Cruise Testing in Mid-2022: My Experience

My last cruise testing experience was back in November 2021 per my article shared at that time about testing via a Teladoc system. I had not cruised yet in 2022 until this event in July.

As my colleague and I were preparing for this conference on the Independence of the Seas with Royal Caribbean, we double checked to ensure we met all the check-in and boarding policies. While we knew that the CDC had suspended the testing to return to the U.S. from other countries, we were pretty certain that cruise lines were still requiring a negative test result for boarding and we were correct.

When I cruised with Celebrity back in November, it was so easy to get the tests, we needed to process via a Teledoc system. Royal Caribbean did not offer that option, so we were on our own to determine the best way to complete this requirement. It turns out planning ahead is a good option as many of the tests that provide the requirements are not easily found locally and of course having them shipped requires time.

Thankfully, my retired husband did a little research for me and found that my best option would likely be a drive through test at a local pharmacy. With a little digging in the pharmacy app, I made an appointment for the Saturday prior to my Monday embarkation as sailors are required to take the test no more than 48 hours prior to departure. I arrived at my test appointment only to find that the app had a glitch and my appointment wasn’t valid. I scrambled to get an appointment later that day, walked into the pharmacy to confirm the appointment and arrived later in the day for my test (Lesson learned that it would be wise to call to confirm in the future). I had the Rapid NAAT Test and at that time it was indicating I would have results within two hours. When I took the test, the proctor advised two hours but up to 24 hours. I had plenty of time, so I wasn’t terribly concerned, but hoping for a negative result. I received my results in about 45 minutes.

My colleague opted to make an appointment at her local medical clinic thinking it was same day results based on the website. When she arrived for the test, she was advised it would take 24 hours for results. She did not receive results until at least 40 hours later. She didn’t have results yet when we flew to our embarkation destination. Needless to say, there was a bit of anxiety around this portion of the trip.

I guess the moral of this experience is make sure your clients have a plan and have it in place well ahead of the game.

About the Author

Beth Kitzman is the business development manager for Trisept Solutions' Agency Channel for VAX VacationAccess. Beth focuses on nurturing business relationships and finding exciting, unique ways for VAX to support travel agencies. With over 20 years of experience in the travel industry, beginning with Walt Disney World then working for airlines and now focusing on travel technology, Beth loves using her education degree to find ways to educate and empower travel agents to grow their leisure travel business.