someone copied above).  We go again on October 29/Nov 7.  I suggest when you get on the ship you call front desk early and tell them you are Canadian and you need a PCR test to fly home and get on their list.  They have a day near the end of the cruise where they do all test for Back to Back, unvaccinated children under 12 and anyone that needs the test for travel.  When I called, she asked if I was sure I needed a PCR test, I said yes, Canada requires PCR (antigen doesn't work) and she said no problem, I will put you on the list.  A few days before the end of the cruise we got a call letting us know the date and time of the testing and then we received a hard copy invitation too.  I also received the results by email and hard copy.

The person you spoke to may have been confused, because it does say only vaccinated travelers get the test for free.  When they first started back up, I think there was a limited number of adults at points that were unvaccinated, and then I believe you had to pay for all testing, including the one needed to fly home.

As a note, there is also lots of good information on the Canadian board here on Cruise Critic.

16 minutes ago, MarkWiltonM said:

Can you upload the vaccination cards for you family or does each person in your party have to do it separately on their own phone/app?

You can do everyone in your reservation, there is separate options under each persons name in the check in process in the app.  I did both for me and my husband (which both show in check in).  There is also an option at the bottom to add other people, so you may be able to add others you are traveling with. 

Really everything can be done in one app/iphone for everyone on the reservation.  I check us both in, and in August, we both watched the safety videos on my phone and confirmed we both watched and we both did the health questionnaire on one phone and confirmed for both of us.

1 hour ago, Fouremco said:

Will the app allow you to upload two pictures? With Ontario's full page PDF for each vaccination, the only way to squeeze both into a single photo would be to shrink each by 50% and print together on a single page.

Yes, it allows for front and back of the card (I'm not sure if the CDC card in the US has information on the back too?), and since we don't have anything on the back, you could do first and second in the two I think.  Alberta now has a "card" that shows both vaccines on one page (it is just a printed PDF), but that is what I used.

I’m sure you will still have to show the original at boarding but I’m hoping it will make it easier/faster at boarding. Maybe someone will look and confirm all details in advance and pre-approve, so at boarding they just confirm the original is the same as what was uploaded? In August it took some time as she had to input type of vaccine, date of vaccine and that your second was at least 14 days before that day. 

35 minutes ago, Josie201 said:

I’m not seeing this. I have completed check in and have my express pass.  It indicates I will need to do the health and wellness questionnaire 2 days pre cruise.  

I think they are working through adding it to all cruises. Mine just appeared today and same as you I had already checked in and had the express pass.  When is your cruise and on what ship?

As a note, the health questionnaire only opens up a day before your cruise.  Ours opened the day before at about 1:00 pm in August.

1 minute ago, Big_G said:

Showed up DW's iPhone yesterday but not my Android until I rebooted. She did the upload and it's checked off has complete but we can no longer see the image.

Agreed, it is weird that it goes away like that, maybe that is a privacy issue and they don't want it saved in the app check in.