Does it really matter if I test 72 hours before Jade boarding in Athens?

[Crazy planning mom]

6 hours ago, TrumpyNor said:

I was told you have to test WITHIN 72 hours before your cruise date for Non-US ports (like European cruises) - and that it means anywhere from 72 hours until 24 hours before the sailing date. It doesn't have to be around 72 hours before the sailing date, it could be 48 hours or even only 24 days before your sailing date. It just can't be longer than 72 hours/3 days before your cruise - or you would have to make a new test closer to the sailing date.....

Ok, here is my question-  My cruise leaves on a Sunday at 6pm out of Athens.   I am flying from NY to Athens Thursday evening.  If I test at 12pm NY time on Thursday which is 7pm in Athens is that within 72 hours?

[ziggyuk]

8 minutes ago, Crazy planning mom said:

Ok, here is my question-  My cruise leaves on a Sunday at 6pm out of Athens.   I am flying from NY to Athens Thursday evening.  If I test at 12pm NY time on Thursday which is 7pm in Athens is that within 72 hours?

 

Yes, it's the date on the certificate that matters but in your case either your home time zone or Athens time zone it's still in the 3 day window.

[Crazy planning mom]

Thanks Ziggy.

[HuliHuli]

3 hours ago, Crazy planning mom said:

Ok, here is my question-  My cruise leaves on a Sunday at 6pm out of Athens.   I am flying from NY to Athens Thursday evening.  If I test at 12pm NY time on Thursday which is 7pm in Athens is that within 72 hours?

See https://www.ncl.com/sail-safe.

To understand the earliest you should test prior to your cruise vacation, see below:

[ArcadeAnimal]

6 hours ago, ziggyuk said:

 

Yes, it's the date on the certificate that matters but in your case either your home time zone or Athens time zone it's still in the 3 day window.

Are we 100% sure about this? We are traveling on the Escape out of Rome on June 20th. We leave two days before on June 17th. We would like to get COVID tested that morning at 8 am EST near home. Technically this would mean that if we were to check in at 12:00 noon in Italy we would be 70 hours in.

[TrumpyNor]

We have two cruises coming up soon, one from Trieste and one from Rome. Will in both cases be in Italy a few days before the cruises. Just plan on having a "test rapido" done in a pharmacy in Italy the day before the cruises. Instead of stressing to have it done before we leave home.

Edited June 10, 2022 by TrumpyNor

[ziggyuk]

4 hours ago, ArcadeAnimal said:

Are we 100% sure about this? We are traveling on the Escape out of Rome on June 20th. We leave two days before on June 17th. We would like to get COVID tested that morning at 8 am EST near home. Technically this would mean that if we were to check in at 12:00 noon in Italy we would be 70 hours in.

 

They are not counting hours, there is no mention of hours in the protocol.
This is the wording:

 

Within 2 days prior to embarkation date for cruises departing from a U.S. port

Within 3 days prior to embarkation date for cruises departing from a non-U.S. port

[insidecabin]

Lets look at what Greece requires to enter.

 

https://travel.gov.gr/#/

 

Don't need anything anymore, no vaccine, tests or PLF.

 

Also all cruise ship restrictions were removed on 14 May 2022

 

Watch out for prescription and OTC medicine there are restriction entering Greece you need to be aware of.

 

NCL can make up whatever rules they like for getting on the ship as longas they are as good as local requirements.

 

Within 72hr/3days is covered buy a single test.

 

If you test positive in Greece you can arrange your own hotel or use the state provided one at no cost for the 5 day quarantine(longer with symptoms).

 

 

 

 

 

[kochleffel]

I was on the Jade from Athens the week before last. Departures from Greece require a test 24 hours before boarding, and if your test is older they won't even look at it, just test you at the port. The test at the port is free but the total time could be as much as an hour, with waiting to get swabbed and then waiting for them to post the result. If I were embarking from Athens again under the current rules, I'd take a home test (unsupervised) before going to the airport and then just get tested at the port.

 

A warning about pharmacy tests in Greece: for returning to the U.S. after staying on in Athens, my eMed test kit was defective (readable, but they wouldn't certify it, and I didn't have another). The nearest pharmacy could only load the test result to the QR code of a Greece PLF, which isn't otherwise required now. The agent at the Athens airport had no way to read it, so I ended up getting a third test at the airport clinic. For travel to the U.S., you need the result in text format, such as in a PDF.

[Vvanalstine]

24 minutes ago, kochleffel said:

I was on the Jade from Athens the week before last. Departures from Greece require a test 24 hours before boarding, and if your test is older they won't even look at it, just test you at the port. The test at the port is free but the total time could be as much as an hour, with waiting to get swabbed and then waiting for them to post the result. If I were embarking from Athens again under the current rules, I'd take a home test (unsupervised) before going to the airport and then just get tested at the port.

 

A warning about pharmacy tests in Greece: for returning to the U.S. after staying on in Athens, my eMed test kit was defective (readable, but they wouldn't certify it, and I didn't have another). The nearest pharmacy could only load the test result to the QR code of a Greece PLF, which isn't otherwise required now. The agent at the Athens airport had no way to read it, so I ended up getting a third test at the airport clinic. For travel to the U.S., you need the result in text format, such as in a PDF.

Thanks for this update.

I spoke  with a representative who said that there was no longer required testing at the Athens port. Clearly that was misinformation.

[kochleffel]

5 minutes ago, Vvanalstine said:

Thanks for this update.

I spoke  with a representative who said that there was no longer required testing at the Athens port. Clearly that was misinformation.

 

The person may have been right! The Greece testing requirement no longer appears on the NCL website: https://www.ncl.com/travel-requirements-by-country#europe.

