Proctored Covid Tests Pre-Cruise

[CarolinaMamma]

I want to thank whoever shared this source for at-home proctored tests. I ordered mine Monday afternoon and received them today (Wednesday) morning. 
 

https://store.optum.com/shop/products/abbott-binaxNOW-COVID-19-ag-at-home-test-kit-2-pack

 

It is getting harder and harder to schedule tests as omicron blows up, so I think it’s a good idea for anyone who plans to cruise soon and wants proof of a negative test before the cruise, so that NCL will take care of them in the event that they test positive at the pier, to have some of these on hand. 

[vacation44]

Thank you for the link.  I just used it to order kits for our February cruise.   Even though we have a ton of options available for testing, you just never know now days.

[ChiefMateJRK]

Those look to be a great approach.  Hopefully if Covid hangs around longer they'll get some competition and the prices will come down.

[phillygwm]

I can also recommend Vault Health.  This is a proctored, saliva-based PCR test (if you've done Ancestry DNA, you know the drill.)  I used it before my cruise and had results in under 24 hours.  

[CarolinaMamma]

1 minute ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Those look to be a great approach.  Hopefully if Covid hangs around longer they'll get some competition and the prices will come down.

I wasn’t thrilled with $33 per test either, but where I live, it’s taking 3-5 days to get test results now, and it’s probably going to get worse. We are supposed to fly to Miami the day before our cruise, so it could be impossible to get results before we get on the plane and still be within NCL’’s 96-hour window.  I really want to have proof of a negative test, in case one of us tests positive at the pier.  

[TNcruising02]

I ordered some tests too and am thankful for the link.  My husband and I plan on testing the day before we fly to Florida.

[SplashOfWater]

You can also order a six-pack directly from eMed. 

 

https://www.emed.com/products/covid-at-home-testkit-six-pack

[milolii]

Remember with this test you are also paying for the proctor, so that will be more than test which don’t use personnel.  
 

Also, I forget but do you just sign in and then wait for the proctor to get online with you, or do you sign up for an appointment? 

Edited December 29, 2021 by milolii

[omyjamie]

CarolinaMamma, thank you so much! I am concerned of your exact scenario! 4-5 days for CVS PCR results (through Quest! :() and we are flying to miami the day before. Fingers crossed they get here by Monday, since we leave on tuesday! 🙂 My husband told me not to order them but I did anyways, because I woke up with a sore throat this morning.. it has since disappeared, so I am crossing my fingers it was just open mouth sleeping.

[numberguy]

2 minutes ago, SplashOfWater said:

You can also order a six-pack directly from eMed. 

 

https://www.emed.com/products/covid-at-home-testkit-six-pack

This is what we did before our November/December cruise to Greece and Italy.  We used them to get into Ireland (change planes) and Italy.  Later when we flew to Greece to get on the ship, a test wasn't required.  Then we tested the night before we got on the plane to come home form Italy (the very first day that the one-day restrictions kicked in), and that got us into England (change planes) and the US.

 

Then I used them to following weekend to test after I became sick, and I tested positive.  That allowed me to quarantine while I waited to get a lab test.  All recovered now!

 

--Michael

[numberguy]

3 minutes ago, milolii said:

Also, I forget but do you just sign in and then wait for the proctor to get online with you, or do you sign up for an appointment? 

With the tests from EMed, you just sign on and wait for the proctor.  I never waited more than five minutes, if that long.  But times might go up with increased testing.

 

--Michael

[SplashOfWater]

3 minutes ago, milolii said:

Remember with this test you are also paying for the proctor, so that will be more than test which don’t use personnel.  
 

Also, I forget but do you just sign in and then wait for the proctor to get online with you, or do you sign up for an appointment? 

You just create and account, sign in and wait for a proctor. The proctor was online within a couple of minutes.

[milolii]

Thanks @numberguyand @SplashOfWater  I was thinking the same thing, wait times may be a bit longer right now.  Just something to plan.  

[Turtles06]

Because NCL had been testing at the pier, there’s been little discussion in this forum of the BinaxNow proctored home tests. But there are tons of threads about them on the boards for Celebrity and other lines that have required guests to test two days before cruising. There are also plenty of videos showing the proctored test procedure if you want to watch one before doing it. Google it!

 

Also, if you just want to test yourself, without needing verified results for travel, you can simply do the test without the proctor, since you read the result yourself. This is useful with the current shortage of home test kits.  
 

