Rumor true: testing at port for everyone prior to boarding!

[janmcn]

At least here in San Diego, in addition to our 2-day prior Covid testing, they tested all of us at the port prior to boarding today.  Good idea IMO. Unfortunate for those who tested positive. 
 

 

[0106]

Wonder if this will happen in Ft Lauderdale?  And if you will still be required to have a test 48 hours prior to boarding?

[KirkNC]

24 minutes ago, 0106 said:

Wonder if this will happen in Ft Lauderdale?  And if you will still be required to have a test 48 hours prior to boarding?

Yea that would seem to make the 48 hour test irrelevant. 

[zelker]

It’s only for cruises to Hawaii, new requirement dropped on the cruise lines yesterday.  Same thing happened in San Francisco for Ruby Princess today.

[CruiserBruce]

12 minutes ago, zelker said:

It’s only for cruises to Hawaii, new requirement dropped on the cruise lines yesterday.  Same thing happened in San Francisco for Ruby Princess today.

Thank you. One experience doesn't make a trend or a policy.

[ksmaxey]

No testing at port Everglades today for anyone with a negative test

[DAllenTCY]

Here are the available options in my opinion:

 

          1.  Test everyone upon embarkation (currently required for Hawaiian Islands voyages)

 

           (Disney Cruises has tested every guest since cruises have resumed, with a very minimal impact upon boarding times.....and exceptionally few voyages affected with the virus)

 

          2.  Cancel all sailings from the US for 2 weeks

 

          (NCL has adopted this strategy)

 

          3.  Do nothing other than require 48-hr or less testing, including home testing.

 

Note.... 8 or more guests tested positive in San Diego today, even though they had negative results in recent days.

 

David

 

Edited January 17, 2022 by DAllenTCY

[Trapper44]

26 minutes ago, DAllenTCY said:

Here are the available options in my opinion:

 

          1.  Test everyone upon embarkation (currently required for Hawaiian Islands voyages)

 

           (Disney Cruises has tested every guest since cruises have resumed, with a very minimal impact upon boarding times.....and exceptionally few voyages affected with the virus)

 

          2.  Cancel all sailings from the US for 2 weeks

 

          (NCL has adopted this strategy)

 

          3.  Do nothing other than require 48-hr or less testing, including home testing.

 

Note.... 8 or more guests tested positive in San Diego today, even though they had negative results in recent days.

 

David

 

not sure if you know or if you can answer but if you have a scheduled test, at the pier, do you still need take a second test or is that one test enough?  

[DAllenTCY]

So far one test has been enough whether at the pier on the day of.... or 48-hrs prior.

 

However; tests are getting scarce and because so may become more expensive.

 

At the airport on Saturday.....no walk-ins....due to shortage of tests.....and $165 each for those with appointments.

 

David

[Trapper44]

15 minutes ago, DAllenTCY said:

So far one test has been enough whether at the pier on the day of.... or 48-hrs prior.

 

However; tests are getting scarce and because so may become more expensive.

 

At the airport on Saturday.....no walk-ins....due to shortage of tests.....and $165 each for those with appointments.

 

David

I should have said we are sailing on Feb 2nd on the Koningsdam to Hawaii. There were zero appointments, at CVS or Walgreen within 150 miles so I booked and paid for a test at the pier for both of us. Was wondering if I will need to take a second test within a few hours  time?

 

[janmcn]

Seems to be a HI only thing to be tested again at boarding…AND now we will also be tested again tomorrow…so that should pick up any “low load” Covid cases. If positive they’ll do the PCR test to confirm. 
 

[boatmad]

My DS boarded MSC ship in Port Canaveral yesterday.  New policy just begun for that line, of testing everyone before boarding.  Caused long delays getting on.

[esimon]

are people reimbursed for lost cruises do to False positives -  Im sure there are some

[Willard23]

On the Hawaii cruise now. They tested us all again today onboard. Marched thru deck 3 dining room and tested. Very quick.

[zelker]

18 minutes ago, Willard23 said:

On the Hawaii cruise now. They tested us all again today onboard. Marched thru deck 3 dining room and tested. Very quick.

Did you have to sequester somewhere until you got the results?

[dmcfad2]

2 hours ago, Willard23 said:

On the Hawaii cruise now. They tested us all again today onboard. Marched thru deck 3 dining room and tested. Very quick.

Why so many tests? Is this a Hawaii requirement or HAL?

[hapzfl]

On 1/17/2022 at 6:15 PM, boatmad said:

My DS boarded MSC ship in Port Canaveral yesterday.  New policy just begun for that line, of testing everyone before boarding.  Caused long delays getting on.

Policy begam 1/9/2022. We had it and it caused a 30 min delay for us.

[jhsocal]

David, thank you for your always helpful information. Suspect your option number 2 might be the most appropriate , although, very unpleasant for many people. Local newspaper said a million new cases in U.S. in just a week.

[LocoLoco1]

Sounds like ‘Whack a Mole’. 

[jeh10641]

This was my COVID testing saga in December for Rotterdam out of FLL.

 

 

THUMBS DOWN COVID 19 TESTING

     Before we embarked, we were going to spend several days visiting relatives across the state of Florida. That presented us with our first problem: How do we get tested for COVID 19 before the trip? HAL recommended QUEST DIAGNOSTICS through their health protocols on HAL’S website.

