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

[Tatra603]

7 minutes ago, KathyL2537 said:

 

Tatra603- GHChik- on my roll call (Dec 5th Edge sailing) posted this link-   https://centerforcovidcontrol.org/

 

Under the FAQ it says: 

Please bring your ID and insurance card (if you have one). If you are uninsured, the tests are still free. If you hold a foreign passport please bring that (don’t worry, your test is also free).

 

Looks like there are a few locations in Ft Lauderdale but they are only open M-F. Without a car you'd have to take a cab or Uber but if it works with your flight and sail schedule it may be worth checking out. 

 

FREE Rapid & PCR Testing Fort Lauderdale

300 W Sunrise Blvd Unit 8, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33311, US

 

FREE Rapid & PCR Testing Wilton Manors

1442 NE 26th Street, Wilton Manors, FL, 33305, US

 

Hi Kathy,

 

That's very useful, thank you.

 

Although the Monday to Friday opening along with Celebrity's harsh 2 day rule might not make it practical for our Monday sailing.

 

 

[DCPIV]

On 11/4/2021 at 5:55 AM, Ipeeinthepools said:

I’ll bump this one back to the top.  Has anyone ordered these tests recently?  I’m hoping that they exhaust the old stock soon and begin shipping tests with longer expiration dates.  It would be nice to have tests that could be used until late 2022

 

They are sending out newer stock, but it might be a while before they get to anything expiring late next year.  Some other threads are reporting expiration dates in March (including the extension), but that's it.

[KathyL2537]

22 minutes ago, Tatra603 said:

Hi Kathy,

 

That's very useful, thank you.

 

Although the Monday to Friday opening along with Celebrity's harsh 2 day rule might not make it practical for our Monday sailing.

 

 

Oh, sorry about that. A quick search gave me this list of results. https://www.broward.org/CoronaVirus/pages/collection-sites.aspx

hopefully something  here will be useful to you. Good luck! 

 

[Turtles06]

1 hour ago, Tatra603 said:

We're staying in and sailing from Fort Lauderdale.

 

If you are not flying in too early for the test to be acceptable to Celebrity, you could use the testing location at the FLL airport operated by Nomi Health, open only to folks who "can provide proof of travel to/from FLL on any airline."  See the two links below for more info:

 

https://www.broward.org/airport/passengers/flights/advisories/pages/default.aspx

 

https://testing.nomihealth.com/easy_registration/34/onsite

 

There are also places in Fort Lauderdale that aren't drive up, but you'd likely need to take a taxi or Uber, etc. to get there.  They have been recommended in other threads here on CC; one of them is Fast Test Now; here's their web site.  (Please note that while their street address says Fort Lauderdale, the official address is Wilton Manors: 1008 W Oakland Park Blvd, Wilton Manors.)

 

https://fasttestnow.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-KObt6GJ9AIVGQaICR0A0AlLEAAYASAAEgJBKvD_BwE

 

 

Here are some threads that mention other places:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2800304-where-can-a-get-the-fast-result-covid-rapt-antigen-test-in-fort-lauderdale/?tab=comments#comment-61786070

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2812030-rapid-antigen-test-near-pier-and-airport-ft-lauderdale-see-below-2-locations/

 

I hope this is helpful.  (I have not personally used any of these place, I've just been collecting the info for our own cruise out of FLL next month.)  If you still need more options, a good place to ask here on CC is over in the Florida Departures Forum.  Good luck!!!

 

[Tatra603]

Thanks for all the useful replies.

 

At first glance it does seem that the weekend only thing does limit my options (the 2 day rule instead of 3 for fully vaccinated is a nonsense), but I'm sure I'll find something.

 

 

[KathyL2537]

So my final update on this- I did eventually receive the tests from Celebrity's recommended vendor- Optum. I ordered them on a Tuesday and they arrived the following Tuesday (yesterday). Even with the FDA 3 month extension the 3 kits that I received expire Dec 21, 2021 (Package date says 9/21/21). So they will work for our early Dec cruise, but now that I have found a local place I wasn't sure I was going to use them, thought I might save for a January trip instead. Will keep them as a backup and use if needed but if not, was a waste of money.

 

 Also be aware that once you order from this place they will send you emails almost daily, even if you didn't sign up for them, and there is no way that I have found to unsubscribe.