Questions related to all things Covid testing relating to Princess Cruises

[Tedferg]

Apologies if already answered.  Jut tested positive for Covid, fortunately very mild symptoms. I am unclear about 'proof of recovery' and 3 day clear test. It seems you can still test positive long after recovery. Fragments of RNA can create a positive test but not infectious. 
 

How do you get such proof? My Doctor has not seen my positive test. Is there a test for antibodies?

[PacnGoNow]

14 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

Apologies if already answered.  Jut tested positive for Covid, fortunately very mild symptoms. I am unclear about 'proof of recovery' and 3 day clear test. It seems you can still test positive long after recovery. Fragments of RNA can create a positive test but not infectious. 
 

How do you get such proof? My Doctor has not seen my positive test. Is there a test for antibodies?

When are you sailing?  How did you test positive?  In order to get a letter of recovery, you need a positive test result, unless your Dr will do it for you? 

 

If it was me, I’d go to CVS or Dr and test and then get a letter of recovery if I was traveling more than 10 days out.  

If you or family can’t go you may need that positive test for insurance claim.

 

UPDATED: Will I still need a COVID test before my vacation if I have recently recovered from COVID-19?

Guests who have recovered from COVID-19 within three months of the date of their cruise departure date or cruisetour departure date (whichever starts first) do not need to get a viral test before embarkation if they are at least 10 days past their COVID-19 infection, have no symptoms and produce documentation of recovery from COVID-19 infection.

Documentation of Recovery consists of the following:

• Paper or electronic copies of the positive viral test result from a certified laboratory (dated no more than 90 days ago), or
• A valid digital COVID-19 certificate (DCC) or a document issued by an offcial health or government authority showing confirmed previous infection.

Guests who present these documents will need to go through a secondary screening at the terminal, and boarding will be approved at the medical staff’s discretion. Guests who are unable to provide documentation of recovery that fulfills the above requirements, must take the required COVID-19 viral test before their vacation and show a negative result.

[kamelia]

12 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

Apologies if already answered.  Jut tested positive for Covid, fortunately very mild symptoms. I am unclear about 'proof of recovery' and 3 day clear test. It seems you can still test positive long after recovery. Fragments of RNA can create a positive test but not infectious. 
 

How do you get such proof? My Doctor has not seen my positive test. Is there a test for antibodies?

I'm not sure about tests for antibodies, but I can tell you that when I tested positive in April, it was a proctored test.  The County Health Department (Florida) was notified of the positive result and called me that afternoon to see how I was.  I said I was fine, I was asymptomatic, and had only tested as I'd been in recent contact with someone who had tested positive earlier that day.  When I told her that I was scheduled to board a cruise ship soon and asked what impact this test might have on that required test, she said she would issue a Letter of Recovery for me five days after this test just in case I was one of those people still testing positive 60 to 90 days after the initial diagnosis meaning the test before the cruise could be a (false) positive.  Positive test was Wednesday and the LoR was issued the following Monday.  As it turned out, the pre-cruise test was negative, so I cannot tell you how the Letter of Recovery might have been dealt with at the cruise terminal.  Hope this provides some insight.

[PacnGoNow]

1 hour ago, Tedferg said:

Apologies if already answered.  Jut tested positive for Covid, fortunately very mild symptoms. I am unclear about 'proof of recovery' and 3 day clear test. It seems you can still test positive long after recovery. Fragments of RNA can create a positive test but not infectious. 
 

How do you get such proof? My Doctor has not seen my positive test. Is there a test for antibodies?

 

1 hour ago, Tedferg said:

Apologies if already answered.  Jut tested positive for Covid, fortunately very mild symptoms. I am unclear about 'proof of recovery' and 3 day clear test. It seems you can still test positive long after recovery. Fragments of RNA can create a positive test but not infectious. 
 

How do you get such proof? My Doctor has not seen my positive test. Is there a test for antibodies?

If you test 2-3 days before for the sailing and tests negative, then won’t have to worry about the recovery letter.  But, if they are positive, then need that letter.

 

You could do a proctored test and send results to your Dr.  Or, just see if they will test you, so you can get that letter.

 

[Tedferg]

Thanks. I did a home self test. We sail Sep 20. Waiting for response from Dr. 
 

