Can I do my PCR test in Canada for Carnival Cruise?

[kwcruise]

I've just booked a Carnival Cruise for December and am trying to figure out if I can do my pcr test here in Ontario and bring the paperwork to Miami? The person I booked with at Carnival did not know the answer and referred me to the website, but I can't see that info there either. Anyone out there have any recent experience with this this? (Asking for recent because things change so quickly these days...) Thanks so much!!

[K_e_short]

I am also cruising with Carnival in December.

 

Can you clarify your question though?

 

You need an antigen test to board a Carnival ship and yes you can do the antigen test in Ontario as long as it's two days before you board the ship (time doesn't matter so if you board on Saturday you can get the test Thursday or Friday. You can even do it Saturday AM but that's cutting it a bit short.)

 

Are you talking about the pcr test to come home?

 

[Fouremco]

As things currently stand, you need an antigen test to board your Carnival ship. Assuming that you aren't going to spend a few days in Florida pre cruise, you can take your antigen test in Canada and provide the results to Carnival at check in. The tests are readily available in Ontario at Shoppers Drug Mart for $40.

 

Assuming there are no changes in the requirements between now and the time of your cruise, to return to Canada you will need a PCR test taken within 72 hours of your scheduled return flight. Some cruise lines will provide that free of charge to passengers requiring the test, but Carnival does not. In which case, you would need to be tested in Miami. There are two locations within the Miami airport providing rapid PCR tests, as well as others throughout the city. 

[kwcruise]

21 hours ago, Fouremco said:

As things currently stand, you need an antigen test to board your Carnival ship. Assuming that you aren't going to spend a few days in Florida pre cruise, you can take your antigen test in Canada and provide the results to Carnival at check in. The tests are readily available in Ontario at Shoppers Drug Mart for $40.

 

Assuming there are no changes in the requirements between now and the time of your cruise, to return to Canada you will need a PCR test taken within 72 hours of your scheduled return flight. Some cruise lines will provide that free of charge to passengers requiring the test, but Carnival does not. In which case, you would need to be tested in Miami. There are two locations within the Miami airport providing rapid PCR tests, as well as others throughout the city. 

Such great info! Thank you. The test at the Miami airport is $200!! I'm trying to figure out another option. I'm flying home at 2 p.m. the day my cruise arrives to port, so am feeling limited though. sigh.

[kwcruise]

22 hours ago, K_e_short said:

I am also cruising with Carnival in December.

 

Can you clarify your question though?

 

You need an antigen test to board a Carnival ship and yes you can do the antigen test in Ontario as long as it's two days before you board the ship (time doesn't matter so if you board on Saturday you can get the test Thursday or Friday. You can even do it Saturday AM but that's cutting it a bit short.)

 

Are you talking about the pcr test to come home?

 

Yes, I am. I am going to go to Shoppers for the antigen test here pre-cruise, but need to figure out my test for my return to Canada. Flying out of Miami the same day my cruise hits port. 

[matamanoa]

We too have been checking out the test requirements for returning to Canada from the States and the test has to be done within the 72 hour limit for us to get back on the plane.  We have seen the tests cost anywhere from $150 and up, depending on where you get it done, so the $200 test you quoted is not unreasonable.  You might have to change your return flight to accommodate the time needed to get the required test.  Perhaps your ship will change their policy for those flying directly home and give the test on board before disembarkation.

[Fouremco]

While still very speculative, there is an outside chance that, by December, the PCR test requirement will be dropped by Canada. It would be wise to keep researching test possibilities, but there is increasing pressure to eliminate this major road block. With the CDC agreeing yesterday to accept all Canadian vaccinations, the GOC may reciprocate by getting rid of the test requirement.

[kwcruise]

49 minutes ago, matamanoa said:

We too have been checking out the test requirements for returning to Canada from the States and the test has to be done within the 72 hour limit for us to get back on the plane.  We have seen the tests cost anywhere from $150 and up, depending on where you get it done, so the $200 test you quoted is not unreasonable.  You might have to change your return flight to accommodate the time needed to get the required test.  Perhaps your ship will change their policy for those flying directly home and give the test on board before disembarkation.

