Cruisers- Welcome back to the USA

[TeeRick]

Just wanted to post a warm welcome to those non-essential world travelers that can now enter the USA with the new vaccination and testing rules in place as of Nov 8th.  We missed you!  This will be a big help to the cruise and tourist industries.  Another milestone for getting back to normal.  Hope to see you on a cruise from FLL or another US port soon.

[sandancer]

Thank you. We can’t wait to get back. 

[little britain]

Thank you !  Looking forward to getting back to the land of Double Stuffed Oreos and Gladwrap (seriously I stock up when ever I am there!!!!)

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Welcome back!  Looking forward to meeting people from other countries on future cruises--one of the things that makes cruising so enjoyable.

 

[drakes2]

35 minutes ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

Welcome back!  Looking forward to meeting people from other countries on future cruises--one of the things that makes cruising so enjoyable.

 

On the Silly 10 night this Friday also booked Edge for January. I will be making up for lost cruises.

[the penguins]

2 hours ago, TeeRick said:

Just wanted to post a warm welcome to those non-essential world travelers that can now enter the USA with the new vaccination and testing rules in place as of Nov 8th.  We missed you!  This will be a big help to the cruise and tourist industries.  Another milestone for getting back to normal.  Hope to see you on a cruise from FLL or another US port soon.

Thanks.

Number 1 priority is our grandson in Dallas. Then Silhouette TA in April.

[JeanieC,Aston]

There is questions being asked on one Celebrity FB forum from UK cruisers asking what tests are needed,where they can get them,can they use a UK test etc?

 

Flying into Florida the day before the cruise doesn’t give much if any time to get a test in Florida and get the result in time before boarding.

 

Celebrity has not got an answer yet.

Edited November 9, 2021 by JeanieC,Aston

[Gingercruiser]

26 minutes ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

There is questions being asked on one Celebrity FB forum from UK cruisers asking what tests are needed,where they can get them,can they use a UK test etc?

 

Flying into Florida the day before the cruise doesn’t give much if any time to get a test in Florida and get the result in time before boarding.

 

Celebrity has not got an answer yet.

I am sailing on the Edge b2b in January and am already wondering the same thing re rests. I am flying in 3 days before so would potentially have time to get a test in FL but how do we arrange one?

[upwarduk]

1 hour ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

Flying into Florida the day before the cruise doesn’t give much if any time to get a test in Florida and get the result in time before boarding.

 

Celebrity has not got an answer yet.

They certainly made life easier when sailing from UK.

They arranged tests via Eurofins 3 days before the cruise.

If you test results were not back, then you were tested at the port(Southampton).

Surely, this could be arranged at the port?

[the penguins]

1 hour ago, Gingercruiser said:

I am sailing on the Edge b2b in January and am already wondering the same thing re rests. I am flying in 3 days before so would potentially have time to get a test in FL but how do we arrange one?

Reading other posts it seems you can get them at various pharmacies,  Walgreens, CVS etc and also at airports. The airport might be easiest as you will already be there ( if it's not to far ahead. Fortunately we will have 2 weeks in Dallas pre cruise so plenty of time to sort the issue. 

[Valentin53]

Thank you. We are coming in February for a side to side cruises on Celebrity Millennium and Celebrity Apex. We can't wait to be on a Caribbean cruise, even though we were on a cruise in the Western Mediterranean on MSC Grandiosa in the summer. Expect us - we come vaccinated and healthy.

Sylvia

[Turtles06]

15 hours ago, Gingercruiser said:

I am sailing on the Edge b2b in January and am already wondering the same thing re rests. I am flying in 3 days before so would potentially have time to get a test in FL but how do we arrange one?

 

I'm not sure where you are sailing from, but there are a number of threads here in CC that identify locations for testing in Fort Lauderdale.  Here are are some.   Also, the Florida Departures forum is a good place to ask about other options.  

 

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

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2800304-where-can-a-get-the-fast-result-covid-rapt-antigen-test-in-fort-lauderdale/?tab=comments#comment-62120492

 

https://labmastersmd.com/

 

Welcome, and good luck!

 

[chemmo]

Just booked for March 2023…(Silhouette 10 nights plus extended stay). We are sticking to a cruise from Southampton next year. We are probably being over cautious but we would worry about tests, flights, changes to policy etc if we booked sooner.

