Rccl now requires a covid19 test within 2 days of sailing!

[brookmill18]

1 hour ago, steveru621 said:

I can't be the only one that doesn't know what 2 days mean?  48 hours before sail time?  If I'm leaving on October 1st, that mean I need to get tested on 09/29 or 09/30?  Does the time of day matter?

 

This is so stressful.  Losing $10,000 on a cruise is not on my radar.

I think you live in MA? For anyone who lives in MA, there are 4 state testing sites run by Project Beacon. You have to be a MA resident but they are free and we have used many many times over the last 15 months--PCR test with results back under 24 hours. They are amazing. Maybe things could change, but this has been our experience many times and as recently as 4 weeks ago. You may have to drive a bit to find a site open on the day you need it, at least one site is open every day of the week. Good luck!

[Sea Dog]

8 minutes ago, FPP777 said:

It shows basically all tests are extended 3 months. This has also been discussed ad nauseam on other threads.  

Sorry it’s hard to keep up with all these threads. I just now confirmed through eMed that indeed as you said the tests have been extended 3 months. My 10-5-21 is now good till 1-5-21 which covers my testing date of 11-5-21. Thank you to everyone for their help. With multiple threads on this topic it would be nice to merge and even get a fact based FAQ page also.

[disneylover89]

2 hours ago, CruiseBride926 said:

So every part of this goes into effect on the 13th? We sail on the 12th and have rapid tests booked for the kids.

Are rapid tests allowed for kids under 12?  I thought they weren't.

[Slidell_Cruiser]

I’m a TA with a limited older client base….with this announcement I now have 12 bookings the guests want cancellations and REFUNDS, Plus I will NOT play cruise roulette with multiple Trans Atlantic’s planned next year and a B2B2B from Amsterdam in July.

I’m sure many cruisers will go no matter what and good for you, but based on my small sample size, RC will have no issues with capacity but ARE having issues with bookings.

RC just announcing a Travel Agent Bonus commission booster for booking in September.

Good luck with that.

If this is the new normal, I’m selling my RC stock.

Stay Safe all.

Edited September 3, 2021 by Slidell_Cruiser

[RFerrington]

6 minutes ago, disneylover89 said:

Are rapid tests allowed for kids under 12?  I thought they weren't.

No

[RedIguana]

36 minutes ago, nelblu said:

Just curious, do the tests really spell out "negative" results.  I've taken some 5 tests, including one this Thursday, and they all say "not detected." 

 

It further states "A not detected result means that SARS-Cov-2 RNA was not present in the specimen above the limit of detection."

 

Plus a litany of disclaimers.

 

Laboratory tests cannot prove a negative. What they are designed to do is identify an analyte (in this case covid particles) that is present in great enough numbers to be positively identified above a background concentration, usually with a 95% confidence interval that the analyte in question is present. This is typically called the detection limit, or limit of detection.

Lets say you set your kitchen sink faucet to drip at 10 drops a minute. Pretty much anytime you check that sink your can tell it is wet. you know the faucet is dripping. This would be a positive.

Now set the faucet to drip at 1 drop an hour. Most of the time you would not see the sink being wet, as the 1 drop per hour will evaporate pretty quickly. this would be a case of the result being there, but under the detection limit. In reality, you cannot determine whether your faucet is dripping very slowly, or not dripping at all. So it is not negative, it is not detected.

An indeterminate result would be the case where you were not sure if the sink was wet or not. This would probably listed as non-conclusive, and require a retest.

 

I'm just a Lab Rat (environmental, not medical, but this holds for almost every lab test)  trying to put this in easy to understand terms 🙂

[ONECRUISER]

3 hours ago, fenton04 said:

Wow talk about cutting it close. We know these are crazy times.  But seems to get harder to try to have some relaxing vacations.  

Yeah, with traveling 3 days was cutting it close for me

 

[CruiseBride926]

16 minutes ago, RFerrington said:

No

Not the at home ones. I’m talking about the rapid test like the ones they give at the port. Those have been accepted and now won’t be.

