AlbertaCruisers

I was really impressed with the Switch Health rapid antigen test last weekend for Vegas.  It was nice to just do it at home on Thursday morning and not worry about booking appointments, etc.  The process was quick and easy.  Then to come home, we did it in the hotel room on Sunday morning and again, quick and easy process.  We tested and had our results in less than 30 minutes total and it worked great for flying home (which I know is not an issue after April 1).  Everything went smoothly.

I don't think anyone is saying you are doing anything wrong by trying to use it, people just want you to know there is a possible risk based on the cruise line wording being different than the CDC flight guidelines, that it may not be accepted (but hopefully it will be).

For our cruise in April, I would love to use the Switch Health tests I have left (I ordered extra in case of any issues and took 2 boxes with us to Vegas), as I loved the process and the ease of use, but we have to decide if it is worth the risk.  I'm fairly certain that no one at the cruise port will know the difference, but we aren't sure we are willing to take the chance that we will be the unlucky ones to have someone at the port who does know the difference and calls us on it (my husband has gotten randomly selected for arrival testing every time coming back so far - so he isn't feeling very lucky!).  I believe, in the event they did call into question our tests, they would likely let us pay for another test at port (as they have people there doing the testing for kids), but I'm guessing that test will be somewhere closer to $80 or more per person and it would be a stressful start to the cruise.  That being said, we have Shoppers Drug Mart as an option here, which is $40 each and we have used them successfully 3 times already, so we will likely just get the test done there, to avoid any potential issues.

3 minutes ago, Oceangoer2 said:

 Just did a mock booking and the cruise has gone up more than the OBC included in the Elev offer;  we don't mind not having 'premium' drinks included...basic is ok with us.  🍹However, the OBC offer is quoted as $200, not $400..or is the offer $200 pp?

The deal is up to $200 OBC per person.  For a cruise I re-priced yesterday (we are before final payment though), we got $150 OBC per person.  I'm not sure if that is based on length of cruise or not.

My understanding is that the best offer guarantee means you would have to take the current deal as it is, so what someone would pay today to get that deal (so, the current rate plus the OBC and premium drinks).  If your willing to pay the current base fare and this is in total a better deal for you, they should be willing to match it, but you pay today's rate plus you get the OBC and the premium drinks.  

55 minutes ago, Oceangoer2 said:

What does "ISO Always" mean? I just did a mock booking and don't see 'Always Included' on 2 different cruises, but another unfamiliar 'promo'.....Elev Free?  Is X changing wording to confuse?  Does this wording appear on US sites? 

 

 

Elev Free is the current promotion (you can see details on the first page or under the Offers tab - Last Minute Luxury Event).  You get the Elevate package for free.  I was able to reprice my summer cruise to this package yesterday for no extra cost and got an extra $300 OBC and premium drinks.

So, for the above, you get $400 OBC, Premium Drinks Package, Basic Surf Wifi and Tips included (which is the Elevate package).

12 minutes ago, tottenhamfc said:

So what are you suggesting? They are acceptable or not for cruiselines? Does this extra help or hinder ?

I would suggest that this hinders this test further for use getting on a cruise.  The Celebrity/Royal wording (I haven't looked at others) does not have the wording that would allow a telehealth test approved in Canada, and instead requires FDA approval.  Before, when the results were the same and didn't have that wording, there is a chance that no one would know the difference.  Now, with this wording, I think it may trigger to the people checking the test to get on the ship that since this is telehealth they have to look closer, and the last line suggests it is not FDA approved, as why not add that if it was also FDA approved.

As a note, the CDC wording allows for tests approved in the country the test is taken, so I'm not worried abut using this to fly to Vegas tomorrow.

As a note, for anyone using the Switch Health Rapid Antigen test to get on a cruise, there were previous notes that the results for the telehealth were the same as for in clinic tests, but it looks like that has changed.  We just did the Switch Health Rapid Antigen test for our flight to Vegas tomorrow and the below wording is now on the results.

