Great news - Covid test in advance

[Weedy]

Starting June 7th
Fully vaccinated guest can now take the Covid test in advance instead of at the port when sailing form at US or Canadian port.
Guest will pay for the pre testing

 

[erionm]

Already being discussed here: Know Before You Go Updated - May 17 - Testing rule changes

 

[tvguy]

Already being discussed here: Know Before You Go Updated - May 17 - Testing rule changes

Yup. And folks in that thread aren't convinced it is "great news".

 

[lanejudy]

Yup. And folks in that thread aren't convinced it is "great news".

Some are, some aren't. Everyone has an opinion...funny how that happens

 

[JohnGaston]

Just depends on your situation, we are traveling the 3 days before so it's not very convenient. But looks like you can still get tested at the port if needed.

 

[3DisneyFanz]

Great news! What Disney provided for free you can now pay for. Isn’t that super!

 

[bobbiwoz]

It’s hard when you are traveling before the cruise… not good news!

 

[DCLMP]

What's great about it?

 

[nancipants]

There are negatives to the change. A big positive is knowing you are clear to sail before you actually get to the port. After having read stories on this board, I would much rather be denied boarding in advance than at the port itself.

 

[Mommb]

What's great about it?

If you were planning to (or required to) get tested anyhow before your cruise, you can now use that test rather than waiting for testing at the port.

Granted, it’s not great for those who weren’t planning to get tested in advance with an “acceptable” test, aren’t concerned about traveling to the port and then testing positive, and don’t like the additional fees.

This is clearly in the “can’t please everyone” category. Some people over the past many months have posted thoughts such as “I wish we could just get tested in advance, or use test results we already have, instead of having to test at the port.” For such people, this is great. For people posting “I am upset at the cost of a cruise and don’t want additional costs,” this is not great.

 

[Geomom]

Not great news. Dropping testing altogether for vaxxed would be great news. Passing the cost onto the passenger is not. I agree that it's better to know before you get to port but it's a hassle to do it, especially trying to do it a few hours before driving to the airport (or trying to find a place in Florida while on vacation). If you could submit home tests without supervision, sure, I'd be good with that--I have 8 free ones from the government. I don't want to pay anything when I expected to be tested for free at port for my pricy mid June cruise...and I have yet to get an email from Disney telling me about this change... DH is livid about it, and I'm annoyed.

 

[lovingeire]

My only issue is that it's left all the Vancouver passengers having to test over the weekend. I could test for free at my doctor's office, but I can't do this on the weekend, nor on days I'm traveling. (Not to mention after paying a premium for DCL they'd now pawned this cost off on passengers too.) However, that being said, we were planning to test before we boarded our flight to Vancouver so we will now need to do a proctored test I guess. It's likely the most cost and time-effective option.

I don't want to pay anything when I expected to be tested for free at port for my pricy mid June cruise...and I have yet to get an email from Disney telling me about this change

I'm on the June 13th sailing and received an email from DCL at 12:14 today. Also, I'd love for testing to be dropped just to fly home to the States, but have given up hope on that so I don't think testing to sail is going away anytime soon.

 

[DCLMP]

If you were planning to (or required to) get tested anyhow before your cruise, you can now use that test rather than waiting for testing at the port.

Granted, it’s not great for those who weren’t planning to get tested in advance with an “acceptable” test, aren’t concerned about traveling to the port and then testing positive, and don’t like the additional fees.

This is clearly in the “can’t please everyone” category. Some people over the past many months have posted thoughts such as “I wish we could just get tested in advance, or use test results we already have, instead of having to test at the port.” For such people, this is great. For people posting “I am upset at the cost of a cruise and don’t want additional costs,” this is not great.

Why would I get tested before my cruise anyway?These tests aren’t cheap.

 

[DCLMP]

Not great news. Dropping testing altogether for vaxxed would be great news. Passing the cost onto the passenger is not. I agree that it's better to know before you get to port but it's a hassle to do it, especially trying to do it a few hours before driving to the airport (or trying to find a place in Florida while on vacation). If you could submit home tests without supervision, sure, I'd be good with that--I have 8 free ones from the government. I don't want to pay anything when I expected to be tested for free at port for my pricy mid June cruise...and I have yet to get an email from Disney telling me about this change... DH is livid about it, and I'm annoyed.

My home airport and Mco charge 65.000. Not a huge difference from DCL. I’m not sure where people get free tests with short turn around times.

