Anyone have experience with AFTER cruise testing?

[Ducky22]

Question as I can't find it in the search, is there anyone who has traveled to the US from another country to cruise HAL and then required a test to get back home?

 

HAL has the following on their site (https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/worry-free-promise/travel-well/frequently-asked-questions/faq-for-cruises-from-usa.html?fbclid=IwAR19VRq2uot_HON9jeuEQxT3h8UO1PoWm6JpJ5FgMbDtrJtSsxc4HZUMBag)

If my home country requires proof of a negative COVID-19 test result for re-entry following my cruise, will Holland America Line administer and cover the cost of the test?

Yes, if a negative COVID-19 test is required for re-entry into your home country, Holland America Line will cover the costs of a COVID-19 test after your cruise outside the terminal. You will be assigned a time for your testing administration on board. Guests should disembark the ship prior to that time, collect their luggage, clear customs and exit the terminal for testing. COVID-19 tests will be administered just outside the terminal. Test results will be available in approximately 60 minutes; please plan your post-cruise travel arrangements within the timeframe required prior to travel and prior to the end of the voyage.

 

Guests who book a post-cruise stay before traveling home should ensure they meet all testing requirements. If the test provided outside the terminal does not meet the requirements for onward travel, additional testing is the responsibility of the guest at their expense.

But I would like to know if anyone has experience with how/where/when this testing works.

 

Do they plan the test times based on flights home, as disembarkation times were previously?

How long after arriving at the testing facility will the tests be administered? Is it generally a quick process?  (I see that I wait up approx 60 minutes for results, but is there a long wait time to get to the person administering the test?)

As the testing is "outside the terminal" did you have to deal with luggage or wait for shuttles to get to another location?

If we have a transfer- to-airport shuttle can they pick us up from the testing facility? (is the testing done in/close to the customs location? or far?)

Will it be only HAL passengers testing? Or will we be mixing with passengers from other cruise lines whose ships may have lesser Covid precautions?

 

Just trying to get an idea of what happens from anyone who has gone through it.  I realize this only applies to those flying out of the US after and not the typical US citizen, but hopefully we have some friendly cruisers from other countries on this board who can answer how it works.

[Fouremco]

Might I suggest that you repeat you post on the Canadian Cruisers board? Post-cruise testing for re-entry to Canada is a major ongoing topic of interest, and a new, HAL-specific, thread should give you the answers you are seeking.

[shipshapegirl]

2 hours ago, Ducky22 said:

Question as I can't find it in the search, is there anyone who has traveled to the US from another country to cruise HAL and then required a test to get back home?

 

HAL has the following on their site (https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/worry-free-promise/travel-well/frequently-asked-questions/faq-for-cruises-from-usa.html?fbclid=IwAR19VRq2uot_HON9jeuEQxT3h8UO1PoWm6JpJ5FgMbDtrJtSsxc4HZUMBag)

If my home country requires proof of a negative COVID-19 test result for re-entry following my cruise, will Holland America Line administer and cover the cost of the test?

Yes, if a negative COVID-19 test is required for re-entry into your home country, Holland America Line will cover the costs of a COVID-19 test after your cruise outside the terminal. You will be assigned a time for your testing administration on board. Guests should disembark the ship prior to that time, collect their luggage, clear customs and exit the terminal for testing. COVID-19 tests will be administered just outside the terminal. Test results will be available in approximately 60 minutes; please plan your post-cruise travel arrangements within the timeframe required prior to travel and prior to the end of the voyage.

 

Guests who book a post-cruise stay before traveling home should ensure they meet all testing requirements. If the test provided outside the terminal does not meet the requirements for onward travel, additional testing is the responsibility of the guest at their expense.

But I would like to know if anyone has experience with how/where/when this testing works.

 

Do they plan the test times based on flights home, as disembarkation times were previously?

How long after arriving at the testing facility will the tests be administered? Is it generally a quick process?  (I see that I wait up approx 60 minutes for results, but is there a long wait time to get to the person administering the test?)

As the testing is "outside the terminal" did you have to deal with luggage or wait for shuttles to get to another location?

If we have a transfer- to-airport shuttle can they pick us up from the testing facility? (is the testing done in/close to the customs location? or far?)

Will it be only HAL passengers testing? Or will we be mixing with passengers from other cruise lines whose ships may have lesser Covid precautions?

 

Just trying to get an idea of what happens from anyone who has gone through it.  I realize this only applies to those flying out of the US after and not the typical US citizen, but hopefully we have some friendly cruisers from other countries on this board who can answer how it works.

Thank you for asking these questions.  I am interested in any answers you find, also.  We are on the TA from Fort Lauderdale to Amsterdam in April.  As of right now, we have to be Covid tested before we board the plane back to the US.  Our biggest concern is the answers may affect our flight times. 

  

[Djb4CC]

I was on the N Amsterdam in November 2021 and needed a test to return back to Canada.  Our experience was that the ship did not do any booking or timing for testing.  The testing was located outside the terminal once you have picked up luggage and gone through customs.  It was simply a table with two guys typing down details (name, email, dob etc) in the computer and printing out the test request and then a third guy doing the swabs and managing the testing facility.  We arrived when there was no one waiting and walked right up… there were 6 tests going through their timed process so we had to wait to get tested, about 10 mins.  In that time, three families arrived and needed testing, so it got kind of busy.

 

the process was generally easy to manage, but yes, we had to handle all our luggage while waiting.

Edited January 18, 2022 by Djb4CC

[Ducky22]

Thank you so much!  That is exactly the kind of information I was looking for.  Always good to have a mental idea of what needs to get done so we don't lose ourselves in the stress of disembarkation. 

[CRu1853!!]

Interested in this also. We will be cruising In May from Whittier to Vancouver, staying one night in Vancouver then flying back to Florida. So I guess since we are flying in from foreign country we will need this kind of testing. When it is closer to May I will see what requirements are.