Canadian Travelling to US > Testing Options

[Roxxy]

We are doing a Holiday cruise and will be arriving in Fort Lauderdale on the 24th of December.  Our cruise departs on the 26th.

Allowing for a test 2 days prior to boarding unfortunately makes us have to test again once in Fort Lauderdale.

Does anyone have any ideas as to where we can get this test and its cost on the 24th of December?

 

I am assuming walking into a Walgreeens or CVS Pharmacy??

 

Thanks!

[Cg52]

4 minutes ago, Roxxy said:

We are doing a Holiday cruise and will be arriving in Fort Lauderdale on the 24th of December.  Our cruise departs on the 26th.

Allowing for a test 2 days prior to boarding unfortunately makes us have to test again once in Fort Lauderdale.

Does anyone have any ideas as to where we can get this test and its cost on the 24th of December?

 

I am assuming walking into a Walgreeens or CVS Pharmacy??

 

Thanks!

You might be able to get it at the airport when you arrive. My daughter was able to do that in Chicago.

[Roxxy]

31 minutes ago, Cg52 said:

You might be able to get it at the airport when you arrive. My daughter was able to do that in Chicago.

I checked with FLL. They said you have to be 'boarding' a flight and show proof of that.

[39august]

FastTestNow.com in Ft. Lauderdale may be available,  

[Turtles06]

The Florida Departures forum is a good place to ask this question.  In fact, here's a thread from that forum identifying a number of testing places.  Do make an appt in advance.

 

 

[Cg52]

5 minutes ago, Roxxy said:

I checked with FLL. They said you have to be 'boarding' a flight and show proof of that.

That’s unfortunate. I hope you sort something out.

[Welland]

Contact Celebrity directly and ask for their input.   I assume you will test December 23, fly on the 24th and be in FLL as well on the 25th.   It's my understanding that coming from "abroad" this scenario works.   

 

Once you've had input from X please come back to this forum and let others who who may find themselves in the same position.

 

Good luck and happy cruising.

[Fouremco]

You arrive in FLL on the 24th, but when do you leave Edmonton? Do you fly out on the 24th, or are you stopping over somewhere? If you are flying directly, unless it is a very early flight, you should be able to get your test at a Shoppers Drug Mart for $40 and have your results very quickly. With many 24/7 Shoppers, you may be ok even with an early flight.

 

Edmonton International Airport, in partnership with Numi Health, offers rapid COVID-19 screening for passengers. I didn't check their prices, but probably more expensive than Shoppers. Still, better than having to get a test to enter the US and then take a second on in Florida for boarding.  

https://flyeia.com/health-and-safety/covid-19-testing/

 

There's lots of discussion on testing strategies on the Canadian Cruisers board. You might want to pose the question there too.

[mscinmia]

There is a fairly new company here in Ft. Lauderdale called Beeper MD.  The are offering the PCR and or Antigen test.   Best of all they will come to you!  beepermd dot com.  

 

[Roxxy]

5 hours ago, Fouremco said:

You arrive in FLL on the 24th, but when do you leave Edmonton? Do you fly out on the 24th, or are you stopping over somewhere? If you are flying directly, unless it is a very early flight, you should be able to get your test at a Shoppers Drug Mart for $40 and have your results very quickly. With many 24/7 Shoppers, you may be ok even with an early flight.

 

Edmonton International Airport, in partnership with Numi Health, offers rapid COVID-19 screening for passengers. I didn't check their prices, but probably more expensive than Shoppers. Still, better than having to get a test to enter the US and then take a second on in Florida for boarding.  

https://flyeia.com/health-and-safety/covid-19-testing/

 

There's lots of discussion on testing strategies on the Canadian Cruisers board. You might want to pose the question there too.

Hi Fouremco,

We are on the red eye leaving Edmonton at midnight, arriving FLL the morning of the 24th. So have to do an antigen test here first but that one will not cover me for the 72 hour Celebrity requirement.  We will have to get one the morning of the 24th as well to comply.

 

I actually did not know there was a Canadian Cruisers Board!  Thanks for pointing that out!

 

I'll also check out that beeper md dotcom and the Departures board.

 

Thanks everyone!

 

[macmax]

There is always the possibility that the protocols will change (again) by December (ie) back to 3 day/72hr testing period or just maybe...no testing for fully vaxxed pax.

[Fouremco]

1 minute ago, Roxxy said:

Hi Fouremco,

We are on the red eye leaving Edmonton at midnight, arriving FLL the morning of the 24th. So have to do an antigen test here first but that one will not cover me for the 72 hour Celebrity requirement.  We will have to get one the morning of the 24th as well to comply.

 

I actually did not know there was a Canadian Cruisers Board!  Thanks for pointing that out!

