CARNIVAL CHANGED THE TESTING RULES...AGAIN...

Free for all out there and those spouting the new rules daily are as usual out of touch with reality. Sure hope they get this settled quickly.

First and mainly, thanks for the report. I know just the act of posting this had to be a PITA and a rehash of that experience. When I posted that other epic I bet folks thought I was exaggerating, or just plain erroneous. I was neither. I "think" we've got it figured out....................maybe......

We got off the August 30 cruise on Breeze and it was a hassle. What got me mad was when we booked all you had to be is vaccinated, then the co vid test hit the water. They said it was simple just get one 3 days before the cruise. Facebook groups said walgreens and cvs do it. We made an appointment at a walgreens in League city, have to fill out questionare,etc. We drove 60 miles, and on our way we got a text the test was cancelled, bummer. Then we called a walgreens in Lake jackson, filled out the same crap, cancelled. Then we tried a cvs, answered same questions still in lake jackson, cancelled said they ran out of tests, we stayed in line and lo and behold we got tested, the drugstores LIE!!. But we did not get results till 1 am monday morning, boarding was monday . at 10 a m. Panic(we did not know this till mondaay morning) Went to Angleton and they did one 10 min test for $175 each, no way. I was about to cancel the cruise, but wife would not give up. She found an urgent care in Galveston and they did a 1 hour test for $25 each walk in, We got it there and got results. Wife was persistant. Now Carnival says quest does it, Quest does the ones for walgreens and cvs in texas, so carnival is full of bull.(you go to a quest lab directly, they says results in 2 days, have to make an appointment) We started this running around for tests on friday and got one on a sunday, many miles and time spent for a cruise. If things dont improve we are going to cancel the remaining 3 cruises as we been to the various ports and not worth the hassle.

Yes I saw that..it presupposes that everyone has the tech hardware on their phone or knowhow to do it, it looks fairly straightforward...unless you have a glitch along the way...and ...there you is.... We could, but I actually feel better having a physical swab test and walking out with not only a text on the phone but a piece of paper in my hand...if it wasn't for our first one in a long time falling right after TDAY, there would be no issue other than a slight inconvenience and delay in our departure. But when we booked it, who knew???

Nicely said.

According to CCL website, one can purchase a self administered test with telemedicine visit to verify result. Go to the "Return to service FAQ and scroll down to the "Where can I get a COVID-19 test?" There is a link there where you can order a test. Takes about 15 minutes to get results. So, You could actually take the test at home, at the airport, hotel. Hell, probably even at the cruise terminal. A viable option for those concerned.

Not that we're "all that" but if folks like us start (or continue) cancelling cruises, there won't be that much left of the cruise industry............I've done everything I could do.....and, fwiw, I'm still not 100% sure what I'm doing come that NOV cruise....

Totally agree. Our October 30th cruise is really our test to see if all the hoops are worth the effort. The special we booked under is a non-refundable cruise, so we will jump the hoops. We will be back in time to cancel , if necessary, our 2022 saulings. Wishing everyone the best advntures possible.

Its intentional. Some friends have told me they don't care about the inconvenience, they see it as a way to push back (against the regulators) - not letting it get the best of them. I'm have a number of bookings cancelled, and now I'm up to a group of reservations that were made long ago. Waiting to see if we make out on our Nov & Dec bookings (we're both vax'd, but who knows what new conditions will be laid down 48h before we get on the plane). But not booking any more until I start burning down the 6 bookings I have in the can. Love cruising, but I need to see if jumping through all the hoops still makes it enjoyable. The requirement for testing (within 2 days) while fully vaxed is almost pushing me to the cancel column. But we'll see if I can hang in. Gov't wins if I cancel.

With uncertainty comes more uncertainty. To travel now is quite the adventure. Good luck to all who put in the valiant effort to do so.