Carnival Cruise Line updated Have Fun. Make Tuesday night protocols safe by waiving most of its requests.
The Miami-based cruise line no longer requires vaccinations and testing, making the cruise vacation almost back to normal. However, there are still some requirements for cruises of 16 nights or more.
Carnival Cruise Line waives the requirements
It’s an important step towards normalcy as Carnival Cruise Line has updated it Have fun. Be sure protocols. The cruise line no longer requires passengers to be fully vaccinated, and testing is not necessary on nearly all cruises for all guests.
For cruises that are 15 nights or less, the cruise line now says, “Although vaccinations are not required, we encourage all guests age 5 and older to be up-to-date with their COVID-19 vaccinations, when eligible, and have proof of vaccination. Guests are considered fully vaccinated if they have received their final dose of an approved vaccine for COVID-19 at least 14 days prior to the day of sailing (not counting the day of departure).
Carnival has sent a communication to booked guests notifying them of the changes: “In accordance with evolving public health guidelines, we have continued to update our protocols over the past several weeks.”
“In summary, vaccinations, proof of vaccination and testing for unvaccinated guests are no longer required on cruises of 15 nights or less. However, we encourage all guests age 5 and older to take a pre-cruise test within three days of their cruise.”
Previously, vaccinated guests aged five and over had to provide proof of their status. Those invited who could not provide proof of vaccination had to present a negative PCR or antigen test result obtained no earlier than three days before sailing.
It now means that these requirements have been removed, and for most cruises, anyone can sail. However, Carnival still has some guidelines that passengers should be aware of on longer cruises.
There are still requests for longer cruises of 16 nights or more. Guests who are 18 years of age or older must still be fully vaccinated, including any booster shots.
If unvaccinated guests want to sail on longer cruises, they must apply for a vaccine exemption for 2023. Guests five years of age and older must also submit a PCR or antigen test taken within three days prior to departure .
What about specific destinations?
While travel has continued to reopen until 2022, there are now fewer cruise destinations that have their own restrictions on cruise ship passengers. Many cruise islands in the Caribbean have already lifted all protocols in recent weeks, including Barbados and Saint Vincent. Canada has also lifted its protocols for cruise travel.
When it comes to the Carnival cruise line, there are still requests for three cruise destinations. Grand Turk in Turks and Caicos and Cartagena in Colombia still do not allow unvaccinated guests aged 18 and over to go ashore.
Although the popular island of Bermuda has recently relaxed its rules for cruise ship passengers, all guests must still apply for a Travel Authorization, which costs $40 per person for those two years of age and older. The venue also requires unvaccinated guests to present proof of travel insurance at check-in.
Carnival Cruise Line now follows other major cruise lines that have already lifted protocols and eased restrictions. Norwegian Cruise Line went down testing, masking and vaccination requirements on October 4.
Royal Caribbean announced an easing of requirements in August 2022. And Princess Cruises became the first brand owned by Carnival to announce the lifting of the protocols from October 21, 2022.
