publicpersona

No longer true for U.S. departures that don't include Bermuda or Canada as of Sep 5, even when testing is required. Self-certifying will be fine. But this thread is about a European departure, so this is not on topic.

.. unless the sailings go to Canada or Bermuda (for now). Also, where testing is required, self-attestation is apparently now sufficient.

But don't rent an umbrella in advance. You may find a comfortable spot on Lighthouse Beach under a free colored umbrella. Pro tip: Take a couple of 2-3" nails with you because many of the pins needed to raise the umbrella are missing.

Royal Caribbean just dropped testing altogether for U.S. sailings (except to Canada and Bermuda) for the vast majority of their cruises (9 nts or less). And where testing is required, a self-test without "lab" involvement at all is sufficient. The idea that MSC is at the same time making their test requirements far more stringent is now further ludicrous.

Perhaps this will relieve some of the worry over the words "lab-administered." Here is the testing results certificate from eMed (which verifies the results of the home proctored Abbott Binax test). It has "lab" written all over it.

The agent almost certainly didn't understand that you meant a proctored test with a certificate of results, or they simply made stuff up (which is common .. it pays the same). It totally strains credibility that any cruise line at this point would make a very major change to make more difficult to comply with COVID protocols. And no one is the cruise news business taking any notice of it either. And again, virtually no one has access to a "lab-administered" rapid antigen test.

Someone has details mixed up. Not closing, just reducing passenger count and the number of months in the season. It doesn't apply in 2022. And it isn't a done deal yet. See (starting at 07:45)

I suspect that they’ve figured out that it is a money loser on very short cruises. I know my tolerance for, let’s say, “package optimization” wanes about day 3 or 4. For this reason, another cruise line won’t sell packages for short cruises. Now how it makes sense to offer packages but not upgrades remains a mystery.

My guess is that the people that write the customer-facing information are good at marketing communication and borderline incompetent with medical terminology. That seems a much more plausible explanation than MSC banning use of rapid testing at the same time other cruise lines are rapidly removing impediments to cruise, and at the same time are asking people not to test until the day before the cruise if possible. Makes no sense. But I'm as puzzled about the wording as anybody. Hoping they will clarify that soon, but expect it will be a matter of data points that emerged here on CC starting Aug 29 before anyone knows for sure.

Is there someplace that specifically lists home proctored antigen tests before Aug 29 and not after Aug 29, or are you still focusing on the words "lab-administered"? Again, if MSC was announcing you can't do rapid results antigen tests anymore (because they are almost never done in a "lab"), then that would be huge news and there would be a hullabaloo about it. There isn't.

Just to head off any comments based on policies for U.S. passengers or sailing from U.S., pointing out to potential posters that you are in the UK doing a Dubai sailing (right?).

This could be misinterpreted. Yes, you are considered vaccinated if you complete the full original dosage for the vaccine (e.g., for Pfizer, two shots). If you have additional shots, they are boosters, and the language being used is "up-to-date" if you have all the additional shots recommended. That said, to say the vaccine and the booster are two different things shouldn't be construed to mean that there is a difference in the shots. Each shot, be it in the original series or a booster, is exactly the same. There will be "boosters" forthcoming that are an updated formulation.

If you proceed to do a dummy booking, you can look at the Price Details at the bottom. It will tell you that the fare includes the Easy Plus Package and the Browse - 2 devices package. The first part is true. Every adult that books that fare gets the Easy Plus Package. The second part is a lie. The second to book in a stateroom gets no wi-fi at all. [Yes, I know .. the first pax can share one of theirs. I'm just pointing out the fare description is untruthful.]

Point of order: Just to be that pedantic guy, there aren’t any FDA approved home COVID test kits. But there are FDA authorized home COVID tests. That’s what you are looking for.

