klkaylor
TUG Member
My daughter and boyfriend will be vacationing at the Surf Club the first week of March and yesterday booked their Covid test that is needed before returning to the U.S.This is a nice letter on how the Marriott on Aruba is helping us get home to the US.
Hi..my daughter has everything all set..she has been planning this trip for the last year...we gifted her the week for her birthday,last April,which of course had to be cancelled..booked the week for late October which also needed to be cancelled..so is very excited about this upcoming trip..I believe she frequents an Aruba site where there are Aruba citizens as well as U.S.travelers that keep each other updated almost daily on the process..thasks for the info and I look forward to your update...enjoy the Surf Club and the stunningly beautiful Aruba beaches...it’s our favorite Caribbean destination.We will be at the surf club on Sat so will up date the process. There is a clinic in the shopping center that is offering antigen tests on a walk in basis as well so I do not think it will be a problem.
Just a reminder that your daughter and boyfriend need to go on to the aruba ED Card website and complete that task before departing for Aruba. Aruba is more strict and requires a molectular test before entry or a test on arrival and quarantine until test results are returned.
I am sorry you had such a hard time.It was a difficult arrival at AUA yesterday. The system they are using to confirm a negative Covid test upon arrival is now inconsistent. We spent an hour in line with the entry paperwork being looked at three times. We had to show a paper copy of the green check/barcode immigration form and our covid test and we’re then given a blue “cleared” card. Proceeded down to passport control and was again asked for our covid test results. People were fumbling with phones hard copies with most being told their test was not good and their card taken back. We had hard copies of or test type, results,date, name, and passport number. This was not acceptable as it did not have a “sticker” from the lab. Not sure how that is possible given the results are emailed. We then got our bags and stood in another line and we had to bring up the email from the company that did our test. Take home - test acceptance is now random in Aruba. Have the email and a hard copy of the results. We had the Abbott ID NOW test done and accepted by United.
Return testing is not as stated in the Marriott provided letter-attached above. The only testing at the surf club is PCR -at twice the cost -and not required by us. US is accepting antigen tests as well per CDC. The surf club management is nice but clueless and uncaring. We are here and will figure it out but would rethink a trip to Aruba at this time.
Thx for the update. I am interested in the Cove Mall site as well.A few new notes on the increased scrutiny of the covid paperwork. You should try to insure the test report shows the location of the sample. Aruba wants a nasal swab. I would recommend having both a paper copy of your results and keep and have available in electronic format - the email from the testing site and or the ability log onto the portal where you can show the report. Another nugget is that there is a free internet site at the airport that you can log onto to help download data.
On the Marriott side I went to the lab at the surf club and confirmed that they will do antigen test for reenrty to the USA. Their web site www.pcraruba.com is the portal to schedule your test. It only offers a PCR test. They said to just schedule a PCR test and then when you go to the apt just ask for and pay for the antigen test. PCR tests are $100 and Antigen test only $40. Antigen have a slightly higher false positive but are quicker and cheaper and at the present time accepted by US immigration. My personal opinion is that by only offering the PCR test that is what people just accept thereby making more money. Marriott should look into this practice. We are going to use a clinic in the Cove shopping area for our return antigen test and report back how it worked out.
Someone had reported that even though they had a negative subsequent pcr they still had to quarantine for 10 days due to the positive antigen test. Of course you always need to take what a stranger posts with a grain of salt; just mentioning it because it’s something I’d like clarified before making a decision as to which test. Obviously from a medical perspective you’re totally correct, but it’s their official policy that counts.The false positive rate is but with the incidence of the disease it creates a bad positive predictive rate. My understanding that a positive test will get you quarantined. PCR is then used as the diagnostic test. Antigen test is not diagnostic due to crossreactivity. If the PCR is neg you are neg. if positive you are in the 14 day quarantine. My plan is do the antigen test at 72 hrs so that if positive I can then do a PCR. The antigen test takes less than 20 min. I do think your point is important. Bet 40 to save 60 but may just cost you time and another $100.
Just came back from Aruba. We were there for almost 4 weeks. We brought antigen (blood) tests with us. Simple figure prick. We wanted to control our destiny BEFORE our CDC testing performed by the Aruba lab. We chose to have the lab come to our hotel room and perform the PCR COVID test for return to the US. It was pricey. $370 for 2.The false positive rate is but with the incidence of the disease it creates a bad positive predictive rate. My understanding that a positive test will get you quarantined. PCR is then used as the diagnostic test. Antigen test is not diagnostic due to crossreactivity. If the PCR is neg you are neg. if positive you are in the 14 day quarantine. My plan is do the antigen test at 72 hrs so that if positive I can then do a PCR. The antigen test takes less than 20 min. I do think your point is important. Bet 40 to save 60 but may just cost you time and another $100.
noIf you are fully vaccinated, do you still need to get a Covid test? Will they soon accept vaccination certificate?
Is that a no to both questions??