What are people doing for Europe sailings and Covid testing?

[Eli_6]

We are traveling to Europe for a cruise in July/August and will need Covid tests both before we board the cruise (because we will be there a week in advance) and before we leave to get back in the US...a total of 8 tests for 4 of us.  Basically, we will be gone for a total of over 3 weeks so I figure I need to order these things a couple of weeks before we leave on our flight. I don't want to try to find a place to get Covid tested in the UK if I can help it.  Problem is, when I ordered the Binax at home proctored tests for a prior cruise, they weren't good for that terribly long after the date I received them...as in, I think the expiration date on them was only a couple of weeks after I received them.  Thus, you couldn't buy the tests a month or two out and them still be good for a much later test date.  Perhaps I just got an old batch, IDK...but it has me concerned.  I was wondering what other people were planning to do. 

[M&A]

47 minutes ago, Eli_6 said:

We are traveling to Europe for a cruise in July/August and will need Covid tests both before we board the cruise (because we will be there a week in advance) and before we leave to get back in the US...a total of 8 tests for 4 of us.  Basically, we will be gone for a total of over 3 weeks so I figure I need to order these things a couple of weeks before we leave on our flight. I don't want to try to find a place to get Covid tested in the UK if I can help it.  Problem is, when I ordered the Binax at home proctored tests for a prior cruise, they weren't good for that terribly long after the date I received them...as in, I think the expiration date on them was only a couple of weeks after I received them.  Thus, you couldn't buy the tests a month or two out and them still be good for a much later test date.  Perhaps I just got an old batch, IDK...but it has me concerned.  I was wondering what other people were planning to do. 

We are flying in to the UK, the week before.   Will get a covid test at Boots,  they are everywhere in the UK just like a Walgreens or CVS.    

 

https://www.boots.com/covid-19-testing

[cruizergal70]

56 minutes ago, Eli_6 said:

We are traveling to Europe for a cruise in July/August and will need Covid tests both before we board the cruise (because we will be there a week in advance) and before we leave to get back in the US...a total of 8 tests for 4 of us.  Basically, we will be gone for a total of over 3 weeks so I figure I need to order these things a couple of weeks before we leave on our flight. I don't want to try to find a place to get Covid tested in the UK if I can help it.  Problem is, when I ordered the Binax at home proctored tests for a prior cruise, they weren't good for that terribly long after the date I received them...as in, I think the expiration date on them was only a couple of weeks after I received them.  Thus, you couldn't buy the tests a month or two out and them still be good for a much later test date.  Perhaps I just got an old batch, IDK...but it has me concerned.  I was wondering what other people were planning to do. 

You must have gotten an old batch. I received Binex tests in January and they are good until July. I would order new tests. Also, you can test in person at a local location that offers rapid/express results.

[Shorex]

We will be disembarking our cruise in Italy in early July. The cruise line offers free tests administered the day before for those flying back to the states on the day of disembarkation. Check out the health protocols on your cruise line, perhaps they do as well.

[cruisemom42]

Just returned a couple of weeks ago from a cruise departing Southampton. I was in London for 4 days pre-cruise and it was ridiculously easy to find a clinic that could do my covid test. Word to the wise: what we in the US refer to as an "antigen test" is called a "lateral flow test" in the UK. What most cruise lines require is a "fit to travel form" based on a negative lateral flow test. I had probably 4-5 choices of places to go within 10 minutes of my central London hotel. The process was easy as pie.

 

On my return, I knew I'd have to get another negative COVID test to fly back to the US.  It's already a bit tight getting from Southampton to London for same-day flights back to the US, so I just booked a hotel at the airport, arranged shared transport to LHR, then went to my hotel and did my covid test via computer with a medical monitor. Again it was quite easy, although -- knowing there was quite a bit of COVID on my sailing -- I can't say that I wasn't a bit nervous about the result. Still, it was clearly negative and I received an email with the results within a minute after verification of the test online.

 

 

[Markanddonna]

We just took the test at a !ocal London pharmacy. It took just 30 minutes. I just didn't have confidence with taking the texet via devices in England. We've done it in the USA.

We have the results on our cellphone and a Paper copy.