Pcr Test For Cruise Travel

Entering Canada By Land Or Air Before Embarking On A Cruise

You must complete your ArriveCAN submission before entering Canada, no more than 72 hours of boarding your flight or before entering Canada by land.

• If youre flying in to join a cruise immediately, enter the address of your terminal.
• If youre not joining the cruise immediately, enter the address of your hotel.

You must also submit a second ArriveCAN submission no more than 72 hours before boarding the cruise. This applies even if your second ArriveCAN submission is within 72 hours of the first submission.

Upon your entry to Canada by air or at a land border crossing, the border services officer may notify you that youve been randomly selected for a mandatory arrival test.

Mandatory random testing is part of the Government of Canada surveillance program to track the importation of COVID-19 virus into Canada, and identify new variants of concern.

What If You Recently Recovered From Covid

If you recently recovered from COVID-19, you might still test positive. If a guest tests positive for COVID-19 within 11 to 90 days of their sail date, they might qualify to be considered 90-Day-Recovered. If the person qualifies and uploads the proper documents, they may not need to participate in the COVID-19 testing during the pre-sail, embarkation, or debarkation parts of their trip.

To qualify for this, youll have to upload the following to the Safe Passage website and bring it with you to the port:

• A copy of your previous positive COVID-19 test result which is greater than 11 days and less than 90 days from your expected sail date. The test must have been antigen, NAAT, rapid PCR or lab-based PCR. The test result must include your date of birth.
• A signed letter stating that you have recovered from COVID-19 in the last 90 days and are clear for travel.
• Vaccinated Guests must also upload proof of vaccination in addition to their 90-Day-Recovered documentation.

What Kind Of On

Cruise lines still have on-board protocols in place, as well. For its part, Carnival requires passengers who are exposed to or in close contact with anyone who tests positive for COVID or displays symptoms to be tested, along with their close contacts, according to its website. Those passengers may have to quarantine in their rooms until medical staff clears them.

Other cruise lines have similar protocols in place, like Norwegian, which advises passengers who have COVID symptoms while sailing to contact the ship’s medical center, which is equipped to test on board, per its website. Royal Caribbean Group’s namesake brand, Royal Caribbean International, also offers testing to travelers who feel sick, and its medical lab “allows for rapid, accurate onsite PCR testing with results in under an hour, alongside a multitude of other evaluative tests,” its website reads.

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Have A Question Give Us A Call

Erin B.

Their team was way faster than what I was expecting. They came at the last minute and got us tested in no time. Thank you for saving our cruise!

It completely slipped our mind that we would need a COVID test. Thanks to Mobile COVID Testing, they helped us get to our cruise on time without skipping a beat. I recommend their services.

Carl S.

My girlfriend and I really appreciated the safety protocols they used to administer the tests. The results came in an hour and we boarded on time. Great service!

Alisha P.

What a wonderful and convenient service! They are very fast. They tested us at the hotel before we left and emailed us the results about an hour later. It was a convenient experience.

Advice If Your Cruise Ship Travel Is Outside Of Canada

• Ensure that your passport is valid beyond the duration of your trip and check with your transportation company and destination countries about passport requirements.
• Check the Travel Advice and Advisories page for your destination or shore excursion locations to find local COVID-19 restrictions and requirements.
• Buy a comprehensive travel health insurance and plan to have access to sufficient funds to cover unexpected medical bills, including COVID-19 related expenses or medical evacuation while you are abroad. The cost of required medical care could be very high and you may need to pay medical bills upfront or immediately after treatment. The Government of Canada doesnt pay hospital and medical bills.
• Access to consular services while travelling on cruise ships may be quite limited, particularly in quarantine situations.
• You could be subject to mandatory testing, quarantine and isolation procedures onboard the ship or in a foreign country.

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Shore Excursions In Canada During The Cruise

• there is no arrival testing for passengers entering Canada for shore excursions
• you may be asked to show your ArriveCAN receipt from your initial embarkation
• you wont have to resubmit ArriveCAN
• if you arent fully vaccinated due to medical reasons, youre allowed to join a shore excursion. You must have proof of a valid medical contraindication and a valid ArriveCAN submission.
• if you arent fully vaccinated due to a sincerely-held religious belief, you arent allowed to disembark the ship in Canada except in a medical emergency.

All travellers are required to take a pre-embarkation COVID-19 test before embarking on a cruise in Canada, even if the cruise ship is not leaving Canadian waters

Travellers who are staying within Canada throughout their entire journey or who are leaving Canada and not returning dont have to complete ArriveCAN.

Getting Ready To Cruise From Europe & The Middle East

Here are the latest protocols for our guests sailing from Europe. Due to the fluidity of this situation, our protocols are subject to change and we are committed to keeping you informed if they do.

Guests traveling into European and Middle Eastern countries from another country should be sure to look into any requirements your own home country may have for exiting or re-entering its borders.

