Great bargains for 3, 4 or 5 day cruises out of Los Angeles this Fall, but covid testing and kits not a bargain

[jonesnewl]

I was looking at some of the bargain cruises (round trip Los Angeles) this October, November and December (some real low prices per person). Then I looked at the pricing for available covid testing and test kits. The prices for the required covid testing seem to be higher than the prices of the cruises themselves. Anyone else coming across this? I see some great pricing on some of the Fall 3, 4 and 5 day cruises, round trip Los Angeles. The cheap test kits (less than $20 per kit) that were available back in August, seem to be gone from Walmart and Amazon. Does anyone know of any cruise lines or travel agents that are selling inexpensive test kits directly to their passengers ahead of the cruise at a reasonable price (as an incentive for more potential passengers to take cruises this Fall)?

[CruiserBruce]

The cost of a test is not related to the cruise in any way. The tests cost the same for a 3 day cruise, a 7 day cruise, or like us, for a 12 day Hawaii land vacation we are currently on, although as we are vaccinated,  we don't have to test.

 

The point is, there are many threads around the boards discussing various testing options in many ports. In your area, check for Worksite Labs, a company we have used a couple of times. Easy to use, professional operation,  results within 12 hours. ( Faster for more expensive tests.)

 

NCL has been offering tests at the pier, if that is one of the cruise lines you are thinking about. 

 

Cruise Critic rules do not allow us to name or discuss travel agents, not that I have heard any offering tests to get people to cruise.

 

[coastcat]

9 hours ago, jonesnewl said:

I was looking at some of the bargain cruises (round trip Los Angeles) this October, November and December (some real low prices per person). Then I looked at the pricing for available covid testing and test kits. The prices for the required covid testing seem to be higher than the prices of the cruises themselves. Anyone else coming across this? I see some great pricing on some of the Fall 3, 4 and 5 day cruises, round trip Los Angeles. The cheap test kits (less than $20 per kit) that were available back in August, seem to be gone from Walmart and Amazon. Does anyone know of any cruise lines or travel agents that are selling inexpensive test kits directly to their passengers ahead of the cruise at a reasonable price (as an incentive for more potential passengers to take cruises this Fall)?

Those cheap test kits wouldn't do you any good. The cruise lines are only accepting supervised tests. That includes in-person testing options, which are either fast but pricey or free with no guarantee you'll get the results in time. It also includes at-home tests if the test process includes video supervision.

 

Search just about any of the other CC forums and you'll find a ton of discussion about the Abbott BinaxNOW Ag Card At-Home antigen test with video supervision. It is only available online and only from Optum Store (2-pack for $69.99 or 3-pack for $99.99) and eMed (6-packs, but they're out of stock right now). The cruise lines accept it. Heck, RCI links to the Optum site from their Healthy Sail Center page on testing options.

 

There is an Abbott BinaxNOW antigen self-test kit available at drugstores, if you can ever find it in stock, but it is not supervised and thus NOT accepted. There is at least one at-home PCR test with video supervision but you have to send your sample to their lab and thus risk not getting results in time.

 

I'm sailing out of San Pedro on NCL in two weeks. Although NCL does not require pre-testing for boarding, if your at-port antigen test comes up positive they'll only pay for your quarantine if you can show a negative PCR or antigen test done within 3 days. I'm going to pre-test using the BinaxNOW Ag Card kit before flying to LA. I'll do the same in early December because I took advantage of those bargains!

 

Here's a video with info about the BinaxNOW at-home testing process:

 

[jonesnewl]

Thank you CruiserBruce and coastcat! The information you provided was very helpful. What is the specific name of the cruise critic board forum(s) that would have the most posts about this topic area? Is NCL the only cruise line that does not require the supervised self-testing ahead of the day of the cruise (instead they provide a supervised test the day of the cruise)? Or are there any other cruise lines that are facilitating this? It would be great if the cruise lines could mail you the supervised test kits ahead of the cruise, in the same way that some of them mail out luggage tags. Or have  an option to purchase these kits directly from the cruise line, so that you could bundle in the test kits with your cruise package (i.e. pre-paid tips, pre-paid supervised covid test kits, etc.). Also, thanks a bunch to coastcat for providing the video! Much appreciated!

[coastcat]

2 hours ago, jonesnewl said:

Thank you CruiserBruce and coastcat! The information you provided was very helpful. What is the specific name of the cruise critic board forum(s) that would have the most posts about this topic area? Is NCL the only cruise line that does not require the supervised self-testing ahead of the day of the cruise (instead they provide a supervised test the day of the cruise)? Or are there any other cruise lines that are facilitating this? It would be great if the cruise lines could mail you the supervised test kits ahead of the cruise, in the same way that some of them mail out luggage tags. Or have  an option to purchase these kits directly from the cruise line, so that you could bundle in the test kits with your cruise package (i.e. pre-paid tips, pre-paid supervised covid test kits, etc.). Also, thanks a bunch to coastcat for providing the video! Much appreciated!

Here's one randomly-selected thread from the Celebrity forum: 

All you need to know is in that video, though. In the video he posted today, Tony talked about taking the test again for his next cruise, and mentioned that there's a new answer option in the Navica app (which you use in conjunction with the test kit). When he first tested, the app asked your reason for taking the test and the only thing applicable to cruising was "other." Now cruising is on the list! I imagine that demand for the test from cruisers has gone up considerably now that cruise lines changed to a 2-day test requirement.

