Anyone have a suggestion????

[chocolate melting cake]

I posted the following "plea" on John Heald's and our PVP Aida Hermann's FB pages. I was wondering if anyone in this forum could come up with a solution. 

              

Any advice???

 

We were thrilled to find that our 14 day Carnival Pride cruise – Oct. 31-Nov.13 would be sailing. Since we have had our Covid Pfizer vaccines for months, the fact that 100% of passengers were required to be vaccinated was WELCOMED! However, the final requirement presents a quandary. We are being told that at embarkation we have to present proof of a negative PCR test that has been administered 24 to 72 hours before boarding.

We have gone to (or called) our doctor, Walgreens, CVS, a test facility, a hospital and a fortune teller------all have told us the same thing, there is no guarantee that any Covid 19-PCR test results can be delivered within 72 hours. If the test labs are busy, results may take up to 6 days (144 hours).  Finally, many of the passengers will be traveling to the port of Baltimore during at least the day before sailing.

Therefore, we have these three questions:

1.  1.   Can the powers that be change the 72 hours to 144 hours?

2.   2    If #1 is unacceptable could the “rapid” Covid test be used?

3.  3     If, heaven forbid, the result was to come back (possibly a false) positive-----would we be able to get FCC because of a cruise that was, through no fault of our own, denied to us?

Thank you for any assistance you can provide,

Linda & Allen Caplan

[Elaine5715]

I thought with proof of vax, no testing required?

[ninjacat123]

21 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

I thought with proof of vax, no testing required?

That's what I thought as well.

[ninjacat123]

Just read the requirement for 14 day out of Baltimore....what?  Doesn't make sense.  I hope the powers that be ease up on vaccinated passengers.

[firefly333]

35 minutes ago, chocolate melting cake said:

I posted the following "plea" on John Heald's and our PVP Aida Hermann's FB pages. I was wondering if anyone in this forum could come up with a solution. 

              

Any advice???

 

 

 

We were thrilled to find that our 14 day Carnival Pride cruise – Oct. 31-Nov.13 would be sailing. Since we have had our Covid Pfizer vaccines for months, the fact that 100% of passengers were required to be vaccinated was WELCOMED! However, the final requirement presents a quandary. We are being told that at embarkation we have to present proof of a negative PCR test that has been administered 24 to 72 hours before boarding.

 

We have gone to (or called) our doctor, Walgreens, CVS, a test facility, a hospital and a fortune teller------all have told us the same thing, there is no guarantee that any Covid 19-PCR test results can be delivered within 72 hours. If the test labs are busy, results may take up to 6 days (144 hours).  Finally, many of the passengers will be traveling to the port of Baltimore during at least the day before sailing.

 

Therefore, we have these three questions:

 

1.  1.   Can the powers that be change the 72 hours to 144 hours?

 

2.   2    If #1 is unacceptable could the “rapid” Covid test be used?

 

3.  3     If, heaven forbid, the result was to come back (possibly a false) positive-----would we be able to get FCC because of a cruise that was, through no fault of our own, denied to us?

 

Thank you for any assistance you can provide,

 

Linda & Allen Caplan

 

I think I saw your post before. I was reading on the rcl board that Walgreens or cvs can do 24 hour turn around. 

 

Rcl just came out today requiring tests for all pax and people going nuts on where to do a test within 3 days of boarding. Maybe read thru the rcl threads as there are a few posts about how to get faster results.

 

I remember your post because it wasnt a round trip and went to Panama locks. 

[maryandmarge]

33 minutes ago, chocolate melting cake said:

I posted the following "plea" on John Heald's and our PVP Aida Hermann's FB pages. I was wondering if anyone in this forum could come up with a solution. 

              

Any advice???

 

 

 

We were thrilled to find that our 14 day Carnival Pride cruise – Oct. 31-Nov.13 would be sailing. Since we have had our Covid Pfizer vaccines for months, the fact that 100% of passengers were required to be vaccinated was WELCOMED! However, the final requirement presents a quandary. We are being told that at embarkation we have to present proof of a negative PCR test that has been administered 24 to 72 hours before boarding.

