Know Before You Go Updated - May 17 - Testing rule changes

[hrhdhd]

I get off the Dream in Miami on Monday July 18, and board the Wish on Tuesday the 19th. For that Wish cruise what options do I have? We have a shuttle to the airport from the ship, and are renting a car for night at WDW and port Canaveral the next morning.

I imagine MIA has testing like MCO does, but in this case, I'd just pay for testing at PC.

 

[Kwami]

Any Rumors when this will all stop. I had heard 1 June but that came and went.

No, and it's against forum rules for us to speculate.

 

[princesscinderella]

I get off the Dream in Miami on Monday July 18, and board the Wish on Tuesday the 19th. For that Wish cruise what options do I have? We have a shuttle to the airport from the ship, and are renting a car for night at WDW and port Canaveral the next morning.

You could always bring the eMed tests with you and do them while on the ship’s Wi-Fi

 

[bobbiwoz]

You could always bring the eMed tests with you and do them while on the ship’s Wi-Fi

Would you trust the ship’s WiFi?

 

[Doingitagain]

Would you trust the ship’s WiFi?

We may have to wait for the first cruises to know. Most I have read said they used cell service when they were close to land or when the ship docked, or used WIFI from a nearby hotel.

What times does the Wonder pull into port debarkation day?

 

[Weedy]

I get off the Dream in Miami on Monday July 18, and board the Wish on Tuesday the 19th. For that Wish cruise what options do I have? We have a shuttle to the airport from the ship, and are renting a car for night at WDW and port Canaveral the next morning.

I suggested the at home (hotel) test.
You can purchase before you leave home and bring them with you on your first cruise. Once you get to the hotel test.
We’ve used the emed test for two cruises on Royal at it’s easy.
FYI:
Don’t open the test until told to do so.
Wash your hands before starting the call.
Have your drivers license available to show the proctor
Turn the volume all the way up on your phone
You need to be sitting at a table so the proctor can see both you and the test.
Have a pair of scissors available that tape can be tricky.
It takes 20-25 minutes for the test.
Only one test per phone call.

 

[Mathmagicland]

Sharing the OnPoint Telemed Covid antigen testing process. It went very efficiently and smoothly! The tests are done through a Zoom video conference link.

You can use any FDA-authorized home self-test kit, so no need to wait for tests to arrive in the mail if you are short on time. We used the free tests that could be ordered from the government earlier this year. The current OnPoint Telemed cost is $14.99 per person and they will do a max of two people per appointment. Appointments are available in 15–minute increments any time day or night.

The process -

• order a Telemed Covid test from their website - https://onpoint-testing.com/product/certified-teleservice-covid-testing/#

• after the order is complete, you will get an email to book your appointment day and time. If this doesn’t arrive, give their customer service a call to push that email out again. The only time I’ve seen them fully booked for appointments was Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, when starting mid-morning they were fully booked until late in the evening. So try to plan ahead around holiday weekends.
• The appointment process asks for a test location code, which is found in the confirmation email.
• Use the patient info link in the appointment confirmation email to fill out your personal information ahead of the test time.
• If you need to change your appointment (I had to do so due to some changes in our travel), it is easy to do with the change/cancel link in the confirmation email
• They sent out a couple of reminder emails with the zoom link, one day before and one morning of the test.

On test day -

• be logged into the Zoom call a few minutes early. Our proctor joined a couple of minutes before our start time.
• Have the following info available: confirmation codes, which they use to find your appointment and patient info; unopened test kit; passport numbers which they include on the test results when the test is for travel; name of cruise line & ship, or airline if testing for a flight.

Once the session started, she asked for our confirmation numbers to find our appointment, verified our info, asked for test manufacturer, and then we started the test. She guided us through it a bit re how long to swab, to help ensure we’d get a clear result.

While we were awaiting the test results to show up on our test cards, she added our travel and passport info to her records for their test result paperwork. At about 10-11 minutes she asked to see our test cards. We each held up our test cards & she took screen captures to confirm the result. We were all finished in 15 minutes for the two of us.

The proctor said to allow 20 minutes for the results to be emailed but I got them right away, within a minute or two. The results came as both a link and a PDF. I uploaded the PDFs to our Safe Passage accounts because that was a more complete result report. She said if there were any errors on the paperwork, we could reply back to email and someone would get it corrected right away.

If you’ve never done a home self-test, I’d recommend doing one ahead of your proctored test so you are familiar with your test kit and the self-test process. It will make the proctored test go smoother.

 

[Donna3271]

Sharing the OnPoint Telemed Covid antigen testing process. It went very efficiently and smoothly! The tests are done through a Zoom video conference link.

You can use any FDA-authorized home self-test kit, so no need to wait for tests to arrive in the mail if you are short on time. We used the free tests that could be ordered from the government earlier this year. The current OnPoint Telemed cost is $14.99 per person and they will do a max of two people per appointment. Appointments are available in 15–minute increments any time day or night.

