Odyssey Aug 1 from Barbados PCR test

[Hipockets]

We are leaving Barbados on 8-1 and would like some feedback  on how they checked for preboarding PCR test and how strict the Barbados people at the airport were. We have direct transportation to the ship and will be arriving about 1130 on the day we sail 

[Borna]

I've been doing a lot of investigation into this and have been given some conflicting answers.  But, I understand that you are treated as in transit and not required to take any in port testing (or quarantine) to be transferred from the Odyssey to the airport.  Also, Seabourn will conduct any required COVID test (before docking in Barbados) to board your flight from Barbados.  That's the current information.

 

I understand that Barbados might further relax its COVID requirements next week.

 

So, keep checking Barbados travel protocols website and this message board and another titled Barbados in the Seabourn section.  I'm sharing information as I learn it, since I'm traveling on the 14 day Seabourn Barbados cruise July 25 - August 8 and have similar concerns.

[cruiseej]

@Hipockets Since there have not yet been any cruises from Barbados yet, no one can answer based on experience on the ground. We're all hunting for accurate information via travel agents, websites, and calls to the island.

 

Unless things change, which is certainly possible, one key thing is to make sure you get the right type of test before leaving home, in the proper time interval. Barbados unfortunately requires a RT-PCR test administered by a health professional, and it must be within three days prior to arrival. We can currently get PCR tests at several local drug stores near us, but the type they all use requires the user to swab themselves in the presence of the pharmacist -- and such a test won't pass muster in Barbados.

 

I haven't spent time researching testing facilities near me, in the hope the standards might change before our late-September cruise. 

 

I have read of multiple people on CC and Facebook who arrived in Barbados and had their pre-travel test results rejected because they weren't the right type prescribed in the travel rules. All those people were staying in hotels on Barbados for their vacation, so they were confined to the hotel until a new test, which they had to pay for, came back negative after several days. I'm not sure what the protocol would be if you arrive in Barbados and were intending to go directly to the ship, but there rejected your pre-travel test; I don't know if they'd hand you off to Seabourn, or if you'd be refused entry at the airport. So as @Borna says, read the Barbados entry requirements closely and adhere to it exactly, and you shouldn't have any problems.

 

My understanding is that if you are arriving and going directly to the ship, you do not need to take the second PCR test upon arrival. You must take approved transportation to the port and go directly aboard.

 

As @Borna said, Seabourn will provide fast antigen tests onboard prior to the end of the cruise which will be suitable to entry back in the US. If you're going directly to the airport, that should be all you need.

 

I haven't seen any information about whether that would be sufficient if you're leaving g a cruise and staying in Barbados for some time after the cruise; you might need to get a PCR test at your expense in that case. PCR tests can be arranged by many hotels to be done onsite, but you might be quarantined at the hotel pending the test results. 

 

Keep checking for updates as your travel date approaches, as things might (and hopefully will) change. The first of the Seabourn Barbados cruises sails on July 18, so hopefully there will be a flood of additional information from Seabourn -- which has done a terrible job by not posting travel guidelines/FAQ -- and from passengers on the two cruises before yours. 

[cruiseej]

P.S. It would probably be most useful to everyone to keep all postings about the rules and regulations for the Barbados cruises consolidated in the one existing thread on this forum called "Barbados summer cruises 2021".