I will see if I test positive after 5 or 10 days and can get a Kaiser test then to show Dr. 

Edited June 21, 2022 by Tedferg

[PacnGoNow]

25 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

Thanks. I did a home self test. We sail Sep 20. Waiting for response from Dr. 
 

I will see if I test positive after 5 or 10 days and can get a Kaiser test then to show Dr. 

You’re right around the 90 day mark.

You’ll probably test negative just before your cruise, but would be nice to cover all bases.

Good luck

[nini]

3 hours ago, Tedferg said:

Thanks. I did a home self test. We sail Sep 20. Waiting for response from Dr. 
 

I will see if I test positive after 5 or 10 days and can get a Kaiser test then to show Dr. 

I think you will be good to go. Just CYA with the letter of recovery and Happy Sailimg!

[kml246]

6 hours ago, Tedferg said:

Apologies if already answered.  Jut tested positive for Covid, fortunately very mild symptoms. I am unclear about 'proof of recovery' and 3 day clear test. It seems you can still test positive long after recovery. Fragments of RNA can create a positive test but not infectious. 
 

How do you get such proof? My Doctor has not seen my positive test. Is there a test for antibodies?

 

According to the Princess website, it's proof of a positive test (from a lab or other medically supervised test) within 90 days OR proof of recovery within 90 days to board. It was the CDC that required both for flying back to the US, but that's no longer an issue. 

 

Nan tested positive last month. We did a home test followed by a PCR test at Walgreens, so that's proof of positive test. We sail on Enchanted Princess next month (within the 90 days) and we are both getting a Lateral Flow test in Southampton the day before we sail. If Nan tests negative, we won't even bother about showing the positive test from the end of May. If she tests positive, then we have that as proof. We'll also test ourselves before we leave. 

 

Kevin

[travelhound]

On 6/21/2022 at 9:20 AM, Mistuk72 said:

I note P&O from today have removed the need for any COVID testing prior to departure on Iona…

Hopefully Princess will also drop the testing requirement for fully vaccinated passengers.

[nini]

15 minutes ago, travelhound said:

Hopefully Princess will also drop the testing requirement for fully vaccinated passengers.

That would be fabulous! Soon, hopefully.

[Tedferg]

I had not thought much about proof-of-recovery, fully vaccinated and boosted I thought I was OK. It now occurs to me that there is a possibility of a false positive in the future. So, I will do a Kaiser test and get it on the record, just to be sure.

 

General FYI, I was certain it was just a head cold. My daughter insisted I take a test. Sore throat with a lot of coughing, slight headache but more of a fuzzy head than an ache, So happily mild symptoms. DW still tests negative.

[memoak]

1 hour ago, travelhound said:

Hopefully Princess will also drop the testing requirement for fully vaccinated passengers.

Don’t hold your breath as long as people are still testing positive even though totally vaccinated. My friend had to quarantine in Athens after a med cruise

[Tedferg]

48 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

 It now occurs to me that there is a possibility of a false positive in the future. So, I will do a Kaiser test and get it on the record, just to be sure.

Interesting, Kaiser says CDC state no need to retest for 90 days after a positive home self-test. My Kaiser GP is off for a few days so I will see what he says. My point is, I would like proof-of-recovery just in case, but a self-test is just my word.

[PacnGoNow]

5 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

Interesting, Kaiser says CDC state no need to retest for 90 days after a positive home self-test. My Kaiser GP is off for a few days so I will see what he says. My point is, I would like proof-of-recovery just in case, but a self-test is just my word.

See what your Dr says.  See if the Dr needs it to provide a Letter of recovery.

The CDC says that because, you can yest positive up to 90 days after getting covid, even though you are not infectious. That’s why the cruise line has the 90 day option that you can provide the letter instead of test.  

Edited June 22, 2022 by PacnGoNow

[Tedferg]

It just occurred to me, if CDC does not recommend re-test within 90 days of positive the 3-day pre-sail is unnecessary. No big deal more curiosity and caution on my part.

[t&atravel]

1 hour ago, Tedferg said:

It just occurred to me, if CDC does not recommend re-test within 90 days of positive the 3-day pre-sail is unnecessary. No big deal more curiosity and caution on my part.