 

Honestly, we can not wait to be back over the pond and hear ‘Have a nice day…’. I am even looking forward to going to Walmart as we settle into the villa part of our holiday…

 

Visiting some part of the US each year (Florida most frequently) has been part of our holiday pattern for nearly 30 years…When we are ever asked about the highlights of our frequent US travels we do mention the sights (Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Alaska to name but a few) and the diverse cities (NY, San Francisco, Seattle…to name but a few)  but the thing that we love the most is the warm welcome we always receive. 

 

Like so many people we have, in recent years, taken for granted the ability to travel…As we are now ageing (as well as world issues) we intend to make ‘every second count’….We will smile at the language difference (we will never remember to call the boot a trunk), we will enjoy the enormous meals without complaint and simply savour every moment….

 

[britishcruisers2]

36 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

 

I'm not sure where you are sailing from, but there are a number of threads here in CC that identify locations for testing in Fort Lauderdale.  Here are are some.   Also, the Florida Departures forum is a good place to ask about other options.  

 

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

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2800304-where-can-a-get-the-fast-result-covid-rapt-antigen-test-in-fort-lauderdale/?tab=comments#comment-62120492

 

https://labmastersmd.com/

 

Welcome, and good luck!

 

Thanks for this information, we sail on a back to back from Fort Lauderdale in February but will stay a couple of days pre cruise in Miami  so the tests that we take to fly to US will be beyond the 2 day time frame to board our ship. We are looking at all possible options including a company that visit you at your accommodation to test you and also a hotel chain that offers testing on site for staff and customers.I have also emailed our hotel to ask if they can give us details of  local testing centres.

[TeeRick]

Here is a link to the US CDC travel assessment tool for traveling to the USA from international locations.

 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/international-travel/travel-assessment/index.html

[TeeRick]

41 minutes ago, britishcruisers2 said:

Thanks for this information, we sail on a back to back from Fort Lauderdale in February but will stay a couple of days pre cruise in Miami  so the tests that we take to fly to US will be beyond the 2 day time frame to board our ship. We are looking at all possible options including a company that visit you at your accommodation to test you and also a hotel chain that offers testing on site for staff and customers.I have also emailed our hotel to ask if they can give us details of  local testing centres.

Now that travel is open, I am hoping that cruise lines like Celebrity will provide straight forward testing solutions for their international passengers once they get to the USA before boarding and before they return home.  Maybe they will need to have antigen testing centers at or near the cruise terminals for international travelers.  Wishful thinking??

[Turtles06]

51 minutes ago, britishcruisers2 said:

Thanks for this information, we sail on a back to back from Fort Lauderdale in February but will stay a couple of days pre cruise in Miami  so the tests that we take to fly to US will be beyond the 2 day time frame to board our ship. We are looking at all possible options including a company that visit you at your accommodation to test you and also a hotel chain that offers testing on site for staff and customers.I have also emailed our hotel to ask if they can give us details of  local testing centres.

Ah, Miami!  Then I can recommend a very reputable company with locations across the U.S, that we have used several times for testing (though not in Florida).  They have a couple of locations in Miami.  You can make an appointment on line.   (If they were in Fort Lauderdale, I would use them for the tests we need before our December cruise.)

https://www.sameday-testing.com

[britishcruisers2]

I understand that Celebrity will arrange a test for international travellers before disembarkation so that is taken care of. I understand that Miami airport has a company called Nomi Health on site so we are thinking we could be tested after clearing baggage and immigration before heading off to our pre cruise hotel.

[Turtles06]

4 minutes ago, britishcruisers2 said:

I understand that Celebrity will arrange a test for international travellers before disembarkation so that is taken care of. I understand that Miami airport has a company called Nomi Health on site so we are thinking we could be tested after clearing baggage and immigration before heading off to our pre cruise hotel.

 

Certainly if you are arriving in the U.S. within the time frame for taking a test that would be valid for Celebrity, a test at the airport would be the easiest solution.  There have been varying reports about whether airport test facilities will test arriving passengers (or only departing pax), so please check this out.  Here are some links for the Miami Airport testing, and Nomi.  Note that the Nomi link is what is linked from the Miami Airport site; it's an appointment form, and it's written only for departing pax.  I'm not saying they don't test arriving pax, but you'll need to pin this down.  You may want to ask over in the Florida Departures Forum.

