Fellow Canadians > Toronto - Ottawa. FLY OR DRIVE TO BAYONNE WHY?

[Censored]

Under current covid protocols, it is difficult to plan whether to fly or drive for many of us.  Factor in:  Costs of driving.....fuel, time, parking b2b,  VS  Flight... One hour or so, costs  $350 CAD return  more or less,  Uber to airport and to terminal there and back.    Now add in disembarking  costs at terminal  $210 US for rapid PCR , or Airport? Less cost? who knows?        Matt always says it is better to drive at all costs if you can. Not so sure for Canadians.   Further Matt recommends  a take at home antigen test.  Not so sure for Canadians?   Are antigen test sufficient for Flight and cruise?      Trudeau still wants Canadians to take  a PCR test for re-entry back to Canada. Really?   Finally,  If we get tested at the terminal on disembarking  and test positive, will Royal still honour the promise of "getting you home"??   Lets not forget Air2Sea  policies as well here.   What about that?  

[Marlena]

Remember it may not be get you home but instead a paid hotel stay for 14 days...

[recogneyes]

That is such a loaded question!  I assume you are considering Anthem and possibly March Break? We are in Niagara so always drive to Bayonne.  The parking garage is right beside the terminal so the convenience of leaving the ship and being in the car in minutes it's just better for us than the headache of heading to the airport etc.  We usually stop one night on the way there but drive straight through on the way home.

You do not need a covid test to drive across from Canada to the US (just proof of vaccine is my understanding), but you will need an antigen test (at minimum) to board the ship.  There are some indications that the at home proctored rapid antigen tests will be sufficient to board the ship (sold by Switch Health and Air Canada) however it's still a bit of a gamble.

You can book an in clinic one before you leave Canada and as long as it is within 2 days of boarding you can use it.

The bigger headache is getting a test to come home.  Canada requires a PCR or LAMP test done in a lab/medical setting and so far the only rapid one I can find at a decent price is through CVS.  $129 pp and they say results in about an hour. I believe you need to book in advance.

Royal is no longer testing on board (unless you have symptoms) and I haven't been able to find any info on testing at the pier.  Even if there is - Royal doesn't cover the cost.  Once you leave the ship should you test positive, it is up to you to determine your quarantine plan in the US or try to cross with a positive test and possibly be fined $5000pp.  That's another reason we prefer to drive - if you have a positive test, the option to fly is gone.  

 

[WannaCruise]

Same dilemma....and from Toronto cruising out of New Jersey.  We had Anthem booked in December (didn't make it) and have it booked in March (deciding whether to go or cancel).  We decided to drive for a few reasons:

1. Fewer contacts along the way to limit chances of getting covid beforehand (e.g. avoid busy airport)
2. Avoid having to uber to/from the port and to/from airport as we have our own car (again, limit contact)
3. Easier to cancel last minute if needed and/or flexible to change when we leave.
4. Not in much of a time crunch to get the PCR test done post cruise (since not catching a flight)
5. Back in December, we were able to drive home and quarantine there if one of us tested positive. 

*Unfortunately #5 isn't still true right now since they have added the possible hefty fine if we do so.  And on the flip side, now...if one of us tests positive, we would need to decide what to do....do we split up and the ones negative return home (purchase a flight?) while others quarantine?  Or do we all quarantine.  It's so complicatd.

As for Royal covering costs of quarantine, they only do so if you test positive while on the ship.  But the PCR test isn't done now for returning home and we must arrange it ourselves (or pay for it at the port but quarantine would be at our cost if positive since we are off the ship).  i.e. Royal would only do the test if deemed close contact or not feeling well.

If we proceed with March, we will drive (and so don't need to worry about purchasing flights)

[Censored]

Thanks for the responses. Im doing a B2B on the Anthem Feb 20.  Right now Royal will charge me $210 US dollars for the PCR test at the Bayonne terminal on disembarking . Its really not clear that if you test positive, Royal won't " still promise to get you home" and pay for expenses including a  jet if need be.   Princess Cruises does indeed cover this  in their fine print. I cannot find anything on Royal. 

I suppose I can take the test at Niagara Falls New York making an appt in advance? If I test positive then I can stay at the Seneca Niagara hotel.

Or ask the border staff if they will let me in since Im vaccinated.   I like to fly Porter from Billy Bishop Airport. No line ups and a very very short flight opposed to a drive of 6-7 hours and fuel costs and parking fees of $300 for 2 weeks.    ( still less than flying I know)   One final thought on driving .....last time I drove right through all the toll areas..will I get a bill in the mail? Will the border pick up on unpaid fines?   Are out of country plates exempt from tolls in New York state?  

[YellowBrickRoad]

2 hours ago, Edmund said:

Thanks for the responses. Im doing a B2B on the Anthem Feb 20.  Right now Royal will charge me $210 US dollars for the PCR test at the Bayonne terminal on disembarking . Its really not clear that if you test positive, Royal won't " still promise to get you home" and pay for expenses including a  jet if need be.   Princess Cruises does indeed cover this  in their fine print. I cannot find anything on Royal. 

I suppose I can take the test at Niagara Falls New York making an appt in advance? If I test positive then I can stay at the Seneca Niagara hotel.

Or ask the border staff if they will let me in since Im vaccinated.   I like to fly Porter from Billy Bishop Airport. No line ups and a very very short flight opposed to a drive of 6-7 hours and fuel costs and parking fees of $300 for 2 weeks.    ( still less than flying I know)   One final thought on driving .....last time I drove right through all the toll areas..will I get a bill in the mail? Will the border pick up on unpaid fines?   Are out of country plates exempt from tolls in New York state?  

I get the toll bill in the mail and now email since I signed up to receive it that way.
You are not exempt from tolls, the camera picks up your plates. 

I just got mine this week when we traveled to New York in November.  
 

We have traveled from Toronto to the States many times a year in the past as my family is there and I pay online.