My BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag HOME TEST Experience

[TequilaJane]

Recently went on cruise with 5 people 2 people had only foam come out of the liquid agent bottle. Luckily had 2 more tests with me. Have at least 1 backup kit.

[Tiger0613]

When I took a test on 11/27/21, the first test had an empty reagent bottle.  I had five more tests.  Since that bottle was empty, they said they would send me a replacement test for free.  The order confirmation email showed one test.  They sent me six more tests that will expire 2/13/22 instead of 1/5/22.  Now I have tests that will be good for my January cruise.

 

The biggest problem for my test and my mother's test today was getting disconnected multiple times.  It only happened once to me, but it happened at least three times to my mother.  Neither of us had to start over because we got reconnected soon enough each time.  In my case I had only opened the box, not the three components in the box.  I can't remember where my mom was in the process the first time.  The second time my mother was disconnected was immediately after sealing the test card and right as the proctor was starting the timer.  The third time was shortly after the timer was up.

[LennyJava]

I have the most basic question about this BinaxNow travel test: in case I get a positive result on the first try, can I use another BinaxNow test and re-take right after (i.e., connect and do the whole procedure again)?

 

Or do I have to wait a certain amount of time to re-take the Covid test?

 

Because these test are notoriously unreliable and one false positive can lead to being forced to stay abroad for days, which is prohibitively expensive. 

[mondello]

@LennyJava Welcome to CruiseCritic. Not sure why you think these tests are "notoriously unreliable." Lots of people have been using these tests for months and the biggest complaint I've seen is some having difficulty with the proctor's foreign accents.

Also, not sure what you mean about one false positive can lead to being forced to stay abroad for days? You need to submit a negative test 2 days before your cruise or you won't be going abroad unless if you are Lenny from the island of Java.

[LennyJava]

17 minutes ago, mondello said:

@LennyJava Welcome to CruiseCritic. Not sure why you think these tests are "notoriously unreliable." Lots of people have been using these tests for months and the biggest complaint I've seen is some having difficulty with the proctor's foreign accents.

Also, not sure what you mean about one false positive can lead to being forced to stay abroad for days? You need to submit a negative test 2 days before your cruise or you won't be going abroad unless if you are Lenny from the island of Java.

Any test, and especially the rapid test, can be unreliable or wrong.

 

I am asking a simple question: can one take another BinaxNOW Home test if the first one came back positive? I.e., repeat the whole procedure with the online rep with a different test. Or once you tested positive you cannot do another test for a while. Thanks

 

 

[mondello]

1 minute ago, LennyJava said:

Any test, and especially the rapid test, can be unreliable or wrong.

 

I am asking a simple question: can one take another BinaxNOW Home test if the first one came back positive? I.e., repeat the whole procedure with the online rep with a different test. Or once you tested positive you cannot do another test for a while. Thanks

 

 

I'm not aware of any waiting period between tests. My family tested Christmas Day from our Miami hotel with no problem. They also have tests at the port, as a last resort. Hope everything works out and you have a great cruise.

[CruzCra-Z]

2 hours ago, LennyJava said:

I have the most basic question about this BinaxNow travel test: in case I get a positive result on the first try, can I use another BinaxNow test and re-take right after (i.e., connect and do the whole procedure again)?

 

Or do I have to wait a certain amount of time to re-take the Covid test?

 

Because these test are notoriously unreliable and one false positive can lead to being forced to stay abroad for days, which is prohibitively expensive. 

you can get false positives. So there is no reason you can not retake the test... Carnival has nothing to do with Binax.  Carnival just wants a negative test. 

[blazerfan1]

Will carnival accept the results on your phone?

[DallasGuy75219]

19 minutes ago, blazerfan1 said:

Will carnival accept the results on your phone?

Yes, results are emailed to you in a PDF.

[chocolate melting cake]

Can these tests be taken at any time of the day? We need to take them at about 1:00 a.m. EST.

[DallasGuy75219]

25 minutes ago, chocolate melting cake said:

Can these tests be taken at any time of the day? We need to take them at about 1:00 a.m. EST.

Test must just be dated 2 days, not 48 hours, before sailing. And the results show the test time in UTC, so already several hours ahead of any US time zone.

[chocolate melting cake]

5 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Test must just be dated 2 days, not 48 hours, before sailing. And the results show the test time in UTC, so already several hours ahead of any US time zone.

Thanks---we knew this----but (if our test is negative) we will board our flight from New York to San Francisco at 7:00 a.m. We want to know for sure that we are OK to fly, check into a hotel 2,000+ miles away and board the ship the within 48 hours. If we take the test in S.F. and test positive we'll be out the $ for the flight AND have to stay at least 5 more days in a hotel ($$$) before trying to get a different flight home ($$$). So, we'll need to take the test early in the A.M. before the flight.

Edited January 31, 2022 by chocolate melting cake

[mondello]

12 hours ago, chocolate melting cake said:

Can these tests be taken at any time of the day? We need to take them at about 1:00 a.m. EST.

Yes, 24/7. We did ours on Christmas Day. Online proctors are often from India.

[elmojessi]

Dumb question, but how do the proctors know you are who you say you are?  Especially if you're a child without a photo ID?

 

 

[mondello]

1 hour ago, elmojessi said:

Dumb question, but how do the proctors know you are who you say you are?  Especially if you're a child without a photo ID?

 

 

You have to hold up your photo ID to the camera. Any child will be added to an adult account. We tested from our Miami hotel Christmas Day and wife and I used our drivers liscenses. We all 3 have passports but I don't believe we needed to show them.

[raiderg68]

On 9/15/2021 at 10:45 AM, mrak said:

Can 6 different people use the 6 pack of tests? Or is it only 3 people per 6 pack? When you try to buy it asks for three names of who will be testing...

Apologies if this has been answered but I am hoping to test 4 of us with a 6 pack. Emed only allowed me to add 3 names but I thought I read somewhere (that I can't find now) that the info you give at purchase is only for the Rx.

[csm5986142]

56 minutes ago, raiderg68 said:

I am hoping to test 4 of us with a 6 pack. Emed only allowed me to add 3 names but I thought I read somewhere (that I can't find now) that the info you give at purchase is only for the Rx.

 

Yes, all 4 of you can test with the EMed 6-pack.  I only gave my name for the RX, but tested 2 other family members in addition to me.  

[S&DMOM]

59 minutes ago, raiderg68 said:

Apologies if this has been answered but I am hoping to test 4 of us with a 6 pack. Emed only allowed me to add 3 names but I thought I read somewhere (that I can't find now) that the info you give at purchase is only for the Rx.

 

You will be fine.  We did the same thing and had no issues.  We each set up our own Navica account and had no issues doing our test. 

[csm5986142]

Sorry, I tried to add (but it wouldn't let me) that you will receive 6 individually packaged tests.  Unless there is something defective with one of the tests, you can test 6 different people.

[raiderg68]

Thank you for this information!