Also, as an FYI, if anyone is interested, I bought plastic passport holders off amazon, shrunk the vaccine confirmation (the one with the Canada flag) down to 75% and folded it right under the QR code and put it in the holder.  The QR code shows on one side and the doses are all on the other. It worked well in airports and the cruise last time and fits in with my passports nicely.  For some reason it also feels more official than just handing a piece of paper. 

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01M3SNV5Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

6 hours ago, Sue from Canada said:

If I have to complete tne ArriveCan on board ship where can I get it printed?

 I never printed it. It is just a certificate at the end, with the names of the parties (and check marks by your names, I think?). I just took a screen shot of that and when checking in with the airline they asked to see it and I just showed the screen shot. Or, if you open the app again it will be there too. The check in people for the airline are the only ones that asked to see ours. 

No, there is no separate federal one. In Alberta, we download it from the Alberta site, but it now has a Canadian flag on it. I think that is what the other poster meant. 

Just now, cmich068 said:

 

But to be even more specific, I believe Celebrity (and Royal) only have that FDA requirement listed for self administered telehealth tests. Not for tests that are administered by a pharmacy or medical clinic. 

Agreed.  The requirements seem more strict when it is Telehealth.

11 hours ago, Clovis8 said:

Seems like the US has physical cards. We just have a download in Alberta. I assume a screen shot from this will be fine for boarding a RC ship? 

I’m from Alberta and went on 3 cruises last year. The first, I took our original pages from the pharmacy, as we didn’t have the good central one yet (I think I took that original Alberta one, but I didn’t use it because it didn’t look very official). The other two, I printed the confirmation form with the QR code and all doses and dates and it worked great. They can’t use the QR code and need something that shows all does, type of vaccine and date. For check in, I took a picture of it as the front and a blank page as the back, as there is nothing on the back. 

There is different wording between the USA Federal flight requirements and the Celebrity cruise ones. The CDC wording for flights is below and has the “OR” wording at the end. The Celebrity website only has the FDA requirement and not the wording that says or the relevant national authority. 

• The test must be a SARS-CoV-2 viral test (nucleic acid amplification test [NAAT] or antigen test) with Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) OR the relevant national authority where the test is administered.

As a note though, I have used the Shoppers test for my 3 cruises and the people would not know if it is FDA approved or not. I highly doubt they have memorized a list. They look for your name, the date and negative. I’ll likely just use Shoppers again, as I know it works and it is convenient for me. 

39 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

If you are referring to the proctored home test kit, no, it's not. Celebrity requires that such tests have FDA emergency use authorization, and the SD Biosensor test device used in the Switch Health kit does not have FDA authorization.

 

That said, there are numerous Canadians who have reported no problem boarding, and as has been pointed out, the results issued by Switch Health are the same for home tests and tests at their airport facilities.

Someone had provided the below link before. Is this not the required FDA approval of the SD Biosensor test device used by Switch in the proctored antigen test? (Sorry, I haven’t looked into this in detail)
 

1 minute ago, ladysail2 said:

 

Your information is from a March 1, 2022 documents.  I guess we have to read the ‘rules’ hourly…and hope for no changes on the way to the airport.

The information I provided is the current information on their website right now. Link is below, in the portion of the website that tells you everything you need to know if you are a fully vaccinated traveler and all the steps you have to follow.

https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/covid-vaccinated-travellers-entering-canada

7 minutes ago, ladysail2 said:

In the site  travel.gc.ca. Modified 2022-03-07, under the heading Mandatory Isolation…it says……’only Canadian citizens, permanent residents, persons registered under the Indian Act and protected persons (refugees) , may enter Canada with symptoms or a current positive test result’.   It then goes on to describe isolation conditions, etc. no fines are mentioned. Fines are mentioned elsewhere for false documents or for not following the isolation rules. 
i guess they’re referring to folks who drive to the border because one cannot fly with a positive test result.  I’m not sure about the rules for trains, buses or other forms of public transportation.  
My point is that positive testing Covid 19 Canadians do not pay a fine to enter Canada…but you do have to follow the isolation rules.  

As a note, it says the below as well (under the Positive results heading)

Positive results on your pre-entry test

...

