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

[TeeRick]

17 hours ago, phoenix_dream said:

yes they are, but not a valid option for many of us with this change to 2 day testing!  We always fly down a couple of days before.  So our flights for our several upcoming cruises are already booked.  In order to do a Walgreens or CVS test you first need to locate one near you, and then you need to drive there.  We will be staying at a hotel without a car.  If we can find a location close, we might (emphasis on might) be able to talk an Uber driver to take us and wait in the (sometimes) long line waiting for us to test.  But we can't count on being able to do that, so we will have to bring at least a couple of the self tests with us.  

 

IMHO the change from 3 day to 2 day testing really, really messed up many people's plans and significantly added to the stress of getting ready for a cruise.  In addition to finding the tests, it is literally impossible for us to know before we get on that plane if we will test negative for our cruise.  We can try a CVS or Walgreens test the day before we fly and that will give some peace of mind but is no guarantee.  If we get to our port and then test positive, then what?!?!  Can't get on a plane.  May have trouble finding a hotel that will let you quarantine until you test negative again.  Hugely stressful.

Yes well said.  And IMO there was no need to switch from 3 day to 2 day.  Based on what data?  Cruise ships have been just fine.  

[Harrylinden]

18 hours ago, susiesan said:

All this self home testing could get very expensive. Rapid antigen tests at CVS or Walgreens are free.

Yes they are free, If you and that's a BIG IF you can get an appointment when you need it.I looked online and there are  NO appointments available for make?????

[susiesan]

1 hour ago, Harrylinden said:

Yes they are free, If you and that's a BIG IF you can get an appointment when you need it.I looked online and there are  NO appointments available for make?????

It must depend on where you live. I can make appointment now on a Sunday for today. I have a choice of locations and times at both CVS and Walgreens. I will be cruising on a Monday so I will test on Saturday before I fly to FLA on Sunday afternoon.

[DCPIV]

On 10/8/2021 at 2:09 PM, dreams_of_travel said:

A few months ago, there was a huge wait (8hrs or more) for the proctors, but they have since fixed their staffing issues.  Travelers to overseas via air have been using these tests for 6-9months to enter some countries, but mostly to re-enter the US.  I don't think cruising travelers will be much of a problem.  YMMV

 

When I tested for my recent sailing, I did so somewhere around noon (CDT) on a Saturday.  The whole thing took about 25 minutes.  Proctors were on board virtually immediately for the testing procedure and for reviewing the results.

[DCPIV]

21 hours ago, susiesan said:

All this self home testing could get very expensive. Rapid antigen tests at CVS or Walgreens are free.

 

Indeed, and that's what DW did for her current sailing.  However, she tends to have a great deal of flexibility with her time.  She also had a backup test at home in case something happened. We're sailing in November, December, and January, so it's no problem having tests in reserve at the moment.

 

CVS have been notorious lately for cancelling test appointments.  Walgreens is only scheduling 2 days in advance.  Appointments are rather limited for both places, at least for the antigen tests (plenty for PCR, but only 1 of the 3 Walgreens closest to me has any antigen test appointments over the next 2 days).  With the 2-day requirement, there's neither much time nor many options to enact or even find a Plan B without incurring some expense. 

 

The cheapest option I found in town for a same-day appointment with same-day results costs $89. A 3-pack of home tests is $10 more.  That's a bargain when I consider that I don't have to make an appointment, don't have to keep an appointment, don't have to go anywhere for the testing, don't have to worry about an appointment being cancelled on me, and likely don't have to spend more than 30 minutes between the time I scan the QR code and the time I have results in hand (with 15 minutes of that taking care of something else while my results develop).  If something goes wrong, I go to the kitchen counter and get another test. I'll happily pay a relatively small premium for all that.

[DCPIV]

3 hours ago, Harrylinden said:

Yes they are free, If you and that's a BIG IF you can get an appointment when you need it.I looked online and there are  NO appointments available for make?????

 

I can make appointments for CVS as soon as Monday and as far as about 2 weeks ahead.  My problem with that is that I keep hearing about CVS cancelling apointments.  While I'm sure it's not as bad as it sounds, the 2-day requirement doesn't leave a lot of room to fix something that goes wrong.  I'd just as soon do it at home.

[lv2cruisgrl]

Does anyone know how early (EST) you can do the online testing?

[Honolulu Blue]

7 hours ago, lovrccl said:

Does anyone know how early (EST) you can do the online testing?

 

I started testing at 1:30 AM EDT and finished about 2 AM.  This was about three weeks ago.  

[isdoo]

Any suggestions for testing for non US residents? 

Not sailing until December, but would like to start thinking about our options. 

[Turtles06]

14 hours ago, lovrccl said:

Does anyone know how early (EST) you can do the online testing?

 
24/7

[jamon]

Our cruise leaves on the saturday after thanksgiving......If I get the test from Optum I was wondering if they will be open on Thanksgiving day to proctor the test, which would be two days before we sail. Anyone have thoughts on this..I know they say they are open 24/7..but does that include holidays?? Help

[Honolulu Blue]

6 minutes ago, jamon said:

Our cruise leaves on the saturday after thanksgiving......If I get the test from Optum I was wondering if they will be open on Thanksgiving day to proctor the test, which would be two days before we sail. Anyone have thoughts on this..I know they say they are open 24/7..but does that include holidays?? Help

AFAIK they're open all holidays, but Thanksgiving will be the biggest American holiday by far since Celebrity has recommended this test.  I guess we'll see if this will crash their system.