Stay safe!

[sparkygirlfamily]

42 minutes ago, numberguy said:

With the tests from EMed, you just sign on and wait for the proctor.  I never waited more than five minutes, if that long.  But times might go up with increased testing.

 

--Michael

Thanks!  We were wondering about this piece as we will be testing before we board the plane for South America.  

 

[milolii]

Yes, great information @Turtles06  I think you may agree with my comments below but just wanted to clarify that to access some benefits, NCL does require a negative test before you reach the pier.  As of now anyway. 

 

I think the concern the OP has is the requirement for a  pre cruise negative proctored test within the NCL timeframe(96 hours), if the guest wants or asks NCL to cover possible quarantine related expenses.  Since she is flying to her cruise, that is a concern.  I guess someone who has their own car at the port and can drive home, it wouldn’t be a big concern.  Also, if your insurance covers this, it may not be a big concern either. 
 

My other thought is that rules change all the time.  So best to be prepared. 

[BennyBrun]

1 hour ago, phillygwm said:

I can also recommend Vault Health.  This is a proctored, saliva-based PCR test (if you've done Ancestry DNA, you know the drill.)  I used it before my cruise and had results in under 24 hours.  

Attention NJ resident for non traveling purpose and for piece of mind.  You can also order from Vault Health for a free at home test.  NON TRAVEL version as indicated at their website.

[phillygwm]

Just now, BennyBrun said:

Attention NJ resident for non traveling purpose and for piece of mind.  You can also order from Vault Health for a free at home test.  NON TRAVEL version as indicated at their website.

Yeah, and they're also running some in person testing sites in NJ.  But the version I used (proctored) IS valid for travel.

[BennyBrun]

Just now, phillygwm said:

Yeah, and they're also running some in person testing sites in NJ.  But the version I used (proctored) IS valid for travel.

The free version is also proctored too.  They did an article for NJ where one of the reporter ordered the free test and wrote about what to expect.  You can google it and read the article to see if that’s different than the proctored version.  BTW the free version for NJ for today is OOS.

[phillygwm]

4 minutes ago, BennyBrun said:

The free version is also proctored too.  They did an article for NJ where one of the reporter ordered the free test and wrote about what to expect.  You can google it and read the article to see if that’s different than the proctored version.  BTW the free version for NJ for today is OOS.

Interesting, did not know that the free version (which otherwise would seem to be the same) isn't valid for travel.

 

My cousin is one of the proctors so she hooked my friends and me up in advance of our cruise.  Whenever I can avoid a stick up my nose, I'm good 😁

[debnjoe1438]

4 hours ago, CarolinaMamma said:

I want to thank whoever shared this source for at-home proctored tests. I ordered mine Monday afternoon and received them today (Wednesday) morning. 
 

https://store.optum.com/shop/products/abbott-binaxNOW-COVID-19-ag-at-home-test-kit-2-pack

 

It is getting harder and harder to schedule tests as omicron blows up, so I think it’s a good idea for anyone who plans to cruise soon and wants proof of a negative test before the cruise, so that NCL will take care of them in the event that they test positive at the pier, to have some of these on hand. 

Thanks for posting the link. I have it book marked just in case.

[Java Lover]

I ordered a 6-pack from eMed and registered the three of us who will be traveling together. Can all three of us log in for a proctor and test together, or do we have to test separately?

Thanks!

[Laszlo]

The iHealth Covid test is highly recommend. I had ordered 50 for work two weeks ago and got them in three days. Looks to be about 5-7 days now. 

 

The below is home fast test, not proctored 

 

https://amzn.to/3mMse2r

 

 

 

.

Edited December 30, 2021 by Laszlo

[SplashOfWater]

1 hour ago, Java Lover said:

I ordered a 6-pack from eMed and registered the three of us who will be traveling together. Can all three of us log in for a proctor and test together, or do we have to test separately?

Thanks!

When my husband and I did the test for Royal earlier this month, we were told that we needed separate logins and had to do the test separately. Results were emailed separately. The proctor said that dependents can be done under the same login, but I think the testing has to be done separately. 

 

There are two parts to the test: 1) the actual test itself which is monitored by a proctor, and 2) after you let the swab and card sit for 15 minutes a new proctor comes online to review the results with you.

[dgreeney]

What is the expiration date for your tests? The Emed test I used last month expired in early February