Which Rapid Antigen tests have been approved by Royal?

[peacefrogdog]

I know Royal Caribbean looks to be offering the Abbott Binax Now test to do at home with an online supervised professional. However they don't indicate that they will ship these to Canada, where I live, nor offer clarification of whether it is only specific to American cruisers.

 

The RC website says they will accept :

 

• Any Abbott brand test administered on site by a pharmacy technician or other health professional is accepted. This includes the common Abbot ID NOW test administered by many pharmacies. The test provider must provide you with a proper results document (no handwritten notes).

[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/if-need-an-rt-pcr-test-before-i-cruise-where-should-i-go[/URL]

 

My local (big chain) pharmacy (Shopper's Drug Mart for my fellow Canadians) is offering the Abbott Panbio rapid antigen test that I hoping to arrange within the 2 days prior to cruise sailing. I realize it makes sense to assume that, because it is an Abbott test, and it will be administered by at the pharmacy, it is a no-brainer it will be accepted by RC. However my nightmare is to make this assumption only to have a small technicality render that specific test to be ineligible in the eyes of RC.  Have sent many messages to RC without receiving a reply.

 

For anyone who has done a pharmacy-administered rapid antigen test (and perhaps those in Canada who may have received from Shopper's Drug Mart) that was accepted by RC, do you recall which particular antigen test it was?  Has anyone been tested with the Panbio test and was it ok in RC's eyes?

 

Thanks in advance

[Liverpoolfan181]

1 hour ago, peacefrogdog said:

I know Royal Caribbean looks to be offering the Abbott Binax Now test to do at home with an online supervised professional. However they don't indicate that they will ship these to Canada, where I live, nor offer clarification of whether it is only specific to American cruisers.

 

The RC website says they will accept :

 

• Any Abbott brand test administered on site by a pharmacy technician or other health professional is accepted. This includes the common Abbot ID NOW test administered by many pharmacies. The test provider must provide you with a proper results document (no handwritten notes).

[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/if-need-an-rt-pcr-test-before-i-cruise-where-should-i-go[/URL]

 

My local (big chain) pharmacy (Shopper's Drug Mart for my fellow Canadians) is offering the Abbott Panbio rapid antigen test that I hoping to arrange within the 2 days prior to cruise sailing. I realize it makes sense to assume that, because it is an Abbott test, and it will be administered by at the pharmacy, it is a no-brainer it will be accepted by RC. However my nightmare is to make this assumption only to have a small technicality render that specific test to be ineligible in the eyes of RC.  Have sent many messages to RC without receiving a reply.

 

For anyone who has done a pharmacy-administered rapid antigen test (and perhaps those in Canada who may have received from Shopper's Drug Mart) that was accepted by RC, do you recall which particular antigen test it was?  Has anyone been tested with the Panbio test and was it ok in RC's eyes?

 

Thanks in advance

 

Hi @peacefrogdogI invite you to join us and check out the Canadian forum called "Canadian Cruisers under Topics/Categories" on the boards main page. There are several threads with great info for this exact question. Link below 🙂

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/2510-canadian-cruisers/

Edited September 15, 2021 by Liverpoolfan181

[lovescats5]

How do you get Royal to ship you the tests?  

[Biker19]

52 minutes ago, lovescats5 said:

How do you get Royal to ship you the tests?  

Royal doesn't ship you anything - they redirect you to a providers' web site. 

 

Optum Store | Optum Store

[jamon]

thanks for the info

[peacefrogdog]

9 hours ago, Liverpoolfan181 said:

 

Hi @peacefrogdogI invite you to join us and check out the Canadian forum called "Canadian Cruisers under Topics/Categories" on the boards main page. There are several threads with great info for this exact question. Link below 🙂

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/2510-canadian-cruisers/

Thanks I took a look. Lots of great info there about what will allow us Canadians to get into the US, and some information about the Abbott BiaxNOw test that Royal definitely accepts (but can't be used by Canadians). However I posted on this RC board here to because I wanted to see if any fellow RC passengers got the Abbott PanBIO (not BiaxNOW) antigen tests and whether RC accepted it. 

 

Sorry if I completely missed it on the Canadian Board.

 

[peacefrogdog]

8 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Royal doesn't ship you anything - they redirect you to a providers' web site. 

 

Optum Store | Optum Store

 

On the Canadian board someone just mentioned that Optum told them this won't work for Canadians.

[xqueenfrostine]

If the test is administered by the pharmacy and comes with official results, they’ll take it.  With Royal Caribbean the only time they care about what brand the antigen test you take is when it’s administered at home.  And even then they only care because most at-home antigen tests don’t come with telemedicine services and thus there’s no way for them to verify that that test was taken by you and that it was taken the right way.

 

editing to add: if this covid test is an at-home one that you’re buying over the counter at the pharmacy and then having the pharmacy staff monitor you as you take it, make sure they are willing and able to give you official results that include the provider’s name, your name, the date the test was taken, type of test, and your negative result.   Otherwise, if this is the test they’re testing everyone with, they should be providing you with that documentation automatically.

Edited September 15, 2021 by xqueenfrostine
Extra info.

[Lorey2007]

8 minutes ago, xqueenfrostine said:

If the test is administered by the pharmacy and comes with official results, they’ll take it.  With Royal Caribbean the only time they care about what brand the antigen test you take is when it’s administered at home.  And even then they only care because most at-home antigen tests don’t come with telemedicine services and thus there’s no way for them to verify that that test was taken by you and that it was taken the right way.

What exactly are official results?

[Oceansaway17]

5 minutes ago, Lorey2007 said:

What exactly are official results?

 

 

well it comes from a telehealth or a drugstore or some place that provided and views the test.

Then the results have to state the date and time and results.

[xqueenfrostine]

51 minutes ago, Lorey2007 said:

What exactly are official results?

I made an edit on my above post and I copied and pasted the things that Royal Caribbean wants to see in a results sheet.   Basically, not doctor’s note but the equivalent to lab results, whether they come from a lab, pharmacy, testing site, or telemedicine practice. Royal says they’ll take these results whether they’re printed on paper, sent in an email or are in the app for your telemed provider.  Here is Royal Caribbean FAQ on covid testing if you have more questions:  https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/if-need-an-rt-pcr-test-before-i-cruise-where-should-i-go

Edited September 16, 2021 by xqueenfrostine

[Lorey2007]

Thanks Oceansaway17 and queenfrostine most helpful.

 

[Jingerwoppy]

How long until it changes again?

[KimA75]

12 hours ago, xqueenfrostine said:

Here is Royal Caribbean FAQ on covid testing if you have more questions:  https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/if-need-an-rt-pcr-test-before-i-cruise-where-should-i-go

Thank you for posting this.  I saw some of the other sections in their FAQ, but completely missed this one.  This answered a lot for me as well.