 

Carnival was supposedly going to partner with Quest Diagnostics to facilitate pre-testing. I don't know what's become of that. As far as I know, NCL is the only mainstream line that takes care of the testing at the port for U.S. sailings. It's a bit of a logistic mess and must be costing them a ton of money. I doubt any cruise line can sell you an Abbott test directly since technically it's a prescription item; RCI's site links to the Optum site but you're still buying from Optum.

 

FYI, you can get a rapid PCR or antigen test at LAX, with costs ranging from $80 for rapid antigen to $199 for 1-hour PCR: https://www.flylax.com/travelsafely. Honestly, I'd rather test and get the results before getting on the airplane!

 

[njhorseman]

2 hours ago, coastcat said:

I doubt any cruise line can sell you an Abbott test directly since technically it's a prescription item;

That's incorrect. It hasn't required a prescription for more than six months:

https://abbott.mediaroom.com/2021-03-31-Abbotts-BinaxNOW-TM-Rapid-Antigen-Self-Test-Receives-FDA-Emergency-Use-Authorization-for-Asymptomatic-Over-the-Counter-Non-Prescription-Multi-Test-Use

ABBOTT PARK, Ill., March 31, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Abbott (NYSE: ABT) announced today it has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for over-the-counter, non-prescription, asymptomatic use of its BinaxNOW™ COVID-19 Ag Self Test for detection of COVID-19 infection. This new indication allows individuals with or without symptoms to have access to this test without a prescription. Abbott will begin shipping to major food, drug and mass merchandiser retailers in the coming weeks and expect the test to be available through some of their online store websites.

[coastcat]

1 hour ago, njhorseman said:

That's incorrect. It hasn't required a prescription for more than six months:

https://abbott.mediaroom.com/2021-03-31-Abbotts-BinaxNOW-TM-Rapid-Antigen-Self-Test-Receives-FDA-Emergency-Use-Authorization-for-Asymptomatic-Over-the-Counter-Non-Prescription-Multi-Test-Use

ABBOTT PARK, Ill., March 31, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Abbott (NYSE: ABT) announced today it has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for over-the-counter, non-prescription, asymptomatic use of its BinaxNOW™ COVID-19 Ag Self Test for detection of COVID-19 infection. This new indication allows individuals with or without symptoms to have access to this test without a prescription. Abbott will begin shipping to major food, drug and mass merchandiser retailers in the coming weeks and expect the test to be available through some of their online store websites.

 

That's not entirely correct either. We've got two test kits in play here! 

 

It is correct that BinaxNow for professional use does not require a prescription, which is why NCL can administer it at the port:

 

"As part of this authorization, the BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card test for professional use will no longer require a prescription, meaning that states, workplaces, schools and other organizations no longer need to work through a medical provider to generate a prescription before the test can be administered. For congregate environments using the professional-use version of BinaxNOW, a CLIA certificate is still required."

 

It is also correct that the test that Abbott is shipping to retailers such as CVS and Walgreens also does not require a prescription. What you can buy at the store is the over-the-counter self test, which is not supervised and thus not likely to be accepted by the cruise lines since they cannot verify who actually gave the sample.

 

The test you purchase from eMed and Optum is the home test. It's basically the same test materials, but the home test includes the video supervision of the sample collection. The self test box is marked OTC, while the home test one is marked Rx. Granted, it's kind of silly to call it a prescription when you're just answering some basic questions on the ordering page.

 

Luckily I have both boxes on hand, see below. The top box is the OTC version that I bought at CVS; I used one of the swab/card kits a few days before my NCL cruise in August just so I wouldn't get a nasty surprise at the port. The bottom box is the home test purchased through Optum. That's the one RCI will accept when I board Navigator of the Seas in December. 

 

It would have been nice if Abbott had given them more distinctive names.

 

Edited October 10, 2021 by coastcat

[njhorseman]

2 hours ago, coastcat said:

 

The test you purchase from eMed and Optum is the home test. It's basically the same test materials, but the home test includes the video supervision of the sample collection. The self test box is marked OTC, while the home test one is marked Rx. Granted, it's kind of silly to call it a prescription when you're just answering some basic questions on the ordering page.

The home test is not by prescription any longer. Your box probably says Rx because the test kit was manufactured when it still required a prescription.

You need to read further down in the press release I've cited:

The BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card 2 Home Test is a lateral flow immunoassay intended for the qualitative detection of nucleocapsid protein antigen from SARS-CoV-2 in direct anterior nasal (nares) swabs from individuals with or without symptoms or other epidemiological reasons to suspect COVID-19 infection when tested twice over three days with at least 36 hours between tests.  This test is authorized for non-prescription home use with self-collected observed direct anterior nasal (nares) swab samples from individuals aged 15 years or older or adult collected anterior nasal swab samples from individuals aged two years or older. The BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card 2 Home Test is to be performed only with the supervision of a telehealth proctor.

 

It's not "kind of silly to call it a prescription"...it's not a prescription at all.

 

BTW, the tests are currently out of stock at both eMed and Optum thanks to a decision made by Abbott a while back to not only stop manufacturing the test but to also destroy the stock they had because they incorrectly assumed that demand for the test would disappear. Now they're trying to ramp up production again.

 

 

 

[KreinKrunker]

20 hours ago, njhorseman said:

BTW, the tests are currently out of stock at both eMed and Optum

Bought one last night around 9:00pm.  Email today said it has been shipped.  To be delivered Monday or Tuesday.