The process -

• order a Telemed Covid test from their website - https://onpoint-testing.com/product/certified-teleservice-covid-testing/#

• after the order is complete, you will get an email to book your appointment day and time. If this doesn’t arrive, give their customer service a call to push that email out again. The only time I’ve seen them fully booked for appointments was Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, when starting mid-morning they were fully booked until late in the evening. So try to plan ahead around holiday weekends.
• The appointment process asks for a test location code, which is found in the confirmation email.
• Use the patient info link in the appointment confirmation email to fill out your personal information ahead of the test time.
• If you need to change your appointment (I had to do so due to some changes in our travel), it is easy to do with the change/cancel link in the confirmation email
• They sent out a couple of reminder emails with the zoom link, one day before and one morning of the test.

On test day -

• be logged into the Zoom call a few minutes early. Our proctor joined a couple of minutes before our start time.
• Have the following info available: confirmation codes, which they use to find your appointment and patient info; unopened test kit; passport numbers which they include on the test results when the test is for travel; name of cruise line & ship, or airline if testing for a flight.

Once the session started, she asked for our confirmation numbers to find our appointment, verified our info, asked for test manufacturer, and then we started the test. She guided us through it a bit re how long to swab, to help ensure we’d get a clear result.

While we were awaiting the test results to show up on our test cards, she added our travel and passport info to her records for their test result paperwork. At about 10-11 minutes she asked to see our test cards. We each held up our test cards & she took screen captures to confirm the result. We were all finished in 15 minutes for the two of us.

The proctor said to allow 20 minutes for the results to be emailed but I got them right away, within a minute or two. The results came as both a link and a PDF. I uploaded the PDFs to our Safe Passage accounts because that was a more complete result report. She said if there were any errors on the paperwork, we could reply back to email and someone would get it corrected right away.

If you’ve never done a home self-test, I’d recommend doing one ahead of your proctored test so you are familiar with your test kit and the self-test process. It will make the proctored test go smoother.

Thank you SO MUCH for This. A couple of questions. Can I book an appointment with them with my own tests? I have a Family of 5 so I would have to book 3 appointments? Thanks again! I am just so confused with all this, and STRESSED as well.

 

[Donna3271]

Is the antigen test as CVS acceptable? It states a 3-5 day turn around, so I don't think the results will make it in time, Anyone use CVS?

 

[Mathmagicland]

Thank you SO MUCH for This. A couple of questions. Can I book an appointment with them with my own tests? I have a Family of 5 so I would have to book 3 appointments? Thanks again! I am just so confused with all this, and STRESSED as well.

Yes, you can use your own tests, as long as somewhere on the box is says that they are FDA authorized for emergency use. That’s one reason I decided to go with them. If you have questions about your tests, you can call their customer service (who were very helpful when I called). I asked about which tests were OK for their process, as I’ve got some different ones, and that’s when I was told they were OK with any self test that was authorized by the FDA for emergency use.

Re number of appointments, I’d agree you will need three if you go with them because of the max of two per appointment. You could call to see if booking back to back to back could get you three in a row with the same proctor, or if you’d still end up with three separate proctors.

Yes, it is a bit stressful until you’ve gone through it! This and a couple of other threads have been helpful for me, in deciding how and where to get my testing done. I plan to use OnPoint at least two more times this summer for other travel tests I’ll be needing.

 

[Donna3271]

Yes, you can use your own tests, as long as somewhere on the box is says that they are FDA authorized for emergency use. That’s one reason I decided to go with them. If you have questions about your tests, you can call their customer service (who were very helpful when I called). I asked about which tests were OK for their process, as I’ve got some different ones, and that’s when I was told they were OK with any self test that was authorized by the FDA for emergency use.

Re number of appointments, I’d agree you will need three if you go with them because of the max of two per appointment. You could call to see if booking back to back to back could get you three in a row with the same proctor, or if you’d still end up with three separate proctors.

Yes, it is a bit stressful until you’ve gone through it! This and a couple of other threads have been helpful for me, in deciding how and where to get my testing done. I plan to use OnPoint at least two more times this summer for other travel tests I’ll be needing.

Thank you again! These tests don't need to be sent out? They email me the results and I can upload to the safe passage? I am so sorry all the questions. I just had surgery and medications are not making me lucid. I am afraid to make a mistake!

 

[Mathmagicland]

Thank you again! These tests don't need to be sent out? They email me the results and I can upload to the safe passage? I am so sorry all the questions. I just had surgery and medications are not making me lucid. I am afraid to make a mistake!

No worries, I’m happy to help! No, nothing needs to be sent out anywhere. The self-test kit has everything you need - swab, solution, and test card. This is why doing a practice test was helpful for me, so I could see how that process went. You have your test results at home in about 15 minutes. The reason it’s proctored on a video call is so a third party can confirm it’s a current test for you, and then they can issue the test result certificate you will need for Safe Passage for the cruise.

And yes, they emailed the results, also texted with a link for the test results. I got two emails, one with a link to the test results and one with the PDF of the certificate with the test results. I downloaded the PDF from the email & then uploaded that PDF to Safe Passage.

The link goes to something a little sparse, not a lot of info, so I felt the certificate was a better option. The Safe Passage website said a third party certificate must include the testing company name, address, and phone number, and there’s no phone number on the linked info. The PDF has all of that info.

