MSC Relaxes Testing Requirements for US Cruises

[kwokpot]

3 minutes ago, styles27 said:

It seems that they aren’t accepting the at home proctored tests anymore.

 

I don’t see anything about it on their website. It was always clearly listed as an acceptable test.

We used the at home proctored tests for our last 2 cruises. 
 

This would be very inconvenient if they’re no longer allowing us to use them. ugh!

Yes, we're on the Seashore end of September and was planning to use the E-med Proctored Self tests which we already have. There is a thread here on the MSC board that Port of Miami has free testing sites, but I don't feel it's wise to wait until the day of embarkation to test at a free site at the port, especially if it isn't administered by MSC themselves.

As you say there's not clarity on their website about specifically what tests they will or will not accept, so the existing statement clearly would mean not to proctored self test. 

 

[JAGR]

31 minutes ago, styles27 said:

It seems that they aren’t accepting the at home proctored tests anymore.

 

I don’t see anything about it on their website. It was always clearly listed as an acceptable test.

We used the at home proctored tests for our last 2 cruises.

They don't list that it is not acceptable, though.  I read that as they are taking them.  At least they took them two weeks ago.

[styles27]

19 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

Yes, we're on the Seashore end of September and was planning to use the E-med Proctored Self tests which we already have. There is a thread here on the MSC board that Port of Miami has free testing sites, but I don't feel it's wise to wait until the day of embarkation to test at a free site at the port, especially if it isn't administered by MSC themselves.

As you say there's not clarity on their website about specifically what tests they will or will not accept, so the existing statement clearly would mean not to proctored self test. 

 

Hopefully by the time you cruise there will be some further clarification. Knowing MSC they probably just forgot to add that paragraph about the at home proctored tests from emed that had been there since before our Divina 11/21 cruise. 
I agree with you I’m not comfortable waiting to test in Miami at the pier. We are flying in the day before our 12/30 cruise so we would have to find a test site or test at the airport if they’re still doing it. 
Of course everything could change again by then.  I guess we just have to adapt. 

[styles27]

1 minute ago, JAGR said:

They don't list that it is not acceptable, though.  I read that as they are taking them.  At least they took them two weeks ago.

I’m afraid to risk it since they always specified that the emed at home proctored tests were accepted.  
They probably had a one year contract with emed to advertise the tests on their site and maybe that expired. Who knows 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Native Floridian 26]

They recently removed the sentence that said self tests are not accepted.  So they are accepted now?  Is a report through the Navica App acceptable?

[Fishfan0073]

3 hours ago, Native Floridian 26 said:

I need for MSC to do away with the testing on  7 night Med cruises or at least give you 3 days to take it. Due to travel time and 6 hour time difference, it makes it very difficult to fly to Europe for a cruise after taking the test.

The problem is that MSC does not make the rules for the countries it ships visit.  

[Native Floridian 26]

2 minutes ago, Fishfan0073 said:

The problem is that MSC does not make the rules for the countries it ships visit.  

There are no restrictions for the countries it visits on this itinerary other that supposed embarkations in Athens.  We embark in Venice.

Edited August 8, 2022 by Native Floridian 26

[Fishfan0073]

5 minutes ago, Native Floridian 26 said:

There are no restrictions for the countries it visits on this itinerary other that supposed embarkations in Athens.  We embark in Venice.

Well then hopefully they make this change for you.

[styles27]

20 minutes ago, Native Floridian 26 said:

They recently removed the sentence that said self tests are not accepted.  So they are accepted now?  Is a report through the Navica App acceptable?

I bet if each of us called to ask about the at home tests we would all get a different answer. It’s so frustrating. 

[Native Floridian 26]

2 minutes ago, styles27 said:

I bet if each of us called to ask about the at home tests we would all get a different answer. It’s so frustrating. 

Yes, it's frustrating.  We do better getting info from each other based on personal experiences.

[kwokpot]

4 minutes ago, Native Floridian 26 said:

Yes, it's frustrating.  We do better getting info from each other based on personal experiences.

Which is why many times I'll ask questions here. When you call the Reps don't have the most up to date information. And some questions like what toiletries are in the cabin bathrooms they may not even have an answer for that.

[phissy]

3 hours ago, styles27 said:

I bet if each of us called to ask about the at home tests we would all get a different answer. It’s so frustrating. 

Yes, that is exactly what MSC does. I am sure agents are confused by terms like proctored or tele monitored.

I still have some eMed tests to use up.

Worked great for our November b2b on MSC and our May NCL Alaska cruise.

Since we get a printed lab result from this test, I am still going to use these for our cruise.

 We are sailing again in October on Divina. Repositioning cruise 12 days.

By then, who knows what the policy will be?

