If fully Vaccinated, do we still need a PCR test?

[Locobill49]

As the title says, I am wondering if we still need to be tested for Covid within 72 hours of cruise departure?

We are sailing out of Seattle in August. And we have been fully vaccinated. 

[deliver42]

No

[BigAl94]

4 minutes ago, Locobill49 said:

As the title says, I am wondering if we still need to be tested for Covid within 72 hours of cruise departure?

We are sailing out of Seattle in August. And we have been fully vaccinated. 

Yes

[2onboardagain]

Judging by what the procedure was on yesterday's departure of Millennium I would say yes!.

 

[cruisestitch]

Too soon to know for sure.  Ask again closer to your cruise since requirements are changing frequently.

 

what was needed in St. Maarten probably has no bearing on what will be needed sailing from the US.

Edited June 6, 2021 by cruisestitch

[downsmead]

At the moment all the U.K. sailings with vaccinated passengers are requiring a PCR test, July and August. However, as stated this may (?) be dropped as time goes on, we do not know.

[Turtles06]

56 minutes ago, Locobill49 said:

As the title says, I am wondering if we still need to be tested for Covid within 72 hours of cruise departure?

We are sailing out of Seattle in August. And we have been fully vaccinated. 

Things are changing quickly and I think it’s just too early for anyone to say.  All you can get here is speculation.  I would prepare as though you need the test (in terms of your pre-cruise travel schedule, where you’d get the test, etc.), and then be happy if you don’t. 

[bajathree]

At the terminal, we'll continue screening measures to ensure everyone boarding the cruise, or working at the terminal, is in good health. All guest documents, including proof of full vaccination administered two weeks prior to sailing, and a negative SARS-CoV-2 test result must be presented. Prior to embarkation, check https://www.celebritycruises.com/health-and-safety and government sites for specifics as the requirements vary by port.  Additionally, all guests, crew, visitors and port personnel will be required to complete a Health Questionnaire and have their temperatures taken in the terminal by trained staff using touchless, handheld thermometers. Guests and crew members with temperatures of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or greater will undergo a secondary screening. The secondary screening is conducted by a third-party medical professional and determines if a person is eligible to sail.

https://www.celebritycruises.com/healthy-at-sea/faqs

Edited June 6, 2021 by bajathree

[wrk2cruise]

I don't think anything has been released for Seattle departures.   The CDC says it's not required for fully vaccinated passengers but the cruise line could still require it.  I asked the question to Celebrity which was answered by corporate guest relations about Edge cruises.  Here is their response.

 

Thank you for contacting Celebrity Cruises.

Our current protocol does not require testing for vaccinated adults sailing out of a Fort Lauderdale which of course includes your July 3, 2021 sailing on Celebrity Edge.  However, due to the changing nature of the situation we recommend checking our Health and Travel updates banner on our website and keeping up with your emails so that you have the most current information regarding testing.

 

 

[George C]

There is a story on abc news this morning they had a reporter on millennium out of st Maarten and they said you need both shots and original proof of shots and a test within 72 hours , Monday morning abc news will continue with this story. We have our shots and sailing in a month.

[WestLakeGirl]

Saint Martin and the other island nations all make their own rules. Probably the OP will find very different rules when sailing out of Seattle in August.

[George C]

14 minutes ago, CarelessAndConfused said:

 

Just to be clear, the "original proof" would be the actual live (non-copy) signed vaccination card?

Yes that is what abc news reported this morning , I new thing was a Covid test 72 hours before, they all told us 120 hours before and that was for St Maarten not celebrity.

[BellKat]

Depends on where you are sailing from and where you are going. We are on the 1st Celebrity Flora sailing on July 4 and we are anxiously awaiting the decision. Ecuador says you DO need a PCR test even if you are vaccinated. But the Galapagos says no. We are only going from the airport to the hotel & back to the airport once we get to Quito. At this point, we only know for sure we have to be vaccinated and that’s no issue as we had ours months ago. We were supposed to have our docs last Friday (2 days ago) but we were told they aren’t ready yet & to just keep checking. I understand but I’m still not happy. If we need a PCR we need to know ASAP so we can make an appointment for one.

[Fouremco]

18 hours ago, BellKat said:

Depends on where you are sailing from and where you are going. We are on the 1st Celebrity Flora sailing on July 4 and we are anxiously awaiting the decision. Ecuador says you DO need a PCR test even if you are vaccinated. But the Galapagos says no. We are only going from the airport to the hotel & back to the airport once we get to Quito. At this point, we only know for sure we have to be vaccinated and that’s no issue as we had ours months ago. We were supposed to have our docs last Friday (2 days ago) but we were told they aren’t ready yet & to just keep checking. I understand but I’m still not happy. If we need a PCR we need to know ASAP so we can make an appointment for one.