Some of these countries have entry requirements for international guests, here are some helpful links:

Vaccination Guidance

Vaccination Requirement for Departures through September 4, 2022

All Royal Caribbean guests age 12 and older must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with the final dose administered at least 14 days before sailing. If you are sailing from Italy, to be considered vaccinated, your 2 dose vaccine series must have been with an EMA approved vaccine. To see which vaccines are accepted for your European cruise, click here.

We will ask that you disclose your vaccination status to us prior to boarding .

Guests age 12-17 can be considered fully vaccinated if:

Revised Vaccination Recommendation Starting September 5, 2022

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What Are The Tests

A simple, guided lateral flow testing kit to perform before your trip, making it easy to get the certification you need to board the cruise.

As soon as you book your Cruise holiday, order your test package from Chronomics using the special discounted rate. Your Pre-departure test will be sent 3 days prior departure and will arrive in separate packages.

Following the advice included, take the test using the swabs and the lateral flow device provided. It should only take a few minutes to do this.

Our Rapid Antigen test kits usually give you a result in just a few minutes. Once youve got one, confirm it with us and well automatically generate a certificate to travel in your Chronomics online dashboard. Have an enjoyable cruise!

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Will I Be Required To Test During My Cruise

If you are unvaccinated, some cruise lines could require you to test periodically throughout your voyage. The longer the sailing, the more likely it is that youll need to test while youre on board. Most lines will charge you for the cost of administering and processing these tests.

Additionally, if a passenger feels ill and subsequently tests positive for COVID-19 on your cruise, you could be required to take a test if the vessels contact tracing program determines you were in close contact with the ill passenger. Testing under these circumstances is covered by the line.

In most cases, any post-cruise testing required for passengers to return home is conducted on board the ship on one of the last days of the sailing at the expense of the cruise line. Well get into that more in the section below.

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Will More Cruise Lines Drop Their Pre

Anyone going on a cruise is curious if the pre-cruise test mandate will go away anytime soon, and the answer is maybe.

In July 2022, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dropped its Covid-19 program for cruise ships, meaning its new recommendations are not required for cruise lines to follow. This includes pre-cruise testing.

There’s no timeline for if/when cruise lines may drop testing across the board in the United States.

As the threat of Covid-19 begins to diminish, an end to pre-cruise testing seems logical given that the U.S. dropped a pre-flight covid test requirement for international travel.

For now, all the major cruise lines require a pre-cruise covid test, with the exception of a handful of ships operating in Europe noted earlier in this article.

What About Other Health And Safety Requirements

Other health and safety requirements aren’t going anywhere, regardless of whether a negative test is mandated at embarkation.

Masks are once again being required in interior spaces of Holland America Line and Princess cruise ships headed to Alaska, following rising cases on land in that state. Proof of vaccination is also not likely going anywhere, as vaccination helps prevent severe outcomes for those who do happen to fall ill with COVID-19 while onboard.

But the removal of the pre-departure test — long a source of anxiety among cruisers — helps the industry get back on its feet and removes a burdensome cost for passengers looking to set sail. That’s bad news for the cottage industry of pre-testing sites and kits that have sprung up over the last year and a half, but good news for those looking to travel in 2022.

Cruise Critic has reached out to the CDC for comment on its pre-cruise testing requirements, and will update this feature as more information becomes available.

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Before You Go On A Cruise

If you decide to take a cruise, there are some important facts you should consider.

• Complete your COVID-19 vaccine series along with any additional doses as recommended in Canada, at least 14 days before your cruise begins to reduce the risk of developing severe disease from COVID-19 while you travel.
• Choose cruises and excursions that require proof of vaccination and cruises that have enhanced COVID-19 protocols.
• Buy travel health insurance before leaving and make sure you are covered for COVID-19-related medical expenses, trip cancellation, trip interruption, including if you test positive for COVID-19 prior to boarding a flight home. The Government of Canada is not responsible for changes to your travel plans.

Can I Take A Telehealth Test At Home To Satisfy My Pre

Telehealth Testing for Cruises Departing from U.S. Ports and Canada

If your sailing requires you to provide a negative test result to board, you may use a telehealth service to do so, as long as you meet the following requirements:

The test must be taken under live video supervision and further meet these requirements:

• Per local regulations, only vaccinated guests may present self-administered telehealth COVID-19 test results at the terminal to satisfy the pre-cruise testing requirement for sailings that visit Canada or Bermuda. Unvaccinated guests may use telehealth testing on itineraries that do not visit Canada or Bermuda may present a self-administered telehealth COVID-19 test results to satisfy pre-cruise testing requirements.

• The self-test process must happen under live supervision on a video call with a telehealth representative.

• The telehealth provider must issue you a result document that includes all the necessary information.

Telehealth Testing for Cruises Departing from Europe, the UK & Israel

For guests as young as 2, we accept self-administered COVID-19 tests taken under live video supervision.

