AlbertaCruisers

I used Shoppers Drug Mart in August for our flight (Air Canada) and Cruise (Celebrity Equinox) with no issues at all.  I called a Walmart by us and they are using the same type of test as Shoppers and confirmed they would insert our passport number in the result form if we brought it with us, so I think they would be fine too, but they don't start tests until 9:30 am, so I'm still going to Shoppers again next week (our local one will test starting at 8:00 am).

As an FYI, Walmart requires appointments (based on the website and the one I spoke to).  Shoppers have different procedures, so do walk ins and some do not, and some did walk ins and now want appointments, so it is best to call and ask.

Interestingly, there appears to be some movement.  My app, as of this afternoon, for our Constellation cruise now has a Check in button (that does nothing yet - just says "fun on the horizon" when you click it), and the far right menu now says "Check in opens on November 8" - which is 45 days before my sailing.

Celebrity's FAQs now says this:

For ALL sailings, including US and Global Departures, the CDC will now recognize a mixed series of any two of the following vaccines, with a minimum of 28 days between doses, as fully vaccinated:

• Pfizer
• Moderna
• Johnson & Johnson,
• AstraZeneca
• Sinovac
• Sinopharm

• Guests who received the Janssen (aka Johnson & Johnson) vaccine before or after another COVID-19 vaccine should be considered to have received a valid, single-dose Janssen vaccination—not a mixed vaccination series—and are considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
• To be recognized as fully vaccinated, guests 12 years of age and older, must complete a vaccine series with the last dose administered at least 14 days prior to sailing.
• Some ports of call may not accept mixed vaccines and therefore could prevent guests with mixed vaccines from going ashore. 

Celebrity's FAQ's now say this:

For ALL sailings, including US and Global Departures, the CDC will now recognize a mixed series of any two of the following vaccines, with a minimum of 28 days between doses, as fully vaccinated:

• Pfizer
• Moderna
• Johnson & Johnson,
• AstraZeneca
• Sinovac
• Sinopharm

• Guests who received the Janssen (aka Johnson & Johnson) vaccine before or after another COVID-19 vaccine should be considered to have received a valid, single-dose Janssen vaccination—not a mixed vaccination series—and are considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
• To be recognized as fully vaccinated, guests 12 years of age and older, must complete a vaccine series with the last dose administered at least 14 days prior to sailing.
• Some ports of call may not accept mixed vaccines and therefore could prevent guests with mixed vaccines from going ashore. 

As a note, on recent cruises it seems like they are doing the test the morning of the last full day on the ship and you get the results that afternoon and then leave the ship the next day.

When you get on the ship, call front desk and let them know you are Canadian and need a PCR test to fly home and they put you on the list and let you know later in the cruise the date and time of testing.

12 minutes ago, crash3x said:

I am wondering where and when you can get the required covid test before we fly home to Canada?   Does the ship do the test 48 hrs before and provide results?   Do we have to book a hotel for a few days after cruise and try and find a testing sight?  Do they do the test at the airport?     

 

We get so much false and continually changing information on our Canadian news I can't seem to sort it all out.   I do know we need a test 2 days before we fly and it costs $80  at the pharmacy unless you go to an actual testing clinic stating you have felt symptoms and they do it for free

Yes, Celebrity provides the PCR test for free.  You need a test 72 hours before the departure of your flight back to Canada.  My experience is in the link below.  You should check out the Canada board, there is lots of info.

Yes, you need a test 3 days before you fly to the USA, but 2 days before you cruise, so I'm going to get my test at 2 days so I can use it for both the flight to Florida and cruise.  The rapid antigen test is enough for the flight to the USA and cruise.  If you live in Ontario or Alberta check out Shoppers Drug Mart and now some Costcos and Walmarts are doing the rapid antigen even cheaper.

34 minutes ago, blueboro said:

Hard to believe there are that few.  We were on the 9/17 sailing and slightly over 1,000.

The current Equinox sailing is only 3 days.  I'm guessing the next sailing, which is 9 days, will be higher again.

On 10/17/2021 at 12:08 AM, xcell said:

if your are flying after Nov 8th, no more test for travel to US, only the PCR on return.

I don't know if that is true about flying into the US.  Everything I have read has suggested you will still need the test to fly into the US (with Antigen test likely still being sufficient), but you don't need a test if you drive across the border into the US.   

21 hours ago, Tomchick1970 said:

If anyone has first hand experience that they can share with using Switchealth at Pearson Airport for their covid 19 test prior to their flight I would love to hear.

 

I'm a little nervous going to the airport hrs before my departure without a covid test done.  I need to take a test the day we depart from Pearson for our cruise, as we are spending a couple of days in Fort Lauderdale and only want to do one test for travel and cruise.

 

Please let me know.

