Testing on Board

[phatsneaks]

Heard through a friends TA that you may be required to pay for your own testing while leaving or coming back on board the ship at ports.

Anyone heard this?

She has an offer of 6 tests for $150 which you self administer. 

 

I have 2 days before final payment for our Italy / Greece trip  and we are both vaccinated. 

[soloscientist]

I’m traveling on the Epic 9/3 out of Barcelona, coming from the US, transiting LHR, so I’ve looked into a lot of this and this is what I’ve found. 
 

As far as I’m aware and is stated in the safe sail policy linked below, NCL will cover the cost of embarkation testing and testing necessary to return to your country if it is required. If your country requires PCR testing, they will do that, otherwise they do antigen testing. I would assume they will also cover testing costs for any ports that require it.
 

 https://www.ncl.com/sail-safe#t4m1

 

The 6 tests you are referencing are the BinaxNow Ag Card Home test which uses a telehealth company eMed to proctor the self administered Antigen test. These are accepted by many countries for entry because they are proctored by a medical professional to ensure you do it correctly and don’t cheat.  This requires an internet connection, which could be difficult on a cruise if you don’t have WiFi or cellular connection. I looked into getting some. If you are in the US, you can go to Walgreens and ask for a single or 2 pack for about $35 per test, but you have to get ones compatible with eMed. The 6 pack ordered online is good if you need to test multiple times or have multiple travelers in a family. They recommend traveling with two kits per person, probably in case one fails, but maybe you actually use both. There should be a band around the box that says “do not open until instructed”. The non-proctored ones, which are not accepted for travel, are much cheaper at $20 for 2.
 

I was going to do this as well until I found the page stating NCL was covering the testing costs and would administer tests necessary to fly home. 

Edited July 18, 2021 by soloscientist