[jamon]

Honolulu Blue....thanks for the reply ..hope system does not crash....What does AFAIK mean in your reply????

[Honolulu Blue]

1 minute ago, jamon said:

Honolulu Blue....thanks for the reply ..hope system does not crash....What does AFAIK mean in your reply????

 

You're welcome.  AFAIK = As Far As I Know in Internet shorthand.

[jamon]

Thanks..I am somewhat internet challenged...now I can add that to my short list...

[brooker]

Hi all.  i must be missing something.  But when i log into my celebrity account and don't see anything about this test kit.  And i don't see it on the Healthy at Sea on Celebrity's website.  All i see is we must be vaccinated and must show a negative Antigen or PCR test conducted within 2 days of embarkation.  Thanks in advance for clearing this up for me.

[RichYak]

54 minutes ago, jamon said:

Our cruise leaves on the saturday after thanksgiving......If I get the test from Optum I was wondering if they will be open on Thanksgiving day to proctor the test, which would be two days before we sail. Anyone have thoughts on this..I know they say they are open 24/7..but does that include holidays?? Help

Thanksgiving is a US holiday. It's likely that most, if not all, the telemed professionals are based outside the country.

[Honolulu Blue]

7 minutes ago, brooker said:

Hi all.  i must be missing something.  But when i log into my celebrity account and don't see anything about this test kit.  And i don't see it on the Healthy at Sea on Celebrity's website.  All i see is we must be vaccinated and must show a negative Antigen or PCR test conducted within 2 days of embarkation.  Thanks in advance for clearing this up for me.

 

It's a couple of levels down in the travel requirements for US cruises.  Here's the direct link to the test sales page:  https://store.optum.com/celebrity-cruises .

[twincheryl]

On 10/9/2021 at 5:50 PM, floridatravelersforlife said:

 

Ordered our kits Wednesday afternoon and received them by Noon Friday.  One kit has a 9/27/21 expiration and the other is 10/3/21.    guess they are catching up.

Abbott has extended the expiration dates to one  year...  you can check your lot numbers here...

https://ldh.la.gov/assets/oph/Center-CP/HANs/HANS21-48-ExtensionBinaxNOW.pdf

 

[twincheryl]

4 hours ago, brooker said:

Hi all.  i must be missing something.  But when i log into my celebrity account and don't see anything about this test kit.  And i don't see it on the Healthy at Sea on Celebrity's website.  All i see is we must be vaccinated and must show a negative Antigen or PCR test conducted within 2 days of embarkation.  Thanks in advance for clearing this up for me.

I ordered the same test that is on Celebrity's approved list... Abbott BinaxNow test from CVS and it arrived in a week... for much less than the Celebrity price... $23.99 for a 2 pack of tests.  Shipped to my home.  

 

The info about tests is in the FAQ section... and while I haven't looked to see what other home tests are supervised online (per the answer in FAQ), the Abbott BinaxNow test is. 

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

[Turtles06]

7 minutes ago, twincheryl said:

I ordered the same test that is on Celebrity's approved list... Abbott BinaxNow test from CVS and it arrived in a week... for much less than the Celebrity price... $23.99 for a 2 pack of tests.  Shipped to my home.  

Sounds like you ordered the pure, at home, NON proctored version of the tests. Those are NOT acceptable for purposes of boarding. You can only buy the proctored tests from Optum or eMed.com. They cost more than what you bought because they include the proctoring.   

The proctored test is Abbott BinaxNow Covid-19 Ag Card 
 

 

[dreams_of_travel]

2 hours ago, twincheryl said:

Abbott has extended the expiration dates to one  year...  you can check your lot numbers here...

https://ldh.la.gov/assets/oph/Center-CP/HANs/HANS21-48-ExtensionBinaxNOW.pdf

 

If you look at that PDF linked, the expiration date isn't a 12 month extension.  I have a kit with an expiration date of 5 Oct 21, which was extended to 5 Jan 21. 🤷🏻‍♀️  But the lot number for my kit is not on this list.  I did find an Abbott email/pdf on another site that did list my lot number, so check your lot number before thinking all is well with your kit. YMMV 

[acstall]

On 10/8/2021 at 7:03 AM, 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.  
 

I’m in NC too in same area. I’m not seeing same day testing results. Would you share where to find this? Thanks! Planning for early December cruise.

[marieps]

Ordered mine Saturday.  They came this afternoon.  Expiration Sept 21, extended three months by FDA.  Will test Nov 5.

[3dogmom]

4 hours ago, twincheryl said:

I ordered the same test that is on Celebrity's approved list... Abbott BinaxNow test from CVS and it arrived in a week... for much less than the Celebrity price... $23.99 for a 2 pack of tests.  Shipped to my home.  

 

The info about tests is in the FAQ section... and while I haven't looked to see what other home tests are supervised online (per the answer in FAQ), the Abbott BinaxNow test is. 

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

 

There is an "OTC" located on the bottom left of the packaging. This means "Over The Counter". The tests ordered from Celebrity will have an "RX" on the packaging.