 

Also, the testing requirement for flights to the U.S. ends this weekend.

[HappilyTravelin]

Hi Everyone. We tested with the NCL suggested company (Inspire) on Friday at 5PM EST (at our home).  Our ship departed Monday, 5PM local time in Vancouver.  We were pulled out of the embarkation line and made to walk back into the city to re-test at a facility there at an additional charge ($70 per person) because we were told we were outside the 72 hour window.

 

The whole thing was stressful and a mess. 

 

Sharing this to save someone else the pain.

[HuliHuli]

On 6/9/2022 at 4:11 PM, cfelbab said:

While we are talking about the Jade and testing, what are people planning to do about the "test before returning to the USA'" requirement now that NCL is apparently not doing that on the boat.

 

I have a trip to the USA at 1PM on the day of disembarkment and am not clear if testing at the airport is an option and doable with the relatively short amount of time. What are others doing?

Good news @cfelbab, it was announced this morning that the CDC COVID testing requirement for flights returning home was being lifted.

 

"The Biden administration will lift the federal mandate requiring international arrivals to the United States to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test as a condition for entering the country.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's rule will be lifted Friday night, marking the end of a policy that has been in place since early 2021, a White House official confirmed to the Washington Examiner."

 

Problem solved!

[HuliHuli]

14 hours ago, insidecabin said:

Also all cruise ship restrictions were removed on 14 May 2022

So @insidecabin, could you elaborate on what you mean by the statement above and provide an authoritative source for the statement?

[insidecabin]

5 hours ago, HuliHuli said:

So @insidecabin, could you elaborate on what you mean by the statement above and provide an authoritative source for the statement?

Did you not follow the link to the Greek government site?

 

 

7. What is the situation with cruise ships?

 

As of 14.05.2021, cruise restrictions have been completely removed, always imposing very strict protocols that apply to these activities.

 

 

[kochleffel]

As of this morning, the 24-hour requirement for Greece is still on the NCL web site!

 

https://www.ncl.com/travel-requirements-by-country#europe

 

Rules seem to be changing rapidly, so it is prudent to keep checking right up to the day of embarkation.

 

[HuliHuli]

8 hours ago, insidecabin said:

Did you not follow the link to the Greek government site?

 

 

7. What is the situation with cruise ships?

 

As of 14.05.2021, cruise restrictions have been completely removed, always imposing very strict protocols that apply to these activities.

Well, @insidecabin, actually I have been on the Greek government site many times.  And the link goes to a site that provides updates as of 15 March 2022.

Then the comment of yours that I quoted references 14 May 2022.

On 6/10/2022 at 5:55 AM, insidecabin said:

Also all cruise ship restrictions were removed on 14 May 2022

But what you reference above is "As of 14.05.2021' which is so out of date as to be meaningless.  So where is the 14 May 2022 site?  And remember, the thread here is about NCL restrictions and protocols primarily.

[insidecabin]

27 minutes ago, HuliHuli said:

Well, @insidecabin, actually I have been on the Greek government site many times.  And the link goes to a site that provides updates as of 15 March 2022.

Then the comment of yours that I quoted references 14 May 2022.

But what you reference above is "As of 14.05.2021' which is so out of date as to be meaningless.  So where is the 14 May 2022 site?  And remember, the thread here is about NCL restrictions and protocols primarily.

The link includes changes beyond 15th March including 1 June 2022 changes.

 

I got the date wrong for the cruise changes that were dropped that was a year earlier.

[Conference Cruiser]

I am sailing on NCL Jade leaving from Athens, today, June 12, 2022. I took an antigen test at home in the US supervised by Inspire on Thursday, for a sailing on Sunday. When I arrived at the port I was told that I needed to take an additional antigen test. I am currently waiting in a large tent, waiting to be called to perform the antigen test. It is looking like the entire process will take about an hour.

 

It is unclear what would have happened if I had not performed the home antigen test before leaving.

 

Here is a photo of the tent where you check in and then wait to be called to perform the antigen test at the port.

[mpk112782]

I am at the port now. Everyone in my party still needs to take an antigen test. I was told the PCR test satisfies BCL. The antigen test at port satisfies the Greek government.

 

With that said, the whole testing process at port is unorganized. I am negative and they give you a pink wrist band. Another person I am traveling with is still waiting. I was resulted over an hour ago. All the reps say is you have to wait. Our numbers was in the 700s and we are now in the 900s. No one can answer why we have no results.

[Crazy planning mom]

Thank you conference caller and MPK.

Hope you both stay negative and have a wonderful trip.  Concerning that they have such a crowd together in the tent.

[GatorMomInNC]

I can see why you are wondering about the two different requirements, but I believe as others have posted, if you have a negative test 72 hours prior then a positive at port, NCL insurance will kick in for your quarantine in Greece.   But won't reimburse you your flight.    But if no advance test then I think that falls on you.  When we went to Greece last year, you were required to quarantine in a hotel at your own expense if positive (may have changed).    I would rather stay home and try and get flight refunded than fly to Greece and sit in a hotel for 10 days.  Not to mention the potential of the medical issues. 

[GatorMomInNC]

59 minutes ago, mpk112782 said:

I am at the port now. Everyone in my party still needs to take an antigen test. I was told the PCR test satisfies BCL. The antigen test at port satisfies the Greek government.

 

With that said, the whole testing process at port is unorganized. I am negative and they give you a pink wrist band. Another person I am traveling with is still waiting. I was resulted over an hour ago. All the reps say is you have to wait. Our numbers was in the 700s and we are now in the 900s. No one can answer why we have no results.

I had something similar happen - I was cleared and my sister was not.  We both were so stressed but she eventually got the negative.  Not as long as your wait though, hope all is well!