How far in advance did you order your COVID kit from Celebrity ?

[zdad59]

We sail in 5 weeks.   I'm thinking now is about the right time to order our pre-cruise COVID test kits.

 

Thoughts ?

[WestLakeGirl]

You don’t order it from Celebrity. You order it from an outside vendor, Optum.

[jelayne]

Depending upon how many kits you need you can also order from eMed.  That is the company who proctors the tests.  We ordered 6 tests for 2 couples so we each have a spare in case of a defective kit or 1 of us screwing up and dropping the swab or kit.

[zdad59]

7 minutes ago, WestLakeGirl said:

You don’t order it from Celebrity. You order it from an outside vendor, Optum.

Fair.    The link is on the Celebrity site, that’s where my head was. 

[RichYak]

I ordered mine about 3-4 weeks prior to sail date.

[Jim_Iain]

I ordered mine 2 weeks prior to cruise.    It took  5 days to arrive.   On the Celebrity linked site they have a table that show if you order on a specific day of the week when it will be delivered.

 

The one from the Celebrity Site ships FedEx (probably Ground) and they don't deliver on weekends.

[SeasideMemories]

So far testing for vaccinated passengers is only for cruises departing prior to 10/31. Is it pretty much a given to assume this requirement will be extended through 12/31 since Celebrity extended their Safe at Sea out to that date? I know no one has a crystal ball but just wondering what your thoughts are. Trying to decide on ordering tests for an end of November cruise.

[phoenix_dream]

42 minutes ago, SeasideMemories said:

So far testing for vaccinated passengers is only for cruises departing prior to 10/31. Is it pretty much a given to assume this requirement will be extended through 12/31 since Celebrity extended their Safe at Sea out to that date? I know no one has a crystal ball but just wondering what your thoughts are. Trying to decide on ordering tests for an end of November cruise.

IMHO Celebrity has virtually nothing to lose and everything to gain by continuing the testing requirement.  It wouldn’t surprise me if it became permanent, or at the very least way into next year.  I also have an end of Nov. cruise.  Plan to order my tests soon.  Worst case I’d have them on hand if I needed them for non-travel reasons. 

[WestLakeGirl]

Getting pretty close to the end of the month…..an announcement of extension of the test requirement would not be amiss now……one way or the other

[SeasideMemories]

11 minutes ago, WestLakeGirl said:

Getting pretty close to the end of the month…..an announcement of extension of the test requirement would not be amiss now……one way or the other

 

13 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

IMHO Celebrity has virtually nothing to lose and everything to gain by continuing the testing requirement.  It wouldn’t surprise me if it became permanent, or at the very least way into next year.  I also have an end of Nov. cruise.  Plan to order my tests soon.  Worst case I’d have them on hand if I needed them for non-travel reasons. 

That’s what I’m thinking as well! Think we’ll wait another week or so to see where things are but most likely going to order soon.

 

[kristapb]

2 hours ago, jelayne said:

Depending upon how many kits you need you can also order from eMed.  That is the company who proctors the tests.  We ordered 6 tests for 2 couples so we each have a spare in case of a defective kit or 1 of us screwing up and dropping the swab or kit.

I talked to eMed yesterday to ask a question about the 6 test kit, and he told me they are out of stock until November.  

[JRWLOBO]

Our cruise is on Oct 26th.   We ordered tests from Optum on Monday, and received them today.  We ordered extra due to some folk on this website having issues with the tests.  Ours show an expiration date in September 2021 which was extended until December 2021. These tests are in high demand right now, so I would suggest you order sooner rather than later.

[Cruising89143]

Do not expect any changes to the current COVID procedures.

 

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/environmental-health/cruise-covid-protocols-called-effective-and-here-stay

[Honolulu Blue]

8 hours ago, zdad59 said:

We sail in 5 weeks.   I'm thinking now is about the right time to order our pre-cruise COVID test kits.

 

Thoughts ?

 

Well, since you asked... I ordered my two tests from Optum on a Tuesday and received them Wednesday evening.  This was about three weeks ago.

