K_e_short

Found proof on the Book of Faces that it is accepted.

I have proof that someone has used the Switch Health Antigen Test to board a Carnival Cruise ship.

There is a Book of Faces Canadian Carnival Cruise Line group.

1 hour ago, Fouremco said:

The FDA's list of EUA approved Antigen tests does not include Switch Health's test kit. As Carnival requires FDA approval, you may well be out of luck. Call Celebrity.

So my question is why would the Switch Health antigen test be acceptable to fly into the U.S., but not acceptable to board a cruise ship?

1 minute ago, Fouremco said:

The FDA has granted an EUA for the Lucira RT-LAMP test kit sold by Switch Health, but not for the Rapid Antigen test. That's why the box makes no mention of an approval. You could use the RT-LAMP test, but  at almost 4 times the price for a single test, there may be better alternatives. 

When Switch Health first came out with the testing I emailed them, along with a few others.

They were clear that the antigen tests were approved and could be used for travel.

I gambled alot on my NYE cruise.

I got an offer as the cruise was over and have kept checking.

I noticed today the same awesome offer.

As others have mentioned on here the offers make no sense whatsoever.

But cruising for almost free is totally worth it 🙂

28 minutes ago, Dr. Pam said:

I only hope that everyone would do the right thing!  Unfortunately, I do believe that COVID fatigue and the folks ("that I am going to get it anyway") may lead to the increasing numbers of the coming wave. 

I think for the most part people are doing the right thing and travellers specifically are doing the right thing. We all have to be vaccinated to fly within Canada, fly to the U.S., and to cruise. I'd like to think the crazies who don't want to get vaccinated are more likely to do whats good for them, and not for society in general.

 Covid is not spreading because of travel. The statistics show that. An article posted here showed the very low number of positive arrival tests.

I was on the Mardi Gras for NYE.

The ship is so big I think it's more important where your room is, as opposed to what type.

I'm sure you know that the rooms are way narrower then most ships. If an Ocean Suite is wider then it is totally worth the price.

Enjoy the ship.

3 hours ago, bortman23 said:

 

The government allows people who've tested positive on a PCR test, to use that test while traveling so they can return to Canada without having to take a PCR test. I think it's currently allowed from 14 days after infection, to 180 days. 

 

My concern is someone like me, who recently recovered from covid, but doesn't have access to a PCR test due to government restrictions.

 

So I could buy one now, which is doable. But my concern (or lack of understanding) is what if I purchase one now, take the test and it's negative. Which is great, but is there a chance I could test positive on a PCR test when returning to Canada (eg the PCR test picks up some of the genetic material the at home one missed)?

 

It really only an issue for someone (like me) who's recovered from covid, couldn't access a PCR test now, but would like to travel in the coming months.

 

Hopefully I'm explaining myself well lol

Buy an at home PCR test and get results.

As others have said you either test positive and have proof for future trips.

Or test negative and don't have to worry about testing positive when you travel next.

1 hour ago, Fouremco said:

You read that post here, but there have been many other posts from people who were tested aboard and experienced no similar issue with CBSA. It sound very much like the CBSA official in question simply didn't understand the rules. I really don't think that Celebrity or any of the other lines changed the testing location to facilitate re-entry to Canada.

 

I think that it's simply part of Celebrity walking away from testing. At first it was free testing aboard, then it shifted to free testing aboard for those who booked before November 16, then shifted off the ship. Soon it will be everyone pays, off the ship, leading very probably to no Celebrity testing and passengers having to find a testing facility on their own.

 

If I remember correctly the confusion comes from the fact that if you are flying into Canada the PCR test can happen in any country but if you are driving into Canada the test had to be done in the U.S.

I can't find that on the government website right now but I know they keep updating things.

The rules have changed so much I'm getting confused.

1 hour ago, bortman23 said:

 

My concern is now that we've had Covid and recovered, if we order a $150 test (either via Switch or other) is it possible to test negative now (via a test we purchase) and then in a month when we travel, end up showing positive on a PCR test to return to Canada? 

 

I know it's not ideal, but Manulife offers Covid quarantine travel insurance. So in the event that you test positive on your return they will cover the cost of a hotel until you test negative. This won't work for everyone, but it's a least some piece of mind for those that can work remotely (in the event they get stuck)

I'm a bit confused.. Are you thinking the positive test when you return to Canada would be from your initial Covid infection?

Or are you worried that you could get Covid again, and without the initial positive test have to jump through all the hoops of testing positive in the states?

You can order a LAMP test, from Switch Health, which is similar to a PCR test. They don't just sell antigen tests.

21 minutes ago, bookbabe said:

The article is not a year old.  It’s dated from November 11, 2021, which is only two months ago.

It is absolutely true.  I and many others have used the free Walgreens Rapid ID Now tests as recently as last week.   Easy, quick results, free even for Canadians and definitely suitable to return to Canada from the US.  
 

I don’t know why you insist on trying to convince people to pay hundreds of dollars for tests when they don’t have to, but you are welcome to pay that extra money if you want, I guess.  But I won’t be paying it.

