Travel Covid tests

[jerseygirl]

Our family, 12 of us, are going on a sailing trip in July to the British Virgin Islands. We’ll all need Covid tests to go and return. Since some of you have been traveling I’m asking for help understanding what’s needed
We need a negative test result from day prior to get on plane. Where did you get the test? At airport it’s quite expensive . Did you go to a test facility? At home test - if so what kind of test? Seems you need to do testing using something like FaceTime? Does the result show on your phone?

For getting back to US, we’ll need to do test on the sail boats (we have 6 on each boat) Hoping the internet is reliable. Charter company will bring Dr to do test at marina but it’s $85/person!! United sells tests in 6 pack. Guess we’ll do these via cell phone. Has anyone done this? Wondering if we can do more than one person at a time?? We have 2 children, 7 and 9, guessing their results will be accessed on parent’s phones
Then of course hoping none of the 12 will be positive! Both going and coming home. We’re all vaccinated but know that doesn’t mean we won’t be positive
Will be looking for travel insurance- anyone bought lately? Did it cover cancellation (or delay) due to positive result?
Gah!! Right now this adds stress and complications I don’t want. Oh well
Thanks for info and help!!

[chiver78]

tagging The Walk of the Penguin Mich as she's had much tighter timeliness than I have. for my recent travels, I've gotten a PCR test at a local CVS. they email your results and it seems to be a universally accepted format. I have gotten results in a day, but it has also taken upto 3 days. you should be able to find out what is currently required by looking up the destination country on the US dept of state website. they outline current passport validity requirements, travel advisories, etc. I'd expect to see this sort of detail there as well.

have fun!

[Deleted]

I would definitely check with the cruise line and get their requirements- they probably want a PCR test and consider only certain sources credible. I got mine from some links on the United Airlines web site here. In my case, though, I'm specifically flying home from Munich on United. They had 2 vendors- one sold 4-packs and one sold 2-packs. I got the latte. You have to download an app before you leave the US and then when you're ready to test, start the app. They will then tell you to open teh box and give you instructions.

www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/travel/restrictions-map.html

Definitely a hoop to jump through if you want to travel. I spent $400 on a policy that paid up to $2,500 for quarantine (along with other medical coverages). I can't wait till we're through this but decided to get the heck out of the country again.

ETA: I see you already have United's info.  I'll let you know how it goes with mine- leaving here 5/23.  I may chicken out and do one locally. 

[jerseygirl]

Thanks Chiver and Athena!

I’ll look at CVS today and guess get the United 6 packs
We’re not going on a cruise line. We charted 2 sailboats , very small compared to cruise ships! Hoping the internet will be ok on the boats to test day prior to US return
If internet is poor guess we could sail to a marina thinking internet would be better than on a boat

Athena, what insurance company did you use? My big worry is one of us (or more!) will test positive and
- can’t travel to the BVI, or
- not be able to return to US
Also wondering if we should all get insurance? Or only one in each family

[Deleted]

May 14, 2022 10:09:56 GMT -5 jerseygirl said:

Athena, what insurance company did you use? My big worry is one of us (or more!) will test positive and
- can’t travel to the BVI, or
- not be able to return to US
Also wondering if we should all get insurance? Or only one in each family

I used Travelex- it's an established company and I found it through a search for "Travel insurance for COVID quarantine". 

It would be tricky if only one in each family were insured.  If they tested positive, sure, it would cover quarantine lodging for the whole family if they stayed in one room but the policy also covers extra costs of changing your plans to fly home and the others wouldn't have that protection.  And if, heaven forbid, a non-insured family member tests positive there would be no coverage at all.  Difficult decision, I know, with 12 people traveling.

Two other thoughts:  some policies may vary and offer coverage for multiple people on one policy- after all, with a quarantine some would share rooms.  On the other hand- if one of the people testing positive is a minor they'd need an adult to stay behind with them.  Anyway, you may be able to get some sort of family package.

The other thought:  this may all go away.  I'd love it if the US changed their re-entry rules before my return.  Anything cn happen between now and July so you may have time to see how it evolves.  

[NastyWoman]

Things are changing constantly so my testing information is somewhat out of date but for Athena this may be useful for her as reference anyway. I had both a PCR test (after two in my son's household tested postive - I was not one of them) and that test cost me as a non resident, non European health card carrier, €85. For the trip back Lufthansa accepted the rapid antigen test. Took that at the same place (the old central library in München) and that one only cost €15.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Sorry….just got home a few hours ago and saw this.

Viking requires us to have a Covid PCR within 72 hours of boarding our first flight.  I have heard a lot of tooth gnashing, but locally we have a decent set up for testing, as long as you plan in advance.  The site is testdirectly.com, and we have been lucky in that the longest it has taken us to get PCR results has been about 20 hours.  Once you set up the parameters in the website, it is pretty straightforward.  We have added our insurance card to the site, and our insurance has covered the testing.  We do say it’s for travel.  