     Our boarding date was Wednesday, December 1, 2021. Our boarding time changed several times but finalized at 1 PM. We were happy with the time.  Our cousins had synchronized their boarding time with ours and were happy with the time.

     We booked a date/time for our COVID 19 test through QUEST DIAGNOSTICS.  It was on Monday November 29, 2021 at 10 AM at a Walmart drive through pharmacy in Boynton Beach on Military Trail. The night before we stayed in Port St. Lucie about a 90 minute drive from our testing site. We arrived 15 minutes early for our tests. As we sat in our car, a pharmacist supervised the testing process through the Drive Through window. We were done in about 15 minutes. We placed our test samples in the box indicated by the pharmacist. Before we left, I specifically asked the testing supervisor how long would it take to get our results. He said “24 to 48 hours”.  That meant about 10 AM on December 1, the day of our embarkation. I told him that was IMPORTANT as we taking a cruise on Wednesday. The timing was okay. This is where it all went wrong.

     Through my tablet and the hotel’s computer, I kept checking QUEST’s website and my email for written confirmation. I checked every couple of hours through Tuesday and into Wednesday morning. NO TEST RESULTS were available by 11 AM on Wednesday. Through Cruise Critic, I knew that if we had proof of testing but no results, HAL could test us at embarkation. The stress of not knowing if we would be able to board was palpable. I DO NOT ENDORSE OR RECOMMEND QUEST DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES FOR TESTING.

     Arriving at Port Everglades at Noon on December 1, we left our bags with a porter and entered the terminal. I explained our situation to the greeter at the entrance. She called over another staff member who escorted us to an area for testing. We took our tests and went to a waiting area. After 15 minutes, our name was called and we were given our test results. NEGATIVE!!!! We then were allowed to board.

     My wife finally got her test results Thursday December 2, 2021 when we were on our second day at sea. On Friday, I received a note that QUEST DIAGNOSTICS COULD NOT FIND MY RESULTS!

 

Jim

[cruzin4us]

38 minutes ago, jeh10641 said:

This was my COVID testing saga in December for Rotterdam out of FLL.

 

 

THUMBS DOWN COVID 19 TESTING

     Before we embarked, we were going to spend several days visiting relatives across the state of Florida. That presented us with our first problem: How do we get tested for COVID 19 before the trip? HAL recommended QUEST DIAGNOSTICS through their health protocols on HAL’S website.

     Our boarding date was Wednesday, December 1, 2021. Our boarding time changed several times but finalized at 1 PM. We were happy with the time.  Our cousins had synchronized their boarding time with ours and were happy with the time.

     We booked a date/time for our COVID 19 test through QUEST DIAGNOSTICS.  It was on Monday November 29, 2021 at 10 AM at a Walmart drive through pharmacy in Boynton Beach on Military Trail. The night before we stayed in Port St. Lucie about a 90 minute drive from our testing site. We arrived 15 minutes early for our tests. As we sat in our car, a pharmacist supervised the testing process through the Drive Through window. We were done in about 15 minutes. We placed our test samples in the box indicated by the pharmacist. Before we left, I specifically asked the testing supervisor how long would it take to get our results. He said “24 to 48 hours”.  That meant about 10 AM on December 1, the day of our embarkation. I told him that was IMPORTANT as we taking a cruise on Wednesday. The timing was okay. This is where it all went wrong.

     Through my tablet and the hotel’s computer, I kept checking QUEST’s website and my email for written confirmation. I checked every couple of hours through Tuesday and into Wednesday morning. NO TEST RESULTS were available by 11 AM on Wednesday. Through Cruise Critic, I knew that if we had proof of testing but no results, HAL could test us at embarkation. The stress of not knowing if we would be able to board was palpable. I DO NOT ENDORSE OR RECOMMEND QUEST DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES FOR TESTING.

     Arriving at Port Everglades at Noon on December 1, we left our bags with a porter and entered the terminal. I explained our situation to the greeter at the entrance. She called over another staff member who escorted us to an area for testing. We took our tests and went to a waiting area. After 15 minutes, our name was called and we were given our test results. NEGATIVE!!!! We then were allowed to board.

     My wife finally got her test results Thursday December 2, 2021 when we were on our second day at sea. On Friday, I received a note that QUEST DIAGNOSTICS COULD NOT FIND MY RESULTS!

 

Jim

For the reason(s) you described, this is the reason I did the at home medically supervised test offered thru EMED....simple to do, took all the stress out of waiting for my results.

[Ninebark North]

Does anyone know if the 48 hours prior test is exact time or not for HAL at PE? I have a test scheduled for 9am on 3/18 but will not be boarding until the afternoon of 3/20. Thanks in advance...

[Crew News]

7 minutes ago, Ninebark North said:

Does anyone know if the 48 hours prior test is exact time or not for HAL at PE? I have a test scheduled for 9am on 3/18 but will not be boarding until the afternoon of 3/20. Thanks in advance...

It is not measured in hours but in days.  You will be fine.  I recommend Lab+Doctor across the street from Embassy Suites.  Walk-in only $49/test with results in 20 minutes.

Edited January 21, 2022 by Crew News

[CruiserBruce]

6 minutes ago, Ninebark North said:

Does anyone know if the 48 hours prior test is exact time or not for HAL at PE? I have a test scheduled for 9am on 3/18 but will not be boarding until the afternoon of 3/20. Thanks in advance...

As frequently discussed here, it's TWO DAYS before. So if you are sailing Sunday, you can test anytime after 12:01am on Friday.