(Covid Testing) When EXACTLY does "2 days before" start

[D C]

Departing on Saturday, so can test "anytime" on Thursday.  Planning to use emed BinaxNOW purchased through the X link.

But Thursday must have some time-zone dependent beginning time.

 

What's the earliest that anyone has tested on the 2nd day before and has any time been too early?  Does 12:01 AM Eastern time count?   Pacific time?  

[DaKahuna]

As long as you test results are dated on Thursday or later you should be good for a Saturday sailing.  

[kroberst]

Agree with above, I recall timing issues being part of the rationale when references shifted from an "hours" reference to "days".

[jelayne]

Not 24 hours, just 2 calendar days.  We will test Thursday, fly Friday and board Saturday 🤞

[Jim_Iain]

Take the date of your cruise and count back 2 day.    You can have the test anytime after midnight on that day     Sunday = Friday    Saturday = Thursday  Friday = Wednesday   etc.

 

They do not look at Time Zone .    They look at the time stamp on your test.   At least for us in California when I was tested for the Online Proctored  Covid tests it showed the correct PST time that I took the test.

[D C]

16 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

As long as you test results are dated on Thursday or later you should be good for a Saturday sailing.  

"should be" is what I'm trying to establish as an "absolutely" 🙂

[D C]

12 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Take the date of your cruise and count back 2 day.    You can have the test anytime after midnight on that day     Sunday = Friday    Saturday = Thursday  Friday = Wednesday   etc.

 

They do not look at Time Zone .    They look at the time stamp on your test.   At least for us in California when I was tested for the Online Proctored  Covid tests it showed the correct PST time that I took the test.

So if you and I both took our tests at 12:01 am Eastern time, mine would be valid and yours not? 

Edited January 26, 2022 by D C

[DaKahuna]

Well, I can say absolutely that the test we used for our November 2021 sailing on Reflection were dated on Thursday 11-2-21 for a 11-4-21 sailing.  Not being a Celebrity Executive with decision making authority I can not say ‘absolutely’ what will or will not be accepted at the time of your sailing.  
 

The Celebrity web site says two days, hours and time zones are not mentioned. 

[RichYak]

3 minutes ago, D C said:

"should be" is what I'm trying to establish as an "absolutely" 🙂

For me, the Navica app showed local time (EDT at that time). The pdf attachment to the email I received showed UTC, which was 4 or 5 hours later than local. I probably could have tested at 8:01pm 3 days prior and showed the pdf to board. Obviously I wouldn’t try this. 

[mahdnc]

This may or may not be helpful although it has a lot of information.  Here are the Celebrity "Healthy at Sea FAQs".  At the bottom of the first page is "how to calculate which days to take your test".

 

[Denny01]

On more than a few earlier threads, it has been stated 2 days prior. And all of us who did the testing 2 days prior had our tests accepted.  Absolutely? 99.78%. But as in the movie “Don’t Look Up”, the response to that probability was, “Well, then it’s not 100% for sure”. 

 

It’s ‘within’ 2 days prior. If anyone is concerned when it starts on the 2nd day prior, then do it the day prior. Then it’s 99.99978% probable as acceptable. 

 

Den

Edited January 26, 2022 by Denny01

[Denny01]

By the way, why would anyone come on a general travel forum such as this and ask a question that they insist the response be ‘absolutely’ correct. Even if the Celebrity website says 2 days, which it does, no one can say that is ‘absolute’. Haven’t we read here how bad the Celebrity website is. And calling Celebrity won’t get an ‘absolutely’ correct answer considering how many errors we read here that posters get bad info from them. reading posts here from those of us who took the test 2 days prior and that was accepted, that can’t be ‘absolutely’ true….we may lie or the person checking it made a mistake accepting our tests.

 

I know one absolute thing: Posters are trying to help and that doesn’t seem enough. But Enough for me.

 

den

[D C]

8 hours ago, Denny01 said:

By the way, why would anyone come on a general travel forum such as this and ask a question that they insist the response be ‘absolutely’ correct. Even if the Celebrity website says 2 days, which it does, no one can say that is ‘absolute’. Haven’t we read here how bad the Celebrity website is. And calling Celebrity won’t get an ‘absolutely’ correct answer considering how many errors we read here that posters get bad info from them. reading posts here from those of us who took the test 2 days prior and that was accepted, that can’t be ‘absolutely’ true….we may lie or the person checking it made a mistake accepting our tests.

 

I know one absolute thing: Posters are trying to help and that doesn’t seem enough. But Enough for me.

 

den

So nothing constructive to contribute? Just posted to rant about a particular word being used? 🙄

 

Did you even read the OP? 

"What's the earliest that anyone has tested on the 2nd day before and has any time been too early?" 

