Updated FAQ - Covid Test Required eff 8/15

[Bertie Doe]

11 hours ago, victory2020 said:

My strategy is to take a test 2 weeks before cruise, then semi-quarantine.Take another test 2 days before the flight, hopefully that will cover all bases when I get to the ship

Not ALL bases. You mentioned flights. What happens if you arrive at destination airport and YOU test negative but are refused boarding because someone else on your flight tests positive and you're therefore a 'contact' because you've been exposed to them for several hours during the flight.

 

In the UK, no cruise line or Insurer will refund or pick up the tab for quarantine, flights etc., there maybe different laws in USA but check the small-print  or get confirmation before you go. It's an irony, if you test positive you're fully insured and refunded all costs. Regards Paul

[wowzz]

30 minutes ago, Bertie Doe said:

but are refused boarding because someone else on your flight tests positive and you're therefore a 'contact' because you've been exposed to them for several hours during the flight.

But how would the cruise line be aware of that?

And, in the UK, you are tested prior to embarkation, so that you are being screened anyway.

[Bertie Doe]

2 minutes ago, wowzz said:

But how would the cruise line be aware of that?

And, in the UK, you are tested prior to embarkation, so that you are being screened anyway.

Assuming it's a flight chartered by the cruise line and one passenger on that flight tests positive at the cruise terminal, they will be aware that the say, remaining 199 passengers have been exposed to the one covid victim. They have no choice but to refuse boarding to all.

 

[wowzz]

10 minutes ago, Bertie Doe said:

Assuming it's a flight chartered by the cruise line and one passenger on that flight tests positive at the cruise terminal, they will be aware that the say, remaining 199 passengers have been exposed to the one covid victim. They have no choice but to refuse boarding to all.

 

But charter flights are not used for cruises from the UK.

[Jadn13]

4 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

BINAX NOW is a home testing kit, but will not be valid for Princess since is an unobserved test by a medical professional.

 

Some Walgreens offer this as a drive thru option. Best to talk to your testing center for exact procedure.

 

Edited August 8, 2021 by Jadn13

[Italy52]

5 hours ago, caribill said:

That test would not have been taken for Princess.

 

First Princess cruise that requires the test is 8/15/21 and the test was taken way too early for that cruise.

Correct, the first test was done for my Royal Caribbean cruise (which I mentioned in my response to the poster.)  I will be taking another antigen test for our 8/22 cruise on 8/20. 

[mellon1]

13 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

From the 8/6 Cruise Health update.

 

https://www.princess.com/plan/cruise-with-confidence/cruise-health/frequently-asked-questions/

 

Will I be able to book multiple cruises, back-to-back?

Yes, back-to-back bookings will be available for vaccinated guests on voyages sailing from the United States. If your cruise itinerary visits international ports outside the United States and Canada, you will be required to have a COVID-19 test performed near the end of any voyage where you will be continuing on the following voyage; Princess will cover the costs of the COVID-19 test administered onboard the ship. Guests who test positive for COVID-19 will be isolated and denied boarding on the next voyage, together with their family members and close contacts who are not fully vaccinated. If you, your family members, travelling companions or other close contacts are suspected of having COVID-19, you are entitled to a 100% Future Cruise Credit.

Thank you so much for your reply.  Are these tests the rapid test which is immediate or is it the other test that takes days?  I would think Walgreens and Publix would not be able to do all the tests for cruises going out, especially on weekends.  I heard masks are required now on Princess ships unless eating/drinking, so have to wear to your dining room table, and it didn't say about wearing them at the pool area.  Hmmm.

[Steelers36]

5 hours ago, johnasmith99 said:

I called XXXXXXXXX this morning and cancelled our cruise.  We were just barely outside of 45 days to cruise day so max penalty should be the deposit amount, and even that should be saved as a future cruise credit. We'll see how Princess actually processes it soon. 

In future, you should just type "our agent", "our TA", or similar as we aren't supposed to be literally naming our TA's.

[Steelers36]

4 hours ago, wowzz said:

But charter flights are not used for cruises from the UK.

And Princess (EZ-Air) does not charter airplanes.  Guests are flying on commercial aircraft.

[johnasmith99]

27 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

In future, you should just type "our agent", "our TA", or similar as we aren't supposed to be literally naming our TA's.

Thanks for letting me know, I didn't realize that.  

[JF - retired RRT]

17 hours ago, victory2020 said:

My strategy is to take a test 2 weeks before cruise, then semi-quarantine.Take another test 2 days before the flight, hopefully that will cover all bases when I get to the ship

HA! We've been "semi-quarantining" for the last year & a half.🤣

[riffatsea]

I don't know yet what will be required for our December cruise

Not sure how dh will handle wearing a mask on board BUT

it seems that so far Princess is handling things better then Carnival

I was just on that board where they are reporting multiple covid cases on several ships from rec3nt sailings

it seems they allowed unvaccinated children on board which is different than what Princess is doing

I hope Princess continues to be vigilant!!

[AF-1]

15 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

Was this the rapid antigen test (ID NOW)?  Mine (PCR) never returned sooner than 40 hours plus.

It was Rapid Antigen (BinexNow).  Hawaii accepted either rapid test or PCR test.  Results in 20 minutes

Edited August 8, 2021 by AF-1

[gvre]

Does anyone know if Princess will accept the Abbot Rapid Antigen Test?

They have them at Sam’s club.