Brings back memories of when I was flying to a winemaker's conference in 2006 on the very day that the ban on liquids in carry-ons was hsatily implemented. The intelligence that liquids might be used to sneak on explosives came just hours before the ban was created .. no advance notice at all. So there I was with six bottles of wine in our carry-ons that I quickly had to stuff into checked bags. I think two of the six actually made it intact. Everyone at the conference was rocking rose colored t-shirts.

Where did you see them squeezing fresh oranges? Was this at the juice bar inside the spa? If so, that is good to know. Thanks. But I've inquired about "fresh squeezed" in the buffet and was told by the server what they serve in there was a premium product compared to the self-serve dispensers but was not at all "fresh squeezed").

That site at best would be United's attempt to copy/paste MSC's ever changing verbiage. Probably best to stick with the original and authoritative (albeit very poorly worded) MSC Health & Safety measures | MSC Cruises (msccruisesusa.com)

It has been discussed in another thread, but it appears to me to be very, very sloppy language. Rapid tests are not done in labs or administered by a lab. They are done in white tents, drugstore drivethrus, airport kiosks, and at the kitchen table (for the purposes of travel, with a proctor certifying results). There are no doubt rare exceptions, but typically, there is no such thing as a "lab-administered" antigen test. A PCR test is different and would be evaluated in a lab, although the sample may be collected elsewhere. Especially since MSC is now (from Aug 29 forward) asking you to wait until the day before cruise embarkation to do the test if possible, there's no logical way that they are now disallowing rapid testing or the kind of testing the cruise industry themselves have been actively promoting for over a year.

While this is true, if she is still testing positive tomorrow, they can get a full refund (if they want). Just want to make sure you are aware you can get 24 free home test kits for free at COVID Home Tests | USPS (three orders of 8 kits).

From MSC Health & Safety measures | MSC Cruises (msccruisesusa.com) "If you test positive for COVID-19 within 14 days prior to or during your cruise, you and your traveling party will receive a full or prorated refund and assistance if required, with onboard medical care and land-based quarantine." That said, check with your doctor but the current wisdom is that she is not likely to be shedding virus to anyone else after 5 days or so after becoming symptomatic, let alone two weeks. If you are looking forward to the cruise and she tests the week or so before embarkation, I'd go. If you choose to cancel, it will take up to 60 days to get a refund. I'm experiencing that now.

These are the same folks that are selling you a glass of Clos Du Bois chardonnay for $9 a glass that I buy by the bottle on sale for $7.99. So I think they could.

The comment a few up makes a good point for clarification. We are talking about how to cash out OBN (non-refundable). If it were OBR (refundable) you don't have to do anything to get it back .. it will go back to the credit card on record. But you can get it in cash if you don't want to lose points when a refund posts, or if you trust Royal's account department about as far as you can throw 'em. Another way to get OBN (and this isn't a better way, just another) is to purchase promo chips at the cashier. Then play roulette playing even bets. When you win, set real chips aside and continue to play until all promo chips are exhausted. Then cash in the real chips. Odds are you'll get .. what .. about 90 cents on the dollar?

Did they offer a carry-on drop-off area (that wasn't specific to YC guests; I cruise in steerage)?

I have seen on cruise ships in the past a machine they'd set up in the buffet that juices oranges while you watch. In that case, you would indeed be getting "fresh squeezed orange juice." That scenario aside ... You can order "fresh squeezed orange juice" in the buffet all you want, and they will potentially bring you a premium product that was poured out of a carton. This is better than the "juice" that comes out of the self-serve dispensers but not exactly "fresh squeezed." I put fresh squeezed orange juice in the same category as the "catch of the day" fish. I mean .. no one really thinks it was caught that day, do you?

The question at hand is not whether they have been and are being accepted. Of course they have. The question is whether they will still be accepted after Aug 29 when the verbiage says for the first time that the test must be "lab-administered." That's new. But I'm saying emphatically that there is no change intended. Without question they will still be accepted. But that some are scratching their heads and wondering is not irrational.