If you can save money on testing go for it.

I think Covid has taught us that we need a Plan B, C, etc. to travel.

Book the free test, but it's important to understand that many people have had to re arrange their travel plans when Plan A, the free test, falls through.

On 1/13/2022 at 10:28 AM, TravelBluebird said:

 

Thank you for that report; I have a Mardi Gras cruise end of February and I was hoping to get more details of what happens if you are quarantined on that ship.  I’m in an Ocean Suite for that cruise, so I would be extremely upset if I were to have to quarantine in an inside cabin (I never cruise in an inside cabin due to a touch of claustrophobia).  

You will be moved. They are not going to keep anyone with a balcony or suite in their rooms.

If that is a deal breaker you should re schedule.

I was on the NYE Mardi Gras cruise and lots of people tested positive. I know that because I was part of 3 different roll calls.

A  lot of people tested positive before cruising, they had no symptoms. I can't imagine the number of people who were positive but it just didn't get picked up on their pre cruise antigen.

I know of a few Canadians who tested positive and had issues getting home. For one family it was a huge shock when they realized the restrictions.

I also know that many people tested when they got home and either they no symptoms, or mild symptoms.

My son and I did not test positive and I believe it was vaccines doing it's thing, or just pure luck. I was in close contact with a lot of people at the pool, at the bars, unmasked. I was in elevators with people unmasked. I only wore a cloth mask.

I took the risk and it worked for me.

It doesn't work for everyone.

On 1/13/2022 at 9:42 AM, kafraser78 said:

 

My family and I were on the Mardi Gras NYE Cruise.  ....

That was our story and we never want to go through this again.

 🙂

 

i just saw your post now. I was on the same cruise.

There were a lot of positive cases on board, including at least 3 Canadian families who tested positive either on the 1st as they had unvaccinated children, or on the 2nd when they tried to fly home.

I am very sorry that you tested positive but I am happy to hear that you have recovered.

I wish more people would read your post and clearly understand the protocols in place when you test positive. Carnival did everything right in that situation to keep the other cruisers safe.

It sounds like you were not prepared for what would happen if you tested positive on the ship.

Hopefully others will understand the risks, and consequences.

Smart idea to cancel your March B2B. On two other social media sites for cruising most Canadians are cancelling as things are to up in the air with returning to Canada, and that isn't even considering what happens when you test positive while on the cruise.

6 minutes ago, Encore37 said:

 

I wasn't aware that the staff at the ports don't work for the cruise lines.  Thanks for the info!

If you go to the Carnival website and read up on the requirements for the at home proctored onine test. 

And then go to the Switch Health website and read up on that info you will see that it is acceptable.

Another thing to add is are you using that test to only board the ship, or are you using it to fly into the U.S.?

If the test can be used to fly into the U.S. it can be used to board a cruise ship.

It is the CDC that made the rules of needing an antigen test within a day of flying into the U.S. and they are the same group that made the rule that an antigen test is needed within a day to board a cruise ship.

When you go on the Switch Health website it clearly says that it is approved to enter the U.S. and Air Canada would be stupid to offer a product that would not allow them customers to fly on their planes.

6 minutes ago, casey95 said:

I haven't found anyone mentioning Carnival and Switch Health either. I'm tempted to order and give it a try but I'd love to hear from someone confirming Carnival accept this one.

Every cruise line accepts the same tests. In the beginning there was so inconsistencies with vaccine requirements, but there has never been changes with testing requirements.

The tests are checked by port staff, who don't work for the cruise line, but for the specific ports.

Every port has multiple cruiselines and thus the staff that are checking your vaccines and test results are using the same rules as every other cruise line.

5 minutes ago, Encore37 said:

 

I looked through the topics on first two pages of this forum and haven't seen anything relating to boarding Carnival with the Switch Health at home Antigen tests.  Can you post the link?

I used to have a travel agent but I got frustrated because other then booking flights or other things, I didn't really get a lot more information.

I like to plan and I found I was doing a lot of work to make sure my vacation was successful.

So for example I used a travel agent to book my first cruise in March of 2018. She booked our cruise and a hotel before and after our cruise.

I still had to book a shuttle to and from airport to hotel. I had to buy tickets to the Kennedy Space Center. I had to look up piles of info about our cruise, including how the drink package worked (it was not a good deal), how to check in. We also had probably the worse cabin ever. It was on Deck 2, forward. There was grinding/thumping sounds every night and because the ship was full we were stuck 😞

In March of 2020 when I had to cancel our California Trip I was happy that she dealt with cancelling the flights, but now most companies have gotten way better at CS.

I just cancelled my March Break trip and just went online and filled out a form. I got an email confirmation 24 hours later.

We need to hear about someone crossing over after January 10th, which is the last time the government website was updated.

Everyone who travellers over Christmas (me included) were running with the website that said NOTHING about a fine.

When you are on the government website you can scroll to the bottom to see when it was updated.