Thank you. The place at the airport has the tests done in an hour. I have spoken with them this morning, and reserved a spot. 🙂

[Ginnyfyr]

12 hours ago, kwcruise said:

Thank you. The place at the airport has the tests done in an hour. I have spoken with them this morning, and reserved a spot. 🙂

Fast Labs (fastlabsmed.com) has PCR testing for $175 and $200. I'm not clear on what the difference is other than that one test says it's ideal for health clearances needed for travel and the other says "recommended if specifically requested for health clearances for travel" so I've emailed them to inquire. We are leaning toward getting our test with them because their site says results in minutes. We have a 5:30 pm flight and would like to get a day pass at a resort, but I feel it would be irresponsible to do that without having a negative test result in hand first. I also just found a pharmacy earlier tonight that Google says is about a 20 minute drive from the port. They advertise a PCR test for $149 US with results in an hour https://www.pharmcorx.com/pcr-covid-test-for-cruises-in-north-miami-beach This will be our #2 choice if Fast Labs tells me only their $200 test will get us home. I don't mind waiting an hour to save $50 US per person!

Edited October 17, 2021 by Ginnyfyr

[mikenbon]

On 10/15/2021 at 7:14 AM, Fouremco said:

As things currently stand, you need an antigen test to board your Carnival ship. Assuming that you aren't going to spend a few days in Florida pre cruise, you can take your antigen test in Canada and provide the results to Carnival at check in. The tests are readily available in Ontario at Shoppers Drug Mart for $40.

 

Assuming there are no changes in the requirements between now and the time of your cruise, to return to Canada you will need a PCR test taken within 72 hours of your scheduled return flight. Some cruise lines will provide that free of charge to passengers requiring the test, but Carnival does not. In which case, you would need to be tested in Miami. There are two locations within the Miami airport providing rapid PCR tests, as well as others throughout the city.
 

 

Do the Shoppers Drugmart tests have a telehealth service so a proctor watches you do the test? I was told they don't, here in West Kelowna. 

From the Carnival website:

"Fully vaccinated guests may use a medically observed self-test (sometimes referred to as home test) that meets the following criteria:

• The test must be a COVID-19 viral test (NAAT or antigen test) with Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
• The testing procedure must include a telehealth service affiliated with the manufacturer of the test that provides real-time supervision remotely through an audio and video connection. Some FDA-authorized self-tests that include a telehealth service may require a prescription.
• The telehealth provider must confirm the person’s identity, observe the specimen collection and testing procedures, confirm the test result, and issue a report that meets the requirements of acceptable proof of a negative COVID-19 test."

[kwcruise]

8 hours ago, Ginnyfyr said:

Fast Labs (fastlabsmed.com) has PCR testing for $175 and $200. I'm not clear on what the difference is other than that one test says it's ideal for health clearances needed for travel and the other says "recommended if specifically requested for health clearances for travel" so I've emailed them to inquire. We are leaning toward getting our test with them because their site says results in minutes. We have a 5:30 pm flight and would like to get a day pass at a resort, but I feel it would be irresponsible to do that without having a negative test result in hand first. I also just found a pharmacy earlier tonight that Google says is about a 20 minute drive from the port. They advertise a PCR test for $149 US with results in an hour https://www.pharmcorx.com/pcr-covid-test-for-cruises-in-north-miami-beach This will be our #2 choice if Fast Labs tells me only their $200 test will get us home. I don't mind waiting an hour to save $50 US per person!

Thanks for all of this info. When are you travelling? My date to return home is Dec.23. I'm really hoping people will share their experiences re testing before heading home here.... Another thing...my Carnival travel agent povided me with a link to the  Abbott BinaxNOW™ COVID-19 Ag Card Home Test which includes a viral antigen home test and the services of an eMedand suggested I try doing the test on the ship. I'm going to post and ask if any Canadians here have done that...

