On cruise ships; Who pays for the Covid testing.

[ael123]

We are taking a Viking river cruise that leaves from Amsterdam and are sailing on Oceania's Sirena (trans Atlantic) to Barcelona and then flying to Amsterdam to catch the river cruise. The concern I have is that to fly from Barcelona to Amsterdam although we are vaccinated we need to have a negative PCR test within 72 hours of flying to Amsterdam. We are not sure when to schedule our flight from Barcelona to Amsterdam. Can we go directly to the airport or do we need to stop somewhere and get a test? Are cruise ships giving their passengers the PCR test on board before they disembark? People leaving the ships and flying back to the US will also need a negative PCR test to return to the US. Will we be on our own to get tested before we can catch our flight to Amsterdam?  If so how much time do I need to allow to catch the flight to Amsterdam? Also I know different cruise lines have different policies. Does anyone have a list of what cruise lines are charging for these tests and which lines are giving them free of charge? Do all cruise lines have the capacity to test passengers before they leave the ship?

[KKB]

Varies by line.

Most I've seen if they are requiring it of ALL passengers the cruiseline absorbs the cost.

Unvaccinated tests only? Passenger must pay.

Check with your cruiseline.

[Heidi13]

51 minutes ago, ael123 said:

We are taking a Viking river cruise that leaves from Amsterdam and are sailing on Oceania's Sirena (trans Atlantic) to Barcelona and then flying to Amsterdam to catch the river cruise. The concern I have is that to fly from Barcelona to Amsterdam although we are vaccinated we need to have a negative PCR test within 72 hours of flying to Amsterdam. We are not sure when to schedule our flight from Barcelona to Amsterdam. Can we go directly to the airport or do we need to stop somewhere and get a test? Are cruise ships giving their passengers the PCR test on board before they disembark? People leaving the ships and flying back to the US will also need a negative PCR test to return to the US. Will we be on our own to get tested before we can catch our flight to Amsterdam?  If so how much time do I need to allow to catch the flight to Amsterdam? Also I know different cruise lines have different policies. Does anyone have a list of what cruise lines are charging for these tests and which lines are giving them free of charge? Do all cruise lines have the capacity to test passengers before they leave the ship?

 

The cruise line, I know of, with onboard PCR testing labs is Viking Ocean, who require a non-invasive spit test on boarding and daily while aboard. They provide a certificate showing test results on disembarkation.

 

Viking River ships don't have the space for a testing lab, so they use local labs for the daily testing. Although I don't know for sure, I suspect Viking River will also provide a PCR test certificate upon disembarkation.

 

All tests are complimentary.

[Thechamp555]

I have the same question for Celebrity. I checked on their website but cannot find the answer. Who pays for the antigen test mid cruise while on board ?

[Hlitner]

At the moment there is no one size fits all answer.  Each cruise line is following their own policy and even within a cruise line there can be times when the cruise line covers the cost and other times when the passenger pays.  An example of the latter is on RCI and Celebrity where unvaccinated passengers must pay for multiple COVID tests.  

 

So for the OP, and others, the way to find the answer to "who pays?" is to check with each specific cruise line or perhaps get a good answer on the CC Cruise Line blog specific for that line.

 

Hank

[LHT28]

When are you sailing?

 By next spring all protocols could be different than 2021

[Hlitner]

23 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

When are you sailing?

 By next spring all protocols could be different than 2021

Next spring?  By NEXT WEEK all the protocols could be different!   I think the odds at the craps table are better then the odds of protocols not changing.

 

Hank