We have all been doin get pre-cruise mental gymnastics of trying to figure out exactly which days the vaccinated, and unvaccinated, members of our travel party can be tested. Luckily, Royal Caribbean has created a handy little visual tool to help with your calculations! Remember, when planning your testing, unvaccinated guests cannot complete the home testing kits, though they can submit a PCR or antigen test result.
image via Royal Caribbean
Pre-Cruise Test Window for Guests Sailing from U.S. Ports including San Juan
Vaccinated guests must take their pre-cruise test no more than 2 days before boarding. Unvaccinated kids (2-11) must take their pre-cruise test no more than 3 days before boarding, and cannot take their pre-cruise test on boarding day. This is because kids are also tested at the terminal before boarding – and according to CDC guidance, unvaccinated guests cannot be tested twice in one day as it may affect the accuracy of the test results.
When calculating which days you can take your test, be aware that the day you set sail is not counted as one of the days.
How to calculate which days to take your test:
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Vaccinated guests: If you are setting sail on a Saturday, and you need to take the test no more than 2 days before, you can take your test on Thursday or Friday. You could also take it on Saturday morning if necessary — of course, we don’t recommend waiting until the last minute.
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Unvaccinated kids age 2 to 11: If you are setting sail on a Saturday, and you need to take the test no more than 3 days before, you can take your test on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday — but not Saturday. Unvaccinated guests cannot take their test on boarding day.
Unvaccinated kids will also have to take a covid test on embarkation day at the port.