 

[phissy]

On 8/3/2022 at 12:04 PM, mwhite991 said:

 

I am thinking that MSC is trying to avoid the issue of cruisers who want to use free Covid tests supplied by USPS as their boarding Covid test.
Some have said they will bring it to pier and take it during boarding process!

There would be no “laboratory result” issued in those cases.

There are now online companies who offer to monitor your taking one of these tests and then sending you an email with your results. For a fee, of course. 
Waiting to hear if anyone has had success with this approach.

[publicpersona]

1 hour ago, phissy said:

I am thinking that MSC is trying to avoid the issue of cruisers who want to use free Covid tests supplied by USPS as their boarding Covid test.
Some have said they will bring it to pier and take it during boarding process!

There would be no “laboratory result” issued in those cases.

There are now online companies who offer to monitor your taking one of these tests and then sending you an email with your results. For a fee, of course. 
Waiting to hear if anyone has had success with this approach.

 

I've never heard of anyone taking a "laboratory" antigen test. I'm imagining a Dr. Frankenstein laboratory with white-coated technicians huddled over a flow strip that is only valid for about 15-20 minutes after the sample was collected.

 

Anyway, I think the wording omitting proctored home test is just a temporary oversight.

 

I do believe there was a post today in this forum indicating success with the pay to proctor (of the USPS/drugstore OTC test) service. I plan to do that for my Seashore cruise on the 28th.

Edited August 9, 2022 by publicpersona

[kwokpot]

32 minutes ago, publicpersona said:

 

I've never heard of anyone taking a "laboratory" antigen test. I'm imagining a Dr. Frankenstein laboratory with white-coated technicians huddled over a flow strip that is only valid for about 15-20 minutes after the sample was collected.

 

Anyway, I think the wording omitting proctored home test is just a temporary oversight.

 

I do believe there was a post today in this forum indicating success with the pay to proctor (of the USPS/drugstore OTC test) service. I plan to do that for my Seashore cruise on the 28th.

The language for types of tests differ for cruises now vs after August 29:

Now: COVID-19 TEST REQUIREMENTS:
For U.S. and Puerto Rico residents departing on cruises from U.S. ports:
All fully COVID-19 vaccinated guests are required to show proof of a negative antigen or RT-PCR test taken no more than 2 days prior to ship embarkation. Guests must bring the valid negative test certificate with them to the terminal. MSC Cruises may provide additional testing, if necessary, at the terminal during embarkation or on board to protect our guests and crew.

All guests not fully vaccinated (based on the above vaccination requirements) are required to show proof of a negative RT-PCR test taken no more than 3 days prior to ship embarkation. Guests must bring the valid negative test certificate with them to the terminal. These guests may undergo an additional COVID-19 test at the terminal prior to embarkation provided by MSC Cruises, free of charge. The only exception is that no pre-embarkation or embarkation testing is required for guests under 2 years of age.

 

August 29th and after:

• Beginning August 29, 2022 - pending destination requirements:
  For fully vaccinated guests sailing 5 nights or less from U.S. ports, COVID-19 testing within 3 days of embarkation is recommended, but not required.
• Fully vaccinated guests sailing 6 nights or longer from U.S. ports must show proof of a lab-administered negative COVID-19 viral test (NAAT or antigen) taken within 3 days of embarkation.  MSC Cruises recommends vaccinated guests to test within 1 day of embarkation, when possible.
  Unvaccinated guests between 2-11 years old must show proof of a lab-administered negative COVID-19 viral test (NAAT or antigen) taken within 3 days of embarkation for all cruises from U.S. ports. MSC Cruises recommends unvaccinated guests to test within 1 day of departure, when possible.

 

The language is different and specific. A proctored self test is by definition not administered by a healthcare professional, pharmacy, or clinic. I don't see this as an oversight but deliberate, clarifying language. 

[publicpersona]

9 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

The language is different and specific. A proctored self test is by definition not administered by a healthcare professional, pharmacy, or clinic. I don't see this as an oversight but deliberate, clarifying language. 

 

TBH, my cruise debarks on Aug 27th so I'm not concerned about the change you seem to be reading into this. However, I have no idea where you've come up with the interpretation that specifically "healthcare professional, pharmacy, or clinic" is any different from the telehealth agents proctoring the tests. Don't those folks work in the healthcare industry?

 

No one knows what a "lab administered" antigen test is. Unlike a PCR, you can't exactly send the sample of to a "lab" and await results. The results are, well, rapid.

 

There's no reason to be stressing out about those words.

[Vegasgreg19]

I just called MSC and asked about the Biomax home proctored test and she said no, no home proctored tests will be accepted now but to check the website daily for any changes to the current heath and safety measures.