[dreams_of_travel]

It seems to me that someone (either Princess and/or drug store chains) are missing a big marketing opportunity here.  Making things easy for passengers would go a LONG way to boost sales IMO.  Partnering with another company would benefit both entities, too.  All the vague "this test but not that test" is confusing, and doesn't harbor good will either.   While personal test choice is good to have, being specific as to which is acceptable (ie: specific PCR or "specific named" antigen test)  would ease many passenger's mind.  I would not want to show up with a XYZ negative result to be denied boarding b/c it isn't the correct one.   

 

Furthermore, I don't understand why one of the drug store chains are not offering up one of the approved tests guaranteeing the results if tested on X day prior to the cruise.  It just seems like an all around missed chance to instill good feelings for all brands concerned.  YMMV

[Jadn13]

1 minute ago, gvre said:

Does anyone know if Princess will accept the Abbot Rapid Antigen Test?

They have them at Sam’s club.

Only if monitored by a health care professional. If it doesn’t involve a tele health or zoom call the answer is No

[OCruisers]

That's a shame.  Those tests would have been convenient.

[gvre]

4 minutes ago, Jadn13 said:

Only if monitored by a health care professional. If it doesn’t involve a tele health or zoom call the answer is No

So if I take it to my doctor and he does it they will accept it?

 

[railman]

Vaccinated guests may use a medically observed self-test (sometimes referred to as home test) that meets the following criteria:

• The test must be a SARS-CoV-2 viral test (nucleic acid amplification test [NAAT] or antigen test) with Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Please note, antigen tests are accepted for fully vaccinated guests, but not for unvaccinated guests.
• The testing procedure must include a telehealth service affiliated with the manufacturer of the test that provides real-time supervision remotely through an audio and video connection. Some FDA-authorized self-tests that include a telehealth service may require a prescription.
• The telehealth provider must confirm the person’s identity, observe the specimen collection and testing procedures, confirm the test result, and issue a report that meets the requirements of acceptable proof of a negative COVID-19 test.

[barrykel]

5 minutes ago, Jadn13 said:

Only if monitored by a health care professional. If it doesn’t involve a tele health or zoom call the answer is No

But the drive-through version of this test, given by Walgreens in a few states, is accepted, right?

[Astro Flyer]

3 hours ago, mellon1 said:

Thank you so much for your reply.  Are these tests the rapid test which is immediate or is it the other test that takes days?  I would think Walgreens and Publix would not be able to do all the tests for cruises going out, especially on weekends.  I heard masks are required now on Princess ships unless eating/drinking, so have to wear to your dining room table, and it didn't say about wearing them at the pool area.  Hmmm.

You’re welcome & in that webpage they’ve listed which tests are acceptable. I have no experience with rapid tests but believe the antigen tests they list are considered rapid tests. Several posts show the results of people’s research about those types of tests.

 

UPDATED: What types of COVID-19 tests are accepted?

Guests must be tested with a SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) viral test that could be either an antigen test or a nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT).

• Antigen tests include: 
  • Rapid antigen test
  • Viral antigen test
  • Antigen Chromatographic Digital Immunoassay,
  • Antigen Chemiluminescence Immunoassay, or
  • Antigen Lateral Flow Fluorescence
• NAAT include: 
  • PCR - Polymerase chain reaction
  • RT-PCR – reverse transcription real time PCR
  • Quantitative PCR (qPCR)
  • Reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) test
  • Transcription-mediated amplification (TMA) test
  • Molecular test or molecular diagnostic test
  • Isothermal amplification
  • Droplet Digital PCR or digital droplet PCR (ddPCR)
  • Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)

Edited August 8, 2021 by Astro Flyer

[Jadn13]

Just now, barrykel said:

But the drive-through version of this test, given by Walgreens in a few states, is accepted, right?

Correct. It’s monitored. 

[Cruise Raider]

7 minutes ago, dreams_of_travel said:

It seems to me that someone (either Princess and/or drug store chains) are missing a big marketing opportunity here.  Making things easy for passengers would go a LONG way to boost sales IMO.  Partnering with another company would benefit both entities, too.  All the vague "this test but not that test" is confusing, and doesn't harbor good will either.   While personal test choice is good to have, being specific as to which is acceptable (ie: specific PCR or "specific named" antigen test)  would ease many passenger's mind.  I would not want to show up with a XYZ negative result to be denied boarding b/c it isn't the correct one.   

 

Furthermore, I don't understand why one of the drug store chains are not offering up one of the approved tests guaranteeing the results if tested on X day prior to the cruise.  It just seems like an all around missed chance to instill good feelings for all brands concerned.  YMMV

 

I read that one of the testing centers is partnered with NCL.  That would be great if Princess could do the same as that way, we wouldn't have questions as to the type of test that is chosen.  

 

[Jadn13]

2 minutes ago, gvre said:

So if I take it to my doctor and he does it they will accept it?

 

Check with your Dr. they may have tests they already offer. 
Otherwise I’m not sure since it says “manufacturer of the test” 

[Coral]

2 minutes ago, barrykel said:

But the drive-through version of this test, given by Walgreens in a few states, is accepted, right?

Yes - as you stay in the drive through the entire time. I did this almost a month ago. I thought I would pull over and do it and the pharmacy person said I had to stay in my car in the drive through. The pharmacy tech watched the entire time and then I put the swab back in the envelope and sent it back. I was closest to the pharmacy window when I did this.