[Sunshine3601]

1 hour ago, rj59 said:

So Richard Fain did a grand speech about how combating Delta is like the Battle of the Bulge, where everybody has to come together and act heroically and sacrifice. NCL is testing everyone for free. Carnival and its brands are setting up backup testing at the port for assurance, and Princess will give a FCC or refund if you don't have results in time. RCL is...sending out a link to order home tests. If this is the Battle of the Bulge, then RCL is Switzerland, neutral and letting everyone else fight on the front lines to help them survive. Way to step up and be an industry leader and allow frightened, stressed passengers to cruise with confidence. I was inspired by his previous videos, but now it just seems he's a self-serving BS artist. 

Wouldnt you much rather take a test at home online thru emed 2 days before your cruise then arrive all packed and ready to board to find out you cannot if you test positive.    Plus it helps keep people from traveling and spreading virus if they test at home.  

[CruiseBride926]

24 minutes ago, disneylover89 said:

Are rapid tests allowed for kids under 12?  I thought they weren't.

The pharmacy given ones were. They’re just not switching over to pcr being mandatory just not sure if that’s as of the 13th or immediately.

[ticketsunlimited]

42 minutes ago, karen1821 said:

I just ordered the 6 pack and was wondering since I am only using 2, could I give 2 of them to my daughter who isn't going until 2 weeks after me for her cruise. I am assuming as long as she downloads the app on her phone it should be fine.

Yes that will be fine.  6 different people can use 6 different tests anytime before the expiration. They will all just have to register and download the NAVICA app for testing.

[mac_tlc]

1 hour ago, Lou33 said:

 

No, it never was accepted.

 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/if-need-an-rt-pcr-test-before-i-cruise-where-should-i-go

This is completely wrong. We sailed the Allure on 8/15 and all 8 of us got the rapid antigen test at CVS three days prior and Royal did indeed accept them and we had a wonderful time on a ship with 1500 passengers.

mac_tlc

[mac_tlc]

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

Thank you, thank you. I am doing CVS this next week and dont want to learn how to emed a test.

 

Yes here in texas it's a drive thru test they give, wait in your car for results. I'd give you more hearts if I could.

We had no problem with getting the rapid antigen test administered at CVS and it was OK with Royal. And they must have asked for the paperwork there or four times.
 

mac_tlc

Edited September 4, 2021 by mac_tlc

[h20skibum]

3 hours ago, shutterbug63 said:

Well, that's just great. That means we'll have to try to find a place to get tested in Florida if the policy holds for our cruise that leaves January 2.

I certainly hope this changes by then.  We are also sailing on January 2.  That means we will need to test on New Year day, or New Year’s Eve.  Will they even have staffing on those days to monitor the tests?  
 

I wonder if alcohol affects these tests.  I assume there may be some involved on those dates.

[dianajo67]

1 hour ago, Sea Dog said:

So I’m looking at our kits and there is a date by the QR Code that says 2021-10-05. I take it this is the expiration date but I’ve heard that date is extended. I would take my test 11-05-21. Will this test be good or expired?

I have the exact same expiration on the box…have a letter from abbot extending to 5 Jan 22.  Can’t get it to attach.  Lot # ends in 804c for my tests.  Edit…just saw someone posted attachment earlier.

Edited September 4, 2021 by dianajo67

[firefly333]

15 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Wouldnt you much rather take a test at home online thru emed 2 days before your cruise then arrive all packed and ready to board to find out you cannot if you test positive.    Plus it helps keep people from traveling and spreading virus if they test at home.  

Actually makes no difference. My hotel is nonrefundable so I'll go to the Galveston beach no matter what. I've moved parking 3 times, not sure they will move it again. 

 

I'm pretty much set in stone to going .. others might be like me. I do hope to have my test before I leave home. But I'm going. 

[mac_tlc]

36 minutes ago, disneylover89 said:

Are rapid tests allowed for kids under 12?  I thought they weren't.

As someone who just sailed with two grandkids 9 and 3, this change is a big complication. When we sailed on 8/15, six of our party of 8 (including the kids) were already in Florida when Royal announced the testing requirement. We scheduled 6 rapid tests at CVS around Orlando for 8/12. The other two in our party got their rapid antigen tests at a CVS in CT on 8/13 before they flew down on 8/14. 
 