We have been tested in cities all over the world and getting tested is not difficult.  In Belize, Maldives, Athens, Santiago, Amsterdam and  Prague we have been directed by our hotel as to where to get tested.  I think we have paid about $30pp for each test.  Usually, the results go directly to email, but we have received hard copies of the results.  I know that some have bought the home tests to proctor, but when I have gotten snagged for a random test going into Canada, getting these set up was a royal pain in the ass.  In Canada, the sampling is proctored and you have to send the samples off to be tested.  

Right now, most countries have dropped the requirement for testing.  When we were tested in both Amsterdam and Prague, both labs made a comment that they were only doing about 1/10 of previous testing, largely for people to get into the US.  We have only ever needed to show results checking in for a flight. 

[Deleted]

May 14, 2022 15:04:36 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

Things are changing constantly so my testing information is somewhat out of date but for Athena this may be useful for her as reference anyway. I had both a PCR test (after two in my son's household tested postive - I was not one of them) and that test cost me as a non resident, non European health card carrier, €85. For the trip back Lufthansa accepted the rapid antigen test. Took that at the same place (the old central library in München) and that one only cost €15.

Thanks- I may look that one up.

[TheOtherMe]

When we had to do the testing at the Canadian border, there was an entire area set up just for testing.  As soon as we told him we had to do the Covid test, he set up accounts and had an appointment scheduled for that evening for each of us.

The proctor ended up doing both of us at the same appointment (separately of course) and canceled my appointment.

Because we were in downtown Toronto, the tests were picked up at the apartment door.


The results were slow in coming.  My sister had already left by the time the results came. 


This time, there was no tent set up but I know the app said random testing is still being done.  

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

May 15, 2022 2:23:22 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

May 14, 2022 15:04:36 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

Things are changing constantly so my testing information is somewhat out of date but for Athena this may be useful for her as reference anyway. I had both a PCR test (after two in my son's household tested postive - I was not one of them) and that test cost me as a non resident, non European health card carrier, €85. For the trip back Lufthansa accepted the rapid antigen test. Took that at the same place (the old central library in München) and that one only cost €15.

Thanks- I may look that one up.

The US only requires an antigen test now within 24 hours.  This was changed when the US changed from testing 72 hours before fligh5 to 24 hours before flight back in.  We were charged $17 (combined) for our antigen tests in Prague.  

TD has been going over our charges for the trip this morning and trying to figure out everything.  We have charges where we have had to recreate the date to determine what we were charged.  Both of us had a brain fart trying to figure out the charges from the winery, despite the 7 bottles of wine sitting on the bar!

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

May 15, 2022 9:52:23 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

When we had to do the testing at the Canadian border, there was an entire area set up just for testing.  As soon as we told him we had to do the Covid test, he set up accounts and had an appointment scheduled for that evening for each of us.

The proctor ended up doing both of us at the same appointment (separately of course) and canceled my appointment.

Because we were in downtown Toronto, the tests were picked up at the apartment door.


The results were slow in coming.  My sister had already left by the time the results came. 


This time, there was no tent set up but I know the app said random testing is still being done.  

This was changed.  There is still random testing but you get handed a kit and you have to set up everything yourself, including downloading the app, scheduling the test and getting it mailed out.  We have gotten snagged twice since the shift in procedure, and it is a pain in the ass.  

[justme]

I've had to test for the 6 cruises I've done. Mostly at cvs because they were the ones that have the antigen test - though that's not the case everywhere. Walgreens has a rapid NAAT test that is a PCR and results are usually within a few hours but could be 24.

I haven't been charged for any. Though I do put in my insurance info and I've seen that they have paid some.

If you got the free tests from the government that are by ihealth you can go online and purchase a proctor for it for $20. Optum also sells proctored tests for $25-35 depending on how much you buy.

As for the internet - you can test it before you need to test. Trying to stream video would give you a decent idea but the best would be to video chat with someone. If that works the testing will, if not you'll need better internet.

[Deleted]

I checked a video on my phone and reception is just fine. This is a residential Internet account so not surprising. I my go back to my original plan: I have 2 tests so I'll do a "practice" 2 days before. If I encounter any issues, there are places all up and down Leopoldstrasse, where I'm staying, where I can get tested. Some are the quickie free tests like we get in the mail in the USA but others (which cost money) are the antigen and rapid PCR tests.

My test are through Optum and start with an app I downloaded before I left home (Navica). The Welcome screen includes "I have a test" so that's where I'd start.

Question for those of you who have done this: what did you show as proof, and where? I'm assuming you get an e-mailed version and you show it to the airline when you check in?  I'm assuming the app will give me some sort of bar code but want a backup.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

May 16, 2022 8:54:05 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

I checked a video on my phone and reception is just fine. This is a residential Internet account so not surprising. I my go back to my original plan: I have 2 tests so I'll do a "practice" 2 days before. If I encounter any issues, there are places all up and down Leopoldstrasse, where I'm staying, where I can get tested. Some are the quickie free tests like we get in the mail in the USA but others (which cost money) are the antigen and rapid PCR tests.

