O/T Covid Testing

[redrobo]

My wife and I are going on a cruise in the Adriatic in 10 days time BUt our Cruise Company (Celebrity Cruises) are insisting that to enter Greece we need to take a professionally supervised Covid Test that has a negative result. This despite the Greek government not requiring any such test.

We spoke to our Doctor for advice about where such a test can be taken who advised me that Wigan was the nearest testing centre and that it would cost a minimum of £69 per test.

As a result of this advice we have decided NOT to enter Greece (Corfu) on the single day visit as we have already visited Corfu a number of year ago.

I have posted this info if other SVs have or may in the future have a similar problem with their tour company.

[marky No.1]

Yeah we got similar with an upcoming Caribbean cruise, thought they would have relaxed all this by now.
You may be negative when you get on, but you hop off to a strange place nearly every day so the virus will get on the ship anyway

[redrobo]

Finally sorted.

Boots still do in store testing after a bit of research.

All booked on line BUT system partially down so had to ring their Customer Services to order tests.

£30 each test.

[Scouseport_Shrimp]

Redrobo.....Went with Marella in February this year to the Caribbean. We had our pre-flight PCR done at DAM Health in Preston @ £ 69 each. For some reason I don't think Boots was an option. PCR could be done any time within 3 days of the day prior to flying out to the ship, Barbados for us.

Loads of other hoops to jump through, a bit of a nightmare tbh, but that was then. The ship had a capacity of c2,000 passengers, and our first week was the first cruise in some while because of Covid. There were only 350 of us, with over twice as many crew.

As you're doing the Adriatic are you calling in for the day to either Split or Dubrovnik in Croatia? Dubrovnik in particular, while very picturesque, easily gets overrun with tourists if there's more than one cruise ship alongside at the same time. Split isn't quite as bed, but the old town does get very busy. A great easy to do day out from Split (easy to do) is jump on a public ferry to the Island of Brac. The ferry takes less than hour, and run about every hour, so don't leave it too late to ferry the ferry back to Split. The public ferry runs a couple of minutes from the cruise ship terminal. Have a great time.....we'll be in Menorca for a couple of weeks at the same time.

[redrobo]

Celebrity Cruises want ALL passengers boarding at Rome to take a supervised Covid Test 2 days before boarding despite ALL the countries visited on their Government sites say that no testing is needed. No test and no passage...

We are stopping at Dubrovnik and Kotor as well as Olympia, Corfu, Naples and Massena and then Laverno before returning to Rome.

Can't believe the amount of form filling to be undertaken prior to departure.

Thankfully it's an adult only cruise.

[Scouseport_Shrimp]

Celebrity Cruises want ALL passengers boarding at Rome to take a supervised Covid Test 2 days before boarding despite ALL the countries visited on their Government sites say that no testing is needed. No test and no passage...

Could be not so much the country you are visiting, but the fact that you are returning the same day to the ship, and the ship [Celebrity Cruises] are insisting on the Covid test.

are stopping at Dubrovnik and Kotor as well as Olympia, Corfu, Naples and Massena and then Laverno before returning to Rome.

You can check the number of ships due alongside on any particular day online, just google somat like 'Dubrovnik cruise ship calendar'. Don't forget that Croatia's currency is the Kuna, Euro [or even £terling] will be accepted but at a lousy exchange rate.

As for Rome, the Port of Rome is Civitavechia which is a fair old hike from Rome itself. So if you are visiting the capital on a self-guided tour make sure you can get back to the ship in plenty of time before it sails!

Can't believe the amount of form filling to be undertaken prior to departure.

I know!

it's an adult only cruise.

Amen!

[Keith]

Celebrity Cruises want ALL passengers boarding at Rome to take a supervised Covid Test 2 days before boarding despite ALL the countries visited on their Government sites say that no testing is needed. No test and no passage...

Could be not so much the country you are visiting, but the fact that you are returning the same day to the ship, and the ship [Celebrity Cruises] are insisting on the Covid test.

I think it is exactly as Scouseport says, the cruise companies are being extremely cautious. An outbreak of COVID on board ruins everyone's holiday, as the passengers will all be confined to cabins, even if testing negative. The individual countries, it isn't a big deal now, you get COVID, you isolate in your hotel, then go home, hopefully without infecting anyone else. On a floating petri dish, an outbreak is far more serious & costly.

Have a great holiday, and as you are jumping through hoops, bear in mind, everyone else is too, which will hopefully keep everyone healthy and able to enjoy the cruise.