Warning for Cruisers Returning to US

[mhb1757]

Just wanted to post what happened to us earlier this week in hopes of keeping someone else from having the same issues. 
We had a great week on the Sky around Iceland from 7/3-7/10. On Friday AM 7/9 we did the daily Covid test on board.  The Viking Daily had a reminder that all persons returning to the US had to have proof of a negative Covid test within 3 days of departure and if you were returning to the US within that time frame they would provide the needed documentation.  That evening (7/9) the certificates were left in our staterooms. We put them with our travel papers, all was well (we thought!… famous last words, right?) 

We disembarked on 7/10 (Saturday) and spent 2 nights in Reykjavik on our own. On Monday morning 7/12 we headed to the airport early for a 9 am flight home.  At the check in counter the agent said “You cannot board, your test is too old. It must be done within 3 days.  This test was done on 7/8”. WHHAAATTTTTT?

sure enough, when we looked, the certificate had been issued on 7/9 but it reported the results from the test done on 7/8 !  So we couldn’t board our flight. We had to be retested, the only place we could find an available appointment to get a rapid test was back in Reykjavik, so we had to take a very pricey cab ride all the way back into town, get the test, go back to the airport, pay a change fee to get on the evening flight back to Boston, rebook our connecting flights from Boston, spend a very long day in the Reykjavik airport and then get a hotel in Boston for the night.  It was an expensive and stressful end to the trip! 
 

I told you our sad story to say; be SURE to read your testing certificate that Viking supplies carefully, not just the date the certificate is issued but check the date of the test it is reporting!  Especially if you are planning to extend your trip a bit. Do NOT assume the certificate reports the last test you submitted!  

[Retired2016Cruiser]

19 minutes ago, mhb1757 said:

Just wanted to post what happened to us earlier this week in hopes of keeping someone else from having the same issues. 
We had a great week on the Sky around Iceland from 7/3-7/10. On Friday AM 7/9 we did the daily Covid test on board.  The Viking Daily had a reminder that all persons returning to the US had to have proof of a negative Covid test within 3 days of departure and if you were returning to the US within that time frame they would provide the needed documentation.  That evening (7/9) the certificates were left in our staterooms. We put them with our travel papers, all was well (we thought!… famous last words, right?) 

We disembarked on 7/10 (Saturday) and spent 2 nights in Reykjavik on our own. On Monday morning 7/12 we headed to the airport early for a 9 am flight home.  At the check in counter the agent said “You cannot board, your test is too old. It must be done within 3 days.  This test was done on 7/8”. WHHAAATTTTTT?

sure enough, when we looked, the certificate had been issued on 7/9 but it reported the results from the test done on 7/8 !  So we couldn’t board our flight. We had to be retested, the only place we could find an available appointment to get a rapid test was back in Reykjavik, so we had to take a very pricey cab ride all the way back into town, get the test, go back to the airport, pay a change fee to get on the evening flight back to Boston, rebook our connecting flights from Boston, spend a very long day in the Reykjavik airport and then get a hotel in Boston for the night.  It was an expensive and stressful end to the trip! 
 

I told you our sad story to say; be SURE to read your testing certificate that Viking supplies carefully, not just the date the certificate is issued but check the date of the test it is reporting!  Especially if you are planning to extend your trip a bit. Do NOT assume the certificate reports the last test you submitted!  

Thank you for the heads up! Do you think the date of your test incorrect, or does Viking really potentially do your last test >24 hrs before you disembark? We also have plans to stay an addtl 2 nights. 

[LindaS272]

22 minutes ago, mhb1757 said:

Just wanted to post what happened to us earlier this week in hopes of keeping someone else from having the same issues. 
We had a great week on the Sky around Iceland from 7/3-7/10. On Friday AM 7/9 we did the daily Covid test on board.  The Viking Daily had a reminder that all persons returning to the US had to have proof of a negative Covid test within 3 days of departure and if you were returning to the US within that time frame they would provide the needed documentation.  That evening (7/9) the certificates were left in our staterooms. We put them with our travel papers, all was well (we thought!… famous last words, right?) 

We disembarked on 7/10 (Saturday) and spent 2 nights in Reykjavik on our own. On Monday morning 7/12 we headed to the airport early for a 9 am flight home.  At the check in counter the agent said “You cannot board, your test is too old. It must be done within 3 days.  This test was done on 7/8”. WHHAAATTTTTT?

sure enough, when we looked, the certificate had been issued on 7/9 but it reported the results from the test done on 7/8 !  So we couldn’t board our flight. We had to be retested, the only place we could find an available appointment to get a rapid test was back in Reykjavik, so we had to take a very pricey cab ride all the way back into town, get the test, go back to the airport, pay a change fee to get on the evening flight back to Boston, rebook our connecting flights from Boston, spend a very long day in the Reykjavik airport and then get a hotel in Boston for the night.  It was an expensive and stressful end to the trip! 
 

I told you our sad story to say; be SURE to read your testing certificate that Viking supplies carefully, not just the date the certificate is issued but check the date of the test it is reporting!  Especially if you are planning to extend your trip a bit. Do NOT assume the certificate reports the last test you submitted!  

I’m sorry you had this stress at the end of your trip. Others have posted in the CC threads to check with Viking if you’re staying a few days later so they can test you on your morning of checkout instead of the day before, and be within the three day window (not 72 hours) for travel home to U.S. The CDC website says three days, not 72 hours, so it won’t matter what time of day you fly home. 

[mhb1757]

9 minutes ago, Retired2016Cruiser said:

Thank you for the heads up! Do you think the date of your test incorrect, or does Viking really potentially do your last test >24 hrs before you disembark? We also have plans to stay an addtl 2 nights. 

They did test us on the last full day of the cruise (7/9) However the certificate was issued for the test they did the previous day.  No idea why. I’m assuming if I had read the fine print and realized that it was an older test they would have issued us a certificate for the test done on the last full day. But that’s just what I’m assuming…

[Retired2016Cruiser]

Thank you!!  Good to be forewarned.

 

[philw1776]

Sincerely sorry this happened to you. Thanks for the considerate warning as it will help others.
The irony is that we were on the same cruise, but flew directly to Boson after disembarkation yet NOBODY at airport check in or anywhere asked to see our certificate or anything COVID. Only our passports.
Go figure.

[Louhut1]

I went to guest relations and they told me to call the medical office to get the results from 7/9.  No problem.  We got those results before dinner.  

[jiminyC_fan]

So sorry this happened to you.  What a horrible trip home.  Get some much needed rest.

[mhb1757]

1 hour ago, philw1776 said:

Sincerely sorry this happened to you. Thanks for the considerate warning as it will help others.
The irony is that we were on the same cruise, but flew directly to Boson after disembarkation yet NOBODY at airport check in or anywhere asked to see our certificate or anything COVID. Only our passports.
Go figure.

Weren’t you lucky!  Apparently the airlines are the gatekeepers for the testing. No one in Boston makes any attempt to check! 

1 hour ago, Louhut1 said:

I went to guest relations and they told me to call the medical office to get the results from 7/9.  No problem.  We got those results before dinner.  

You were wise to check. I just made a cursory glance at the form and put it with my passport. If I had read it carefully it would have saved a lot of expense and angst! 

[Cher98]

Thanks for the heads up.