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Where Can I Access My Results

You can access your results by visiting our website www.discoveryhealthmd.com and go to the upper right-hand corner where you will see an option to select Log In. Please click or hover over this button and then choose the appropriate portal method on the following page. Kindly note, emails can be duplicated for family usage, however, each individual tested will need an unique username to match with their results.

If you are having trouble logging in, please try resetting your password. If issues continue, please email

What Requirements Are There For Guests Who Wish To Go Ashore In Ports Of Call Will I Be Required To Buy A Shore Excursion Can I Take An Independent Tour

Guests can visit most ports of call freely, regardless of vaccination status.

A handful of ports currently require guests to book a shore excursion to go ashore. See below to understand which ports require this.

Healthy Shore Excursions

Know that Royal Caribbean has worked with local tour operators to ensure they follow our Healthy Sail Panel health guidance for all Shore Excursions in all ports of call. These tours are available at a variety of price points and may be purchased in advance on Cruise Planner or once onboard using the Royal Caribbean App.

Requirements for Guests Departing on Round-Trip Cruises from all U.S. home ports, including San Juan, Puerto Rico

Guests may book a shore excursion or visit most ports freely â with the exception of those listed below, which will require tours for all guests who wish to go ashore, regardless of vaccination status.

• St. Lucia

At the above destinations, guests may depart the ship and visit the enclosed port area on their own. If they wish to visit further into port, they must have booked a Royal Caribbean shore excursion, or participate in a government approved tour. Government approved tours are unaffiliated with Royal Caribbean.

Ports that Require Tours for Parties with Guests Who are Not Vaccinated

No Tours Required at Perfect Day or Labadee

Learn more about Perfect Day Protocols Here

Requirements for Cruises Departing from Europe & Israel

Requirements for Cruises Departing from Singapore

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Norwegian Cruise Will Drop Covid Test Requirement

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd will no longer require vaccinated travelers to take a Covid test before sailing on its cruises, effective September 3. Unvaccinated travelers will have to provide proof of a negative Antigen or PCR test no more than 72 hours prior to boarding.

The relaxation of protocols coupled with continued easing of travel restrictions and the reopening to cruise in more ports around the globe are meaningfully positive for our business as it reduces friction, expands the addressable cruise market, brings variety to itineraries and provides additional catalysts on the road to recovery, said Norwegian Cruise Lines President and CEO Frank Del Rio in the announcement.

Norwegian will become the latest major cruise line to drop the Covid testing requirement. Royal Caribbean and Carnival dropped theirs in August. The requirement removals follow the CDCs announcement last month to stop tracking Covid outbreaks on cruise ships.

How Much Does A Covid

COVID-19 test costs depend largely on the type of test, how and where you have the test done, and whether or not youre specifically asked if the test is for travel purposes. Prices vary from free to several hundred dollars.

At a big-box drive-thru pharmacy, theres a good chance your test will be covered by your health insurance, but it depends on whether or not the reason for the test is indicated when you make your appointment. For example, CVS asks if you need the test to meet travel requirements. In that case, insurance is unlikely to pick up the tab. Walgreens doesnt ask if the test is for travel purposes. Instead, it asks if you live in an area of high spread .

If youre opting instead to order a test online, youre looking at about $50 for a single test or as much as $150 for a pack of six, plus shipping. If you have a flexible spending account or a health savings account, the IRS says at-home tests are considered eligible expenses. The White House has also indicated that people with private health insurance could be reimbursed for the cost of these at-home tests. Check with your insurance provider for details.

If youre someone who requires a PCR test, the downside to testing at the airport is that its pricey, with some U.S.-based services costing $200 or more.

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Who Can Enter Canada

Canadian citizens , people registered under the Indian Act, permanent residents of Canada, and protected persons are allowed to enter Canada. You may face penalties and fines of up to $5,000 if you fail to meet all of the requirements, including using ArriveCAN.

Foreign nationals : if you don’t qualify as fully vaccinated, you’ll only be allowed to enter Canada in specific circumstances. Check first to avoid being turned back at the border: Find out if you can enter Canada

Where Can I Find An Approved Test That Will Give Me My Results In Time

Pharmacies like Walgreens and CVS offer drive-thru antigen and PCR testing by appointment. However, with the tight window in which the results are needed, theres no guarantee youll have them in time to cruise, particularly because the demand for testing is so high right now.

The best option for vaccinated passengers is to order at-home antigen testing kits that offer telehealth access. Some cruise lines sell them, but you can also find them through the Optum or eMed websites. Only professionally proctored at-home tests are accepted by the cruise lines, so if youre ordering one of Abbotts BinaxNOW tests, make sure its the BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card Home Test.

The safest bet for unvaccinated passengers flying to their embarkation ports is to make an appointment for a rapid PCR test at the airport either the one from which theyre departing or the one at which theyre arriving. Results are returned in anywhere from one to 24 hours, depending on the type of test chosen, so be sure to plan accordingly.

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