As long as you take an antigen test pre cruise and not a PCR you’ll test negative and be fine. The PCR test is more sensitive and is usually what will come up positive within 90 days.  I had covid in February (home test and symptomatic). I did not retest with Kaiser but let them know so it was in my medical record.  I took a cruise in April with a negative antigen test.  Didn’t need a letter or lab test.

[Tedferg]

15 minutes ago, t&atravel said:

As long as you take an antigen test pre cruise and not a PCR you’ll test negative and be fine. The PCR test is more sensitive and is usually what will come up positive within 90 days.  I had covid in February (home test and symptomatic). I did not retest with Kaiser but let them know so it was in my medical record.  I took a cruise in April with a negative antigen test.  Didn’t need a letter or lab test.

Great advice to take the antigen test versus PCR, I had not thought of that aspect, thank you.

[kml246]

8 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

Great advice to take the antigen test versus PCR, I had not thought of that aspect, thank you.

 

That's what we're doing - antigen much less sensitive.

[Tedferg]

21 hours ago, t&atravel said:

As long as you take an antigen test pre cruise and not a PCR you’ll test negative and be fine. The PCR test is more sensitive and is usually what will come up positive within 90 days.  I had covid in February (home test and symptomatic). I did not retest with Kaiser but let them know so it was in my medical record.  I took a cruise in April with a negative antigen test.  Didn’t need a letter or lab test.

Dr. confirmed that Antigen test would only show positive if actually contagious, PCR is the one that shows for a long time.  

[guitarcrazy]

On 6/22/2022 at 10:56 AM, Tedferg said:

It just occurred to me, if CDC does not recommend re-test within 90 days of positive the 3-day pre-sail is unnecessary. No big deal more curiosity and caution on my part.

If you have had covid within 90 days you will not get it again and not spread it, which is why CDC does not recommend retest.  It is extremely, extremely rare to get Covid with 6 months of a prior infection.  Hence CDC -you do not need to take the antigen test either.  Zip.  Zero.  Nada.  But at 3 months and 1 day you should, as you could be one of those rare outliers.

 

 

[Tedferg]

1 hour ago, guitarcrazy said:

If you have had covid within 90 days you will not get it again and not spread it, which is why CDC does not recommend retest.  It is extremely, extremely rare to get Covid with 6 months of a prior infection.  Hence CDC -you do not need to take the antigen test either.  Zip.  Zero.  Nada.  But at 3 months and 1 day you should, as you could be one of those rare outliers.

Thanks for the clarification. My Dr. has sent me a letter confirming Covid recovery and we are now 89 days from sailing. DW will still need a test so I assume we both will take the Antigen test.

[stevenr597]

7 hours ago, Tedferg said:

Dr. confirmed that Antigen test would only show positive if actually contagious, PCR is the one that shows for a long time.  

We are not sure when a patient becomes contagious and for how long.  The standard antigen test has a high number of false negatives, especially if the patient is afebrile.  The PCR is the most sensitive assay out there, and remain positive for up to 90 days after the individual contract Covid.  However, it is thought that the individual who contracts Covid will stop shedding virus after symptoms subside. 

[stevenr597]

2 hours ago, guitarcrazy said:

If you have had covid within 90 days you will not get it again and not spread it, which is why CDC does not recommend retest.  It is extremely, extremely rare to get Covid with 6 months of a prior infection.  Hence CDC -you do not need to take the antigen test either.  Zip.  Zero.  Nada.  But at 3 months and 1 day you should, as you could be one of those rare outliers.

 

 

That, perhaps, used to be true.  However, if the new mutations coming out, one can contract Covid again, especially if he or she comes into contact with a new mutation. 

[PacnGoNow]

36 minutes ago, stevenr597 said:

That, perhaps, used to be true.  However, if the new mutations coming out, one can contract Covid again, especially if he or she comes into contact with a new mutation. 

And I believe you said your are a physician?  Thank you for clarifying.

[bluebelle2010]

We just need to be fully vaccinated but not boosted in order to sail, correct?  Has anyone done the video assisted COVID test with Optum through Princess?  Is the virtual visual supervision through Zoom, FaceTime, or ??.  I'm trying to get this info to reassure my travel mates.  Thank you!!