[K_e_short]

53 minutes ago, kwcruise said:

Thanks for all of this info. When are you travelling? My date to return home is Dec.23. I'm really hoping people will share their experiences re testing before heading home here.... Another thing...my Carnival travel agent povided me with a link to the  Abbott BinaxNOW™ COVID-19 Ag Card Home Test which includes a viral antigen home test and the services of an eMedand suggested I try doing the test on the ship. I'm going to post and ask if any Canadians here have done that...

 

Please see my response on your other post regarding that test.

 

From what I've read on here people are doing 2 things IF their cruise line won't test them before they get off the cruise ship

 

1 - Get the pcr test at the airport and fly home the same day. You are paying a high price but get to fly home the same day.

 

2 - Stay overnight and get a test result back within 24 hours. You may pay less but then you are paying to stay overnight. You do have more time to get the test and may have more options depending on the city you are flying out of.

 

Miami has PCR tests that come back within an hour so a 2pm flight is possible, depending on when you get off the ship and get to the airport. According to the website it's $179 USD.

 

https://news.miami-airport.com/covid-19-testing-available-daily-at-mia-starting-may-21/ 

[Ginnyfyr]

59 minutes ago, kwcruise said:

Thanks for all of this info. When are you travelling? My date to return home is Dec.23. I'm really hoping people will share their experiences re testing before heading home here.... Another thing...my Carnival travel agent povided me with a link to the  Abbott BinaxNOW™ COVID-19 Ag Card Home Test which includes a viral antigen home test and the services of an eMedand suggested I try doing the test on the ship. I'm going to post and ask if any Canadians here have done that...

We fly to FLL on Saturday and board our Virgin cruise a week from today. We will disembark that cruise on the 29th, hopefully get our free rapid antigen tests done at Terminal J by Nomi Health (if not I do have a list of other Nomi Health locations not far from the cruise port), then we can use that test to board our Carnival cruise on Halloween. When we disembark on Nov 6th is when we're hoping to use the services of FastLabs for the PCR test. If the $175 one will suit our purposes, that's pretty much the same cost as getting it at the airport ($179 at MIA) and then we'll be able to make the most of our day (in good conscience, with negative test results in hand - knock wood!) in the warm weather before we fly out that night.  

 

I'm pretty sure I've read somewhere here on CC that Canadians can't use those Abbott home tests, but don't quote me on that. I'm sure you will find the answers here though! Good luck!

[K_e_short]

2 minutes ago, Ginnyfyr said:

We fly to FLL on Saturday and board our Virgin cruise a week from today. We will disembark that cruise on the 29th, hopefully get our free rapid antigen tests done at Terminal J by Nomi Health (if not I do have a list of other Nomi Health locations not far from the cruise port), then we can use that test to board our Carnival cruise on Halloween.

Could you explain a bit more about getting a FREE antigen test through Nomi Health?

 

I remember people mentioning getting free tests at CVS etc but thought that was the only option.

 

That would be very helpful for those coming in a few days early.

[AlbertaCruisers]

40 minutes ago, Ginnyfyr said:

We fly to FLL on Saturday and board our Virgin cruise a week from today. We will disembark that cruise on the 29th, hopefully get our free rapid antigen tests done at Terminal J by Nomi Health (if not I do have a list of other Nomi Health locations not far from the cruise port), then we can use that test to board our Carnival cruise on Halloween. When we disembark on Nov 6th is when we're hoping to use the services of FastLabs for the PCR test. If the $175 one will suit our purposes, that's pretty much the same cost as getting it at the airport ($179 at MIA) and then we'll be able to make the most of our day (in good conscience, with negative test results in hand - knock wood!) in the warm weather before we fly out that night.  

 

I'm pretty sure I've read somewhere here on CC that Canadians can't use those Abbott home tests, but don't quote me on that. I'm sure you will find the answers here though! Good luck!