[mom says]

Let's cut to the chase. Your location is shown as Michigan,  so you are on EST. Is your cruise departing from a port that is also EST? If so, then why all the kerfuffle?

The X website clearly states they are only concerned about the day you took the test. Not the time. The time only becomes a factor for entry into a country, where that requirement specifies the interval in hours, not days.

[TeeRick]

11 hours ago, D C said:

"should be" is what I'm trying to establish as an "absolutely" 🙂

Dave IMO,  you are overthinking this.  😄

[RichYak]

11 hours ago, D C said:

So if you and I both took our tests at 12:01 am Eastern time, mine would be valid and yours not? 

I would say this is correct because your test result would have Thursday's date and Jim's would have Wednesday's.

[RichYak]

11 hours ago, mahdnc said:

This may or may not be helpful although it has a lot of information.  Here are the Celebrity "Healthy at Sea FAQs".  At the bottom of the first page is "how to calculate which days to take your test".

 

10 hours ago, Denny01 said:

On more than a few earlier threads, it has been stated 2 days prior.

 

These are both answers to a question that no one in this thread has asked.

[RichYak]

14 minutes ago, mom says said:

Is your cruise departing from a port that is also EST?

The time zone of the departing port has no significance. Regardless of its time zone, the ship leaves on a Saturday.

[Jeremiah1212]

These discussions give me nightmare flashbacks to college philosophy class. 

 

 

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/healthy-at-sea/faqs

 

How to calculate which days to take your test:

Vaccinated guests: You must take your test no more than 2 days before embarkation.  Therefore, if you are setting sail on a Saturday, you can take your test on Thursday or Friday. You may also take it on Saturday morning if necessary — however, we don't recommend waiting until the last minute.

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/healthy-at-sea/accepted-covid-tests

 

Where and When to Get Your Test

Most local pharmacy chains offer COVID-19 Testing and most county or state websites can help you find a local public testing site. You can also go to a doctor’s office, diagnostic lab, or telehealth provider to get your test.

Some additional things to keep in mind when scheduling your test:

For sailings that require a pre-cruise test, you will be asked to take the test no more than 3 days before your sail date for unvaccinated guests and no more than 2 days for vaccinated. How to calculate “3 and ‘2 days before”: The day you set sail is not included as one of the days. For example, if you are setting sail on a Saturday, you can take your test on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday before your sailing and for “2 days you can take the test Thursday or Friday.       

Make sure that your selected test provider can provide you a valid results document in time for your travel.

 

 

 

[mahdnc]

10 minutes ago, RichYak said:

 

 

These are both answers to a question that no one in this thread has asked.

 

Thank you.

[RichYak]

14 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

Make sure that your selected test provider can provide you a valid results document in time for your travel.

This is what OP is trying to figure out. He's asking, very specifically, what time zone does the Navica app use for the Binax at home proctored tests so that he can ensure that his testing date says Thursday.

[PTC DAWG]

2 hours ago, D C said:

So nothing constructive to contribute? Just posted to rant about a particular word being used? 🙄

 

Did you even read the OP? 

"What's the earliest that anyone has tested on the 2nd day before and has any time been too early?" 

8 AM two days before departure is the earliest I have tested.  Count back 2 days, take the test then or the next day or the day of departure.  You'll be fine, as long as your test is negative.  

Edited January 26, 2022 by PTC DAWG

[D C]

1 hour ago, TeeRick said:

Dave IMO,  you are overthinking this.  😄

I'm really not, Rick. 

I just have DW wanting to take the test ASAP so she knows whether or not to pack on Thursday.  I've yet to risk throwing out the "You're not REALLY going to wake me up at midnight to shove a q-tip in my nose, are you?" question, because I know the answer. 🤣

[Jim_Iain]

13 hours ago, D C said:

So if you and I both took our tests at 12:01 am Eastern time, mine would be valid and yours not? 

That is correct since it would only be 9:01 PM Pacific Time.  

 

I guess I could cheat the system and use a VPN to shift my location to the East Coast but that the hacker side of me. 

[D C]

1 hour ago, RichYak said:

This is what OP is trying to figure out. He's asking, very specifically, what time zone does the Navica app use for the Binax at home proctored tests so that he can ensure that his testing date says Thursday.

Thank you.  

The emed site goes so far as to say:
The eMed Lab Report timestamps your test time in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), which may not be your local time zone. You may search online to find the corresponding UTC to your local time zone if you would like to verify the local time on your eMed Lab Report.

 

So they process in UTC and translate to your provided location.  So if neither the port time zone nor my time zone comes into play, I could presumably change my location to London and take the test before going to bed on Wednesday....hmmm... the pdf results they send make that seem possible

 

 

 

Edited January 26, 2022 by D C