Has anybody used the CVM testing center at Canada Place?

[lderochi]

Now that HAL has changed their onboard testing policy for US-bound passengers, I'm considering getting tested at the Convention Center after disembarkation, before heading to the airport, rather than getting tested at the airport. Has anybody done that? Is it less crowded than the airport? 

[sherrerakacik]

I just made an appointment there.  Hoping it's efficient and less chaotic then the airport!  We return on May 22nd.  

[kentuckycruiser]

what is the company that does testing at convention center? Is it an easy walk?

[kentuckycruiser]

1 minute ago, sherrerakacik said:

I just made an appointment there.  Hoping it's efficient and less chaotic then the airport!  We return on May 22nd.  

who does testing at the convention center? 

[lderochi]

CVM, same as the airport. On their website they list several locations and that is one of them. 

[lderochi]

21 minutes ago, kentuckycruiser said:We return on May 22nd

Us too! Nieuw Amsterdam? 

[Urban trekker]

The convention center is part of Canada Place so there is very little walking to get the test.

 

[morgan1611]

I want to schedule tests at this location.  If my ship arrives at 7 am what time should I schedule my tests?

[SeaSickCecil]

DH and I tested there this afternoon after arriving in Vancouver.  I made the appointments the night before for 5 pm.  We got there early 4:30 and no one else was there and we were done in 10 minutes total.  We walked around Canada Place since we weren’t in a hurry and came back 30 minutes later and they gave us printouts of our test results.  Friendly fast and efficient.  Would definitely recommend.

[SharonN]

I scheduled appointments to do our pre-boarding test there for the day before we board the ship (we will be staying at the Pan Pacific) and then our pre-flight test around noon the day we get back (we're doing a B2B on Nieuw Amsterdam) since our flight is at 5:30. It was very easy to schedule and sounds like the easiest way to deal with it. Hopefully we'll be able to use the luggage transfer service and Sky Train to the Airport as we did last time we ended a cruise there in 2017. I assume if we need a test for the return cruise they'll deal with it on board. I'm too ready to be back on a ship to let this change or impact enjoying my trip. 

[NCTribeFan]

Do you have to prepay for the test?  I plan on taking an eMed test with me and doing it early the morning of disembarkation.  If it doesn't work, for whatever reason, I'd like a backup plan in place.

 

My flight isn't until late afternoon (5:30 on June 15).  I haven't even looked at options to get from the ship to the airport.  I'll have to do some research about Sky Train.  I've never sailed from Vancouver and have no idea about distance from cruise port to airport.  I'm a solo female, and it's always a little stressful the first time in a new area when you don't know your way around.

[lderochi]

I’ve scheduled tests there in case we have problems with the eMed tests. 

[SharonN]

31 minutes ago, NCTribeFan said:

Do you have to prepay for the test?  I plan on taking an eMed test with me and doing it early the morning of disembarkation.  If it doesn't work, for whatever reason, I'd like a backup plan in place.

 

My flight isn't until late afternoon (5:30 on June 15).  I haven't even looked at options to get from the ship to the airport.  I'll have to do some research about Sky Train.  I've never sailed from Vancouver and have no idea about distance from cruise port to airport.  I'm a solo female, and it's always a little stressful the first time in a new area when you don't know your way around.

We went ahead and booked the "Hop-On, Hop-Off Sightseeing Tour with Luggage Service & Airport Transfer" tour. We did this the last time we ended a cruise there and it worked well. Probably won't have time for any of the HOHO but it at least this way they'll take our luggage to the airport so we'll just need to deal with our backpacks while getting the test done and spending any time in the area (There's a great Gelato place near by that i hope is still there). The tour gives you the ticket to use the Sky Train to get to the airport which was very easy to use last trip (though I wouldn't want to do it with all of luggage). 

[pattycruisealot21]

1 hour ago, NCTribeFan said:

Do you have to prepay for the test?  I plan on taking an eMed test with me and doing it early the morning of disembarkation.  If it doesn't work, for whatever reason, I'd like a backup plan in place.

 

My flight isn't until late afternoon (5:30 on June 15).  I haven't even looked at options to get from the ship to the airport.  I'll have to do some research about Sky Train.  I've never sailed from Vancouver and have no idea about distance from cruise port to airport.  I'm a solo female, and it's always a little stressful the first time in a new area when you don't know your way around.

 

On 5/5/2022 at 6:49 AM, lderochi said:

Now that HAL has changed their onboard testing policy for US-bound passengers, I'm considering getting tested at the Convention Center after disembarkation, before heading to the airport, rather than getting tested at the airport. Has anybody done that? Is it less crowded than the airport? 

 

On 5/5/2022 at 10:23 AM, kentuckycruiser said:

what is the company that does testing at convention center? Is it an easy walk?

My husband and I have gotten tested with CVM Medical at the airport last month and we had a great experience, we got results within 30 to 35 minutes. And now I found out from their website that  they have a new very convenient location right next to the cruise terminal in the Vancouver Convention Centre and the prices are pretty good as well. Here is the link in case you guys want to check it out:  https://covid-medical.ca/test-select-location/ We already booked our tests online at the Convention Centre for our tests after our upcoming Alaska cruise but it says that they also accept walk-ins in case that is a preference for some. 

[lderochi]

“Do you have to prepay for the test?  I plan on taking an eMed test with me and doing it early the morning of disembarkation.  If it doesn't work, for whatever reason, I'd like a backup plan in place.”

 

yes, it’s prepay. The cost is reasonable CAD79 and refundable if cancelled before the appointment time. 

[oakridger]

On 5/7/2022 at 6:25 AM, NCTribeFan said:

My flight isn't until late afternoon (5:30 on June 15).  I haven't even looked at options to get from the ship to the airport.  I'll have to do some research about Sky Train.  I've never sailed from Vancouver and have no idea about distance from cruise port to airport.  I'm a solo female, and it's always a little stressful the first time in a new area when you don't know your way around.

 

I took a taxi from cruise port to the airport. It was about 30-40 minutes but that would depend on traffic of course.  I'm not willing to schlep luggage to the train and into the airport.  If you want to do a tour for a few hours that sounds like a plan also if they take you and your luggage to the airport after.

 

 

[PACD_JG]

On 5/7/2022 at 11:31 AM, lderochi said:

yes, it’s prepay. The cost is reasonable CAD79 and refundable if cancelled before the appointment time. 

Reasonable?  It cost me 29 GBP (CAD46) each for a test flying from the UK to the US last month, and that was too much since I didn't need to test to enter the UK.  So it is both the hypocritical policy to test before you fly and the cost that are asinine. 

[NCTribeFan]

Yes, I suppose it's reasonable.  But when you booked many months ago when the policy was that the testing would be performed at no charge by HAL, it doesn't feel like it's reasonable.  The added cost and stress to get this done on the day you need to travel is what has people upset.

 

Certainly doesn't seem that it would have been impossible for HAL to have made this change effective as of a certain date, perhaps a month from the date of the policy update, giving people more time to plan. 

 

Those of us who will attempt to test early the morning of disembarking may find that our efforts will fail for various reasons.  So, on top of having paid for the self test, we then get the added stress - and expense - of scrambling to test before the flight.

[lderochi]

I’m not disagreeing, my comment was simply on the cost of the test, vis a vis what other places have charged. At Newark airport you can get a same day fit for travel test for a cool $250. They aren’t even offering the cheaper antigen tests, just the rapid PCR. 
 

we have a flight out of Vancouver at 1:40. I have 4 eMed kits packed, and I’ve made reservations at the Convention Centre for 9:30 on disembarkation day, just in case. I understand the stress.