Will DCL move to testing at home instead of at port?

[emilymad]

What I think would be optimal is if each cruise line offered the option to present a negative test, and also allowed for people to test at the port if they prefer.

This would be great! We don't live in a place where it is hard to get a test. Yes, we may need to pay for a test instead of DCL but I at least won't be left on the side of the road. I, of course, would purchase travel insurance but that still doesn't mean quarantining would be a hassle. If I am going to have to go through all of that I might as well fly to Europe.

It just seems to me that DCL is the outlier of the cruise lines.

 

[Cheburashka]

Having cruised both ways in the last couple of months, my preference is at port testing. To me and my family, that was much less stressful than worrying about finding the correct affordable test that will provide results in the correct timeframe for the cruise.

This. The testing at port was no big deal, just one carefully managed step like any other during the arrival process. I absolutely would not want to deal with getting approved PCR results within a strict time limit before leaving home & getting the results to DCL the right way. I prefer to let them manage the hassle of testing.

If you're worried about testing positive at port, I recommend getting a rapid test done at home the day before leaving for the trip. That will at least ease some anxiety, though it's no guarantee you'll still be negative at port.

 

[Sykes]

I absolutely would not want to deal with getting approved PCR results within a strict time limit before leaving home & getting the results to DCL the right way.

I don’t know if any cruise line requiring pre-arrival PCR tests for vaccinated guests. Most cruise lines are accepting at-home rapid antigen tests provided they're done with a telehealth visit, so timing it is trivially easy since all you need is a test kit, a webcam, and about 20 minutes to wait for the results. I did it while packing for my last cruise. One of the upsides to doing it this way is that the total time that elapsed from getting out of my Uber at the port to being on the ship was about 5 minutes.

Amongst cruise lines accepting unvaccinated guests, only a few cruise lines that I know of (Disney, Carnival, and MSC) are specifically requiring a PCR test for the pre-arrival test for unvaccinated guests, which is a much more of a pain to time correctly. Most others allow rapid antigen for pre-arrival testing and then test unvaccinated guests with a rapid PCR test at the port.

 

[Cheburashka]

I don’t know if any cruise line requiring pre-arrival PCR tests for vaccinated guests. Most cruise lines are accepting at-home rapid antigen tests provided they're done with a telehealth visit, so timing it is trivially easy since all you need is a test kit, a webcam, and about 20 minutes to wait for the results. I did it while packing for my last cruise. One of the upsides to doing it this way is that the total time that elapsed from getting out of my Uber at the port to being on the ship was about 5 minutes.

Amongst cruise lines accepting unvaccinated guests, only a few cruise lines that I know of (Disney, Carnival, and MSC) are specifically requiring a PCR test for the pre-arrival test for unvaccinated guests, which is a much more of a pain to time correctly. Most others allow rapid antigen for pre-arrival testing and then test unvaccinated guests with a rapid PCR test at the port.

It seems unlikely that Disney would accept just a rapid test that was taken days in advance- that's pretty flimsy proof of health. The benefit of the rapid test prior to boarding is that the results have to be negative immediately prior to boarding. I could imagine a PCR test being allowed a few days before, but that would be more of a hassle, as I described.

 

[ryanpatricksmom]

The important thing to bear in mind, at least so far, is that the approved at home tests are not keeping up with demand. The six packs are on back order and have been for awhile, plus the smaller packs expire by 12/12. For people cruising after that date, the at home tests are NOT an option until the supply has been replenished. In theory it's a nice option, but as someone who has a cruise in January I'm not sure if it's going to work for us yet. If you take a look at some of the forums for cruises that require the passenger to acquire their own test you will see that people have multiple back-up plans and are often pretty stressed out with the whole process. It's extremely easy and inexpensive to get the at home tests that aren't monitored to take prior to travel, and chances are very good that if you "pass" that one, you'll be just fine at the port.

 

[emilymad]

So many great points that everyone is making. I am glad I asked this question as it is making me think of all sides of the options.

I am thinking maybe it is best to have a rental car so that way if you do test positive you have some mode of transportation to however you are going to deal with the next steps. Relying on DCL to "work it out" as a one off and not a published policy makes me nervous.

 

[princessmommyx3]

Will DCL help you find a way off the port if you test positive? If we are dropped off by taxi or something then what are we supposed to do?

Like other said, I do think that they handle this on a case by case basis, but I know a family who's child tested positive at the port and they were offered a ride back to Orlando on a DCL bus (they were the only ones on it) and were asked "where in Orlando" they would like to be dropped off. I presume that means a hotel would have been an option, but they chose the airport because they felt that was their best shot at getting a rental car to drive home to Texas (they had flown to Orlando).

 

[laceltris3]

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[lanejudy]

Relying on DCL to "work it out" as a one off and not a published policy makes me nervous

I don't think you can "rely on" DCL to "work it out." They will provide transportation to Orlando, or maybe somewhere else similar distance. They may allow you to make calls to work on arrangements. They have not been providing for hotels, meals, flights, rental cars, etc. It would seem by this point that someone would have reported the details if there was more assistance available, even on a case-by-case basis. It's my understanding they've had "a handful" of passengers denied boarding from pretty much every cruise.