Testing for our upcoming Italy cruise

[longterm]

I just got off the phone with a very nice and helpful Viking rep, who did her best to help me navigate the Covid test requirements for our upcoming cruise.

 

Because we're traveling on our own on the front end (arriving 4 days early in Rome to see the city), this is what I *think* we have to do:

 

1. Get PCR tests 48 hours before; we have a pair of test sites booked for Saturday, before our departure this Monday; we'll do the first test, and assuming they can assure us that we'll get our results Saturday afternoon, may or may not even bother with the 2nd test site;

2. When we arrive in Rome, it appears that we'll be required to do a test at the airport; I'm assuming these will be the rapid tests;

3. On the 3rd (48 hours before we board the ship), we'll get PCR tests done in Rome.

If anyone has gone to Italy in the past month or so since the Omicron uptick, I'd appreciate any insight; I'll be sure to report on our progress as we go through the airport, spend our days in Rome, and then get onto the ship. 

 

[millybess]

Here is a link to testing sites in Italy.  No doubt there will a location close to your hotel.

 

www.doctorsinitaly.com/covid-swab-test/

[longterm]

Just now, millybess said:

Here is a link to testing sites in Italy.  No doubt there will a location close to your hotel.

 

www.doctorsinitaly.com/covid-swab-test/

Thanks! I figured I would inquire at the desk at our hotel, and get that scheduled first thing so that we can enjoy our days in Rome. I get just a bit OCD about planning, after having spent about 20 years on tour buses doing concerts all over the US.

[CCWineLover]

5 minutes ago, longterm said:

I just got off the phone with a very nice and helpful Viking rep, who did her best to help me navigate the Covid test requirements for our upcoming cruise.

 

Because we're traveling on our own on the front end (arriving 4 days early in Rome to see the city), this is what I *think* we have to do:

 

1. Get PCR tests 48 hours before; we have a pair of test sites booked for Saturday, before our departure this Monday; we'll do the first test, and assuming they can assure us that we'll get our results Saturday afternoon, may or may not even bother with the 2nd test site;

2. When we arrive in Rome, it appears that we'll be required to do a test at the airport; I'm assuming these will be the rapid tests;

3. On the 3rd (48 hours before we board the ship), we'll get PCR tests done in Rome.

If anyone has gone to Italy in the past month or so since the Omicron uptick, I'd appreciate any insight; I'll be sure to report on our progress as we go through the airport, spend our days in Rome, and then get onto the ship. 

 

We were in Rome late November ahead of our Viking cruise.  Our Airbnb landlady was very helpful in finding us a spot to get our PCR tests that were required.  We stayed near the Coliseum, but this place, Altamedica, was a short 10 minute taxi ride (for 10 euros) north (just north of Bourghesi Gallery).  They were quick efficient and quite helpful (everyone spoke English).  Walk-ins only but we got there about 10 AM on a weekday and were out in 10 minutes.  Sent to our email within 4 hours.  Cost was 60 Euros.  And yes, at the port, Viking DID look closely at our results.  (Unlike those who said Viking never even looked at their results).

Hoping this helps you!

http://www.altamedica.it/

https://www.covidtestfinder.net/test_centers/italy/rome/altamedica-artemisia-rome-708

 

We so enjoyed Rome and walked so many places.  Didn't bother with Metro as taxi's were so cheap and plentiful and we avoided pickpockets that way.  Have fun!

[Mich3554]

We did something similar when we got on the cruise last Oct.  we traveled on our own and we’re in Athen several days before boarding.  We knew we’d need another test before boarding, and it was pretty easy to find a testing location in Athens. Our hotel was very helpful.

Returning, we had to find a testing location in Santiago, Chile.  Again, asked at our hotel and they directed us to a testing locations.  4 hours later, we got the results to catch our flight back to the US.

[CoolBeansVA]

Gee, I hope the get-tested-within-48 hours-of-landing-in-Italy is incorrect.  That IS what it says on our latest update from Viking, but the Italian websites claim a 72-hour window, and that’s what we’re planning.  PCR tests Thursday morning, flight to Rome Saturday night with arrival Sunday morning for 6 days there on our own before embarking on Viking Sky.

 

I guess I place more faith in official Italian websites than in Viking email.  Please correct me if I’m wrong and need to reschedule our tests.

 

My understanding is Americans have a 72-hour window, Brits have a 48-hour one.  
 

Sigh.

[longterm]

23 minutes ago, CoolBeansVA said:

Gee, I hope the get-tested-within-48 hours-of-landing-in-Italy is incorrect.  That IS what it says on our latest update from Viking, but the Italian websites claim a 72-hour window, and that’s what we’re planning.  PCR tests Thursday morning, flight to Rome Saturday night with arrival Sunday morning for 6 days there on our own before embarking on Viking Sky.

