Big news on testing!

[suzyed]

2 hours ago, drowelf said:

Free testing for travel is no longer available in most places in the US. I was pricing it for a cruise in early June that we ended up cancelling and it ranged from $125 - $175pp at CVS, Walmart, Walgreen, etc.. The cheapest option I found was the Binax eMed Proctored self tests at $70 for 2 test kits. The free tests that the government will send you are not valid for cruises or other forms of travel that required certified results. 

We have not been charged. We showed our insurance card (in December) for our covid test.  
Now you have me thinking...I'm going to check this out.

[fishnchips]

24 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

Is P&O a participant in the CDC's voluntary Covid-19 Program for Cruise Ships?  If not, then they are subject to different countries requirements and recommendations.

I don't know if they are part of the cdc program but it's the same company ,cruise line so I would assume that they would be under them ...I have not looked at the cdc dashboard either is P&O listed ?

Princess is quoting European Union Healthy Gateway Guidelines EUHG which if P&O are following those and they sail Europe and everywhere that Princess does so surely they have to follow the countries rules they visit  and they embark at the same port of Southampton then they are the same rules so I cannot see why they are under different rules ...yet Princess is supervised testing and P&O are NOT supervised ? 

[beg3yrs]

5 hours ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Can you extend your vacay one more day?

Would be nice but change fees along with last minute airfares - nope, not gonna do it.

 

Anyway just finished our proctored tests and we're good to go. Kind of a PITA as the ship's Internet is too slow. Had to grab a cell signal from Victoria, Canada and do it that way. Thank goodness we signed up for the International Passport - only cost us $10 for a day's use.

[tutumomickey]

Yes there is. If I can post the name it is ' OnPoint'.The  proctor fee is only14$.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Well thank God. Eliminating the testing eliminates the virus, right? Wouldn’t want to have to wonder if the person in the next coach seat on a 12 hour flight has COVID. 

[Ken the cruiser]

16 minutes ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

Well thank God. Eliminating the testing eliminates the virus, right? Wouldn’t want to have to wonder if the person in the next coach seat on a 12 hour flight has COVID. 

I guess we’ll just have to keep our masks on when flying back home and stay up to date with our boosters. But I have to say our stress level just went down big time not having to worry if we were all going to be able to fly back home after our upcoming family Med cruise.
 

But at the same time, no C19 tests have ever been required on domestic flights which can sometimes be 3-4 hours, even longer if you’re flying back from Hawaii.

 

Edited June 11, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[PacnGoNow]

2 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I guess we’ll just have to keep our masks on when flying back home and stay up to date with our boosters. But I have to say our stress level just went down big time not having to worry if we were all going to be able to fly back home after our upcoming family Med cruise.
 

But at the same time, no C19 tests have ever been required on domestic flights which can sometimes be 3-4 hours, even longer if you’re flying back from Hawaii.

 

We will mask on the long hauls and hope for the best.  Or, maybe 2024?  🤔

[Ramblin Wreck Cruiser]

And here I was feeling so smart because I changed our August Vancouver flight to a Seattle departure just four days ago 😂

[AllAboardatSea]

The whole thing was a racket to begin with. 
 

1. You don’t deny tax-paying citizens the right to return home to their own country for testing positive. It’s wrong and immoral, especially considering #2 below. Visitors and foreign nationals are a different story.

2. It was wholly inconsistent. Testing required if flying in, but if driving or walking across the border (ala CBX in San Diego AFTER FLYING into Tijuana???) no test was required. So right there you’re not stopping nor containing the spread at all.

3. Shady, shady administration of testing. I’ve seen numerous stories of people who were barely swabbed and declared ‘negative’ minutes later. 
4. The costs for these ‘tests’ is #3 was absurd in many cases. It was to the point our government was condoning legal racketeering in order to return home.

 

In conclusion…GOOD RIDDANCE!

[PrincessLuver]

13 hours ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

Well thank God. Eliminating the testing eliminates the virus, right? Wouldn’t want to have to wonder if the person in the next coach seat on a 12 hour flight has COVID. 

 

I agree.  Brilliant thinking again.  Let's take a bus load of passengers off a trans-Atlantic cruise where they were quarantined and coughing their lungs out and put them on a long haul flight back to the US.  The incessant coughing will relax and put everyone at ease around them and make the flight super enjoyable..  

[PrincessLuver]

9 hours ago, AllAboardatSea said:

The whole thing was a racket to begin with. 
 

1. You don’t deny tax-paying citizens the right to return home to their own country for testing positive. It’s wrong and immoral, especially considering #2 below. Visitors and foreign nationals are a different story.

2. It was wholly inconsistent. Testing required if flying in, but if driving or walking across the border (ala CBX in San Diego AFTER FLYING into Tijuana???) no test was required. So right there you’re not stopping nor containing the spread at all.

3. Shady, shady administration of testing. I’ve seen numerous stories of people who were barely swabbed and declared ‘negative’ minutes later. 
4. The costs for these ‘tests’ is #3 was absurd in many cases. It was to the point our government was condoning legal racketeering in order to return home.

 

In conclusion…GOOD RIDDANCE!

 

WOW....another conspiracy has been discovered....they just never end when it comes to Covid!!!

[Daniel A]

11 hours ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

Well thank God. Eliminating the testing eliminates the virus, right? Wouldn’t want to have to wonder if the person in the next coach seat on a 12 hour flight has COVID. 