Why not make an appointment, just in case, and cancel if it turns out not to be needed?

[BellKat]

6 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

Why not make an appointment, just in case, and cancel if it turns out not to be needed?

That’s what we are going to do. Got updated info yesterday from Celebrity & it’s completely opposite of what we had previously seen. Just have to be very flexible right now.

 

[Fouremco]

Yes, flexibility seems to be key these days of ever-changing requirements.

 

Good luck!

[FlyerTalker]

Belts and suspenders.

[sydbarrett]

I assume testing is here to stay since the vaccines aren't 100% 

[PTC DAWG]

35 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

Belts and suspenders.

You got to believe in something....

[FlyerTalker]

25 minutes ago, sydbarrett said:

I assume testing is here to stay since the vaccines aren't 100% 

 

Nothing in life is 100% except death and taxes.  And waiting for something to become 100% is a fools errand.

[Mike45LC]

On 6/6/2021 at 7:36 AM, George C said:

Yes that is what abc news reported this morning , I new thing was a Covid test 72 hours before, they all told us 120 hours before and that was for St Maarten not celebrity.

For the June 5 Milli sailing out of St. Martin, the St Maarten gov't insisted on a negative test 120 hours (I think they meant no more than 120 hours) before arrival in St Maarten. 

 

Barbados (a port of call) also had a testing requirement that was met by Celebrity's instance on a negative test no more than 72 hours before boarding the ship.

 

To me, this means one test 4 days before I fly out to St Maarten (for that gov't), and another test once I arrive in St. Maarten (for Celebrity and Barbados).  

 

[sanger727]

On 6/6/2021 at 5:41 PM, BellKat said:

Depends on where you are sailing from and where you are going. We are on the 1st Celebrity Flora sailing on July 4 and we are anxiously awaiting the decision. Ecuador says you DO need a PCR test even if you are vaccinated. But the Galapagos says no. We are only going from the airport to the hotel & back to the airport once we get to Quito. At this point, we only know for sure we have to be vaccinated and that’s no issue as we had ours months ago. We were supposed to have our docs last Friday (2 days ago) but we were told they aren’t ready yet & to just keep checking. I understand but I’m still not happy. If we need a PCR we need to know ASAP so we can make an appointment for one.

i think you have those two mixed up. I am planning a Galapagos trip for September so been watching this. Educator does not require a test if you are vaccinated but Galapagos does. Yes, definately get your pcr test 96 hours before you attempt to enter Galapagos.

[BellKat]

1 minute ago, sanger727 said:

i think you have those two mixed up. I am planning a Galapagos trip for September so been watching this. Educator does not require a test if you are vaccinated but Galapagos does. Yes, definately get your pcr test 96 hours before you attempt to enter Galapagos.

In trying to investigate what we needed, we found mixed messages. On June 2nd Celebrity put out a statement with what we will need to do (subject to change of course) but we did not see it until after I had originally posted. So just remember what we need to do for July 4 may not be what you need to do for September. We are the guinea pigs as we are the 1st Galapagos cruise. Just keep checking. Our cruise is in less than a month and we still have not received our documentation.

[sanger727]

1 minute ago, BellKat said:

In trying to investigate what we needed, we found mixed messages. On June 2nd Celebrity put out a statement with what we will need to do (subject to change of course) but we did not see it until after I had originally posted. So just remember what we need to do for July 4 may not be what you need to do for September. We are the guinea pigs as we are the 1st Galapagos cruise. Just keep checking. Our cruise is in less than a month and we still have not received our documentation.

don’t worry about what celebrity says. You need to worry about what the Ecuadorian government says. This may be the first celebrity cruise, but other cruise lines have been operating in the Galapagos since March so this has been tried and tested already. TripAdvisor forums are a great source of information on this.
 

https://ec.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information-ecu-2/

 

read the whole thing. It tells you what you need. Celebrity isn’t going to get you into the Galapagos, regardless of what guidance they give you, unless you follow the governments rules.

[DogLover]

There are many posts here with irrelevant information. Sailings from St. Maarten, Fort Lauderdale, Athens or Galapagos are not sailings out of Seattle. The OP specifically asked about sailing from the Port of Seattle. At this point, it seems a negative test may not be required but methinks details are still being ironed out.

 

We are on (fingers, toes and paws crossed) the July 30th Millennium (formerly Solstice, then formerly Summit) sailing to Alaska from Seattle. All fully vaccinated, and more than willing to do pre-sailing test if necessary. Did so to Maui last month and was a non-issue.

 

Each port has a different and specific set of criteria for embarkation, so comparing is completely unrelated to the original question.