sunshine4me2 Posted December 17, 2021 #1 Share Posted December 17, 2021 I've searched for the answer on NCL boards, came up with nothing. Apologize if this has been answered before. We are booked on the Getaway, 12/27/21, 9 day, Miami. With the outbreak on the Breakaway earlier this month, and with the surge of the new variant, is NCL proactively Covid Testing DURING the cruise, and right before disembarking? Seriously would make sense to do so, as with everyone gathering at home for the Christmas holidays, and symptoms not appearing until 5-7 days after exposure, checking for Covid while cruising and right before you hop off the ship for a flight home, seems like a grand idea. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiefMateJRK Posted December 17, 2021 #2 Share Posted December 17, 2021 51 minutes ago, sunshine4me2 said: checking for Covid while cruising and right before you hop off the ship for a flight home, seems like a grand idea. That sounds like an awful idea. If you're concerned, why not just take a self-test with you? 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricksurf Posted December 17, 2021 #3 Share Posted December 17, 2021 I just returned from an extended cruise throughout the Mediterranean and Middle East. Covid testing was done on a regular basis as directed by the local authorities in order to enter a particular port. It was also done prior to leaving the ship to aid people with any regulations for country entry or return flights to the USA. Each ship carries a group of people who will do your Covid testing at the embark and will follow up with any further testing on board as required. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
halos Posted December 19, 2021 #4 Share Posted December 19, 2021 First, it's great that you're very conscientious. I wish everyone was. I have an upcoming cruise and have full intentions of packing an Abbott Covid test that we will take a couple days into the cruise. This is because are spending over a week pre-cruise in FL. Although we will be taking every precaution as we have since Covid emerged, just in case we (God forbid) get this dang virus, (we are triple vaxed but now, that is no guarantee) I don't want it on my conscience that I infected an entire ship, so we will take that packed test a couple days into the cruise on top of the test they'll give us at boarding. I just feel it's the right thing to do. Once we are off the cruise when it's over, we will wait a few days and test again before seeing anyone. This is how to balance living your life while being responsible. I don't know how long we'll be doing this balancing act, but if this is how it's going to be for a while, I'm just going to go with the flow and do it. I missed travel this past two years and I'm not getting any younger. I don't want to waste any more of my time. I feel I have to learn how to do this intelligently. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janicept Posted December 19, 2021 #5 Share Posted December 19, 2021 They don't currently routinely covid test during the cruise but if there's a positive case onboard they will likely have some protocol. I purchased at home tests through the Royal Caribbean site link and test myself before returning to work. We already get tested every Monday right now. The at home tests are similar to the rapid ones from CVS covid testing sites and the ones CVS did for Norwegian at the port before our cruise in September. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcakes122 Posted December 19, 2021 #6 Share Posted December 19, 2021 1 hour ago, halos said: First, it's great that you're very conscientious. I wish everyone was. I have an upcoming cruise and have full intentions of packing an Abbott Covid test that we will take a couple days into the cruise. This is because are spending over a week pre-cruise in FL. Although we will be taking every precaution as we have since Covid emerged, just in case we (God forbid) get this dang virus, (we are triple vaxed but now, that is no guarantee) I don't want it on my conscience that I infected an entire ship, so we will take that packed test a couple days into the cruise on top of the test they'll give us at boarding. I just feel it's the right thing to do. Once we are off the cruise when it's over, we will wait a few days and test again before seeing anyone. This is how to balance living your life while being responsible. I don't know how long we'll be doing this balancing act, but if this is how it's going to be for a while, I'm just going to go with the flow and do it. I missed travel this past two years and I'm not getting any younger. I don't want to waste any more of my time. I feel I have to learn how to do this intelligently. I completely agree with your plan and did the exact same on my cruise last week. I tested mid-cruise and 2 days after I got home. My cruise was to Bermuda which required a PCR test several days in advance, but even so I did a self-test at my home before leaving for the pier. I figured if I had the virus I'd rather find out at home then find out on the check-in line and have to worry about retrieving my luggage etc. I'm not sure why everyone doesn't do that. While I am still limiting a lot of activities (especially since the surge in the New York metropolitan area), I love having the home tests handy so that I can spot check if I need to see people. