A visitor summed it up, stating, “Yes….This is a Hot Mess.” The deeper we all dig, the more problems that surface.
276 thoughts on “Latest Testing Rules Fail: Hawaii Vacations Upended”
Comments are closed.
A visitor summed it up, stating, “Yes….This is a Hot Mess.” The deeper we all dig, the more problems that surface.
Comments are closed.
Is there a plan in place to allow those who’ve had covid and therefore not at risk of catching or giving the virus? With proof of recent positive diagnosis, one should be able to travel without restriction.
We on the west coast of Canada are desperate to return to our Ohana and homes.
Unfortunately, there is no guarantee of immunity even if you have had the virus. There is some evidence that you May have immunity for a period of time – weeks to a few months – but science isn’t in agreement on even that.
Thanks for this article!
My family and I recently decided to spend the Thanksgiving holiday week in Maui (also happens to be our 17th anniversary. I chose to use Vault Health for the covid tests after reading a few bad stories from people who used CVS. Unfortunately, Vault had been having issues with tests not being registered to the patient. This means the patient, which was myself in this case, has to wait on Zoom hold while they figure out what happened and how to correct the issue. To begin, we waited for 50 minutes before a medical professional answered the initial call. My wife took her test. My daughter took her test. And then I took mine. The entire process for the three of us took just over 2 hours. Most of which was sitting and waiting for Vault. The test samples arrived at Vault at 10:15 the next morning. My wife received her results late that night. Mine came through the next morning. My daughter’s came through the day after that, hours before boarding our plane.
That was the only issue we had. The Hawaii website was straight forward and worked perfect. Regardless of what I heard other passengers claiming. I submitted pdf files of the test results and the website quickly, auto-confirmed the results.
I had the emails confirming the test results, and paper copies of the test results. I also had screen shots saved to my phone. I did the same with the qr code.
When I arrived at the area to check the documents, I had everything ready and in order. We were done and on our way in about 5 minutes.
I had no issues with the Hawaii portion of testing. But waiting for the results was nerve racking. So far, so good.
It’s really easy. Make a plan based on the date you plan to arrive in Hawaii. Create multiple copies of all test results. You should have an email, a screen shot, and printed copies of all test results.
If all of this is too hard or just too much, stay home. Or go somewhere else. This process was stressful, expensive, and totally worth it.
Or maybe you shouldn’t whine about going on vacation during a damn pandemic. Hawaii should find a more sustainable revenue and now only rely on tourism.
This vacation was 5 years in the making for 2020 and we had already changed it 4 times in the past 6 months with all the Hawaii opening delays. Our family of 4 flew today 11/21 from LAX to HNL and had thought we had done everything right. We were tested at an authorized CVS location 70 hours before flight time, and their website read to expect results in 2-3 days. At boarding time we didn’t have the results and decided to board the flight, praying we would receive negative results by the time we landed. Others seated around us were in the same boat, having tested at a CVS 3 days ago. We are now sitting at our hotel in quarantine. We tried for more than a couple hours this morning to reach CVS (local and national office) and Quest for assistance. Quest Cust Svce is only open M-F, wow. No such luck, there just isn’t a human voice you can speak with that knows anything about the testing or when to expect results. These newly announced changes affect us as well since we’re due to fly to Maui for the 2nd half of our trip on 11/25, leaving for home on 11/28. Under the best of circumstances we need to be tested again tomorrow 11/22. Abiding by quarantine rules, and waiting for the CVS test results, we can’t leave the room. If we don’t hear anything by tomorrow, 4 days after having the tests done at CVS, we’ll probably need to call it quits and go home. By the way, CVS updated their website and it now reads that results could be delayed and take 3-5 days or longer. We had researched this thoroughly the past few weeks and felt really confident things were all going to work out. There are plenty of happy people here at the resort, so hoping and praying we’ll be able to join them soon. Good luck and happy travels to everyone!
