John H announced masks and Mandatory testing,

[DB2VA]

5 minutes ago, DB2VA said:

 

 

[deb1eric]

18 minutes ago, Lee Cruiser said:

Just talked with my clinic.  The antigen test is actually the rapid test.  She said it would take 10-15 minutes to get the results.  The PCR test is the one that takes 48 hours or so.  Carnival says that vaccinated guests may use either the antigen or PCR>

So it's the rapid covid test that takes 15 min and not the antigen test.  I'm confused, Carnival is calling the rapid test antigen?

[Shayhooper]

Does anyone know if the Rapid Abbott ID NOW COVID-19 Test counts as an antigen test?  I can't seem to find anything definitive.  

[Elaine5715]

2 hours ago, BrotherCraig said:

 

CVS.  We have been a few times for antigen.  Results in 20 minutes via text.  You go in, you swab yourself, and wait in the car for the text.  A document stating your status is sent to you and that is it.  You can sign up on CVS website.  Easy to do and it has been free.

Thank you for such great details

[Ilovesailaway]

13 minutes ago, SidneyHuff1950 said:

LET'S GO OUT TO EAT ON A CARNIVAL CRUISE SHIP.....

Not fair..... you're using logic lol.

[renza]

2 minutes ago, deb1eric said:

So it's the rapid covid test that takes 15 min and not the antigen test.  I'm confused, Carnival is calling the rapid test antigen?

The rapid test is the antigen test. Get results in 15-30 min. It’s free at CVS

[BrotherCraig]

1 hour ago, TooManyWakeUpsTilWeSail said:

Free for all or free once providing insurance info?  My prior testing was 3 day results to be covered by insurance.  Not sure I’m willing to cough up another $300 for 2x pax.

 

Edit to say this about CVS RAPID testing w/o insurance:

 

Self-pay is not available for rapid-result testing at this time

 

It was free.  Father in law was from Honduras and didn't even have to pay.  We marked it down he had zero insurance - no problem.  Government pays for it I am guessing.  Wife and I had insurance the three times we had it done - free for us as well.  This was Antigen and had the results back each time in 20-30 minutes.

Edited August 4, 2021 by BrotherCraig

[picantel]

9 minutes ago, BrianMD said:

About 45 minutes until the first person answered and about another 15 minutes after being transferred to the casino offer dept. Roughly an hour total.

 

9 minutes ago, BrianMD said:

About 45 minutes until the first person answered and about another 15 minutes after being transferred to the casino offer dept. Roughly an hour total.

Thanks. I finally someone to answer after about 1h40m. Mine was also a casino offer but they did not transfer me there. You could tell carnival was being slammed because she just said it was cancelled and I would be getting my money back and she was trying to get me off the phone asap for the next call.

[ProgRockCruiser]

38 minutes ago, deb1eric said:

So if you're vaccinated do you have antibodies for the antigen test?

An antigen test is not an antibody test.  Antibodies and antigens are different (but related) things - the antigen is bits of the virus, the antibody is the thing that fights the virus.

 

EDIT:

 

This helps explain.

 

https://www.healthline.com/health/infection/antigen-vs-antibody

Edited August 4, 2021 by ProgRockCruiser

[BrotherCraig]

1 hour ago, mredandchis said:

i sure wish you are right.  I am sure there will be a lot of push back in the next few months.

 

 

Look at the UK and other countries for example.  UK opened everything  back up during the height of the Delta virus saga and then numbers dropped rapidly and continue to drop.  Scientists and doctors are predicting the South to see a big decline in a couple of weeks and the northern states to continue to surge for a few weeks. 

[Elaine5715]

38 minutes ago, kleibo said:

There's definitely more to the story than we know.  I am sure the CDC after seeing almost all of the restricted cruises go to yellow and the surge of the Delta, they are pushing for more restrictions on the cruises behind the scenes (JMO - no hard data).   No one wants a No Sail Order.  I think the Cruise Lines are trying everything to avoid that.

The CDC will lose (again) in courts if they try the No Sail order again

[ZoeyVictoria]

1 hour ago, drafterdw said:

We sail 9/12 I just checked and no email so far.

I just received my second copy of the email.  I think the first one at 12:41 might be for our August 12 sailing (Magic) and the 3:34 duplicate for the September 4 sailing (Mardi Gras).  If they had included the name of the ship, date, or booking number I could be certain 🙄

 

At least we are both avoiding testing with our August 12 sailings, though it is the masking that I am definitely not happy about.  Willing to do these things to be able to sail, but quite disappointed today.

[ProgRockCruiser]

We are booked for early Sept on Magic.  We'll still go, I think, we'll just spend more time out on deck, and since we have drinks in hand almost continuously, we probably won't notice much, except when going into the MDR or the Shops.

 

I am not happy about this, but I am not surprised based on the current state of things.