My test are through Optum and start with an app I downloaded before I left home (Navica). The Welcome screen includes "I have a test" so that's where I'd start.

Question for those of you who have done this: what did you show as proof, and where? I'm assuming you get an e-mailed version and you show it to the airline when you check in?  I'm assuming the app will give me some sort of bar code but want a backup.

We have done it multiple ways.  When we were coming back from the Maldives, we had to show the hard copy all the way through everyplace.  When we came back from Santiago, we just showed a screenshot of the negative test on TD's phone (my email was funky, so I had my testing results sent to him).  When we came back from Prague, since the entire web site was in Czech and we couldn't figure out how to download the results, we just stopped by the testing facility (which was on our way back to the hotel) and we got a hard copy.
  
Every place has wanted to see it at check in at the airport.  In Frankfurt, they wanted to see covid test results to get into the Business class lounge.  We were warned coming into Seattle that passport control might want to see the results (they didn't).

We flew back via Delta and also had to fill out a covid attestation form.  Stupid piece of paper that we had to sign that said we didn't have covid.  That they did collect.  In Santiago and Amsterdam, they gave us the form.  In the Maldives we had to buy it.  

[jerseygirl]

I’m assuming the tests bought through United have results just on phones. Still nervous about needing multiple tests on phone. And nervous about how good the internet connection will be on the sail boats. If we need to go into a marina we’ll sadly lose a good bit of sailing on our last day

How strict are airlines about day prior ( or 24 hours)?

[Cookies Galore]

When we went to Aruba last August, we went to CVS for a PCR test and got our results back the next day. I could not get an appointment at any of the nearby Walgreens locations for the Abbott ID NOW test (NAAT test), which is a popular test for traveling since you get results in a few hours.
As far as what to do and how, that depends on your destination. We had to upload our test results to Aruba's government site and pay for their Covid health insurance ($15/pp) before we got our all-clear green checkmark. Everything was emailed to us but I printed everything out because I knew I'd have to show my approved docs numerous times on my travel day. Getting tested in Aruba for the flight home was a breeze. Each resort had a testing site and there were numerous off-site testing centers as well.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

May 16, 2022 16:34:21 GMT -5 jerseygirl said:

I’m assuming the tests bought through United have results just on phones. Still nervous about needing multiple tests on phone. And nervous about how good the internet connection will be on the sail boats. If we need to go into a marina we’ll sadly lose a good bit of sailing on our last day

How strict are airlines about day prior ( or 24 hours)?

In my experience, they do check that it is within 24 hours.  The 2 things they looked at when checking in was negative test and date/time stamp.

[Deleted]

May 16, 2022 15:55:05 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

We have done it multiple ways.  When we were coming back from the Maldives, we had to show the hard copy all the way through everyplace.

That made me nervous but I checked US requirements and they say "paper or electronic" so as long as it's on my phone I'm good.

[chiver78]

May 16, 2022 16:34:21 GMT -5 jerseygirl said:

I’m assuming the tests bought through United have results just on phones. Still nervous about needing multiple tests on phone. And nervous about how good the internet connection will be on the sail boats. If we need to go into a marina we’ll sadly lose a good bit of sailing on our last day

How strict are airlines about day prior ( or 24 hours)?

we were cautioned prior to heading in to the cruise terminal that it was a black hole with its stone foundation, and that we should take screen shots of the test results. bar codes can still be checked from a screen shot if need be. 

[jerseygirl]

Thanks for your experience Chiver. But the marinas we’ll use are basically just docks for sailboats and a small office.

[jerseygirl]

Thanks for your experience Chiver. But the marinas we’ll use are basically just docks for sailboats and a small office.
Good idea to get screen shots!

[Deleted]

Huge sigh of relief- I can't officially test till tomorrow because it has to be within 24 hours of flight time, but I had a kit with two tests so I took one today. The brand name is e-Med and it's from Abbott Labs.

I'm glad I did a trial run- I'd mis-typed my last name in the e-Med app (yes, I was nervous) and had to go back and change it, which was a PITA because it claimed the password was incorrect and the reset e-mails didn't arrive till I did it from my laptop. Then it took forever to find a way to get myself and the test kit into the picture- I ended up sitting in the floor with the test kit in front of me.

Negative, thank God- not that I expected anything different but I'm always reminded of mich's observation that you can be shedding dead viruses and test positive because the test doesn't distinguish between live and dead viruses. I'm hoping for the same result tomorrow.

ETA:  I tested a second time today (so it's within the required 24 hours before departure) and it was again negative.  Woo-hoo!  Glad I got all the kinks worked out of the process yesterday before I had to take it "for real"  I was nervous enough anyway.  United Airlines has accepted the results.  Good idea to do a screenshot, though.