Any Canadians Cruising???.....doing alot of dreaming and reading

[Dancerforlife]

3 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Not sure if this would work for you but I was picking up some prescriptions at shoppers drug mart a couple weeks ago.  I asked them about covid testing and for the rapid test it was something like $40.  Unfortunately they don’t take appointments for the one that would be most convenient for me but my colleague called a shoppers that was more convenient to her and was able to make an appointment.  She did that at least 10 days ago and she’s not leaving for around 10 days.  She is not cruising though.

Thanks, but unfortunately it's only Shoppers back East that offer that. Shoppers locations here on the West Coast aren't offering them. I sure hope that changes!

[Hlitner]

37 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Not sure if this would work for you but I was picking up some prescriptions at shoppers drug mart a couple weeks ago.  I asked them about covid testing and for the rapid test it was something like $40.  Unfortunately they don’t take appointments for the one that would be most convenient for me but my colleague called a shoppers that was more convenient to her and was able to make an appointment.  She did that at least 10 days ago and she’s not leaving for around 10 days.  She is not cruising though.

So here is something we find a bit sad.  When we were recently in Greece we needed to get Antigen tests in order to fly back to the USA (Canadians need a PCR test).  Our hotel (on the island of Paros) gave us directions to a nearby hospital clinic (about a 15 min drive) where they do the various tests.  We walked in, gave them our Passports, immediately had our nasal swabs, and were out of that clinic with hard copy test results in only a few short minutes.  The cost (controlled by the Greek government) was 20 Euros (about $24 US).  No hassle, no problem, no appointment necessary.  We could have also opted to get that same test (at the same price) at the Athens airport (testing 24/7).

 

Here in the USA getting such a test can be a real hassle and more costly.  Why?  We need to get a PCR test for an upcoming trip to Barbados.  Although we live in a State Capital with two major hospital systems and plenty of healthcare providers we cannot find any local entity that can give us a standard PCR test and "guarantee" the results within the 3 day time frame that is absolutely necessary for us to make our flight.  Accordingly we will need to drive nearly 1 1/2 hours (each way) to a medical laboratory that does PCR tests (7 days a week) and guarantees results in 48 hours (24 hours for an extra fee).  In Greece we could have gotten that same test on just about any Greek Island or at numerous location in the Athens area.  Why?

 

And before folks mention places like CVS and Rite Aid...none of their tests meet the Barbados requirements not to mention they will not "guarantee" results in the allotted time frame.  Our hospitals can do those tests but require a physician's prescription (and still will not guarantee results in time).  Why on earth do we need a prescription?   Nobody has a good answer.  And getting a prescription would generally mean getting an appointment with our physician (this can take weeks unless it is urgent) which would cost about $100 (just to get the script).   There are some rapid test locations in our area but those rapid tests do not meet the requirements of Barbados which will only accept a true standard RT-PCR test with the nasal sample taken by a medical professional (no self-testing allowed).

 

Recently we saw here on CC a story about some folks who missed their cruise (they were left standing on the Florida pier) because their test results did not come back on time!  Standard PCR tests can be done by a lab in about 24 hours.  Rapid tests can be done in less then an hour (some in less then 15 minutes).  Why is is so difficult to get this stuff done in our country and why is it so darn expensive.  The lab where we will drive for our RT-PCR tests charges $100 per test which is pretty reasonably for such a test.  But many other locations (that will not even guarantee results in less then 72 hours) charge around $300!  This is crazy.

 

Hank

 

Hank

[Susudio]

On 8/8/2021 at 7:13 PM, Vict0riann said:

We are booked for October in the Med and back to Fort Lauderdale.  It is still up in the air until final payment date mid-month.  One thing we have to figure out for Europe is if they will accept a provincial vaccination certificate, as Canada has not come out with a national one yet.  Hope to hear next week.  We are pretty well decided that we will cancel our pre-cruise visit to the relatives in England - I'm not sure they want us right now, anyway.   I'm not overly optimistic about the whole thing.  

 

We also have a booking for Hawaii and Mexico in February next year and the Viking Passage in July.   My stack of cancelled cruises is getting thicker...

We are also booked out of the Med in October but thinking of cancelling as too much unknown. Did you find out if provincial certificates will be accepted? The other issue is that I have a mixed vaccine and it is accepted  when I board in Barcelona but not sure when we land in Florida. I have gotten different messages. 
 

[Minoushka]

• I booked rather quickly a “ free “ Casino Xmas New years cruise on Nieuw Amsterdam ….i had to pay in full 1500$ not refundable but i get Obc andplay money .In order to get a balcony i needed to buy Club Orange ..If i could not go would I be outof everything including Club Orange. So free was not free but i.d be upset if I could not go and lose all of it 
• my agent did not explain that to me so now I,m worried if I cannot go i would be out of 1500$ …thats quite a hit 
• anybody know 

[Dunmore2]

1 hour ago, Susudio said:

We are also booked out of the Med in October but thinking of cancelling as too much unknown. Did you find out if provincial certificates will be accepted? The other issue is that I have a mixed vaccine and it is accepted  when I board in Barcelona but not sure when we land in Florida. I have gotten different messages. 
 

Like you, I have the mixed vaccines, and also getting mixed messages. Our prov. Govt is allowing a third dose of vaccine, soon. Good luck.

 

On 8/27/2021 at 6:35 PM, Dancerforlife said:

Thanks, but unfortunately it's only Shoppers back East that offer that. Shoppers locations here on the West Coast aren't offering them. I sure hope that changes!

Shoppers drug mart out west has both types of tests now too. I just received an email from them and did a happy dance. Not every store has the PCR test though.

[Dancerforlife]

On 9/2/2021 at 5:01 AM, Dunmore2 said:

Like you, I have the mixed vaccines, and also getting mixed messages. Our prov. Govt is allowing a third dose of vaccine, soon. Good luck.

 

Shoppers drug mart out west has both types of tests now too. I just received an email from them and did a happy dance. Not every store has the PCR test though.

Only available in Alberta and Ontario. Not BC. 

[Dunmore2]

Oh, thanks for the “whole story”.Hopefully you’ll get it soon. ❣️

[iancal]

We need a PCR test to re-enter Canada.  I expect that it will be a requirement for some time to come.  

 

We have been considering Greece in October and Panama in the winter.   It was fairly straightforward to obtain testing locations etc. in  Athens prior to flying home.  Very good info on the web and on some travel pages.  Only a phone call away to verify prior to departure (most clinics have English service).

 

Panama much easier...we have expat friends who have lived there for 25 years.  They provide up to date data on covid and info on where to get the  PCR test prior to flying home.

 

Both are land based trips  No interest in cruising at the current time.

 

Edited September 5, 2021 by iancal

[LeDemonBlond]

Have booked an Alaskan Cruise next May that starts and stops in Vancouver.  A decent Labour day sale by HAL.   Hopefully by Feb when final payment due we will have a clearer direction on what is expected for international travel in these trying times.

[bebe08]

9 hours ago, LeDemonBlond said:

Have booked an Alaskan Cruise next May that starts and stops in Vancouver.  A decent Labour day sale by HAL.   Hopefully by Feb when final payment due we will have a clearer direction on what is expected for international travel in these trying times.

Our next cruise is B2B Caribbean April 2022 with Celebrity.  We are thinking of changing this to an Alaskan cruise in/out of Vancouver.  We have a lot of FCC to use and needs to be used by Sep 2022.  Will wait a few months to see how things look before making any changes.