Questions related to all things Covid testing relating to Princess Cruises

[pompeii]

33 minutes ago, NIkkiGR said:

Anyone else heard that Covid testing will no longer be needed after August 2 from Rome?

I haven't heard this but things are starting to change.  Carnival announced today that Covid tests are no longer needed for cruises 5 nights or less.  And that other changes are coming.  I imagine Princess will follow suit pretty quickly.

[Billish]

28 minutes ago, pompeii said:

I haven't heard this but things are starting to change.  Carnival announced today that Covid tests are no longer needed for cruises 5 nights or less.  And that other changes are coming.  I imagine Princess will follow suit pretty quickly.

Not sure. Other CCL lines have relaxed their protocols a great deal - Princess appear to  be  an outlier. 

[Tedferg]

2 hours ago, pompeii said:

I haven't heard this but things are starting to change.  Carnival announced today that Covid tests are no longer needed for cruises 5 nights or less.  And that other changes are coming.  I imagine Princess will follow suit pretty quickly.

I don't see this as a good sign, why go to cruises of 5 days or less if they were going to drop testing all together? Makes be think it will be a long time before they drop it for longer cruises.

[PacnGoNow]

8 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

I don't see this as a good sign, why go to cruises of 5 days or less if they were going to drop testing all together? Makes be think it will be a long time before they drop it for longer cruises.

Testing the waters.

5 day cruise, you’d probably test positive once you got home.  You’d not be a problem for the cruiselines. 

[Steelers36]

On 7/28/2022 at 3:35 PM, Tweedy said:

I did a search and didn't come up with my answer.

 

We are booked for a B2B in October.  Does Princess conduct a C-test at the end of the first cruise to ensure you are negative for the next or do you have to find your own test between the two sailings?  I think I read they conduct but just want to make sure I have the correct information since it is still such a fluid situation and we haven't sailed since 2019.

 

7 hours ago, Tweedy said:

 

Thank you but still doesn't really answer my question. 

Princess provides these tests.  Many postings have been made about these.  There is much less testing done now for B2B's than many months ago.  They might drop all of the tests by October - who knows?

[Steelers36]

2 hours ago, Billish said:

Not sure. Other CCL lines have relaxed their protocols a great deal - Princess appear to  be  an outlier. 

It's the curse of the Diamond that holds them back.

[jdacombe]

On 7/28/2022 at 9:32 PM, PacnGoNow said:

Do I need a COVID-19 vaccine booster dose?

For United Kingdom voyages departing on or after May 7, COVID-19 vaccine boosters^ are required for guests 18 years and older whose final dose of an approved/authorized COVID-19 vaccine is older than 9 months (270 days) from the date of disembarkation to be considered “fully vaccinated.”

There is currently no requirement for guests to receive a second booster dose; nor is there a requirement for guests ages 17 and under to receive an initial booster dose, regardless of when the last dose in an approved COVID-19 vaccine series was received.

Vaccination entry requirements can change without notice, so we recommend you keep your vaccination status up to date and ensure you are familiar with the requirements for the destinations you plan to visit. View the Vaccination & Testing Requirements by Region page.
 

 

Don't know if this will be any help (or just muddy the water).

Have contacted Princess Cruises twice about the vaccine policy as one of our party has received her two main jabs but not a booster, her second jab was within the 270 days. Have had the same answer each time:

As she has received both the main jabs and her last vaccine was within the 270 days timeframe she is counted as fully vaccine and no need for a booster.

I was also told on both occasions that she would have no problem boarding.

 

[Fjord4Fun]

14 hours ago, PplusA said:

You can just google “Covid test near me” that came up with a few for us.

I did that first.  There aren't any.

[Fjord4Fun]

17 hours ago, devonuk said:

Lloyds Pharmacy for me 👍 £29.99 for an antigen test. 

Ah ha!  I saw all there other test but not their £29.99 one.  Staring at me in plain sight when I checked again.  I can see there is an in-store one 20 miles away from home so will book that the day before we head to port.  Many thanks.

Edited July 30, 2022 by Fjord4Fun

[Billish]

4 minutes ago, Fjord4Fun said:

Ah ha!  I saw all there other test but not their £29.99 one.  Staring at me in plain sight when I checked again.  I can see there is an in-store one 20 miles away from home so will book that the day before we head to port.  Many thanks.

Just telephone them and check that the store actually does them. Not every  Lloyds chemist offers the service.

[Fjord4Fun]

13 minutes ago, Billish said:

Just telephone them and check that the store actually does them. Not every  Lloyds chemist offers the service.

Appointment just made online for preferred store.  Best of all if Princess change the rules I can cancel and will not be charged.

