Surf vs Stream for Proctored Covid test

[CruisinNewb]

To fulfill the US requirement for Covid testing a day before our flights home we plan to purchase several monitored tests so we can test the night before while on the ship.

 

We already have the Surf internet package included. Does anyone know if that would have provide an adequate connection to do a monitored test?

 

Thanks.

[sydbarrett]

I thought Celebrity was offering testing for $55 per person on the last day.

[wrk2cruise]

They are not doing any testing for return travel onboard as any positive results puts them on the hook to report to authorities and for Europe sailings to provide quarantine assistance.

 

Any testing provided by Celebrity either for free or at a cost is after disembarkation.

[blackshirt]

On 5/19/2022 at 4:19 PM, CruisinNewb said:

Does anyone know if that would have provide an adequate connection to do a monitored test?

I do not know personally but all the other threads I’ve seen with a similar question say surf is not adequate for the proctored test. We plan to do our tests the morning we arrive using cellular rather than the ship’s WiFi.

[VitaminSea53]

6 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

They are not doing any testing for return travel onboard as any positive results puts them on the hook to report to authorities and for Europe sailings to provide quarantine assistance.

 

Any testing provided by Celebrity either for free or at a cost is after disembarkation.

AND the test "provided" or sold at disembarkation is the eMed test kit that requires you find WiFi to do the proctored test.  You are off the ship so the ship does not provide WiFi.

[the_dylaness]

Yes, I'll be self testing with cell phone data or perhaps purchasing one day of fancy internet to do our disembarkation tests.

[NutsAboutGolf]

Time of day makes a difference, generally 9pm or later works great.  Even on the day of disembarkation, the internet tends to get bogged down even at 5am.  Another part of the equation is what time you're getting of the ship because if it's very late morning then perhaps early morning would be okay.

[goldsmip115]

An important point that I never experienced before.  Just debarked last Friday in a Penthouse Suite on the Millenium.  Internet had been great on the entire 10 night cruise. Internet was essentially disconnected for everyone at 7am.  I noted at 5am that it was barely functional.  Gratefully I was not counting on testing early that morning or I would have been SOL.  I noted a number of unhappy passengers in the retreat lounge early on debarkation morning.

[Peteymil]

2 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Time of day makes a difference, generally 9pm or later works great.  Even on the day of disembarkation, the internet tends to get bogged down even at 5am.  Another part of the equation is what time you're getting of the ship because if it's very late morning then perhaps early morning would be okay.

Will try after 9pm. Otherwise will have to try cellular in the morning when we are near port. 

[Algebralovr]

The last couple of cruises I took, they said the internet package ended at 7am the morning we docked.  

I would not expect Surf to be sufficient to use the eMed test.  If you don't want to upgrade to Stream for the entire trip, then I would at least upgrade the last day, or pay for a one hour upgrade the last day.

 

If you are Select or better, you might be surprised at what the cost is to upgrade ahead of time if you call Cruise Enhancements.  I was QUITE surprised at the cost to upgrade from Surf to Stream and then to add a second device.  

[kcmo74]

3 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

They are not doing any testing for return travel onboard as any positive results puts them on the hook to report to authorities and for Europe sailings to provide quarantine assistance.

 

Any testing provided by Celebrity either for free or at a cost is after disembarkation.

Unless it's unvaccinated children, it says they will test them for free within the last 24 hrs before  returning to port in the US. At least that's what the website says.

[gotcha3]

13 hours ago, kcmo74 said:

Unless it's unvaccinated children, it says they will test them for free within the last 24 hrs before  returning to port in the US. At least that's what the website says.

I agree with you, but it seems from all reports so far, that Celebrity is basically kicking you off the ship. Maybe they hand you a test after disembarkation, maybe not. From reports THEY ARE NOT MAKING IT EASY to fly home to the US! At best it's deceptive advertising as they said they would actually test you for free if you booked prior to 16 Nov 22 and at worst, its a damn lie. For me, it puts all that 'we care about you rhetoric' in perspective.

[Jim_Iain]

18 hours ago, the_dylaness said:

Yes, I'll be self testing with cell phone data or perhaps purchasing one day of fancy internet to do our disembarkation tests.

Alternatively if you have Elite or above status you will probably have free Premium Minutes available.

[the_dylaness]

8 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Alternatively if you have Elite or above status you will probably have free Premium Minutes available.

Ah, I did not even think about that! We are Elite.  Good point!

[Two Boys Cruising]

On 5/20/2022 at 4:06 PM, goldsmip115 said:

An important point that I never experienced before.  Just debarked last Friday in a Penthouse Suite on the Millenium.  Internet had been great on the entire 10 night cruise. Internet was essentially disconnected for everyone at 7am.  I noted at 5am that it was barely functional.  Gratefully I was not counting on testing early that morning or I would have been SOL.  I noted a number of unhappy passengers in the retreat lounge early on debarkation morning.

Another point I have never experienced:  We had Stream for the entire cruise and for the first 8 or 9 days of the 11 days it was fine.  Because they give everyone in quarantine free internet and because we had a LOT of Covid on our sailing (Eclipse May 4 Hawaii to Vancouver), the last 2-3 days the internet even with Stream was painfully slow.  Another on our ship who was in quarantine with stream could not even complete a hotel booking to complete her quarantine on land because the connection kept timing out.  Just keep that in mind with your internet plans.