[BrianMD]

2 minutes ago, picantel said:

 

Thanks. I finally someone to answer after about 1h40m. Mine was also a casino offer but they did not transfer me there. You could tell carnival was being slammed because she just said it was cancelled and I would be getting my money back and she was trying to get me off the phone asap for the next call.

Sounds like the person I spoke with. I'm glad it worked out for you.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Having not read all the posts here - is there a basic cancellation/refund/credit policy that's been established for sailings within the penalty period?

 

Tom

[Don Kehote]

So if me and my cigarette both wear masks, can we smoke anywhere now?

[Zelda Schwartz]

Just now, ZoeyVictoria said:

I just received my second copy of the email.  I think the first one at 12:41 might be for our August 12 sailing (Magic) and the 3:34 duplicate for the September 4 sailing (Mardi Gras).  If they had included the name of the ship, date, or booking number I could be certain 🙄

 

At least we are both avoiding testing with our August 12 sailings, though it is the masking that I am definitely not happy about.  Willing to do these things to be able to sail, but quite disappointed today.

I just received my 2nd email as well.  One is for September, but I don't cruise again until November.  My adult son has one in mid October, but I shouldn't be getting his emails (although I used to, so who knows).   I was hoping it would be over by November. 

[Applealex]

1 minute ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

Having not read all the posts here - is there a basic cancellation/refund/credit policy that's been established for sailings within the penalty period?

 

Tom

Officially John Heald said that you can't cancel without penalty, the email said nothing about cancelling.

 

In practice, I'm reading numerous stories about people getting full refunds when calling, even if they're within the penalty period. Carnival would be foolish not to give full refunds given such a dramatic change.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

2 minutes ago, Applealex said:

Officially John Heald said that you can't cancel without penalty, the email said nothing about cancelling.

 

In practice, I'm reading numerous stories about people getting full refunds when calling, even if they're within the penalty period. Carnival would be foolish not to give full refunds given such a dramatic change.

 

 

Their stock is off just under 2% now, so at least they're not getting hammered... yet... again.. !

 

Tom

[Bases5]

13 minutes ago, deb1eric said:

So it's the rapid covid test that takes 15 min and not the antigen test.  I'm confused, Carnival is calling the rapid test antigen?

The antigen test is the rapid test, results in hours. 
pCR test is the other test they will accept. It takes 2-3 days. 
P.S. testing day is day zero.example 

test Thursday good for Fri,Sat & Sun. 

[Shayhooper]

17 minutes ago, deb1eric said:

So it's the rapid covid test that takes 15 min and not the antigen test.  I'm confused, Carnival is calling the rapid test antigen?

I think this depends.  I called my clinic and the rapid test they offer there is NOT an antigen on.  I checked with my local Walgreens and they do offer a rapid antigen test but they are currently only offering it to people who are showing symptoms.  Otherwise, you are eligible for the non antigen rapid test.

 

Frankly it is all confusing.

[TooManyWakeUpsTilWeSail]

10 minutes ago, BrotherCraig said:

 

It was free.  Father in law was from Honduras and didn't even have to pay.  We marked it down he had zero insurance - no problem.  Government pays for it I am guessing.  Wife and I had insurance the three times we had it done - free for us as well.  This was Antigen and had the results back each time in 20-30 minutes.

I guess where was the testing site is the next question.  I’ll gladly mark both of us as uninsured if that gets us onboard.  
 

Folks make this appear as a slam dunk.  My skepticism goes back months where I first questioned the cost related to unvaccinated being mandatory tested at port @ $150.  
 

These are trying times.  We need legit info not opinions (not questioning you).  I’m still not certain I can fulfill my testing requirements being fully insured, willing to pay some $$ if necessary for a 2-3 day turnaround.  I (like many) have thousands $$ invested and only so much is refundable or carried over.

[AtSeaWithChris]

51 minutes ago, EdmundXXIII said:

Source on that?

 

I need to figure out the exact rule here, and Carnival’s wording is inconsistent and vague.

I'm just going on testing protocols I have seen regarding testing in the past. a day is 24 hours so 3 days would be 72 hours. John Heald Answered a question similar to this and he said as long as it's the calendar day. I would stick to within 72 hours of the time I'm likely to board.

[snowballs mom]

27 minutes ago, Shayhooper said:

Does anyone know if the Rapid Abbott ID NOW COVID-19 Test counts as an antigen test?  I can't seem to find anything definitive.  

ID Now is neither an antigen test nor a PCR test. It is a rapid nucleic acid amplification test that is done at a single temperature (PCR tests cycle through different temps to make lots of copies of the template). I do not know if the cruise lines know the difference. I emailed Carnival asking if ID Now was acceptable, but I do not expect a fast response to the question.

 

In my area, we do not have easy access to antigen tests - they are using those for symptomatic individuals. We have a lot of Walgreens stores offering either ID Now for rapid testing or PCRs that take a couple of days.

 

 

 

[GTO-Girl]

1 hour ago, Trinam2 said:

So Monday sailing would be testing in Friday?

Correct….