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare BirdTravels Posted December 19, 2021 #7 Share Posted December 19, 2021 On 12/16/2021 at 7:28 PM, sunshine4me2 said: I've searched for the answer on NCL boards, came up with nothing. Apologize if this has been answered before. We are booked on the Getaway, 12/27/21, 9 day, Miami. With the outbreak on the Breakaway earlier this month, and with the surge of the new variant, is NCL proactively Covid Testing DURING the cruise, and right before disembarking? Seriously would make sense to do so, as with everyone gathering at home for the Christmas holidays, and symptoms not appearing until 5-7 days after exposure, checking for Covid while cruising and right before you hop off the ship for a flight home, seems like a grand idea. Testing during a cruise would be a horrible idea and cause more hate and discontent. It is terribly disruptive and a waste of time and money. We test when we have to. Not to satisfy some curiosity. Done it a couple of dozen tImes since the start of the pandemic and we would never pay to do a test on our own. Experience with testing during a cruise: Royal hired EuroFins to have a few nurses and technicians on their ships for disembarkation testing. Passengers who signed up early got “good” times on a sea day. People who didn’t, had to test on a port day. Do you want to give up part of a port day for a swab? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcakes122 Posted December 19, 2021 #8 Share Posted December 19, 2021 6 minutes ago, BirdTravels said: Do you want to give up part of a port day for a swab? Spending 5 minutes to potentially protect others would definitely not be a issue for me. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
numberguy Posted December 19, 2021 #9 Share Posted December 19, 2021 (edited) @sunshine4me2, I was on the Nov 24 Getaway cruise out of Athens that ended up being a Greek Island/Italy cruise. We tested before we left with the proctored self-test (BINAX Now) in order to have a negative result to get into Ireland (changed planes) and to get into Italy (we stopped for a few days in Rome before going one to Athens). We were tested at the pier for the cruise. Then we were tested once during the cruise. I think it might have been approximately halfway through, and it was a port day, but I can't remember which one (Crete?). It was the same type of testing done at the pier by Eurofins staff. Then we were tested two days before disembarking (Naples). Same type of test by Eurofins staff. It was done by floor in Bliss Lounge, and was rather quick. We only had about 1350 passengers, so that wasn't a problem. Because we were staying for one night in Rome after the cruise, this caused us to be subject to the change in testing for re-entry into the US (had to test one day before we left Italy) and I had other BINAX Now proctored tests with me, so we tested in Rome (we had planned to do this anyway, since taking the test two days before the end of the cruise and staying a night in Rome was going to push our 3-day testing window to the limit). Interestingly enough, I still had two tests left (I bought a six-pack). We flew back on Monday, and I went to Indianapolis to visit some friends the following Thursday afternoon. I started feeling poorly that day and it continued into the weekend, so when I got home Sunday, I tested and was positive. My hubby tested and was negative. So I'm now answering this from my home office, quarantined. Hubby blames the person sitting behind me on the flight home, because she was coughing continuously during the flight. We really don't know where I got it, but so it goes. Rather mild symptoms, starting like a bad cold/flu, and as of today, I just have a little post-nasal drip. I'm fully vaccinated and boosted. --Michael Edited December 19, 2021 by numberguy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare BirdTravels Posted December 19, 2021 #10 Share Posted December 19, 2021 5 minutes ago, pcakes122 said: Spending 5 minutes to potentially protect others would definitely not be a issue for me. Please do so. But don’t force the whole ship to do it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mapleleafforever Posted December 19, 2021 #11 Share Posted December 19, 2021 The NHL is cancelling games due to positive cases and the only reason they knew is because of daily testing. Vast majority have zero symptoms and didn't even know they had it. If I was asymptomatic on a cruise and tested positive and they had me quarantine......yeah, I wouldn't be happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Traveling Man Posted December 19, 2021 #12 Share Posted December 19, 2021 13 minutes ago, Mapleleafforever said: If I was asymptomatic on a cruise and tested positive and they had me quarantine......yeah, I wouldn't be happy. But perhaps other passengers on board might be happy that they were isolated from someone else who tested positive, even though asymptomatic. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcakes122 Posted December 19, 2021 #13 Share Posted December 19, 2021 56 minutes ago, numberguy said: @sunshine4me2, We really don't know where I got it, but so it goes. Rather mild symptoms, starting like a bad cold/flu, and as of today, I just have a little post-nasal drip. I'm fully vaccinated and boosted. Get well soon, Michael! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
numberguy Posted December 20, 2021 #14 Share Posted December 20, 2021 3 hours ago, pcakes122 said: Get well soon, Michael! Thank you! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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