COVID-19 Testing Walkthrough. Worth it?

[CruiseMrB]

I have been thinking of doing a testing walk-through for my first cruise back. I would start the 2-day clock as appropriate, then go get the local test, wait for return, possibly have telemed appointment booked (not sure if possible prior to purchase).

 

1. Has anyone bothered with this?
2. If you did, was it useful?
3. If you did, would you suggest it?

 

We have some limitations:

• No pharmacies in state have Rapid Antigen, only PCR.
• Local heath department has Rapid Antigen, but no tests on Sunday.
• Our cruise is on Tuesday. Bad calendar. Turns it into 1 day local Rapid testing.

 

That last point is the thing that bothers me the most. One day and unknown result timing.

 

I will be getting the proctored at-home test to have around in any case. Ordering a 3-pack for 2 people.

 

So, am I overthinking this or properly paranoid?

 

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, CruiseMrB said:

 

So, am I overthinking this or properly paranoid?

The former. 

[DCPIV]

The eMed test is a fairly simple process. There are YouTube videos showing the process of you would like to see how it's done. You don't need to make an appointment for it. In fact, I don't believe you can. 

[deliver42]

If your cruise is on Tuesday. you can get the test on Saturday or Monday. The day of the cruise doesn't count. neither do the hours. If you test on Saturday, Sunday is day 1, and Monday is day 2.

[DCPIV]

15 minutes ago, deliver42 said:

If your cruise is on Tuesday. you can get the test on Saturday or Monday. The day of the cruise doesn't count. neither do the hours. If you test on Saturday, Sunday is day 1, and Monday is day 2.

 

Testing on Saturday would be to early. Sunday or Monday would work, as would Tuesday. 

 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/how-do-i-figure-out-when-to-get-pre-cruise-covid-19-test

[not-enough-cruising]

23 minutes ago, deliver42 said:

If your cruise is on Tuesday. you can get the test on Saturday or Monday. The day of the cruise doesn't count. neither do the hours. If you test on Saturday, Sunday is day 1, and Monday is day 2.

Nope, Saturday is too early for a Tuesday embarkation, Saturday, not Sunday, would be day one in your scenario

Edited November 7, 2021 by not-enough-cruising

[boscobeans]

6 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Nope, Saturday is too early for a Tuesday embarkation, Saturday, not Sunday, would be day one in your scenario

Had our PCR test done on Saturday for our Monday Cruise

 Had the test done at 10 am and was emailed the results at 8 pm.

[not-enough-cruising]

5 minutes ago, boscobeans said:

Had our PCR test done on Saturday for our Monday Cruise

 Had the test done at 10 am and was emailed the results at 8 pm.

And?

Saturday is the appropriate test day for a Monday cruise; it is not for a Tuesday cruise. 

[boscobeans]

5 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

And?

Saturday is the appropriate test day for a Monday cruise; it is not for a Tuesday cruise. 

Understood, just showing that some facilities may offer same day results and a Monday test would work out for the OP's cruise.

[not-enough-cruising]

23 minutes ago, boscobeans said:

Understood, just showing that some facilities may offer same day results and a Monday test would work out for the OP's cruise.

I see, sorry for the misunderstanding 

[Boo's Mom]

4 hours ago, CruiseMrB said:

I have been thinking of doing a testing walk-through for my first cruise back. I would start the 2-day clock as appropriate, then go get the local test, wait for return, possibly have telemed appointment booked (not sure if possible prior to purchase).

 

1. Has anyone bothered with this?
2. If you did, was it useful?
3. If you did, would you suggest it?

 

We have some limitations:

• No pharmacies in state have Rapid Antigen, only PCR.
• Local heath department has Rapid Antigen, but no tests on Sunday.
• Our cruise is on Tuesday. Bad calendar. Turns it into 1 day local Rapid testing.

 

That last point is the thing that bothers me the most. One day and unknown result timing.

 

I will be getting the proctored at-home test to have around in any case. Ordering a 3-pack for 2 people.

 

So, am I overthinking this or properly paranoid?

 

Just order the "at home" test kits. 

Do the tests at home or in your hotel room, 

They are easy (I just did mine this morning) and hassle free. 

Order more than you need so that you aren't worried about a damaged kit, etc. 

 

You can even do a test a week or so before the cruise (non-monitored) to give you the almost full assurance that you don't have Covid.  You will "waste" a test kit, but it may be worth it to give you peace of mind. 

[comfixit]

My suggestion if airfare is not involved just take the at home kit the 2 days before. If you test positive within 14 days of the cruise (including the day of) RCCL offers a 100% refund. So it would be a bummer but you get your money back and can rebook something else. Take a deep breath, its a pretty good policy and just be safe, you don't want to be on a cruise if you or anyone in your party may have Covid cause you don't want to be that person who ends up needing medical care that is unavailable at sea.

[goldengirl]

This is a.to of trouble and aggravation to go on a vacation. With these darn requirements

[DCPIV]

I'll just chime in and reiterate how simple this test is.  I logged in to my eMed account right about 38 minutes ago to take the test, and I already have my results printed out and ready to go.

[Oceansaway17]

1 hour ago, DCPIV said:

I'll just chime in and reiterate how simple this test is.  I logged in to my eMed account right about 38 minutes ago to take the test, and I already have my results printed out and ready to go.

 

 

glad to hear your bottle of liquid was not empty.  Some folks say their test was damaged in the mail.

I am hoping the newer batches they are making will be handled better.

Would be awful if the home test was defective too.

 

I keep waiting for another company to emerge and compete.  I rather wish the company was in America with folks who did not have an accent and hard to understand sometime..  Why do we have to have everything outsourced???

I am sure they are nice people, but having someone half way around the world looking at you on the camera seems a bit unnecessary when I am sure companies in own our country could also handle.

[twangster]

I had an eMed test kit where the strip was not glued on straight.  The reference stripe was almost outside of the window and at first they weren't going to certify the results but I was able to angle the kit enough so they saw enough of the test strip and agreed I was negative.  The point is some of these home test kits can be useless and you don't know until you go to use it.  Buy an extra one to have as a backup.

 

1 hour ago, Oceansaway17 said:

I rather wish the company was in America with folks who did not have an accent and hard to understand sometime..  Why do we have to have everything outsourced???

 

But then the test would cost $200 each.  😇

 

 

Edited November 9, 2021 by twangster