Have the Testing Rules for Greece Ports Changed?

[pauldole]

There are a couple of strings on the Princess board of recent changes to the testing requirements for cruises visiting Greece.  The below is a lift from that board which is also on the Princess site with an update date of September 19.  Still not 100% and up for interpretation.  

Vaccination Status	Definition by Country's Health Authority	Pre-Travel Test Type & When to Take Test Before Boarding
		Age: 5 to 17	Age: 18 and Up
Fully Vaccinated 18 and above	At least 14 days past completion of a primary vaccine series and no more than 270 days (9 months) from the date of disembarkation since receiving the last dose of an approved COVID-19 vaccine. A booster dose is required for guests 18 and older if the last COVID-19 vaccine dose in series is older than 9 months (270 days) from the date of disembarkation.		Antigen within 2 days OR PCR within 3 days
Fully Vaccinated 5 to 17	Received primary series of COVID-19 vaccines with final dose at least 14 days before embarkation.	Antigen within 2 days OR PCR within 3 days
Not Fully Vaccinated*	Either not up to date or has not received a complete COVID-19 vaccine series. Please contact us to request a vaccination exemption to be presented upon embarkation.	Antigen within 2 days OR PCR within 3 days	Antigen within 2 days OR PCR within 3 days

*Kids 4 years of age and under are welcome to cruise and have no vaccination or test requirements. Minimum age to sail is 6 months or 12 months based on cruise itinerary, review Passage Contract for details.

Testing is required for all voyages departing from Athens, Greece. Tests must be conducted in-person by medical personnel and guests will need a physical letter with the negative results. Test results proctored by video are not accepted.

 

[Miaminice]

I don’t know what you are getting at but on first glance this reflects the Celebrity guidelines for all sailings including Greek ports after September 5th.

 

PLEASE NOTE:

• For all sailings visiting Greece, self-tests will not be accepted. Guests who are required to test must complete a supervised COVID-19 test from either an antigen test result taken within 2 days prior to boarding or a negative PCR test result taken within 3 days prior to boarding. The test must be supervised by a health professional, such as a doctor, pharmacy technician, public health worker, or telehealth representative. We are pleased to make supervised test kits available for order pre-cruise below. Fully-Vaccinated** Guests and Unvaccinated Guests may be subject to additional mid-cruise testing.

Edited September 21, 2022 by Miaminice

[dritan]

To answer your question - No - it hasn't changed and it's doing my head in 😉

 

I don't want to book tests until the end of Sept for our cruise on 17th.  We will be in Italy 3 days before the cruise. 

 

Would be nice if the daft rule about cruise over 9 days could be dropped too. 

[Miaminice]

9 hours ago, dritan said:

To answer your question - No - it hasn't changed and it's doing my head in 😉

 

I don't want to book tests until the end of Sept for our cruise on 17th.  We will be in Italy 3 days before the cruise. 

 

Would be nice if the daft rule about cruise over 9 days could be dropped too. 

It‘s really not a big problem… we will be sailing Oct 5 and we will be in Tuscany for a few days before sailing. Most pharmacies in Italy do testing. So we will stop at one to do the test…  that’s it.

[Maria63]

It looks like some cruise companies are recently giving out advice that, if taken literally, would mean that proctored tests are required for "up to date" (= full vaxx series + booster if original vaxx more than 270 days old) guests only when embarking in / departing from Greece. Meaning that if your cruise starts in for instance Athens you need a test, but if it starts in Italy or Spain but then visits Greek ports, you don't need a test. I think NCL have also updated their info to this effect. 

 

For me personally it's no big deal either way, but it is a bit of a hassle to get tested in a foreign country, and waiting for the result is an additional stress factor esp. if you are already abroad. The supervised online testing system is also, to my knowledge, not available in the EU. My DH & I have an upcoming situation where we are doing S2S in Barcelona, and if the requirement remains for cruises visiting Greece, it would mean that we have to schedule in a test in Barcelona on the same day we disembark one ship and embark on an other ship with another company - so we can't expect the ship we disembark from to handle the testing for us.

[Miaminice]

23 minutes ago, Maria63 said:

It looks like some cruise companies are recently giving out advice that, if taken literally, would mean that proctored tests are required for "up to date" (= full vaxx series + booster if original vaxx more than 270 days old) guests only when embarking in / departing from Greece. Meaning that if your cruise starts in for instance Athens you need a test, but if it starts in Italy or Spain but then visits Greek ports, you don't need a test. I think NCL have also updated their info to this effect. 