 

I'll also check out that beeper md dotcom and the Departures board.

 

Thanks everyone!

 

Ah, it wasn't clear to me from your earlier post that you fly out at midnight and would have had to have been tested on the 23rd or earlier for the flight. 

 

For our next cruise, we will be tested on the Friday here in Ottawa, fly to FLL on Saturday and board on Sunday. Consequently, I haven't been paying a whole lot of attention to all of the many testing options in Fort Lauderdale, nor their pros, cons or price. At $50 for a rapid antigen test, the beeper md dot com option sounds very reasonable considering they'll come to your hotel. Other places can be free for Americans, but I doubt that applies to Canadians.

 

5 minutes ago, macmax said:

There is always the possibility that the protocols will change (again) by December (ie) back to 3 day/72hr testing period or just maybe...no testing for fully vaxxed pax.

I like your thinking! 👍

In any event, good luck!

[drakes2]

2 minutes ago, macmax said:

There is always the possibility that the protocols will change (again) by December (ie) back to 3 day/72hr testing period or just maybe...no testing for fully vaxxed pax.

Have direct flights via WJ for November 11th for my cruise the following day. Plan to get antigen test at Shoppers or my local Loblaws pharmacy the day before flying out.  Hope that meets the 48 hour time-frame. Maybe things will change by Nov 1st 

[drakes2]

7 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

Ah, it wasn't clear to me from your earlier post that you fly out at midnight and would have had to have been tested on the 23rd or earlier for the flight. 

 

For our next cruise, we will be tested on the Friday here in Ottawa, fly to FLL on Saturday and board on Sunday. Consequently, I haven't been paying a whole lot of attention to all of the many testing options in Fort Lauderdale, nor their pros, cons or price. At $50 for a rapid antigen test, the beeper md dot com option sounds very reasonable considering they'll come to your hotel. Other places can be free for Americans, but I doubt that applies to Canadians.

 

I like your thinking! 👍

In any event, good luck!

Quite possibly no test required. But will we still need PCR to return to Canada?

[macmax]

You will be ok as it is 2 days not 48hrs.

https://www.celebritycruises.com/ca/healthy-at-sea/faqs

Besides, all could change when the CDC's Conditional Sale Order is lifted Oct.31/21

[Roxxy]

23 minutes ago, macmax said:

There is always the possibility that the protocols will change (again) by December (ie) back to 3 day/72hr testing period or just maybe...no testing for fully vaxxed pax.

 

Now that would be the best scenario!

[Roxxy]

1 minute ago, macmax said:

You will be ok as it is 2 days not 48hrs.

https://www.celebritycruises.com/ca/healthy-at-sea/faqs

Besides, all could change when the CDC's Conditional Sale Order is lifted Oct.31/21

I depart 11:59 pm on the 23rd, so I would still have to get another test on the 24th to board on the 26th.

[macmax]

8 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

Quite possibly no test required. But will we still need PCR to return to Canada?

Yea probably but X is doing it onboard, so that helps a lot. 

[Fouremco]

48 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

Quite possibly no test required. But will we still need PCR to return to Canada?

Yes, I really don't see Canada dropping this requirement in the near future. I just hope that Celebrity will continue providing free PCR tests for us as long as the GOC requires it.

[drakes2]

19 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

Yes, I really don't see Canada dropping this requirement in the near future. I just hope that Celebrity will continue providing free PCR tests for us as long as the GOC requires it.

Still not 100% sure this cruise will happen as the 1st sailing after the TA and they need to find another 3 days to make up the 14 day quarantine period.  I guess we'll know more as of November 1.

[Fouremco]

7 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

Still not 100% sure this cruise will happen as the 1st sailing after the TA and they need to find another 3 days to make up the 14 day quarantine period.  I guess we'll know more as of November 1.

I've seen nothing coming out of Celebrity addressing this issue. Obviously passengers are concerned, but that doesn't seem to trigger any reaction from Celebrity. Have you made any enquiries with them?

[drakes2]

1 minute ago, Fouremco said:

I've seen nothing coming out of Celebrity addressing this issue. Obviously passengers are concerned, but that doesn't seem to trigger any reaction from Celebrity. Have you made any enquiries with them?

Yes spoke to my CVP who called his manager and said they are confident this sailing will take place but I know that really doesn't mean anything. Also called West Jet and was told I can change flight dates if needed. Funds will go into a travel bank as i didn't book refundable   Holding off booking hotel pre cruise until the very end.  

[rch3]

We have a similar problem.  Though things may change before our sailing in June next year, we’re flying from the US to Rome on May 31, arriving June 1 for a June 3 departure from Civitavecchia.  I suspect, but don’t know, that securing a test overseas might be an adventure in its own right.