 

We have gone to (or called) our doctor, Walgreens, CVS, a test facility, a hospital and a fortune teller------all have told us the same thing, there is no guarantee that any Covid 19-PCR test results can be delivered within 72 hours. If the test labs are busy, results may take up to 6 days (144 hours).  Finally, many of the passengers will be traveling to the port of Baltimore during at least the day before sailing.

 

Therefore, we have these three questions:

 

1.  1.   Can the powers that be change the 72 hours to 144 hours?

 

2.   2    If #1 is unacceptable could the “rapid” Covid test be used?

 

3.  3     If, heaven forbid, the result was to come back (possibly a false) positive-----would we be able to get FCC because of a cruise that was, through no fault of our own, denied to us?

 

Thank you for any assistance you can provide,

 

Linda & Allen Caplan

 

We were also booked on that Carnival Pride cruise and received that notice last week.  We are vaccinated but because this is a 14 day cruise they want the PCR test also.    Like you I started checking around and got the same answers as you received.   No guarantee that the results would make it back in time.    Our final payment was due on 8/2 so today I called our Carnival Rep and told her we were going to cancel and wanted a refund for the deposit we had paid.    I explained everything you have said above and also told her it was an added expense that the passengers would have to pay.    She put me on hold for about 10 minutes and came back and said she had talked with the Solutions Department and they told her that we SHOULD be able to get results back in 24 hours time and that we should be able to find a place that would provide it for free.     I told her the SHOULD be wasn't a guarantee and we weren't willing to put out that much money when there was a chance we wouldn't be able to cruise and Carnival would NOT refund the money.    She did put in for our cancellation and refund back to my credit card.     

I had posted on the Roll Call for the N Amsterdam Panama cruise that is 21 days from Seattle or 17 days from San Diego early October to see if they had the same requirement.   I thought since Holland was a Carnival Brand maybe they had received the same notice.    People responded that they did not.   Unfortunately - the Holland trip was more expensive than the Carnival or I would switch.   

Safe travels all.   

[firefly333]

7 minutes ago, maryandmarge said:

We were also booked on that Carnival Pride cruise and received that notice last week.  We are vaccinated but because this is a 14 day cruise they want the PCR test also.    Like you I started checking around and got the same answers as you received.   No guarantee that the results would make it back in time.    Our final payment was due on 8/2 so today I called our Carnival Rep and told her we were going to cancel and wanted a refund for the deposit we had paid.    I explained everything you have said above and also told her it was an added expense that the passengers would have to pay.    She put me on hold for about 10 minutes and came back and said she had talked with the Solutions Department and they told her that we SHOULD be able to get results back in 24 hours time and that we should be able to find a place that would provide it for free.     I told her the SHOULD be wasn't a guarantee and we weren't willing to put out that much money when there was a chance we wouldn't be able to cruise and Carnival would NOT refund the money.    She did put in for our cancellation and refund back to my credit card.     

I had posted on the Roll Call for the N Amsterdam Panama cruise that is 21 days from Seattle or 17 days from San Diego early October to see if they had the same requirement.   I thought since Holland was a Carnival Brand maybe they had received the same notice.    People responded that they did not.   Unfortunately - the Holland trip was more expensive than the Carnival or I would switch.   

Safe travels all.   

Rcl only came out today with the new testing requirement for all pax on cruises more than 4 days.

 

2 threads hot at it over on rcl. 

 

One ta posted hes had 18 booked cruises request refunds. This was a terrible idea for rcl. And carnival. Carnival should do the testing, not expect pax to do it. Rcl hot at the very same subject all afternoon. 2 hot threads lol.

[Eli_6]

7 minutes ago, maryandmarge said:

We were also booked on that Carnival Pride cruise and received that notice last week.  We are vaccinated but because this is a 14 day cruise they want the PCR test also.    Like you I started checking around and got the same answers as you received.   No guarantee that the results would make it back in time.    Our final payment was due on 8/2 so today I called our Carnival Rep and told her we were going to cancel and wanted a refund for the deposit we had paid.    I explained everything you have said above and also told her it was an added expense that the passengers would have to pay.    She put me on hold for about 10 minutes and came back and said she had talked with the Solutions Department and they told her that we SHOULD be able to get results back in 24 hours time and that we should be able to find a place that would provide it for free.     I told her the SHOULD be wasn't a guarantee and we weren't willing to put out that much money when there was a chance we wouldn't be able to cruise and Carnival would NOT refund the money.    She did put in for our cancellation and refund back to my credit card.     