 

[mullysisters]

RAT here in Ontario are 19.95 at WalMart, 40 at Shoppers Drugmart. A lot of people mentioned DCL passing the cost onto travellers. I could never figure out why they ever assumed the cost? Tour companies don’t pay for vaccines to go to Asia and Africa. Tour companies don’t pay for Visas when countries require them ? Yes DCL is expensive and I’ve made peace with that, my choice over other cruise lines.
I still can’t believe that Disney fully refunds the cost of a cruise if you test positive for Covid at the dock? I thought that was what insurance was for. I think their handling of Covid has been more than generous. They were paying for a test that, if positive, actually lost them money? Everyone turned away was lost revenue for that cruise IMHO, not meant to be argumentative.

 

[Madame]

RAT here in Ontario are 19.95 at WalMart, 40 at Shoppers Drugmart. A lot of people mentioned DCL passing the cost onto travellers. I could never figure out why they ever assumed the cost? Tour companies don’t pay for vaccines to go to Asia and Africa. Tour companies don’t pay for Visas when countries require them ? Yes DCL is expensive and I’ve made peace with that, my choice over other cruise lines.
I still can’t believe that Disney fully refunds the cost of a cruise if you test positive for Covid at the dock? I thought that was what insurance was for. I think their handling of Covid has been more than generous. They were paying for a test that, if positive, actually lost them money? Everyone turned away was lost revenue for that cruise IMHO, not meant to be argumentative.

They wouldn’t fill the ships otherwise. I looked for our Dec trip and couldn’t find a single Canadian insurer that actually - after you read the fine print - would cover costs that were non medical and covid related.

 

[elittleton]

My home airport and Mco charge 65.000. Not a huge difference from DCL. I’m not sure where people get free tests with short turn around times.

They wouldn’t fill the ships otherwise. I looked for our Dec trip and couldn’t find a single Canadian insurer that actually - after you read the fine print - would cover costs that were non medical and covid related.

For us, our insurance will pay for the test no matter where it was taken or the reason. They are even starting to pay for a certain number of home test a month.

We depart on June 4th so 3 days before the rule changes. I’m torn about it but at the same time I’m kind of glad. A friend went on a cruise last month. She got her Covid test and it was positive so she had it taken again the next morning before they left in case it was a false positive. The test was negative so she went on the cruise. When she got home she had pneumonia so you have to wonder which was the false positive or negative.

I know they have false test at the port but I figure there is more stories of positive test with a retake that is negative.

 

[bcwife76]

RAT here in Ontario are 19.95 at WalMart, 40 at Shoppers Drugmart. A lot of people mentioned DCL passing the cost onto travellers. I could never figure out why they ever assumed the cost? Tour companies don’t pay for vaccines to go to Asia and Africa. Tour companies don’t pay for Visas when countries require them ? Yes DCL is expensive and I’ve made peace with that, my choice over other cruise lines.
I still can’t believe that Disney fully refunds the cost of a cruise if you test positive for Covid at the dock? I thought that was what insurance was for. I think their handling of Covid has been more than generous. They were paying for a test that, if positive, actually lost them money? Everyone turned away was lost revenue for that cruise IMHO, not meant to be argumentative.

In BC to get a cheaper option I will need to use a telehealth service for about $30 a person and get to use the tests the BC govt gives out at all pharmacies. Convenient for us, for sure. However, if you want to have an in person test done in BC you are looking at a minimum of $79 per person. Those cheap $20 Walmart tests and $40 Shoppers test don't exist in BC.

 

[DCLMP]

RAT here in Ontario are 19.95 at WalMart, 40 at Shoppers Drugmart. A lot of people mentioned DCL passing the cost onto travellers. I could never figure out why they ever assumed the cost? Tour companies don’t pay for vaccines to go to Asia and Africa. Tour companies don’t pay for Visas when countries require them ? Yes DCL is expensive and I’ve made peace with that, my choice over other cruise lines.
I still can’t believe that Disney fully refunds the cost of a cruise if you test positive for Covid at the dock? I thought that was what insurance was for. I think their handling of Covid has been more than generous. They were paying for a test that, if positive, actually lost them money? Everyone turned away was lost revenue for that cruise IMHO, not meant to be argumentative.

People would not cruise otherwise. No other time in history have you had to get a swab stuck up your nose to get on a ship. No way I would cruise if I couldnt get a full refund for a virus I didnt even know I had.
If cruise line didn’t offer a full refund can you imagine how much your insurance would cost. No way would insurance company’s play nice with this.

 

[n2mm]

It’s hard when you are traveling before the cruise… not good news!

i agree. We fall in this category too. I’m Dreading having to sort out this process now, I guess I can shorten my pre-trip.