 

For me personally it's no big deal either way, but it is a bit of a hassle to get tested in a foreign country, and waiting for the result is an additional stress factor esp. if you are already abroad. The supervised online testing system is also, to my knowledge, not available in the EU. My DH & I have an upcoming situation where we are doing S2S in Barcelona, and if the requirement remains for cruises visiting Greece, it would mean that we have to schedule in a test in Barcelona on the same day we disembark one ship and embark on an other ship with another company - so we can't expect the ship we disembark from to handle the testing for us.

as long as you have wifi, the video testing also works just fine in Europe.

It is just more expensive.
In our case, since testing is widely available for low cost literally just around the corner, we don’t see the need to pay more. We will do it at a pharmacy.

Edited September 22, 2022 by Miaminice

[Maria63]

1 minute ago, Miaminice said:

as long as you have wifi, the video testing also works just fine in Europe.

It is just more expensive.
In our case, since testing is widely available for low cost literally just around the corner, we don’t see the need to pay more.

I asked about the video testing system at our local pharmacy in Finland before we left from home in late August, and they had never even heard about it and couldn't understand how it would work when I tried to explain it to them on the basis of what I had read about it on these forums. Do you know where in the EU one could buy this test, as it would be a good alternative for us?

[Miaminice]

1 hour ago, Maria63 said:

I asked about the video testing system at our local pharmacy in Finland before we left from home in late August, and they had never even heard about it and couldn't understand how it would work when I tried to explain it to them on the basis of what I had read about it on these forums. Do you know where in the EU one could buy this test, as it would be a good alternative for us?

The video test is not done at any location.

You buy the test kit, Celebrity also sell them, and them you connect to the company from any location - from home, your hotel room etc. 

Then you do the test while they watch you do it on video. In case of a negative test they send you a certificate by email and that´s it.

 

[Maria63]

2 minutes ago, Miaminice said:

The video test is not done at any location.

You buy the test kit, Celebrity also sell them, and them you connect to the company from any location - from home, your hotel room etc. 

Then you do the test while they watch you do it on video. In case of a negative test they send you a certificate by email and that´s it.

 

Thank you! We'll actually be on a Celebrity ship before embarking on our cruise that visits Greece, so I'll ask if they have these tests onboard for sale.

[Miaminice]

Just now, Maria63 said:

Thank you! We'll actually be on a Celebrity ship before embarking on our cruise that visits Greece, so I'll ask if they have these tests onboard for sale.

I do not think they have them on board, you can order them.

These are the ones Celebrity sell. But you might find different ones in Finland.

 

PRE-CRUISE Test Kit Resources for U.S. and UK Guests

Self-tests are now readily available in most drugstores and pharmacies.

Celebrity Cruises has also worked with its trusted vendors to make options for procuring supervised test kits available to you. We strongly recommend ordering test kits at least 7 days in advance of your sailing. These tests feature a certified guide who walks you through the testing steps.  

U.S. RESIDENTS ORDER HERE – ABBOTT BINAXNOW™

U.K. RESIDENTS ORDER HERE - PRENETICS™

 

[dritan]

My "doing my head in" was less about how to do the test, it's just the fact that you don't really feel at ease until you get those negative tests.  PLus if you are already abroad then that's an additional worry, plus the desire to isolate yourself before flying out.  

I have done it several times over the past year and find the proctored tests okay and relatively straightforward. 

[calicakes]

Currently on Reflection. Boarded Sept 16th. Self Proctered emed test in rome on the 14th.  Arrived in Corfu greece on the 16th. 

[Maria63]

Having tried to look into the video / proctored online test situation, it still looks to me like these tests are only available in the US and UK (don't know about Canada). Even though the EU accepts these tests, for some reason these do not seem to be available for purchase for EU-residents - or at least I have so far been unable to find any distributor who would ship into the EU.

 

Celebrity's partner only delivers to the US & UK, and Royal states specifically that the tests are not shipped internationally:

 

https://www.projectscreen.co.uk/travel-tests/celebrity-cruises/

 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/where-can-i-purchase-an-emed-kit

These telehealth test kits cannot be shipped internationally

[hrhdhd]

You don't need a telehealth test. You need a self test and an online appointment with a service that can proctor the test with you (e.g., OnPoint). You can't get a self test in Finland?

[terrydtx]

8 hours ago, Miaminice said:

It‘s really not a big problem… we will be sailing Oct 5 and we will be in Tuscany for a few days before sailing. Most pharmacies in Italy do testing. So we will stop at one to do the test…  that’s it.

Not totally correct. We were in Venice last month and there are currently only two Covid testing clinics on Venice Island that do testing, no pharmacies were doing them anymore as of our trip last month. One of the Venice locations was a testing clinic in St Marks Square and the other was near the Realto Bridge. We used the one in St Marks Square for our August 21 cruise, but you have to make an appointment online, you cannot just show up.