Edited July 30, 2022 by Fjord4Fun

[Billish]

16 minutes ago, Fjord4Fun said:

Appointment just made online for preferred store.  Best of all if Princess change the rules I can cancel and will not be charged.

You should still ring and confirm. 

We booked online for a test at the Slough store. Got  appointments and everything. Rang the week before and were told they didn't do tests instore . 

[Fjord4Fun]

40 minutes ago, Billish said:

You should still ring and confirm. 

We booked online for a test at the Slough store. Got  appointments and everything. Rang the week before and were told they didn't do tests instore . 

Will do, thank you.

[jdacombe]

Agree with Billish, I would phone the store a couple of days before your tests to confirm that they do the tests, have test kits still in stock and will there be a pharmacist available on the day to do the test.

I booked with a local Lloyd's a week ago and acouple days later they sent me an email cancelling the appointment, when I phoned them their answer was that there would be no pharmacist available that day.

My sister booked appointments with another local branch for her trip and she received an email yesterday cancelling their appointments as there was no stock of test kits in the store.

 

[lb7429]

Has anyone used On Point for Covid testing?

[Sundevil98]

28 minutes ago, lb7429 said:

Has anyone used On Point for Covid testing?

 

I just heard of this service and was wondering the same thing! 

[Tedferg]

16 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

Testing the waters.

5 day cruise, you’d probably test positive once you got home.  You’d not be a problem for the cruiselines. 

Ah, so you are suggesting that if there are not too many infections they will extend to longer cruises.

[PacnGoNow]

1 hour ago, Tedferg said:

Ah, so you are suggesting that if there are not too many infections they will extend to longer cruises.

They just won’t know about the positive cases, once they are not OB any more, so therefore not responsible.

 

I have no doubt the cases are increasing on ships, as everywhere, due to Omicron.

 

I have no idea when they will extend it to

longer cruises.  I believe all these are tests to see how best to mitigate.

 

 

 

[cr8tiv1]

This was the last section of a USA Today news article.  Like Princess or any other ship is going to be so transparent.  

 

How can passengers learn about outbreaks on cruise ships?

The CDC has discontinued the cruise ship color status page on its website, but the agency said in the Frequently Asked Questions section that customers can reach out to cruise lines about outbreaks on their ship.

[Billish]

5 hours ago, Tedferg said:

Ah, so you are suggesting that if there are not too many infections they will extend to longer cruises.

The likes of Cunard and P&O are doing away with observed tests already, regardless of the length  of  the cruise.

Just an acceptance that Covid is here to stay, and that testing will not stop  the virus spreading on board.

[Mickrory2]

9 hours ago, Billish said:

The likes of Cunard and P&O are doing away with observed tests already, regardless of the length  of  the cruise.

Just an acceptance that Covid is here to stay, and that testing will not stop  the virus spreading on board.

If Princess don't follow suit they will start losing business to these other companies. Travel is difficult enough currently without the added aggravation of finding a testing site before the cruise, particularly as Testing in the UK has been scaled right down.

We've just booked another cruise with P&O even though our preferred cruise line is Princess.

[Fjord4Fun]

1 hour ago, Mickrory2 said:

If Princess don't follow suit they will start losing business to these other companies. Travel is difficult enough currently without the added aggravation of finding a testing site before the cruise, particularly as Testing in the UK has been scaled right down.

We've just booked another cruise with P&O even though our preferred cruise line is Princess.

Testing might have been scaled right down.  However, the number of case is still soaring.  You might not be worried about catching Covid on a cruise but you might well be spreading it.

[SargassoPirate]

1 hour ago, Fjord4Fun said:

Testing might have been scaled right down.  However, the number of case is still soaring.  You might not be worried about catching Covid on a cruise but you might well be spreading it.

 

Spreading to whom?  The vaccinated?  The unvaccinated?  If others are concerned about someone else spreading covid to them, they should be wearing an N95 from the moment they step outside their home regardless of their vaccination status.  And if they are unvaxxed, I'd say they are not too concerned.

 

The virus is here to stay.  The vaccines and therapeutics are working and I place my trust in them to keep me safe, not other people.

 

Anyone waiting for zero cases is going to have a long wait. 

[Cash123]

3 hours ago, Fjord4Fun said:

Testing might have been scaled right down.  However, the number of case is still soaring.  You might not be worried about catching Covid on a cruise but you might well be spreading it.

I think you have old news here, in the UK last week cases dropped by half a million on the previous week so we are now seeing cases coming down.

[Adventures ahead]

7 minutes ago, Cash123 said:

I think you have old news here, in the UK last week cases dropped by half a million on the previous week so we are now seeing cases coming down.

Could this be because there is also less testing?