COVID testing for vaccinated UK passengers sailing from US ports

[Mim Lloyd]

Hi

 

We are UK citizens and will be sailing on Harmony of the Seas on 9 January 2022 and staying on for the next cruise on 16 January 2022.  We are flying into Orlando airport the day before the cruise, late afternoon and staying one night in a hotel near the airport before taking a shuttle bus to Port Canaveral the next morning.

 

Does anyone know how we go about arranging for the pre-cruise antigen tests that RCI require before boarding the ship on 9 January 2022? As we don't live in the US and only arrive in the US late in the afternoon the day before the cruise, we don't know how we're going to arrange to be tested. The company that RCI recommend for home testing with videolink only ship in the US, not the UK. Also, as we are on back-2-back cruises in the same cabin on the same ship do we have to take another test before the second cruise starts on 16 January 2022?

[smplybcause]

You need a test to get into the US. If you're flying in the day before - would that test not be within the time frame the cruise requires? 

 

Otherwise your easiest bet right now is to just pay for the test that's at the airport. Any other place would require you to get a ride there and back and likely a charge. Currently the CVSs that are doing free aren't the ones that near the airport. 

[sharktums]

^Yeah, I agree with the above poster. Sounds like you should either use your test you'll use to fly for the cruise and just get that one right before the flight or make an appointment for the airport testing facility (assuming it will still be open then).  https://centracare.adventhealth.com/urgent-care/covid-19-testing-orlando-international-airport

[Biker19]

4 hours ago, Mim Lloyd said:

. Also, as we are on back-2-back cruises in the same cabin on the same ship do we have to take another test before the second cruise starts on 16 January 2022?

As of now, yes, and it’s done on the ship. 

[JBC11]

Hi, I am in a similar position. I am on the 28th October Harmony sailing from port Canaveral. We fly in from London on the 25th and staying in Orlando. Does anyone have suggestions as to where we can get our Covid test?. I appreciate any help you can provide.
John

[gumshoe958]

3 hours ago, JBC11 said:

Hi, I am in a similar position. I am on the 28th October Harmony sailing from port Canaveral. We fly in from London on the 25th and staying in Orlando. Does anyone have suggestions as to where we can get our Covid test?. I appreciate any help you can provide.
John

I would buy a rapid antigen test kit before you leave the UK (one that provides a “fit to fly” certificate) and take it with you. Then do the test the day before the cruise, upload the result online and you should get the certificate via email within a few minutes which you can show at the port.

 

FWIW I tend to use Chronomics but there are many, many others - check to see if your airline offers any discounts (BA certainly does).

 

From reading other threads, rapid antigen tests seem a lot harder to come by in the US - they’re mainly PCR - whereas they’re easy and cheap to get in the UK.

 

Edited October 16, 2021 by gumshoe958

[Mim Lloyd]

Thanks folks. I'll check out the airport testing to see what the price and availability is. If not that, I'll use either a Randox or Chronomics test. I used these when we went yo Spain last month and found loads of discount codes for them online. I'll get my travel agent to check that either of them will be acceptable by RCI for boarding.