Vault and State of HI were great! Sent my 17 year old daughter unaccompanied on November 12 to Oahu to visit UH Manoa and didn’t want her to get stuck alone on quarantine so made several calls/emails to both Vault and the State. Vault returned calls and emails and were very knowledgeable and polite, helped me understand which days to fly if I wanted to guarantee test results in time (UPS doesn’t ship weekends so don’t fly Tues or Weds if you want a result in correct time frame). State helped me understand what my minor could expect. Daughter had no problems at all with the process as we were able to follow all the protocols.
How did you call the State? Phone number please.
Hi Barbara.
The state’s help desk for SafeTravels is 1-855-599-0888.
Aloha.
Here on Kauai our covid numbers are climbing daily due in large part by visitors coming without test results and then receiving a positive result once they’ve arrived. No fun to quarantine and have covid too. I know this is hard, but please understand we only have a few ICU beds and very limited resources. This is a necessary precausion for our islands.
Positive tests doesn’t equate to hospital stays. There is also more people being tested and multiple times. Not to mention false Positives!
No way would I chance it at this point.
Aloha I live ON Kauai and go back and forth because of a medical issue with my pain pump I am a vet and leave on wed THE 2nd of Dec. My test for the virus is on Friday the 27th and leave on the 2nd,I leave on the 28th of Feb. To get my pump filled on Feb the 4th and will return that following Monday for another 2 months. This is the only way I can get to and fro. THank you.
So now the need to upload the Covid test are not required and just print out the results and present them once you deplane. You’re good to go shopping in Maui and then get on the ferry to Lanai, is this correct?
Sounds like no one should travel to Hawaii until the earliest being the first week off December, asked by then Hawaii should have their act together.
Covid is such a fluid situation so you better expect everything including a shut down if you’re traveling during these trying times. If you’re not prepared for the worst that’s on you. Common sense tells me I would never take a covid test with cvs and trust it will get to me on time. It’s a national chain that tests the general public. That’s a huge gamble. People need to understand you’re not the only one testing and tests for sick people are more important than travelers. So when there’s an uptick in sick people, which can happen at any given time, the labs get backed up. Getting tested at more exclusive places like Kaiser is better. Also, rule of thumb when traveling always have a plan if you so happen to not be able to travel last minute, covid or not. Because accomodations are the most expensive parts of the trip I always book something I know I can cancel last minute with no penalties. That’s why major hotels chains are better than vacation rentals and they don’t take one dollar until you checkin. I always opt for slightly more expensive rate with easy cancellation for that piece of mind and you don’t have to buy trip insurance and you get loyalty points to earn free nights and status to get free room upgrades. I stayed in excellent Wailea and had booked the basic room last time and because I had status they upgraded me to a 2 bedroom suite. I hate airbnb with terrible cancellation rules, huge non-refundable deposits, cleaning fees, and privacy issues (some have hidden cameras, gross!). Also, why do I have to clean anything like strip the bedding, that’s why I pay a cleaning fee. Other rule, if you can’t afford to lose it then you can’t afford to go.
I think we should have done this from the beginning … Our mayor wanted this but Gov didn’t. Since Oct 15 when tourists arriving we have 0 -2 cases a day and now the numbers are spiking. yes we need visitors on Island but putting way too much families here in a bad situation. There are 9 ICU on island and cannot take the risk of waiting another couple weeks. It’s a Pandemic and I’m sorry But we have held off our Vacation to Honolulu as to not bring anything back to Kauai out of respect for families here and all the Kupuna (elders) esp. Please if you come , getting a test Prior is logical. Why would you want to sit in a airplane for hours when someone next to you has Covid but won’t know til they get here. So backwards. Get the test before endangering peoples lives on the plane or at a State that is so overly populated and isn’t equipped to taking care of it’s natives as well as transplants and Tourists. We want and need visitors but please, get a test ! A close friend has lost her father in law ( from Hawaii) from Covid. My neices 2nd grade teacher has tested Positive and she hasn’t left the island so it’s just since visitors have come. Just my opinion but this test is going to save lives so please get before. even if you need to quarantine you still are putting people who work at hotels and car rentals at risk.
Last minute changes also caused the testing partners to put a disclaimer out that stated they could not guarantee results within 72 hours. Friends called 11 different ones and all stated they could not guarantee and could not take on the liability.