 

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

 

https://testing.nomihealth.com/easy_registration/100/signup

[britishcruisers2]

Thanks, I will email Nomi and ask a few questions otherwise Sameday Health at Miami beach is favourite. Oh for the good old days when cruise planning was all about researching port excursions!!

[Turtles06]

23 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

Now that travel is open, I am hoping that cruise lines like Celebrity will provide straight forward testing solutions for their international passengers once they get to the USA before boarding and before they return home.  Maybe they will need to have antigen testing centers at or near the cruise terminals for international travelers.  Wishful thinking??

 

I don't disagree with you, but many U.S. travelers are in the same boat, so to speak.  We may be coming from some distance to a port, might not have a car there, and need to get tested in the port city as well.

 

A couple of weeks ago, we cruised on NCL out of NY.  NCL, as many folks know, requires an antigen test done at the pier, at NCL's expense. (They have partnered with Eurofins to do this.)  While we had to wait in line for two hours for our test (because Eurofins started late that day and did not have the required number of test booths open), it meant that no one had to search for a testing site for NCL's purposes.   Also, it meant that, at least on boarding day, everyone had tested negative for Covid-19.  Perhaps there's not a great difference between testing two days out and testing day of, but it's still a bit more measure of protection.

 

I wish Celebrity were testing at the pier.  With proper organization, it can be done.

[emmas gran]

We were due to be on Equinox B2B at the moment, but are in the  Canaries instead. The uncertainty of getting to Florida, we moved it to next year, but will have our Australian friends for company as they have decided to join us.

[Barwick Cruiser]

1 hour ago, britishcruisers2 said:

I understand that Celebrity will arrange a test for international travellers before disembarkation so that is taken care of. I understand that Miami airport has a company called Nomi Health on site so we are thinking we could be tested after clearing baggage and immigration before heading off to our pre cruise hotel.

Celebrity has actually changed their procedures and now is testing post cruise in the terminal once you’ve passed through customs and have collected your luggage and then emailing you the results. It’s unknown at this point if they’ll still take responsibility for positive test results since you’re off the ship at this point. The wording on the website has changed and now only states that they’ll look after you if you test positive while onboard.  

[Bo1953]

2 hours ago, britishcruisers2 said:

Thanks, I will email Nomi and ask a few questions otherwise Sameday Health at Miami beach is favourite. Oh for the good old days when cruise planning was all about researching port excursions!!

LOL - I would consider this an embarkation port 'excursion'....

 

In health and bon voyage

[the penguins]

9 hours ago, chemmo said:

Just booked for March 2023…(Silhouette 10 nights plus extended stay). We are sticking to a cruise from Southampton next year. We are probably being over cautious but we would worry about tests, flights, changes to policy etc if we booked sooner.

 

Honestly, we can not wait to be back over the pond and hear ‘Have a nice day…’. I am even looking forward to going to Walmart as we settle into the villa part of our holiday…

 

Visiting some part of the US each year (Florida most frequently) has been part of our holiday pattern for nearly 30 years…When we are ever asked about the highlights of our frequent US travels we do mention the sights (Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Alaska to name but a few) and the diverse cities (NY, San Francisco, Seattle…to name but a few)  but the thing that we love the most is the warm welcome we always receive. 

 

Like so many people we have, in recent years, taken for granted the ability to travel…As we are now ageing (as well as world issues) we intend to make ‘every second count’….We will smile at the language difference (we will never remember to call the boot a trunk), we will enjoy the enormous meals without complaint and simply savour every moment….

 

We have enjoyed many trips to the US including a memorable drive down route 101 from Seattle to LA. Now we spend most of our time in the US  just north of Dallas:

1) doing the school run - it's not like in the UK and our first attempt resulted in the whole system grinding to a halt with cars stretching out to the main highway and blocking the traffic lights.

2) cooking with our grandson - he loves English sausage rolls, the bosses Mac n Cheese, plus Anita batch cooks meals and freezes them.

3) going to watch our grandson play ice hockey (it's just hockey Grandpa I am told) - still can't get used to being out doors in 90 degrees one minute and huddled around a freezing ice rink the next.

After a 2 year absence we can't wait.