I had posted on the Roll Call for the N Amsterdam Panama cruise that is 21 days from Seattle or 17 days from San Diego early October to see if they had the same requirement.   I thought since Holland was a Carnival Brand maybe they had received the same notice.    People responded that they did not.   Unfortunately - the Holland trip was more expensive than the Carnival or I would switch.   

Safe travels all.   

Could you have purchased travel insurance that would have covered this?  I don't know the answer.  Just wondering if travel insurance would cover something like not getting a required test result back in time.  

[PC 462]

49 minutes ago, chocolate melting cake said:

I posted the following "plea" on John Heald's and our PVP Aida Hermann's FB pages. I was wondering if anyone in this forum could come up with a solution. 

              

Any advice???

 

 

 

We were thrilled to find that our 14 day Carnival Pride cruise – Oct. 31-Nov.13 would be sailing. Since we have had our Covid Pfizer vaccines for months, the fact that 100% of passengers were required to be vaccinated was WELCOMED! However, the final requirement presents a quandary. We are being told that at embarkation we have to present proof of a negative PCR test that has been administered 24 to 72 hours before boarding.

 

We have gone to (or called) our doctor, Walgreens, CVS, a test facility, a hospital and a fortune teller------all have told us the same thing, there is no guarantee that any Covid 19-PCR test results can be delivered within 72 hours. If the test labs are busy, results may take up to 6 days (144 hours).  Finally, many of the passengers will be traveling to the port of Baltimore during at least the day before sailing.

 

Therefore, we have these three questions:

 

1.  1.   Can the powers that be change the 72 hours to 144 hours?

 

2.   2    If #1 is unacceptable could the “rapid” Covid test be used?

 

3.  3     If, heaven forbid, the result was to come back (possibly a false) positive-----would we be able to get FCC because of a cruise that was, through no fault of our own, denied to us?

 

Thank you for any assistance you can provide,

 

Linda & Allen Caplan

 

The original posters are correct.  We are booked on this cruise and received the letter outlining the testing requirement timeline.  I am concerned with the turn around time for a test, especially since the 24-72 hours runs into the weekend, when testing labs may not be fully staffed.  I raised this with my PVP, who kicked it up to her supervisor.  No word yet.

I am NOT going to cancel this cruise after having four cancelled for me.  My doctor suggested having tests at multiple facilities in the hope that at least one will return a result in a timely manner.

[Jasonsterling]

2 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Rcl only came out today with the new testing requirement for all pax on cruises more than 4 days.

 

2 threads hot at it over on rcl. 

 

One ta posted hes had 18 booked cruises request refunds. This was a terrible idea for rcl. And carnival. Carnival should do the testing, not expect pax to do it. Rcl hot at the very same subject all afternoon. 2 hot threads lol.

I agree that it's a bad idea- in my case it would be difficult to find the time away from work to do it in the three days leading up to the cruise- I leave on a Friday and so would have to get it done and returned in a two day window during the work week, swamped because I'm about to leave. Now if there was the quick turn around testing at the port during embarkation that they just insisted on then fine but trying to get it done leading up would be a huge problem. And then there's the cost. Hopefully Carnival remains calm. 

[Penguin11]

I definitely understand the OP’s concern especially now since cases are in the rise again and will prob cause a backlog in PCR testing. I sure hope someone high up at CCL is reading these posts.  

[kar1996]

2 hours ago, chocolate melting cake said:

I posted the following "plea" on John Heald's and our PVP Aida Hermann's FB pages. I was wondering if anyone in this forum could come up with a solution. 

              

Any advice???

 

 

 

We were thrilled to find that our 14 day Carnival Pride cruise – Oct. 31-Nov.13 would be sailing. Since we have had our Covid Pfizer vaccines for months, the fact that 100% of passengers were required to be vaccinated was WELCOMED! However, the final requirement presents a quandary. We are being told that at embarkation we have to present proof of a negative PCR test that has been administered 24 to 72 hours before boarding.