Thanks Karen

A man named Russ used Switch at the airport before flights and a Royal cruise this summer. Second page of the below. I remember him posting more details somewhere if you search his posts. Due to flight times and the drive, I believe it was the only option that worked for him. 

45 minutes ago, If only said:

Many thanks to Fouremco & Alberta Cruisers for your help.  I sure would not be wanting to fill all that information in using the wifi on a ship.

As a note, I did mine in August on the last day of the cruise on the ship.  I'm not sure if there is a limit on how long the information is saved in ArriveCan.

17 minutes ago, If only said:

I just downloaded the app today.  Only asks for "Last country you stayed in or visited prior to you flight to Canada"   that's it.

 
That is at the first page. It is a lot further into the process that they ask about other countries. 

1 hour ago, kwcruise said:

Thanks for all of this info. When are you travelling? My date to return home is Dec.23. I'm really hoping people will share their experiences re testing before heading home here.... Another thing...my Carnival travel agent povided me with a link to the  Abbott BinaxNOW™ COVID-19 Ag Card Home Test which includes a viral antigen home test and the services of an eMedand suggested I try doing the test on the ship. I'm going to post and ask if any Canadians here have done that...

I believe others have answered, but you need a molecular test to come back to Canada, an antigen test will not be accepted. There are stories of people being fined $5000 each when showing up at the border with antigen tests that people in the USA told them would work. 

40 minutes ago, Ginnyfyr said:

We fly to FLL on Saturday and board our Virgin cruise a week from today. We will disembark that cruise on the 29th, hopefully get our free rapid antigen tests done at Terminal J by Nomi Health (if not I do have a list of other Nomi Health locations not far from the cruise port), then we can use that test to board our Carnival cruise on Halloween. When we disembark on Nov 6th is when we're hoping to use the services of FastLabs for the PCR test. If the $175 one will suit our purposes, that's pretty much the same cost as getting it at the airport ($179 at MIA) and then we'll be able to make the most of our day (in good conscience, with negative test results in hand - knock wood!) in the warm weather before we fly out that night.  

 

I'm pretty sure I've read somewhere here on CC that Canadians can't use those Abbott home tests, but don't quote me on that. I'm sure you will find the answers here though! Good luck!

From what I’ve read, Nomi at the Airport isn’t free, their test prices are on the airport website. Someone on these boards did say that a person at Nomi said the testing was free at their other locations, but I didn’t verify that. 

24 minutes ago, K_e_short said:

Now that I have booked a cruise I started filling out info on the app.

 

I was pretty impressed that you can just scan your Nexus card right into the app (sorry being a little geeky about tech).

 

For those that have cruised did you add your ports of call as other countries visited? Did it create issues when coming back? 

I added all countries our cruise visited and no issues coming back. 

The ban was not on everyone.  For example, Canadians could fly into the US throughout the Pandemic (the land border with Canada has been closed and is opening Nov 8 as long as we had a negative COVID test within 3 days of flying (most of us didn't because we had to test and quarantine when we came back home though, until this summer).  I don't see Indonesia or the Philippians on the list.  This is what I could find about the countries that were banned (and I think maybe the list changed throughout the pandemic): 

With specific exceptions, several Presidential proclamations suspend and limit entry into the United States, as immigrants or nonimmigrants, of noncitizens who were physically present within the following countries during the 14-day period preceding their entry or attempted entry into the United States. For a full list of exceptions, please refer to the relevant proclamations in the links below.

• China external icon
• Iran external icon
• European Schengen area external icon (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City)
• United Kingdom external icon (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland)
• Republic of Ireland external icon
• Brazil external icon
• South Africa external icon
• India external icon

For easy access to my QR code, for anyone with an iPhone, I used the instructions on the website below to use the Shortcuts app to put an icon on my first screen called "Vaccination" and when I touch it the screen shot of my QR code comes up.  The code in the screenshot seems to scan (using another iphone at least), but we don't have widespread scanning yet, so I'm not sure.

https://mobilesyrup.com/2021/09/22/heres-how-to-add-your-vaccination-record-as-shortcut-ios-15/

3 minutes ago, nbsjcruiser said:

Thanks for the info. Where do you get the attestation forms? Was it part of the check in process with Air Canada? We're flying Westjet so I assume it would be the same. 

Yeah, it is a CDC thing. I got it from here (the fillable one is better):

https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/fr-proof-negative-test.html

2 minutes ago, nbsjcruiser said:

November 1 we're flying from NB - > Toronto - > FLL. I know we have to have a negative antigen test to fly into the US. Where will my antigen test be confirmed? In NB before I board the plane? At US customs at the Toronto Airport?

 

thanks in advance

We flew Air Canada from Edmonton to Toronto to FLL. I uploaded a copy of our test results during check in, and a short time later got an email confirming it was approved and to print a new boarding pass, as the information would be in the bar code. The lady that checked us in and took our bags, here in Edmonton, also check it. No one else asked, but I would have it ready just in case. The Edmonton lady also checked our attestation forms, and then a man in Toronto, before going back through security checked them again and took our copies of the attestation forms. 

