abbotts Covid test question

[Steve Williams]

Desperately seeking advise around ordering the abbotts Covid test from Optum as advised by Royal Caribbean. 

Im coming from the UK, so need the test to be delivered to my hotel. Optum website is very frustrating and doesn’t accept a UK mobile phone number even though it’s a mandatory field when checking out the order. I tried to bypass this by just using the hotel’s phone number, this worked but when getting to the payment section, the same thing applied to the zip code field. My postcode is considered invalid and just leaving it blank doesn’t work.

 

i have emailed Optum store, but without reply. I’m sure there must be many people experiencing something like this considering the amount of people who go on cruises.

the level of support and guidance provided by all companies involved is very poor.

 

a really stressful experience......... any advice greatly received.

[Spang1974]

Have you tried using the hotel zipcode for payment? 

[Moby Dick]

34 minutes ago, Spang1974 said:

Have you tried using the hotel zipcode for payment? 

If using a C.C., I believe the address must be the same as what's on file with the C.C. profile.  You can use a separate delivery address but the billing address must be the official profile address.  

I don't have an answer to the OP's question, though.

[Pattycruise]

Maybe look into this site.  You can use any test kits purchased here and then just pay the $15 for the virtual testing appointment.  
https://onpoint-testing.com/product/certified-teleservice-covid-testing/
You might even be able to give it a try at home now, so you can see how it works.

[Spang1974]

1 hour ago, Moby Dick said:

If using a C.C., I believe the address must be the same as what's on file with the C.C. profile.  You can use a separate delivery address but the billing address must be the official profile address.  

I don't have an answer to the OP's question, though.

Yeah, that's how it is supposed to be, but trust me, as a person from the UK who buys from USA websites all the time, it's not always possible. I have used the shipping address (as my card billing address) more than two dozen times over the years. The short story is the USA credit card authorisation system doesn't always have access to the EU/UK card database to check, and depending on the amount it will sometimes automatically authorise the charge.  

[FionaMG]

I don't have personal experience but I understand from reading other posters' experiences that there are a couple of UK equivalents to the proctored tests sold by Royal for the US market, so perhaps you could look into buying those before you leave home and taking them with you? This is what lots of US cruisers do in the opposite direction when they come over to Europe. I've seen one called DocHQ mentioned a few times (again, no personal experience so not a recommendation, just throwing the idea and name out there in case it might work for you).

[Moby Dick]

1 hour ago, Spang1974 said:

Yeah, that's how it is supposed to be, but trust me, as a person from the UK who buys from USA websites all the time, it's not always possible. I have used the shipping address (as my card billing address) more than two dozen times over the years. The short story is the USA credit card authorisation system doesn't always have access to the EU/UK card database to check, and depending on the amount it will sometimes automatically authorise the charge.  

WOW.  If I ever put the wrong address into my billing address and the C.C. company/clearing house accepts it/approves the sale, I'll drop that company in a NY minute.  

[Spang1974]

23 minutes ago, Moby Dick said:

WOW.  If I ever put the wrong address into my billing address and the C.C. company/clearing house accepts it/approves the sale, I'll drop that company in a NY minute.  

LOL, aren't you still living in the Wild Wild West where they don't require PIN number entry for in-person sales? or have they gone past signature use finally?

[Moby Dick]

11 minutes ago, Spang1974 said:

LOL, aren't you still living in the Wild Wild West where they don't require PIN number entry for in-person sales? or have they gone past signature use finally?

Correct.  But, I've been assured that the "CHIP" in the card is a much more secure system than a PIN.  Riiiiiiiiight!  We'll see!

Oh, most places/card readers still require a PIN for Debit Card transactions!