[kwokpot]

12 hours ago, publicpersona said:

 

TBH, my cruise debarks on Aug 27th so I'm not concerned about the change you seem to be reading into this. However, I have no idea where you've come up with the interpretation that specifically "healthcare professional, pharmacy, or clinic" is any different from the telehealth agents proctoring the tests. Don't those folks work in the healthcare industry?

 

No one knows what a "lab administered" antigen test is. Unlike a PCR, you can't exactly send the sample of to a "lab" and await results. The results are, well, rapid.

 

There's no reason to be stressing out about those words.

 

[AnA4ever]

20 hours ago, styles27 said:

It seems that they aren’t accepting the at home proctored tests anymore.

 

I don’t see anything about it on their website. It was always clearly listed as an acceptable test.

We used the at home proctored tests for our last 2 cruises. 
 

This would be very inconvenient if they’re no longer allowing us to use them. ugh!

I just seen on another post that someone just got back from an MSC Divina cruise and they used an at home proctored test without issue... so what's the real deal?

[AnA4ever]

2 minutes ago, AnA4ever said:

I just seen on another post that someone just got back from an MSC Divina cruise and they used an at home proctored test without issue... so what's the real deal?

 

[publicpersona]

2 hours ago, Vegasgreg19 said:

I just called MSC and asked about the Biomax home proctored test and she said no, no home proctored tests will be accepted now

 

While noteworthy, I'm in the camp with @style2k7who commented that if we each called MSC, we'd each get different answers.

 

To believe that tests proctored by a remote trained proctor are no longer accepted requires that

 

• At a time when all the cruise lines are rapidly easing protocols to reduce friction to taking a cruise, MSC is going out of their way to make it less convenient by eliminating what the industry has been recommending and accepting for quite a while.
• They did this with no mention, commentary, or kickback from those in the cruise new social media.
• There is a well understood meaning of a "lab administered" rapid antigen test. I'm sure there are exceptions, but I've not heard of any antigen testing being done in a "lab." It's always drive-up windows at the drugstore, testing at home, a white tent at the port, a kiosk at the airport, etc., none of which are lab administered.

 

Update: I consulted my own medical provider portal for what might be meant by "lab administered" test. Per their definition, requiring a lab administered test would mean no rapid tests are accepted, period. And I really, really doubt MSC has made that decision.

 

 

 

Edited August 9, 2022 by publicpersona

[publicpersona]

5 minutes ago, AnA4ever said:

I just seen on another post that someone just got back from an MSC Divina cruise

 

I mentioned that post as well. However, understand that the context of the last several posts is what happens after August 29th, so a data point from before now may not be compelling.

 

That said, I see no reason to think that home rapid antigen tests proctored by a trained professional (which could be your own doctor, eMed, OnPoint, etc.) will continue to be honored. But it will take some clarification on MSC's protocol statements before that can be said with high confidence.

[styles27]

22 minutes ago, publicpersona said:

 

I mentioned that post as well. However, understand that the context of the last several posts is what happens after August 29th, so a data point from before now may not be compelling.

 

That said, I see no reason to think that home rapid antigen tests proctored by a trained professional (which could be your own doctor, eMed, OnPoint, etc.) will continue to be honored. But it will take some clarification on MSC's protocol statements before that can be said with high confidence.

Agree.
I am hoping for some sort of update from MSC concerning the acceptance of the home proctored tests. 
As you said I too have not heard of a“lab administered antigen” test.
I have a feeling one of their 2 IT guys (😉) typed it in quickly without anyone proofreading it. 

 

Edited August 9, 2022 by styles27

[kwokpot]

1 hour ago, publicpersona said:

At a time when all the cruise lines are rapidly easing protocols to reduce friction to taking a cruise, MSC is going out of their way to make it less convenient by eliminating what the industry has been recommending and accepting for quite a while.

I agree with this and since my cruise isn't until Sept. 27th there could be a total elimination of pre-cruise testing for vaccinated guests. As per usual all the cruiselines make it difficult to follow what's going on. I understand the fluidity of all of this but as we all know it doesn't make things easy for what is supposed to be a holiday. I recently spent five weeks in Europe, 31 of those days on the Carnival Pride from May to June. To say the amount of forethought, and contingency planning was onerous was an understatement. This was all before testing was lifted to enter the US, so I planned for the worst case scenario and we were so relieved when the testing requirements were lifted while we were still overseas. In the end our five week European trip went off without a hitch; literally everything went according to plan and we had a wonderful time. My thoughts about Carnival in Europe and the Carnival Pride ship is a whole other can of worms, lol.

Edited August 9, 2022 by kwokpot

[Vegasgreg19]

Its sure is confusing. Called my local CVS and Walgreens and was told that unless it is for medical purpose, their test now cost $128 at Walgreens and $208 at CVS. 😲