 

7 hours ago, SeasideMemories said:

So far testing for vaccinated passengers is only for cruises departing prior to 10/31. Is it pretty much a given to assume this requirement will be extended through 12/31 since Celebrity extended their Safe at Sea out to that date? I know no one has a crystal ball but just wondering what your thoughts are. Trying to decide on ordering tests for an end of November cruise.

 

I think it's very likely the testing requirement will stay through at least the end of the year.

 

5 hours ago, kristapb said:

I talked to eMed yesterday to ask a question about the 6 test kit, and he told me they are out of stock until November.  

 

I took a look at their Web site and they're linking purchases to Optum's site.  How long will it take for Optum to run out?  Just a stray thought.

 

5 hours ago, cruisingator2 said:

Do not expect any changes to the current COVID procedures.

 

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/environmental-health/cruise-covid-protocols-called-effective-and-here-stay

 

Thanks for sharing.  Those of us in Michigan think happy thoughts when they see Calvin Johnson's name, even though the gentleman quoted in the article is obviously a different guy.

[macaroni]

9 hours ago, jelayne said:

Depending upon how many kits you need you can also order from eMed.  That is the company who proctors the tests.  We ordered 6 tests for 2 couples so we each have a spare in case of a defective kit or 1 of us screwing up and dropping the swab or kit.

Did you use them yet? Were you able to register 4 people on the site for the 6 tests. I thought I read that you can't register more than 2 people??? Would appreciate to know how it works out for you as we were going to do the same thing for 2 couples.

Thanks!!

[hasentreelake]

10 hours ago, zdad59 said:

We sail in 5 weeks.   I'm thinking now is about the right time to order our pre-cruise COVID test kits.

 

Thoughts ?

Why wait ?
We have 2 kits sitting on our desk ... just in case we need them.
We did not need to use them for our September cruise as our county in NC offers free testing and documented results same day of test (usually in under 8 hours).   Now we will use them as backup for our November cruise.  
 

[Jim_Iain]

4 hours ago, macaroni said:

Did you use them yet? Were you able to register 4 people on the site for the 6 tests. I thought I read that you can't register more than 2 people??? Would appreciate to know how it works out for you as we were going to do the same thing for 2 couples.

Thanks!!

I haven't heard that.   We just registered yesterday and each of us had to register individually.    There was no question that would have tied us to each other and be able to limit the number tested.

 

As a trial you can go in now and register accounts for each of you individually (all 4).   You do not need to identify the kit until you are tested.  As for the tests ---all of the bar codes and QV codes are identical so will not be used for tying each of you together.

 

[Moonarino]

I ordered my 2-pack this past Monday and received it yesterday, Thursday.

 

I ordered the kit as a backup plan after reading on a CVS website that there is potential for supply problems, and this after reading about folks having their test appointments cancelled by CVS (one canceled the day before, i.e. within 3 days of cruising). It follows that we could expect Optum (and others) might also eventually run short. If your cruise is getting close, I'd say order now. Mine is Nov 4.

 

[Moonarino]

3 hours ago, hasentreelake said:

Why wait ?
We have 2 kits sitting on our desk ... just in case we need them.
We did not need to use them for our September cruise as our county in NC offers free testing and documented results same day of test (usually in under 8 hours).   Now we will use them as backup for our November cruise.  
 

Exactly. Same here, November. Having a backup plan is a great stress reducer.

[taffyemma]

I'm confused.  Is the 2 pack for $69 good to test 2 people?

[canderson]

1 minute ago, taffyemma said:

I'm confused.  Is the 2 pack for $69 good to test 2 people?

Yes.  It's the login/email account that you use for each test that must be different.

[taffyemma]

28 minutes ago, canderson said:

Yes.  It's the login/email account that you use for each test that must be different.

Thank you.

[cricketgirl]

Can someone please point me to the link on Celebrity's site where you can order the kits?

[Fouremco]

4 minutes ago, cricketgirl said:

Can someone please point me to the link on Celebrity's site where you can order the kits?

Here you go:

 

https://store.optum.com/celebrity-cruises/

[KruznKimmie]

Would go ahead & order as my friend tried to order 1 kit from Optum the other day & they were out of stock.  Just checked now & it looks like they are now available again.