Documentation of Recovery

[bricks609]

We are supposed to sail on 8/28 to Alaska out of Seattle. I tested positive for COVID-19 at home using free government test on Saturday 8/13. Went to a stand alone ER and tested on 8/14 to have a verified result showing positive results.  If I cannot produce a negative test on 8/26, I will take documentation of Recovery with me. I think I need to take the results of the 8/14 test, along with a letter from my doctor showing I am clear to travel.

 

My question is, has anyone boarded using documentation of recovery, and were there any problems? It will be 14 days since my positive test, and HAL requires it to be 11 days past infection.  I don't have any symptoms at 5 days, and had a very mild case. Do you think I would be denied boarding even with the documentation of recovery I will take given the short time from positive test to boarding date?

 

Thanks in advance.

[12cruise2]

You should be fine; print and take a copy of the HAL rules (that you can find by going to the Frequently Asked Questions) and have that with you.  We boarded last Saturday after having tested positive the very end of May, but we did also have a letter of recovery from our doctor.  They want to see a positive PCR/NAAT test result normally, and you do NOT want to test before getting on because there is the risk you will test positive again.  As long as you are within the rules posted on the FAQ (what is it--more than 11 days after your positive test?), then simply show them the positive test; we did have a letter of recovery from our doctor.  As long as you are "certain" with whomever looks at your boarding documents re it's more than the 11 days, etc.  The reps aren't always clear on the rules, so you need to be clear on the rules so that you can politely stand your ground, so to speak.  I had to do that as the lady didn't really understand what I was doing and asked after looking at the positive test, did I have a negative test.  I explained that no, I was boarding within the 90-day period rule after having had covid that HAL has.

[12cruise2]

I just copied and pasted this info from HAL today 8/18/22; see link below:

 

"Guests who have recovered from COVID-19 within three months of their embarkation, do not need to get a viral test before embarkation if they are at least 10 days past their COVID-19 infection, have no symptoms and produce documentation of recovery from COVID-19 infection.

Guests are required to be on day 11 on their recovery from COVID-19 in order to embark on their cruise. Guests who are considered a close contact must have 14 days surpass after their partners confirmed COVID-19 case in order to board.

Documentation of Recovery consists of the following: 

• Paper or electronic copies of the positive viral test result from a certified laboratory (dated no more than 90 days ago), or 
• A valid digital COVID-19 certificate (DCC) or a document issued by an official health or government authority showing confirmed previous infection. 

Guests who present these documents will need to go through a secondary screening at the terminal and boarding will be approved at the medical staff’s discretion. If guests are not able to obtain documentation of recovery that fulfills the above requirements, they will need to take the required COVID-19 viral test and show a negative result."

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/worry-free-promise/travel-well/frequently-asked-questions/faq-for-cruises-from-usa.html#testing

 

Edited August 18, 2022 by 12cruise2

[bricks609]

1 hour ago, 12cruise2 said:

You should be fine; print and take a copy of the HAL rules (that you can find by going to the Frequently Asked Questions) and have that with you.  We boarded last Saturday after having tested positive the very end of May, but we did also have a letter of recovery from our doctor.  They want to see a positive PCR/NAAT test result normally, and you do NOT want to test before getting on because there is the risk you will test positive again.  As long as you are within the rules posted on the FAQ (what is it--more than 11 days after your positive test?), then simply show them the positive test; we did have a letter of recovery from our doctor.  As long as you are "certain" with whomever looks at your boarding documents re it's more than the 11 days, etc.  The reps aren't always clear on the rules, so you need to be clear on the rules so that you can politely stand your ground, so to speak.  I had to do that as the lady didn't really understand what I was doing and asked after looking at the positive test, did I have a negative test.  I explained that no, I was boarding within the 90-day period rule after having had covid that HAL has.

Thanks for your reply. My positive test on 8/14 was a Rapid Antigen Test. Nowhere that I read in your second post says it had to be a positive PCR/Naat test, just a positive viral test, which I believe a RAT test to be a viral test. I will have a copy of that test and letter from my doctor just in case I cannot present a negative test on 8/26. Thanks again for your info!

[12cruise2]

5 hours ago, bricks609 said:

Thanks for your reply. My positive test on 8/14 was a Rapid Antigen Test. Nowhere that I read in your second post says it had to be a positive PCR/Naat test, just a positive viral test, which I believe a RAT test to be a viral test. I will have a copy of that test and letter from my doctor just in case I cannot present a negative test on 8/26. Thanks again for your info!

Yes, I agree it does not say anything except "viral" test for HAL.  For Celebrity, it has to be a NAAT/PCR test result.