 

[Donna3271]

No worries, I’m happy to help! No, nothing needs to be sent out anywhere. The self-test kit has everything you need - swab, solution, and test card. This is why doing a practice test was helpful for me, so I could see how that process went. You have your test results at home in about 15 minutes. The reason it’s proctored on a video call is so a third party can confirm it’s a current test for you, and then they can issue the test result certificate you will need for Safe Passage for the cruise.

And yes, they emailed the results, also texted with a link for the test results. I got two emails, one with a link to the test results and one with the PDF of the certificate with the test results. I downloaded the PDF from the email & then uploaded that PDF to Safe Passage.

The link goes to something a little sparse, not a lot of info, so I felt the certificate was a better option. The Safe Passage website said a third party certificate must include the testing company name, address, and phone number, and there’s no phone number on the linked info. The PDF has all of that info.

Thank you so much for all your kindness to me. I have been through hell, and this is my celebrating life cruise. You taking the time to copiously explain this to me means more than you know.

HUGS TO YOU!!!!

 

[princesscinderella]

Would you trust the ship’s WiFi?

It’s worth a shot maybe bring two tests per person if the connection is bad or do it on a port day in Nassau or castaway when you can use you’re cell signal instead if it’s in the two day window. I have AT&T and you can have international roaming for $12 a day.

 

[Mathmagicland]

Sharing an update re Safe Passage site after uploading our test results - we are showing Cleared to Sail, which means they accepted our test results report from OnPoint. We are on the 6/7 Dream sailing, the first sailing day for this new process of self-testing in advance.

We got emails when each of the test results were uploaded. We each got two emails 10 hours later - first advising the third party test results had been approved, and another email after all parties were approved showing our party is cleared to sail.

 

[nancipants]

Thanks so much, @Mathmagicland for posting your experience. Have a great cruise!

 

[MommyCMickey]

Sharing the OnPoint Telemed Covid antigen testing process. It went very efficiently and smoothly! The tests are done through a Zoom video conference link.

You can use any FDA-authorized home self-test kit, so no need to wait for tests to arrive in the mail if you are short on time. We used the free tests that could be ordered from the government earlier this year. The current OnPoint Telemed cost is $14.99 per person and they will do a max of two people per appointment. Appointments are available in 15–minute increments any time day or night.

The process -

• order a Telemed Covid test from their website - https://onpoint-testing.com/product/certified-teleservice-covid-testing/#

• after the order is complete, you will get an email to book your appointment day and time. If this doesn’t arrive, give their customer service a call to push that email out again. The only time I’ve seen them fully booked for appointments was Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, when starting mid-morning they were fully booked until late in the evening. So try to plan ahead around holiday weekends.
• The appointment process asks for a test location code, which is found in the confirmation email.
• Use the patient info link in the appointment confirmation email to fill out your personal information ahead of the test time.
• If you need to change your appointment (I had to do so due to some changes in our travel), it is easy to do with the change/cancel link in the confirmation email
• They sent out a couple of reminder emails with the zoom link, one day before and one morning of the test.

On test day -

• be logged into the Zoom call a few minutes early. Our proctor joined a couple of minutes before our start time.
• Have the following info available: confirmation codes, which they use to find your appointment and patient info; unopened test kit; passport numbers which they include on the test results when the test is for travel; name of cruise line & ship, or airline if testing for a flight.

Once the session started, she asked for our confirmation numbers to find our appointment, verified our info, asked for test manufacturer, and then we started the test. She guided us through it a bit re how long to swab, to help ensure we’d get a clear result.

While we were awaiting the test results to show up on our test cards, she added our travel and passport info to her records for their test result paperwork. At about 10-11 minutes she asked to see our test cards. We each held up our test cards & she took screen captures to confirm the result. We were all finished in 15 minutes for the two of us.

The proctor said to allow 20 minutes for the results to be emailed but I got them right away, within a minute or two. The results came as both a link and a PDF. I uploaded the PDFs to our Safe Passage accounts because that was a more complete result report. She said if there were any errors on the paperwork, we could reply back to email and someone would get it corrected right away.

If you’ve never done a home self-test, I’d recommend doing one ahead of your proctored test so you are familiar with your test kit and the self-test process. It will make the proctored test go smoother.

THIS!! Thank you so much!!

 

[Mathmagicland]

Quick update from the Miami cruise terminal- those who have already covid tested are directed to entrance C-East. Those who need to test at the terminal are being directed to entrance C-West. Estimated split for the early arrivals is a 80-20 split with 80% of people have already tested pre-arrival. Not sure how that will hold as the day progresses.

 

[Mathmagicland]

Update re the port check in process - the only paperwork they wanted to see for those who tested ahead of time was our online checkin form with the QR codes. I had copies of everything else just in case.

 

[SweetSpot]

Has anyone gone to an Urgent Care for the antigen test and have been able to upload the results to Safe Passage? I would prefer to go to the testing sight than do the Etest via Zoom but not sure if it has been done or would be accepted.