As useful as experiences over the holidays are, we need to remember that the official rules changed on January 10th.

Yes

Many people on here have used it succssfully.

i suggest you scroll through the many topics that have been started already as I'm sure you will find very detailed answers to your question.

I posted something similar to Twitter yesterday.

There is definitely a disconnect.

The issue is that those that want to travel will do it no matter what.

We are not getting sympathy from non travellers as they see us as demanding and entitled.

Federal rules make assumptions on ability to access testing, both prior to flying home, and for those that test positive prior to travel.

I think we can all agree that the science has changed, and that it's difficult to "buy in" to the rules and procedures we all want to follow, as good Canadians.

On 1/13/2022 at 10:32 AM, cmukid87 said:

The inflatable pool is the best idea.  We also brought one of those for our young ones to sit, play, and splash around in when we were out on the Lido deck.

I'm not sure how busy you think the Lido Deck Pool is.. but.. there is probably not enough room for that.

I'm sure many would be annoyed if you are taking up so much space with a little kiddie pool.

Have you seen how people react when they don't get their preferred deck chair?
 

7 hours ago, broberts said:

 

Sorry, can't read the pages. But I did locate the explanation for entering Canada vis-a-vis COVID, https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/covid-vaccinated-travellers-entering-canada#entry-vaccinated. The part I think relevant is in the pre-entry testing section:

 

"You must provide proof of a COVID-19 negative molecular test result to enter Canada OR proof of a previous positive test result taken between 15 and 180 days ago (starting January 15, 2022, between 11 and 180 days ago)."

 

Notice use of the word "must" as it relates to "negative molecular test". I suspect the thinking is that a positive test less than 11 days old is not material, i.e. it is ignored. And thus the correct documents are not presented which is a violation subject to the fine.

 

It's a terrible policy. Consider an asymptomatic short stay visiting an ailing relative or attending a funeral. 

 

The screen shots explained that the fines are for not quarantining, not using the ArriveCan app. having a fake test, and lying to border officials.

The person was proving that the $5000 is not for crossing with a positive test, but for other reasons.

And yes I agree it's a horrible policy. I retweeted on Twitter the news article about arrival testing. I stated that its very mixed messaging.

Either we are in a pandemic with a deadly virus and we need to stay home, stay away from others OR

everyone is going to be exposed to it, testing doesn't matter, tracking doesn't matter, and everything is open just with masks.

9 hours ago, jsglow said:

D@mn Katie.  Helluva story.  We ever sail together and I owe you a Labatts.

Hey OP, you see this?  Even Katie will say 'Don't be Katie.'

To clarify for a few that have asked questions.

1 - I could have flown out on Christmas Day. But I had to be home for Christmas dinner. I didn't look specifically but normally there are 2-4 flights  a day to Orlando on the different airlines. I did have options

2 - In regards to the shuttle. If I had booked with Fly2Fun and my flight was delayed Carnival would have had to wait and get me to the port, so the shuttle would have left that late.

3 - The flight was scheduled to arrive at 11:35am, which would have been enough time.

As I said before I took the chance and was lucky. The OP can do the same, or decide the risk isn't worth it.

1 hour ago, broberts said:

 

Was a link provided?

It was the travel.gc website.

She posted screen shots that I have attached to this post.

I have tried to find where on the website but couldn't.

2 hours ago, jsglow said:

Do tell K_e.  I wanna hear the full story!!

I was on the Mardi Gras cruise leaving Port Canaveral on Dec 26th.

I had to fly out that day as I could not be away for Christmas.

My flight was supposed to leave 815am, land in Orlando at 11:35am, shuttle pick up at 12:30pm, giving me a lot of tme to get to the port since the final boarding was 3:00pm.

We got into the plane, put on our seatbelts and then Orlando called our pilots and said "bad weather" (to explain there was no bad weather but I'm convinced the lack staff made them decide they wouldn't let us take off since they couldn't take us when we landed).

I sat at the Ottawa airport and after freaking out a bit decided that we'd get on the plane no matter what and if we missed the ship we'd spend a week in Orlando. We looked up car rentals and hotels, to make sure there was availability.

Ottawa is COLD in the winter time. We needed hot sun. This was our first winter trip since March of 2019.

Our flight took off at 1015am and landed in Orlando at 1:24pm. Our luggage did not arrive until 2:15pm. We got into a taxi and got to the port at 3:05pm. (final boarding was 3pm)

There was a shuttle pulling up and so we mixed in with those people taking the elevator up to the terminal.

We got on the ship.

In the future I would have booked Fly2Fun and the Carnival shuttle because we were able to make it to the ship in time.

I had wanted to use some expiring free airplane tickets and didn't think to book the Carnival shuttle.

Now I will say we became famous as we boarded the ship. I had posted on John Heald's page since I could't get a hold of anyone at Carnival. I also posted on my roll call, and the Canadian Carnival cruisers (all Book of Faces pages).

We became known as "oh you're Katie from Ottawa. Oh good you made it in time."