From what I’ve read, Nomi at the Airport isn’t free, their test prices are on the airport website. Someone on these boards did say that a person at Nomi said the testing was free at their other locations, but I didn’t verify that. 

[CruisinFinsUp]

Deleted

Edited October 17, 2021 by cruisintoddler

[AlbertaCruisers]

1 hour ago, kwcruise said:

Thanks for all of this info. When are you travelling? My date to return home is Dec.23. I'm really hoping people will share their experiences re testing before heading home here.... Another thing...my Carnival travel agent povided me with a link to the  Abbott BinaxNOW™ COVID-19 Ag Card Home Test which includes a viral antigen home test and the services of an eMedand suggested I try doing the test on the ship. I'm going to post and ask if any Canadians here have done that...

I believe others have answered, but you need a molecular test to come back to Canada, an antigen test will not be accepted. There are stories of people being fined $5000 each when showing up at the border with antigen tests that people in the USA told them would work. 

[Ginnyfyr]

40 minutes ago, AlbertaCruisers said:

From what I’ve read, Nomi at the Airport isn’t free, their test prices are on the airport website. Someone on these boards did say that a person at Nomi said the testing was free at their other locations, but I didn’t verify that. 

That was me. I used the chat feature on the Nomi health site to inquire about testing at non-airport sites and the rep told me non-airport sites are free for anyone requiring testing. PCR testing at MIA is $179 and at FLL it's $159, based on what 2 different Nomi chat agents have told me.

[Ginnyfyr]

A little more info on Fast Labs (I am impressed that they replied to yesterday's email today and then answered the other question I sent back!) I initially emailed them and asked what the difference is between the 2 PCR tests they offer. I copied from the GOC website the types of molecular tests we can have and they replied and said yes, both tests will work for your travel purposes. I replied to that and asked if both test results will say SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR as that's what our test results from our Princess cruise said. They responded to that and said the $200 test is the RT-PCR. The $175 test result will say Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (Isothermal PCR) aka NAAT test, which the GOC website does say is an accepted test, so yes, either will work. The closest Fast Labs to the Miami cruise port is their Midtown location behind Taco Bell (sounds sketchy,  but remember, this is a mobile testing site, literally on wheels) which Google maps says is about a $15 minute drive. In the end, we have opted to go straight to Miami airport, since Nomi Health said now that we're registered for testing, we can come at any time on the day of our flight. We'll go there first thing in the morning, get our test results which they say take 30 minutes, then, assuming all is well, head to a resort for a day since we don't fly out until 5:30 pm. 

[Fouremco]

2 hours ago, kwcruise said:

Thanks for all of this info. When are you travelling? My date to return home is Dec.23. I'm really hoping people will share their experiences re testing before heading home here.... Another thing...my Carnival travel agent povided me with a link to the  Abbott BinaxNOW™ COVID-19 Ag Card Home Test which includes a viral antigen home test and the services of an eMedand suggested I try doing the test on the ship. I'm going to post and ask if any Canadians here have done that...

Unfortunately, well intentioned but very poor advice. As others have pointed out, this antigen test is acceptable for boarding the ship, but not for reentry to Canada. 

 

Keep coming to CC with your questions!

[Ginnyfyr]

1 hour ago, K_e_short said:

Could you explain a bit more about getting a FREE antigen test through Nomi Health?

 

I remember people mentioning getting free tests at CVS etc but thought that was the only option.

 

That would be very helpful for those coming in a few days early.

