Certificate of Recovery??? What is this?

[go.without.you]

I just received this email for my March 20th cruise:

 

"Beginning with sailings departing on or after March 18, 2022, guests who have recently recovered from COVID-19 may present a Certificate of Recovery and proof of the positive PCR test result taken between 11-90 days prior to the sail date for boarding. We will not accept a Certificate of Recovery in place of a vaccination record. All guests eligible to be vaccinated must continue to show proof of full vaccination. Additionally, please be aware that some ports of call do not accept a Certificate of Recovery for the purposes of debarking and enjoying the destination. For more details on Certificate of Recovery requirements, please visit our Healthy at Sea FAQs on our website at celebritycruises.com/healthy-at-sea/faqs."

 

What exactly is a certificate of recovery? And NO, the FAQ does not address this further. I tested positive for covid on Feb 14th (vaxed and boosted). Now what? Is this just for the unvaxed??

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

It's basically a letter from your doctor on their letterhead stating that you had COVID and have recovered between 11 and 90 days prior to sailing. That with proof of a positive test (like the lab report you get emailed, not a picture of your Binax lollipop) will allow for opting out of testing. It exists because a small population will have fully recovered but carry a remnant of the virus and still test positive up to 90 days later.

 

You still have to show proof of vaccination.

Edited March 11, 2022 by WrittenOnYourHeart

[Jeremiah1212]

It's a doctors letter or letter from a health dept. These were being provided frequently for kids returning to school, etc. in the early days of COVID. 

 

You still have to provide proof of vaccination. That does not change. This cover you if you are one of the few and far between people who still test positive on a PCR test, for some reason cannot produce a negative antigen test, and had COVID within the past 11-90 days.

 

You have to show your initial negative PCR test, the letter and proof of vaccination. If you have all 3 of those items, you can bypass the pre-cruise test. 

[go.without.you]

1 minute ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

It's basically a letter from your doctor on their letterhead

Okaaaayyyyyy....but I didn't go to a dr. If everyone that had Covid went to a dr....imagine.

 

And I just went to the Dr yesterday for an annual. UGH! Should I get this form in case my test comes back positive next week? 

[RichYak]

1 minute ago, go.without.you said:

Okaaaayyyyyy....but I didn't go to a dr. If everyone that had Covid went to a dr....imagine.

 

And I just went to the Dr yesterday for an annual. UGH! Should I get this form in case my test comes back positive next week? 

Do you have proof of your positive test?

[Jeremiah1212]

8 minutes ago, go.without.you said:

Okaaaayyyyyy....but I didn't go to a dr. If everyone that had Covid went to a dr....imagine.

 

And I just went to the Dr yesterday for an annual. UGH! Should I get this form in case my test comes back positive next week? 

 

Take an $8 (or free) at home antigen test now. If you're negative on that test you have nothing to worry about. Take an antigen test for your pre-cruise test instead of PCR and you're fine. 

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

20 minutes ago, go.without.you said:

Okaaaayyyyyy....but I didn't go to a dr. If everyone that had Covid went to a dr....imagine.

 

And I just went to the Dr yesterday for an annual. UGH! Should I get this form in case my test comes back positive next week? 

 

I contacted mine to let her know and what my symptoms were. She said that was pretty much what she was hearing from everyone who had it at that time and if my symptoms got worse to come in. So I was in contact with my doctor and were I cruising before April 2 I would have no issues.

 

If you didn't even contact them, I have no idea. It didn't even occur to me NOT to contact her to make her aware and see if there was anything I needed to do at that time.

[go.without.you]

I have the email that shows I tested positive and my vax cards. I went to my Oncologist this week and they said they will not provide the document. I do not have a Primary care yet and I sincerely doubt they are going to rush me in next week as a new patient for a stupid certificate. I have 2 of the home tests, guess I'll take those and decide from there.

 

Would Minute clinic (or the like) provide this? 

[go.without.you]

8 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

If you didn't even contact them, I have no idea. It didn't even occur to me NOT to contact her to make her aware and see if there was anything I needed to do at that time.

Because I do not have a PCP and I'm pretty sure if I tested positive they would not allow me to come in.

[Jeremiah1212]

16 minutes ago, go.without.you said:

I have the email that shows I tested positive and my vax cards. I went to my Oncologist this week and they said they will not provide the document. I do not have a Primary care yet and I sincerely doubt they are going to rush me in next week as a new patient for a stupid certificate. I have 2 of the home tests, guess I'll take those and decide from there.

 

Would Minute clinic (or the like) provide this? 

 

Just take an antigen test. Not a PCR test. Chances of you testing positive almost a month later are very very slim. Do an at home test first if you are overly concerned. 

[Jim_Iain]

I received the same e-mail for our Silhouette TransAtlantic.    I believe that the Certificate of Recovery (with proof of positive test) is being put in place as it is an acceptable means of entry into the EC and I believe UK which is our destination.  

 

The real question will be Bermuda which is our first stop and has a whole different protocol doesn't list Certificate of Recovery as acceptable

[go.without.you]

Just really pisses me off that then sent this less than 10 days before the sail date. There are only 5 business days between now and then. Not cool, Celebrity. Not cool.

[PTC DAWG]

It's a piece of paper that certifies that you are recovered.  🙂

[go.without.you]

2 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

It's a piece of paper that certifies that you are recovered.  🙂

If I hadn't recovered would I be dead?

[bama4cruisin]

2 hours ago, go.without.you said:

Just really pisses me off that then sent this less than 10 days before the sail date. There are only 5 business days between now and then. Not cool, Celebrity. Not cool.

