Carnival has joined other cruise lines regarding testing!

It's the same situation here. I checked Walgreen's website first thing and there were no appointments anywhere in the southwestern part of the state. The nearest one was in Oregon, our neighbor to the south. Thanks for posting Walgreen's link anyway. Maybe there's a fellow cruiser in Oregon or another state that can get a test there even if we can't.

Yep, sure did, and after CALLING them, discovered ours doesn't offer it, nearest one is about 50 mi away. I would've been willing to go, (grrrrr) but then I kept at it.....lesson? don't assume anything......notice the title? "vanity testing"???? all kinds of conditions apply...as I found out....

Anyone seen this site?

https://www.walgreens.com/findcare/covid19/testing?ban=covid_vanity_testing

The more folks that respond with either previous experiences with this or just anticipating problems makes me darn glad I pounded the keys. I hope a whole bunch of peeps take the time to read these responses, and come to realize that if they intend to cruise, they're going to have to deal with all kinds of different levels of bureaucratic b.s. I'm going to add another .02 on that other thread...promise not as long as the last one!

Thank you for the compliment, Yankee47. There are different rules for getting tested within my own state. Some testing sites require you to be a resident of a particular city or county. In May of this year, I spent a lot of time on the Internet trying to locate travel test sites for my Hawaii trip that was cancelled three times because of the mandatory quarantine in Hawaii. The site my doctor recommended was not on the list of approved sites for the Hawaii Safe-Travel program. I ended up having to travel 50 miles to get to one that was approved. The test was $90 and it was subsidized by the airlines.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get tested there for the cruise. They require an airline reservation from a participating airlines. I'm flying Delta to the LA cruise port and Delta doesn't participate in the program.

I found two tests sights. They were far away and charged $200-$300 dollars. I went to the bother of registering for one of them only to find out that they required a doctor's order. I didn't want to bother my doctor with it, so I found another test sight that does them for $150. That lab is 50 miles from where I live, but then so is the nearest airport.

I appreciated the fact that Hawaiian Air told us where we could get a test and subsidized the cost. The cruise lines mandate a test, but make no effort to assist passengers in getting one. I'm lucky I had plenty of time to get a test before my cruise disembarks. Some folks aren't that lucky. The local news recently ran a story about a couple that missed their dream cruise because Royal Caribbean mandated the test three days before embarkment. The couple managed to find an affordable test, but was able to make the long drive over the mountains to the other side of the state.

Yankee47, nice post on your research in the other thread. I also was not aware (but was afraid it might be) that other states had different rules for getting tested. Bummer.

Just because I comply with the testing requirement, doesn't mean I like it.

I'm not in a position to judge whether or not it's necessary, but the passenger contract with Princess allows the cruise line to mandate testing at any time. In fact, the CDC recommends all passengers and crew members be tested. It's only a recommendation, but cruise lines can use it to justify the decision to require a negative test result three days prior to embarkment.

Princess requires a medically-supervised PCR or antigen test. There is no mention of a "rapid test." Antigen tests are more expensive. Those tests are recommended for people that have already tested positive for COVID-19. If you pay big bucks for a PCR test, the lab I use promises results in 1-2 days, except for Sundays. I had one last May to travel to Hawaii, and I received the results the following day.

It's true that you can get a PCR test without paying for it. You could say you've experienced a symptom. You could also say you think you may have been exposed to it, but if you choose to do that, you might be subject to contract tracing. It's up to you, but I'd rather pay for a test than lie about symptoms or have my privacy invaded by contract tracing.

There's a bigger picture to consider. Think about the crew. Every passenger has the potential to expose crew members to the virus. The passengers disembark at the end of the cruise, but the crew remains on the ship to serve new passengers.

I don't like having to get a test, but if I don't get one, I can't take a cruise I've been looking forward to for a long time.

Bunch of crap!! We booked a cruise august 30 out of Galveston for a "vaccinated cruise" only. Now we got to get tested??? That was not implied when we signed up. If we got to do this Carnival and the swab jockeys can stick that crap up their tail. Got five cruises booked and I am not getting a swab stuck up my nose. To me this is a breach of contract. Carnival is real close to losing a good customer.

I just don't think it's reasonable to expect people to get their results back within 3 days. Usually the ones that get you your results in 15 min. are the Binex tests, which may not be accepted by the cruise lines. The PCR tests (which is the one I've had most often) usually takes 3-5 days at a minimum to get your results back. From what I've heard (and I could be wrong on this) the PCR tests may be what's most likely to be accepted by the cruise lines over a Binex test.

Also, you don't need to tell them you have symptoms, most places I've been to don't even ask if you have any symptoms. We're in the process of lining up an appointment for my niece and the place we're taking her just told us to bring her in when it gets closer to our departure date.

Thanks for sharing your insights, especially the one about "newbies" being more tolerant of the changes and restrictions. I'm one of those newbies that won't be as disappointed as veteran cruisers that know what it was like before COVID-19.