Canadians: To avoid being fined $5,000 per traveller (plus surcharges), wait to enter Canada at least 10 calendar days after your positive molecular test result. If travelling by air, you’ll be denied boarding. Counting starts the day following the day of testing.

https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/covid-vaccinated-travellers-entering-canada

25 minutes ago, Labber 2 said:

I'm sorry, one more question about Manulife covid interruption insurance. It asks where am I heading?, The cruise starts in LA and goes to Mexico, then returns to LA. Do I pick my destination as USA or international since I will also be outside of the USA. 

When I purchased the Manulife covid insurance on the phone with an agent for a cruise leaving from Florida and going to the Caribbean, she said she selected International, so that is what I used the second time when I did it online myself.

I had a US dollar FCC from a cruise this past summer.  I used the "Redeem Future Cruise Credit" link on the website to apply the FCC to a Canadian currency booking, and Celebrity converted the FCC to CAD using their current exchange rate and applied it to my booking in CAD funds.  I'm not sure if booking through an agent changes that at all, I had booked both cruises directly with Celebrity.

9 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

I was on Equinox in October and had no problem with the Streaming internet with one exception.   We were on an B2B and each time we were anchored off of Catalina I couldn't get either a Celebrity Internet Connection or a T-Mobile connection on the ship or on Catalina Island.     Before and after no problems.   Really strange as you can actually see LA from Catalina and Catalina is part of LA County.

 

I was able to stream Netflix and hold Zoom Conference Calls with no Pixelization or stutter.   Depending on location on the ship I spoke to some that had problems with dead spots but I didn't experience any.

 

 

 

Jim, weren’t you on the millennium? I was on the Equinox in Oct in the Caribbean. 
 

We had streaming internet on the Equinox in Oct and it was terrible. It was almost unusable in our room. They ended up putting a hub of some sort on our desk and it made it a bit better. Streaming anything was still not great. 

1 minute ago, Mimiya11 said:

Ontario does the same.  Good to know re the dates.   My cruise is in 3 weeks.  

In October on the Equinox, we had 3 different couples with us from Ontario.  Two couples used the Ontario QR code confirmation with no issues.  The third couple used some original form of confirmation that just showed the second dose, which got her on the ship, but then announcements started calling her down to front desk and she had to show proof of the first done or they were going to make her get off the ship (the husband used the QR code form with no issues) - the people tried to argue that you couldn't get a second dose if you didn't have the first, but that wasn't sufficient, they need the date and information of both doses.  In any event, they were able to provide sufficient proof in the end and everyone stayed on the cruise!!

I'm from Alberta.  I used the one with the QR code (which they don't use), but that also shows the details and dates of all vaccinations.  The last one I did for my December 23 cruise took over 3 weeks to be validated.

As an update, after 30 minutes on hold to talk to Captain's Club (the good news is the message said it could be up to 30 minutes, so I knew what to expect), the guy said it was showing on his end and he had no idea what was going on.  After a little time he said he "refreshed the system", and I logged out of the account and back in and it was there!  The guy on the phone had no idea why that happened or why the refresh he did would work, but it did.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts on this issue!

17 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

Are you taking him along for those sailings??? LOL

 

It may or may not be easy to sort out, yet if they show him as being on the sailing all will be fine...

 

bon voyage

Lol!!  Yes, he is making me bring him along!!  

He is on the invoice and when I log in he is there and all his information and captain's club number is right.  He wants to start looking at things on the app for our sailing and can't!

So, everything is fine in my account, but a couple of our reservations don’t show in my husband’s account or in his app, most do. For the two missing ones, when I try to add them they say they were already linked but they still don’t show. I deleted the app and Re-downloaded. Online I logged out and back in. Any thoughts?

I have Lab Doctors on my list.  Our friends used them to get on the ship and they were happy with the service.  The fast test now would be my second choice.

https://labdoctor.org/

https://fasttestnow.com/

3 minutes ago, Virginia100 said:

I see no mention of masks in Healthy At Sea detail right now at all.

For sailings from the US, the link is below.  It says:

"Effective for all sailings departing February 12, 2022 forward, face masks will be optional on board for vaccinated guests unless attending activities in The Theatre or Casino.  Masks will continue to be required for unvaccinated guests, at all times indoors except while eating or drinking."

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