TonyYOW

According to the RC website, it is now antigen at the terminal.

PCR testing wasn't completely dropped. Rapid (antigen) Tests are now an option too. Testing is still required for entering Canada and boarding the flight. So, in order to return to Canada you need one of the following: - PCR done 72h prior to boarding the flight - Rapid Test done 1 day before boarding the flight Another important update - unvaccinated kids do not required to quarantine for 14 days if they travel with vaccinated parents. They can go to daycare/school basically next day. That's a game changer for us.

There are no issues with the new vaccine passports (aka QR codes). My wife has travelled in December, no issues at the border and no issues with checking-in in RoyalApp.

Wow, I love Cointreau! Can you buy it on board?

I'm just hoping they will finally approve rapid tests for unvaccinated children...

It is, and it's expensive... Having kids get PCR before, and all family get PCRs after cruise at our own expenses is definitely going to be a huge no-go for Canadians. I'm so happy my wife and my daughter just finished their cruise on Odyssey. With these new measures I'm not sure when the next cruise is going to be for us

Also here: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/will-i-have-to-take-a-test-before-i-cruise

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/when-to-take-a-test-if-traveling-to-us-from-another-country

Another major change published on the website: unvaccinated kids now require PCR tests, not the rapid ones, before boarding. Another PCR will be taken at the port, same as before.

Exactly. I don't think RC would do something like that just because. They are also hostages of this new reality and bureaucracy...

I agree. It's very unfortunate when you break your own oath for nothing SARCASM

Not sure why people are so mad with this. Very little is being changed in comparison with what they already had. The only difference is that you can't take your mask off once seated for an indoor entertainment. Not a big deal. Everything regarding outdoors is still the same. I'd prefer cruise companies to keep sailing rather than have an enormous amounts of omicron outbreaks and CDC shut them down again.

So, after having all this stress and putting some pressure on them and then sitting in the cabin for 30 minutes waiting for a call back, my wife was finally told that they will accommodate the tests for them. What a negative experience... I didn't think it's going to be so stressful. Royal Caribbean should be better communicating those issues and limitations upfront. They know exactly how many people on board are from Canada...

So, the storry is that my wife and my daughter are on Odyssey right now. They just went to guest services to book PCR tests for their return to Canada. And they have been told that they're too late as there is only 120 people allowed to get those tests. This is ridiculous. Royal Caribbean has never told us there is limited availability and those tests need to be booked asap after they are on board. Did anyone else had the same experience?

My wife and my daughter are on Odyssey right now. They're saying it looks like pre-pandemic in term of the number of people.

I was on the same ship at the same time. The boarding process took only about 20 minutes in total, I was on the ship by 2pm. It was a breeze. While on the ship I felt safe and was happy to see that everybody is following all the rules and respecting all the protocols. It really enjoyed this trip.

My smallest bid for the Spacious Panoramic Ocean View on Freedom was accepted. First time I've tried RoyalUp, thanks to this message board. Didn't even know about this before.

From what I'm reading on RC website, it sounds like it only matters what kind of antigen test it is if you're doing it yourself. If that's a pharmacy, is any antigen test. At least, I couldn't find the list of approved tests on the website.

I'm in Ottawa. Most of SDM here have rapid tests as an option. The result is ready in 15 minutes. I'm already booked for Saturday 5pm. That will cover both - my flight on Sunday and the embarkation on Monday. Fingers crossed.

This is exactly what I was going to do for my cruise on the 27th. Rapid test at Shoppers drug Mart on Saturday evening (40 bucks, takes 15 minutes), fly in on Sunday, cruise is on Monday. Now I'm just wondering whether RC provides a complimentary PCR at the end of the cruise.

We're on December 31 Anthem too! Hopefully it won't be cancelled...