 

I guess I place more faith in official Italian websites than in Viking email.  Please correct me if I’m wrong and need to reschedule our tests.

 

My understanding is Americans have a 72-hour window, Brits have a 48-hour one.  
 

Sigh.

Viking rep told me earlier that we had a 48-hour window. I managed to schedule PCR tests 2 days before we board the ship. I'll post details to a thread I'm going to start, called "Italy-Adriatic-Greece March 2022" in just a bit.

[CoolBeansVA]

From CNN travel article 2/18/22:

 

“Travelers arriving from List D countries must present proof of vaccination (with the conditions above), along with a negative test, taken within 72 hours of arrival (PCR) or within 24 hours of arrival (antigen). For those coming from the UK, the PCR test must be taken within 48 hours.”

 

I have read this same requirement on numerous sites.   The USA is a List D country.

[CoolBeansVA]

From Forbes Advisor 2/15/22:

 

”Travelers from the United States are allowed to enter Italy, and there are no restrictions on the type of travel permitted.

To enter the country, you must have the following information available for travelers 6 and older (children under 6 are exempt from testing and quarantine requirements):

• A completed Passenger Locator Form. This online European Union form is used for contact tracing if you’re exposed to an infectious disease like Covid during your stay. Travelers whose final destination is Italy, France, Malta or Slovenia should fill out the form. 
• A completed self-declaration form that may be collected by your airline or Italian law enforcement when you arrive in Italy.
• A negative molecular PCR test or a rapid antigen test for Covid-19, performed within 72 hours prior to arriving in Italy or a rapid antigen test for Covid result within 24 hours of arrival. A rapid antigen test should be accompanied with an anti-Covid vaccination certificate for an European Medicines Agency (EMA)-recognized vaccine or a medical certificate confirming recovery from Covid dated no more than six months before departure. 
• Passengers over the age of 50 are required to be vaccinated for travel through June 15, 2022.”

[CoolBeansVA]

What Delta Airlines told us:

 

[CoolBeansVA]

On Wednesday I emailed tellus to ask whether their stated 48 hour PCR testing window was incorrect, given other sources (Delta Airlines, the Italian visitor locator site, CNN, and Forbes) stated the window was 72 hours for travelers from the US (and 48 hours for the UK).  I got a call back from a Viking agent who looked at these conflicting sources and conceded that the Viking info might need updating.  She promised to look in to it further.  Meanwhile, she advised us to adhere to Delta’s 72-hour rule for our upcoming flights.

 

Indeed, the Viking info was updated yesterday.  The top portion of the 2/24 revised document correctly states that it’s a 72-hour window for US travelers and a 48-hour one for UK travelers.  Unfortunately, this correction failed to be incorporated into the check-list  later in the document, which erroneously still says 48 hours.

 

This is an important difference for those of us who don’t live near major airport hubs.  We need to get our PCR results before we board our first outbound flight, so scheduled the tests 48 hours before we leave.  If our flights arrive on time, we’ll arrive in Rome  3 1/2 hours before the 72-hour window closes.  I have no idea what happens if delays put us past that.

[uktog]

They did exactly the same thing with our Norway instructions - eventually they corrected it to be consistent.  Sadly like too many organisations communications in Viking are too much in haste and not enough checks

[Mich3554]

3 hours ago, CoolBeansVA said:

On Wednesday I emailed tellus to ask whether their stated 48 hour PCR testing window was incorrect, given other sources (Delta Airlines, the Italian visitor locator site, CNN, and Forbes) stated the window was 72 hours for travelers from the US (and 48 hours for the UK).  I got a call back from a Viking agent who looked at these conflicting sources and conceded that the Viking info might need updating.  She promised to look in to it further.  Meanwhile, she advised us to adhere to Delta’s 72-hour rule for our upcoming flights.

 

Indeed, the Viking info was updated yesterday.  The top portion of the 2/24 revised document correctly states that it’s a 72-hour window for US travelers and a 48-hour one for UK travelers.  Unfortunately, this correction failed to be incorporated into the check-list  later in the document, which erroneously still says 48 hours.

 

This is an important difference for those of us who don’t live near major airport hubs.  We need to get our PCR results before we board our first outbound flight, so scheduled the tests 48 hours before we leave.  If our flights arrive on time, we’ll arrive in Rome  3 1/2 hours before the 72-hour window closes.  I have no idea what happens if delays put us past that.

We went to the Maldives last Sept and the way that we dealt with this is that we did Covid testing on consecutive days, 24 hours apart.  We had the results of one test in hand when we boarded, and were able to download the results from the second we took right before we left on our phones in case our first test timed out.  By the time we got to Dubai, those results were in.  At the time, the instructions for getting into the Maldives was ambiguous, one site had 72 hours from arrival, and another 72 hours from flight into Male.