 

For our first Aug 5th cruise from Rome we were able to use a pharmacy near our Rome Hotel without an online appointment. You MUST take your passport with you for testing at any location in Rome or Venice. Our tests in Rome and Venice cost 22 Euros each and took about 15 minutes. The pharmacy we used in Rome said they were going to discontinue doing Covid tests as of Sept 1 as the need for testing in Rome had declined as the pandemic was lessoning there.

Edited September 22, 2022 by terrydtx

[Maria63]

12 minutes ago, hrhdhd said:

You don't need a telehealth test. You need a self test and an online appointment with a service that can proctor the test with you (e.g., OnPoint). You can't get a self test in Finland?

Yes, we do have self tests with us (we are currently traveling). I had thought that you have to buy a specific telehealth test kit for online testing. But it looks like OnPoint might actually work with any pharmacy bought tests - thank you very much for this info!🙂

[signe63]

2 hours ago, calicakes said:

Currently on Reflection. Boarded Sept 16th. Self Proctered emed test in rome on the 14th.  Arrived in Corfu greece on the 16th. 

Did anyone want to see your test results?

[terrydtx]

1 minute ago, signe63 said:

Did anyone want to see your test results?

On both of our Greek cruises last month, we were never asked for test results or vaccination status after we boarded the cruise ships.  We were told at a couple of Greek ports to have a copy of our vaccination cards with us in case we were asked to show it, which never happened. We kept a copy on our phones just in case.

[kebrown]

We just returned from a cruise on the Reflection that left out of Rome on 9-5-22 with 3 stops in Greece.  No one at the port in Rome asked to see our negative covid test results before we boarded the ship.  We were able to board the ship in Rome without ever showing our negative covid test results to anyone because no one asked to see them.

[RichYak]

21 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

On both of our Greek cruises last month, we were never asked for test results or vaccination status after we boarded the cruise ships.  We were told at a couple of Greek ports to have a copy of our vaccination cards with us in case we were asked to show it, which never happened. We kept a copy on our phones just in case.

What about during the boarding process? I think that's what the question earlier was referring to.

[terrydtx]

20 minutes ago, RichYak said:

What about during the boarding process? I think that's what the question earlier was referring to.

We had to have negative tests for both our Aug 5th and Aug 21st cruise taken 2 days before we boarded.

[calicakes]

1 hour ago, signe63 said:

Did anyone want to see your test results?

Yes.  I had to show a screen shot on my phone. 

[dritan]

HI

Just been looking at the main Greece ports part of this site and it appears that the Port of Piraeus dropped their testing requirement over the weekend - this was reported by those boarding there on Azamara.  Of course this is all still at the unofficial state and reported on here but I'm hoping that this will start to filter through to the official websites for our cruiselines.  It would be great to not have to do a proctored test for our upcoming cruise.

Definitely worth keeping an eye and ear open on this over the next few days. 

[drkoz23]

From the Celebrity website for leaving from Rome...

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/healthy-at-sea/italy-travel-requirements

 

Sailing Testing Requirements:

• Up-to-Date* Guests: 
  • For all sailings 9 nights or shorter, no pre-boarding testing is required. 
  • For all sailings 10 nights or longer, guests ages 12 and older must present a negative COVID-19 test result from a test taken within 3 days prior to boarding. Test results from any commercially available Rapid Antigen Test (RAT), including self-tests, will be accepted. Tests do not have to be supervised or proctored. Test results may be presented as a printout, screenshot or photo of the test result or the actual test. Antibody tests are not accepted.
• Fully Vaccinated** and Unvaccinated Guests: 
  • All guests ages 12 and older must present a negative COVID-19 test result from a test taken within 3 days prior to boarding. Test results from any commercially available Rapid Antigen Test (RAT), including self-tests, will be accepted. Tests do not have to be supervised or proctored. Test results may be presented as a printout, screenshot or photo of the test result or the actual test. Antibody tests are not accepted.

Please Note: Greece has removed its unique testing requirements as of Sept. 24, 2022. Please disregard any previously received communication with special instructions for sailings visiting Greece and follow the above guidelines.

[pauldole]

On 9/21/2022 at 2:13 PM, Miaminice said:

I don’t know what you are getting at but on first glance this reflects the Celebrity guidelines for all sailings including Greek ports after September 5th.

 

PLEASE NOTE:

• For all sailings visiting Greece, self-tests will not be accepted. Guests who are required to test must complete a supervised COVID-19 test from either an antigen test result taken within 2 days prior to boarding or a negative PCR test result taken within 3 days prior to boarding. The test must be supervised by a health professional, such as a doctor, pharmacy technician, public health worker, or telehealth representative. We are pleased to make supervised test kits available for order pre-cruise below. Fully-Vaccinated** Guests and Unvaccinated Guests may be subject to additional mid-cruise testing.

https://www.celebritycruises.com/healthy-at-sea/italy-travel-requirements