 

We have gone to (or called) our doctor, Walgreens, CVS, a test facility, a hospital and a fortune teller------all have told us the same thing, there is no guarantee that any Covid 19-PCR test results can be delivered within 72 hours. If the test labs are busy, results may take up to 6 days (144 hours).  Finally, many of the passengers will be traveling to the port of Baltimore during at least the day before sailing.

 

Therefore, we have these three questions:

 

1.  1.   Can the powers that be change the 72 hours to 144 hours?

 

2.   2    If #1 is unacceptable could the “rapid” Covid test be used?

 

3.  3     If, heaven forbid, the result was to come back (possibly a false) positive-----would we be able to get FCC because of a cruise that was, through no fault of our own, denied to us?

 

Thank you for any assistance you can provide,

 

Linda & Allen Caplan

 

Try a private lab usually tests done by noon you get the results by midnight via email with all that is required for travel. Make sure you factor in 72 hours NOT 3 days .We are from Canada where tests are required regardless of status for all travel ...Cost from $150 -300 depending where you go make sure it's PCR or what the cruise lines want. 

[Brew12]

I hope this isn't because cruise lines are seeing more positives while onboard than they were expecting.

 

[Elaine5715]

[kitten816]

see if  CVS is doing rapid tests. I had one done recently, they called me in 2 hours with the results. 

[SCBarker]

I went to my local county site last week for a free test. Took a PCR test at 2pm and had results by 10pm. I think most places are considerably faster nowadays.

Seems like most airports of any size can also get PCR results in a couple of hours. You may pay more for it, but it can be done.

[BroadwayGirl]

Rite aid just turned around a pcr test in 24 hrs for my husband as they had a positive case at his job and required the entire crew to go get tested regardless of vax status. They told him 2-4 days but this is the second time they turned around a pcr in 24 hrs for us. 

[PC 462]

26 minutes ago, kar1996 said:

Try a private lab usually tests done by noon you get the results by midnight via email with all that is required for travel. Make sure you factor in 72 hours NOT 3 days .

I have to wonder from what time on Sunday you are supposed to count back 72 hours.  Sailing time?  Boarding time?  If I get a test Thursday morning and then my boarding time turns out to be 1 PM, is that too long to be allowed to board?

[groundloop]

This is poor planning on the part of Carnival.  I get it that they don't want to take any chances with having an outbreak aboard a ship, but the way they're presenting the requirements to cruise is leaving their customers in a difficult situation.

 

You'd think that Carnival could partner with one or more pharmacies who would do the testing at a reasonable cost and guarantee test results in a certain amount of time.

[vamartha]

6 minutes ago, PC 462 said:

I have to wonder from what time on Sunday you are supposed to count back 72 hours.  Sailing time?  Boarding time?  If I get a test Thursday morning and then my boarding time turns out to be 1 PM, is that too long to be allowed to board?

That was a concern of mine as well and they do not address it in the letter they sent to us. Because of a travel day built in it really, really makes a difference. We can't check in until with Carnival until the 17th so we won't have our boarding time until then. 

Edited July 30, 2021 by vamartha
spelling

[kar1996]

Vaccinated guests on the 14-day Carnival Pride cruise from Baltimore will have to present the negative results of a pre-travel PCR test taken between 72 and 24 hours at embarkation, in addition to providing proof of vaccination. Guests on back to back cruises (excluding Alaska voyages), regardless of vaccination status, will be tested at the end of each voyage.

[WhaleTailFlCruiser]

Pretty sure CVS turnaround is like 24 hours on PCR tests? 

[DenaInWyo]

3 hours ago, PC 462 said:

My doctor suggested having tests at multiple facilities in the hope that at least one will return a result in a timely manner.

That's exactly what I would do.  Might also be an interesting experiment to see if you get different results from different places lol

[Barba21885]

Let me get this straight before I go into full panic attack.....this is for the 14 day cruises?  Our little four day cruise in two weeks will not be requiring testing as long as we have our vaccination cards that show we got vaccinated in April?  I didn't get any notice..but then I didn't get any notice until days after everyone else did about the minor change to Bimini.  Please calm my nerves.

[matymil]

3 hours ago, WhaleTailFlCruiser said:

Pretty sure CVS turnaround is like 24 hours on PCR tests? 

 Yeah ive done afew of them there, it was within 24-36 hours. It gets sent to your phone.