I understand your concern.  The truth is that the testing provided no assurance that the person sitting next to you wasn't Covid positive.  How many posts show where people tested negative prior to boarding a cruise only to test positive in a day or two?  Sure, it may have screened out some who tested positive, but having the testing requirement was in no way a guarantee of safe travel.  If you are inclined to wear a mask now, you probably should have been wearing a mask all along.  The only truly effective pre-flight testing program would have involved testing an individual, isolate them for 5-7 days and test them again.  We all know that will never happen.  

[JF - retired RRT]

13 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

But at the same time, no C19 tests have ever been required on domestic flights which can sometimes be 3-4 hours, even longer if you’re flying back from Hawaii.

 

5 hours.😬

[MustangGT]

14 hours ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

Well thank God. Eliminating the testing eliminates the virus, right? Wouldn’t want to have to wonder if the person in the next coach seat on a 12 hour flight has COVID. 

This virus is still a mystery in so many ways.  By posting this news, I did not want to infer that I was shouting, “Yipee!!”  However, our last cruise was a river cruise on Viking.  We had to test before our flight to Amsterdam.  We had to test before getting on the ship 2 days later.  We had to do the spit Covid test every day on the ship.  We had to test negative 1 day prior to our flight home.  All negative.  On the plane coming home, I started with a little dry cough.  Next day at home, tested negative.  Following day tested positive.  Luckily, my symptoms were mild - a sore throat that was gone the day after I was positive and never had a fever.

I just wish the tests were more accurate.  I hate that I was possibly positive on our flights home, but I did all I could with testing to protect myself and others.

 

Edited June 11, 2022 by MustangGT

[Daniel A]

13 minutes ago, MustangGT said:

This virus is still a mystery in so many ways.  By posting this news, I did not want to infer that I was shouting, “Yipee!!”  However, our last cruise was a river cruise on Viking.  We had to test before our flight to Amsterdam.  We had to test before getting on the ship 2 days later.  We had to do the spit Covid test every day on the ship.  We had to test negative 1 day prior to our flight home.  All negative.  On the plane coming home, I started with a little dry cough.  Next day at home, tested negative.  Following day tested positive.  Luckily, my symptoms were mild - a sore throat that was gone the day after I was positive and never had a fever.

I just wish the tests were more accurate.  I hate that I was possibly positive on our flights home, but I did all I could with testing to protect myself and others.

 

I'm sorry to hear you ended up being positive.  Your story is exactly what I was referring to in my previous post at #37.

[memoak]

14 hours ago, Ramblin Wreck Cruiser said:

And here I was feeling so smart because I changed our August Vancouver flight to a Seattle departure just four days ago 😂

We still prefer taking a transfer to SeaTac rather than flying from Vancouver. Can’t stand that airport

[travelhound]

23 hours ago, awinte2 said:

I wonder if Princess will cancel the requirement of a covid test within 3 days?

👍

[Tedferg]

10 hours ago, PrincessLuver said:

 

I agree.  Brilliant thinking again.  Let's take a bus load of passengers off a trans-Atlantic cruise where they were quarantined and coughing their lungs out and put them on a long haul flight back to the US. 

Wouldn't those people be barred from flying regardless of pre-flight test.

[deltaqueenie]

Hallelujah! This is great news and please stop the pre boarding testing.

[deltaqueenie]

17 hours ago, AllAboardatSea said:

The whole thing was a racket to begin with. 
 

1. You don’t deny tax-paying citizens the right to return home to their own country for testing positive. It’s wrong and immoral, especially considering #2 below. Visitors and foreign nationals are a different story.

2. It was wholly inconsistent. Testing required if flying in, but if driving or walking across the border (ala CBX in San Diego AFTER FLYING into Tijuana???) no test was required. So right there you’re not stopping nor containing the spread at all.

3. Shady, shady administration of testing. I’ve seen numerous stories of people who were barely swabbed and declared ‘negative’ minutes later. 
4. The costs for these ‘tests’ is #3 was absurd in many cases. It was to the point our government was condoning legal racketeering in order to return home.

 

In conclusion…GOOD RIDDANCE!

You’ve made valid points, and IMO it never should have happened in the first place!

[MissP22]

On 6/10/2022 at 2:25 PM, drowelf said:

Free testing for travel is no longer available in most places in the US. I was pricing it for a cruise in early June that we ended up cancelling and it ranged from $125 - $175pp at CVS, Walmart, Walgreen, etc.. The cheapest option I found was the Binax eMed Proctored self tests at $70 for 2 test kits. The free tests that the government will send you are not valid for cruises or other forms of travel that required certified results. 

I just checked for free testing (for the heck of it) here in SW Florida and the free Rapid test is still being offered by CVS. 

[AF-1]

I am happy the testing requirement to enter the US has ended.  

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, AF-1 said:

I am happy the testing requirement to enter the US has ended.  

That should read the testing requirement if entering the US by air as that was what is ending; there were no testing requirements for entering by other means.

[suzyed]

2 hours ago, MissP22 said:

I just checked for free testing (for the heck of it) here in SW Florida and the free Rapid test is still being offered by CVS. 

And I checked CVS in NE Florida and it said I did not qualify for a free test....we did in December but not now.
Walgreens, however, is still offering free tests.

[Daniel A]

13 minutes ago, suzyed said:

And I checked CVS in NE Florida and it said I did not qualify for a free test....we did in December but not now.
Walgreens, however, is still offering free tests.

It's interesting, when I was booking tests from CVS they didn't ask if I was being tested for travel, they only asked "Are you seeking a COVID-19 test because of high transmission rates and difficulty maintaining recommended social distancing?"

 

Medicare Part B should still cover the cost of a test.