Now, we would have needed to get a PCR test for the kids no later earlier than 8/12 and probably a rapid antigen test for the other 6 of us no earlier than 8/13. And hope the PCR test come back on time. Much bigger hoop to jump through and a bit more complicated. 
 

mac_tlc

[Lou33]

4 minutes ago, mac_tlc said:

This is completely wrong. We sailed the Allure on 8/15 and all 8 of us got the rapid antigen test at CVS three days prior and Royal did indeed accept them and we had a wonderful time on a ship with 1500 passengers.

mac_tlc

It's not completely wrong.  CVS sells an over the counter BinaxNow self test.  This is not accepted by RCI unless it is monitored and documented by the CVS pharmacy staff.  Our local CVS will only administer the PCR test and they will not monitor the BinaxNow test.  But other's may.  

[Sunshine3601]

37 minutes ago, mac_tlc said:

This is completely wrong. We sailed the Allure on 8/15 and all 8 of us got the rapid antigen test at CVS three days prior and Royal did indeed accept them and we had a wonderful time on a ship with 1500 passengers.

mac_tlc

Yes, royal has and will still accept an rapid antigen test done by Cvs, walgreens, riteaid, urgent call, etc etc.

Happy to hear you had a wonderful cruise!

[Sunshine3601]

52 minutes ago, CruiseBride926 said:

Not the at home ones. I’m talking about the rapid test like the ones they give at the port. Those have been accepted and now won’t be.

Go to page 1 post #8 of this thread.  This is copy of email from royal.  

[DallasGuy75219]

2 hours ago, nelblu said:

50% Paxs capacity may be the norm, until things get better and protocols are eased.  Thank God I'm on Oasis Sept. 5 and just received the e-mails with my PCR results.

 

Does anyone know the science/stats between the 3 vs the 2 days.  

After you're infected with COVID the virus takes a while to replicate enough for there to be enough virus to register a positive test result.  The more days before a cruise you are tested, less likely you are to test positive even if you're already infected. 

 

So let's say you got infected 4 days before your cruise.  Getting tested 3 vs. 2 days before the cruise could be the difference between the virus having replicated enough to test negative vs. positive.

[B113]

11 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

After you're infected with COVID the virus takes a while to replicate enough for there to be enough virus to register a positive test result.  The more days before a cruise you are tested, less likely you are to test positive even if you're already infected. 

 

So let's say you got infected 4 days before your cruise.  Getting tested 3 vs. 2 days before the cruise could be the difference between the virus having replicated enough to test negative vs. positive.

I hadCovid last November with the contact being my granddaughter. I was swabbed twice and it took 5 days for me to check positive so what good does 2 or 3 days out do. 

[Tinkbelle87]

3 minutes ago, B113 said:

I hadCovid last November with the contact being my granddaughter. I was swabbed twice and it took 5 days for me to check positive so what good does 2 or 3 days out do. 

It may not catch everyone but it will catch some. I think that's the point. 

[Lou33]

1 minute ago, B113 said:

I hadCovid last November with the contact being my granddaughter. I was swabbed twice and it took 5 days for me to check positive so what good does 2 or 3 days out do. 

 

For your first test you may not have built up enough viral load to show a positive result, so they did a second test as a backup.  Maybe your first test was 3 days after contact, and your second was 5 days after contact?   So it's possible that you could have tested positive after 4 days.

 

Cut and paste from DallasGuy post, but changed one number:

 

So let's say you got infected 6 days before your cruise.  Getting tested 3 vs. 2 days before the cruise could be the difference between the virus having replicated enough to test negative vs. positive.

[DallasGuy75219]

30 minutes ago, B113 said:

I hadCovid last November with the contact being my granddaughter. I was swabbed twice and it took 5 days for me to check positive so what good does 2 or 3 days out do. 

🙄🙄🙄

 

Must you be so literal? The point is the closer to the cruise you're required to test, the more likely someone already infected, who would other bring the virus on the cruise, will test positive.

Edited September 4, 2021 by DallasGuy75219