It’s only needed if you could potentially test positive on your pre-boarding test.  If you haven’t been diagnosed with Covid in the last 90 days or have tested since diagnosis and tested negative, this should be a non-issue.  Some people who have recovered from Covid can test positive for several weeks due to residual virus, but this usually only occurs with a PCR; so when getting or doing your pre-board testing, safest to stick with an Antigen test, which is also the easiest to accomplish in the time frame.

[TFree]

As I understand it, this only applies to cruises leaving after March 18, so it is a new wrinkle, and we will see how it works in practice.  I am fully vaxxed and boosted, but just got a (home, unsupervised) positive test result yesterday.  So I went for an official Health Department PCR test today, which will presumably confirm the positive result.  Then, my plan is to contact my primary care doctor's office in early April to see what I need to do to get a Certificate of Recovery.  My Celebrity cruises are April 30 and May 14, so as long as I get a Certificate of Recovery more than 11 days prior to April 30, the way I read this, I will not even need a pre-cruise test to get on these ships.  If for some reason I can't get a Certificate of Recovery, then I will definitely only get a proctored antigen test, since I am aware that you can continue to get positive PCR test results for up to 3 months after an infection.

 

Tom & Judy

[RichYak]

27 minutes ago, TFree said:

As I understand it, this only applies to cruises leaving after March 18, so it is a new wrinkle, and we will see how it works in practice.  I am fully vaxxed and boosted, but just got a (home, unsupervised) positive test result yesterday.  So I went for an official Health Department PCR test today, which will presumably confirm the positive result.  Then, my plan is to contact my primary care doctor's office in early April to see what I need to do to get a Certificate of Recovery.  My Celebrity cruises are April 30 and May 14, so as long as I get a Certificate of Recovery more than 11 days prior to April 30, the way I read this, I will not even need a pre-cruise test to get on these ships.  If for some reason I can't get a Certificate of Recovery, then I will definitely only get a proctored antigen test, since I am aware that you can continue to get positive PCR test results for up to 3 months after an infection.

 

Tom & Judy

Just in case you need a gut check, every step of your plan is exactly what I would do if I were in your shoes.

[DWhit]

TFree, you are correct.  I have passed antigen tests, but failed with PCR several weeks after recovery.  I am cruising again next week, and I will probably go ahead and try to pass another antigen test, but if not I have my Recovery certificate which will be good for another month or so.

[TFree]

17 hours ago, DWhit said:

TFree, you are correct.  I have passed antigen tests, but failed with PCR several weeks after recovery.  I am cruising again next week, and I will probably go ahead and try to pass another antigen test, but if not I have my Recovery certificate which will be good for another month or so.

Please keep us posted.  I will be very interested to see how Celebrity deals with this, once people actually start showing up at the pier with a PCR positive test in the past 90 days plus a Certificate of Recovery dated more than 11 days before the sail date.  Some very small number of people might already have done so since the new policy started on March 18, but they would have to have a pre-existing Certificate of Recovery (like you do), since it has to be more than 11 days old at the date of sailing.

 

Tom & Judy

[DingoMom]

This was on Celebrity’s FAQ re CoVid testing and certificates of recovery. It was on there when I looked at the beginning of March:

 

[RichYak]

8 minutes ago, TFree said:

but they would have to have a pre-existing Certificate of Recovery (like you do), since it has to be more than 11 days old at the date of sailing.

AFAIK, there's no such requirement. The positive PCR test needs to be between 11 and 90 days from sailing, but one could get a certificate of recovery today and sail tomorrow.

[DWhit]

47 minutes ago, TFree said:

Please keep us posted.  I will be very interested to see how Celebrity deals with this, once people actually start showing up at the pier with a PCR positive test in the past 90 days plus a Certificate of Recovery dated more than 11 days before the sail date.  Some very small number of people might already have done so since the new policy started on March 18, but they would have to have a pre-existing Certificate of Recovery (like you do), since it has to be more than 11 days old at the date of sailing.

 

Tom & Judy

We are boarding the Edge on April 3rd.  I’ll take an antigen test, but will try to use the Certificate first just to see. I’ll post back how it goes

[TFree]

45 minutes ago, RichYak said:

AFAIK, there's no such requirement. The positive PCR test needs to be between 11 and 90 days from sailing, but one could get a certificate of recovery today and sail tomorrow.

@RichYak: I think you are right.  Sloppy reading on my part.  The positive PCR test must be 11-90 days before sailing, but the Certificate of Recovery letter could be the day of or day before the cruise. 

 

"A Certificate of Recovery, for a positive COVID-19 case at least 11 days before boarding but no more than 90 days prior to boarding, may be provided in lieu of a pre-cruise COVID-19 test result to board the ship, provided the Certificate meets the requirements below."

 

Since I have the luxury of trying to get the Certificate of Recovery more than 11 days before the cruise, I will do that.  This may provide some protection against a Celebrity agent who is as sloppy a reader as I was in this case.  

 

Tom & Judy

[DWhit]

47 minutes ago, RichYak said:

AFAIK, there's no such requirement. The positive PCR test needs to be between 11 and 90 days from sailing, but one could get a certificate of recovery today and sail tomorrow.

Right, it’s the PCR test that has the date requirement. 

[RichYak]

1 hour ago, DWhit said:

We are boarding the Edge on April 3rd.  I’ll take an antigen test, but will try to use the Certificate first just to see. I’ll post back how it goes

If you have a negative antigen test, use it. The Certificate probably requires secondary screening prior to boarding. Why unnecessarily ask for trouble?