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I want to give everyone a heads up. Back on June 17 and 18th, my family of 6 were getting their pre-cruise Covid tests. Our cruise was on June 19th. Most of my family had issues. One sister elected to get the a lab test on June 17th, the one that takes 24-48 hours. Why the full blown test? I don't know why but that is what she thought she needed. But she started to worry so she went to CVS for a second lab test. Yes. Another 24-48 hour test. It was a good thing that she did because she never got the results from the first test. These tests were taken in PA. My husband and I went to our NH Walgreen for a rapid NAAT test on Friday morning. We were supposed to get our test results in 2 to 4 hours. No such luck. It was only after 12 hours and after our flight to FL that we had received our test results. My second sister and her husband went to Walgreen in Florida on the morning of June 18th for their rapid NAAT tests. They never received their results. They ended up spending $100 EACH for a rapid test at the Royal Caribbean terminal. The crew wanted my sister to wait for her original results. Fortunately, she asked to be given the new tests since she NEVER received the first results. She was about 2 hours delayed in boarding. She had an 11 am boarding times. My brother from Vegas was the only one who did not have a problem. Talk about pressure! I hope our experience is a one off problem and no one else runs into these problems.

Hello all! First time cruiser here. Has anyone (from the UK specifically but anywhere else too) tried using a non-supervised test to get on the cruise? We're sailing out of Rome. Here's the thing, in the UK you can get an at-home PCR test that you do the swab unsupervised and then send to the lab to be tested. The results certificate you get has all the details required by RC, and most of them do not say if they were supervised or not. I was wondering if anyone has tried using these, as it seem they could technically be accepted.

We are sailing on ML in a few weeks from Seward. Prior to joining the ship, we are doing a Celebrity Cruise Tour. I know we need a COVID test no more than two days before the land portion starts, which we will do before we leave home. Then we also need one no more than two days before the cruise starts. On boarding day (Friday) we take a bus from Denali to Seward to join the ship. I've read somewhere that they will stop somewhere in Anchorage where people can get COVID testing done. But, then I've also read that isn't true, that we need to either bring a self-test with us and do the testing (via tele-health monitoring) on our own, or arrange testing on our own. When I called Celebrity they said they will stop in Anchorage for testing, but I don't know if the person understood my question. Would anyone happen to know if they will be stopping somewhere for testing? I am sure it will be more expensive, but it would probably be more convenient. And I've also read that if you do the monitored at home test, that you can't use a cell phone or tablet for that, it has to either be a desktop or laptop computer. Which would be really inconvenient to have to bring a desktop computer!

Hi All, First time cruiser.. Didn't see this in the prior threads, but we have an early boarding/check-in at 11am on Mariner for May 23rd out of Pt. Canaveral. (Stayed up late one night to get it and have a confirmation email!) However, when I went into the app under "Check-in" and clicked on "arrival time" for wellness check, the only times are for past 1:30pm. So, now I am confused as to which time is our actual boarding time. Surely, they would be checking our vaccine info before we are allowed on board. So, that makes me think that we now can't get on the ship until after 1:30. I figured the 11am check-in would cover wellness check. Does anyone know what the two times are for? Thanks in advance!

We have an Alaska cruise coming up in June that disembarks in Vancouver. From what I can tell a negative COVID test is needed to re-enter the U.S. and must be taken no more than one day prior to the flight. The cruise ends, and our flight back to the U.S. is on a Friday. I think at-home tests are permitted if they are monitored via tele-health (just like Royal Caribbean's requirement). The day before the flight is a sea day for us. We have an internet package, but I think we have a surf package, so I don't know we'd be able to make a video call so that the test could be monitored. Would it be easiest to just do the test at the Vancouver airport the morning of the flight? Or does anyone know if they will accept an at-home test that wasn't monitored via tele-health in order to re-enter the U.S.?

Ok, this is an email I did not expect to receive. eMed sent me my six pack of tests as expected, but, due to an "unforeseen lapse" in their payment system, my payment was not processed. At first, I thought this was a scam, but sure enough, my CC had not been charged for the tests. It's really odd to see a company come back, hat in hand, asking for the money they were supposed to collect after already delivering the product.

I have a friend from the UK who took his eMed rapid test today (thankfully was negative). Unfortunately, he put the DOB in the UK format (backwards) and the proctor didn't notice. Now he has negative result with a Bday which doesn't match his passport. Has anyone else experienced this? Will he be denied boarding?

Please let me know if you guys are in a immediate need of BinaxNOW Covid-19 Ag Card HomeTest sold on optum store to be shipped to you as we have 4 unopened kits and would like to ship it to you for the same price we paid( $139.98; Quantity : 2 of 2 pack kits; Total 4 kits ). We had to cancel our Cruise in the last minute due to some reason and now we do not need them and we not have plans to cruise until later this year. Please respond to this message so i can get in touch with you. These kits will be shipped from Maryland just to give you guys an idea and i will make sure they reach with in few days.

Edited because of info gathered after posting ~ thanks for the words of wisdom!

I was looking around for a COVID test for an upcoming cruise. I checked my local Kroger grocery store and found they do have testing. It can be reserved 14 days in advance, but costs $25 USD. They appeared to have many locations that offered the testing and plenty of openings. In fact, I could have had my choice of appointments for this afternoon! I paid extra close attention, and they did not ask for my insurance, home address or citizenship information. Therefore I think it would work for both US residents and foreigners. Please note that Kroger operates under several brands throughout the United States. Depending on the port you may have to book with a different sub brand. Their brands include: Kroger, Harris Teeter, Dillons, Food 4 Less, Fred Meyer, Fry's, King Shoppers, QFC, Ralphs, Roundry's and Smiths. Please note: I only checked on my local Kroger branded store. YMMV, especially if you are using one of the sub-brands. If anyone else knows of testing locations that will accept foreign residents, I'm sure our Canadian European and other foreign friends would appreciate it if you would leave that in the comments.