14 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

For many, I'd think that the convenience of having a PCR test on board rather than getting one in the port before flying home, possibly with an overnight stay, would be something they'd happily pay extra for. I'm surprised that Carnival hasn't jumped on the opportunity to make a few dollars selling tests to Canadian passengers.

I haven't looked at Carnival's current COVID policies, but if it is similar to Celebrity's I'm wondering if they stopped the testing on board for flights home because of the risk of someone testing positive on the ship.  For Celebrity, if you test positive on the ship their policy says they pay to get you home, so by doing the test for free on the ship, they are risking asymptomatic positives that they may not otherwise have known about.  For Carnival, if you get off the ship and have to get your test to go home, if you test positive at that point, you are off the ship (and based on Celebrity's policy at least) no longer their problem or their expense.

I am really glad Celebrity is giving the tests though and I hope they don't change that policy!

7 minutes ago, Moonarino said:

It's confusing to ALL of us, in part (or mostly) because of conflicts even within the same entity (like CDC) ... fostering lengthy discussions regarding one webpage over another (again e.g. CDC).

 

Quoting "US Travel Requirements as of October 12, 2021" on Celebrity, nothing has changed in the first paragraphs...

"All non-US residents must present a negative NAAT or Antigen test taken with 3 days of travel.

Be sure to save a copy on your phone and bring a printed copy. Name on test results must match those on government issued identification."

 

Of course Celebrity demands 2 days before, not 3 as the above quote says. But yes, boiling it all down, seems like you'll be fine with a Friday test for a Sunday cruise.

 

As a note, the 3 day reference above is in relation to the fact that non-US residents need a test 3 days before flying into the US (US government rule) and then Celebrity needs a test 2 days from boarding.  Technically you could get 2 tests, one for the 3 day flight requirement and one for the 2 day cruise requirement, but I'm trying to time my test so I can use it for both the flight and the cruise, so I will get my test in the morning on Wednesday, we flight out at midnight that night and arrive in Florida on Thursday, and get on the Equinox on Friday.

6 minutes ago, loman said:

Whats wrong with Fort Lauderdale ?  I never had issues with flying in or out  or leaving on a cruise .

I like it because its close to the airport . 3 hour direct flight to and from Toronto.

What issues did you have ?  Just curious .  thanks

My concern with Florida was just the really high number of COVID cases.  I do think that their case numbers are coming down now though (I think they are about 1/3 of the new daily cases as they were averaging in August).  Otherwise, I agree, Fort Lauderdale is an easy port to cruise out of and convenient with the airport so close to the port.

20 minutes ago, LuvCruzn4Evr said:

Have you personally used this test for a Celebrity cruise and it was accepted? We are hoping Walgreen's test is indeed accepted so we don't have to drive 60 miles to take the rapid antigen test but there is another thread stating this test from Walgreens is not accepted. .

 

We cannot trust CVS to get test results back in 48 hrs. They offer only the PCR here.  The home test kit available thru Optum is temperature sensitive and it's still quite hot here.

At least one person in the below thread confirmed they used the Walgreen ID now test to board (someone just off the edge, about halfway down page 2).  Walgreens website says this is a molecular test and NAAT and Celebrity's Frequently Asks questions specifically says for accepted tests: 

• A molecular test, also called a PCR test or NAAT test

3 minutes ago, curtsfan said:

When we sailed on the Edge in August, I was told that they wouldn’t accept an electronic vaccination card.  They wanted the original card.  They needed to see the raised seal.  

They still need the original at port.  This is a new thing they have added to online check in, there is now a section where you upload the picture of your vaccine card, but it still says to bring the original with you. 

11 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

Those sound very much like the type of precautions we intend to take to minimize risk. It will change our normal travel routine a bit - taking an Uber rather than the often packed hotel shuttle from the airport, for example - but our normal routines at home went out the window 20 or so months ago.

I find the Ubers in Florida so much faster and easier than any other option.  

Coming from Edmonton we always fly in the day before, way too many potential issues!  In August (and we will do the same at the end of the month), we tried to be really careful.  I think people thought we were crazy, but I didn't care!  We wore masks in our Uber, the Uber app says you have to, but I think drivers were mainly doing what their passengers were, we saw one couple get in not wearing a mask and the driver took his off.  Our uber driver put his on as soon as he saw us wearing one.  We wore mask in the hotel (the front desk staff was wearing masks as well), we waiting longer for elevators to get one ourselves, and we only took our mask off on the beach.  We ordered room service only, so we didn't have added potential contact at a restaurant.  Once we were on the ship, we didn't wear masks at all, but we also only took elevators if we were alone in it and we didn't talk to strangers!  🙂