I had used the chat feature on their website to inquire about the cost of testing at a site closer to the Miami cruise port. The agent replied and told me that all testing at non-airport sites is free for everyone (I did ask if that applies to Canadian travellers, too, and he said yes) and the only place you will charged for any test is at Miami for Ft. Lauderdale airports. There are 2 sites at the cruise pier, but the one at Terminal E is only open on Wednesdays and the one at Terminal J appears to only be open Mon-Fri. The next 2 closest sites are Dan Paul Plaza and the South Dade Government Centre. I checked this morning and both had appointments for today, so I assume both are open on weekends but I would recommend checking later in the week to see if they have Saturday appointments. We had considered getting an antigen test done the morning we fly out, then getting our PCR at the airport closer to our flight time, but we just clued in that the Nomi chat lady yesterday said we can come at any time on the day of flight for our test, so we're just heading straight to the airport when we disembark. You don't have to pass through security to get to their testing facility (Terminal H, 2nd level, Door #20) so we'll go in, get tested, hopefully get negative results, and then head to a hotel to enjoy the day. 

[Fouremco]

10 hours ago, mikenbon said:

Do the Shoppers Drugmart tests have a telehealth service so a proctor watches you do the test? I was told they don't, here in West Kelowna. 

From the Carnival website:

"Fully vaccinated guests may use a medically observed self-test (sometimes referred to as home test) that meets the following criteria:

• The test must be a COVID-19 viral test (NAAT or antigen test) with Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
• The testing procedure must include a telehealth service affiliated with the manufacturer of the test that provides real-time supervision remotely through an audio and video connection. Some FDA-authorized self-tests that include a telehealth service may require a prescription.
• The telehealth provider must confirm the person’s identity, observe the specimen collection and testing procedures, confirm the test result, and issue a report that meets the requirements of acceptable proof of a negative COVID-19 test."

The section of Carnival's website that you have quoted deals with home tests, just one option for testing. To the best of my knowledge, there are no Canadian companies selling home test kits supported by telehealth proctors, although some posters here have acquired them from the US. The vast majority of cruisers do not use at home testing.

 

Unless you are flying to the US several days before your cruise, the easiest way to meet both the US entry requirements and those of the cruise line is to go to SDM for an onsite rapid antigen test a couple of days before embarkation. For example, test on Friday, fly on Saturday and embark on Sunday. 

[broberts]

3 hours ago, kwcruise said:

Thanks for all of this info. When are you travelling? My date to return home is Dec.23. I'm really hoping people will share their experiences re testing before heading home here.... Another thing...my Carnival travel agent povided me with a link to the  Abbott BinaxNOW™ COVID-19 Ag Card Home Test which includes a viral antigen home test and the services of an eMedand suggested I try doing the test on the ship. I'm going to post and ask if any Canadians here have done that...

 

It's always helpful to consult official sources for entry requirements. https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/flying-canada-checklist/covid-19-testing-travellers-coming-into-canada

 

As outlined in the link, those who have recovered from covid may need to present a positive test older than 14 days, see the link for details.

[kellk]

The other option for the PCT testing required for Canadians returning to Canada post cruise that I haven't seen mentioned here is to have the testing done at one of your ports of call that qualifies by being 72 hours or less from the scheduled flight time of your direct flight to Canada.  This is indeed what I have been investigating for a cruise from LA to Mexico in November.  Currently I have testing set up in both Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta (as our itinerary was just this week reversed; I'll be canceling one of them soon).  Admittedly this is not optimal but was needed in our case as our flight time to Canada on the date of disembarkation in LA is fairly early and won't allow us to have the testing in time at the airport (LAX).

[kwcruise]

1 hour ago, kellk said:

The other option for the PCT testing required for Canadians returning to Canada post cruise that I haven't seen mentioned here is to have the testing done at one of your ports of call that qualifies by being 72 hours or less from the scheduled flight time of your direct flight to Canada.  This is indeed what I have been investigating for a cruise from LA to Mexico in November.  Currently I have testing set up in both Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta (as our itinerary was just this week reversed; I'll be canceling one of them soon).  Admittedly this is not optimal but was needed in our case as our flight time to Canada on the date of disembarkation in LA is fairly early and won't allow us to have the testing in time at the airport (LAX).

What a great idea! I've just done a search for our last cruise port and this is a definite option. Thanks so much!