It’s been a busy few weeks for Carnival Cruise Line. The cruise line had to react to the CDC’s changing protocols and has not only updated its testing requirements, but also needed to make some clarifications with a follow-up update.
There have been two rescues at sea and the company announced it had sailed with more than three million guests since relaunching just over a year ago. In addition, progress continues on the two Excel-class cruise ships, and Carnival improving Internet bandwidth across the fleet.
New test procedures for short cruises
Carnival Cruise Line reacted to the news that the CDC had dropped the voluntary program for cruise ships a few weeks ago. announcing new testing protocols which will come into effect on August 4. However, those new protocols quickly caused confusion for thousands of guests.
On July 29, Carnival announced it would not require testing for vaccinated guests on short cruises of 5 nights or less. After a few days, the cruise line clarified the situationsaying that no-test protocols would not be valid on all cruises.
Sailing trips to Bermuda, Bahamas or Grand Cayman are not included. These destinations still require cruise ships to screen passengers before docking. The announcement was disappointing for many, with a wide variety of cruises sailing to these destinations.
Rescue at sea
Two Carnival cruise ships had to take action over the weekend when they spotted boats with refugees at sea. Carnival Paradise AND Dawn of the Carnival conducted rescue operations when ships spotted small boats with refugees in the Florida Straits.
While sailing to her home port of Miami on July 29, Carnival Sunrise’s The crew spotted a small boat with 12 refugees on board have drifted into the Florida Straits, the sea route between Florida and Cuba. The crew brought the twelve refugees on board and informed the authorities.
On July 30, just one day after Carnival Sunrise’s rescue, to Carnival Paradise unveiled another small boat, overloaded with about 20 refugees, as it sailed near the coastline of Cuba. According to maritime law, the ship took the people on board and notified the relevant authorities.
Since shipping routes are interrupted by the routes refugees take from Cuba to the United States, it is not unusual for these rescues to occur. In fact, in recent months there have been a number of incidents where cruise ships have been forced to make rescues at sea.
Already three million guests
With more than 95,000 guests sailing on Carnival cruise ships per week in the past 75 days, Carnival Cruise Line has already welcomed more than 3 million guests since relaunching in July 2021.
In May of this year, the cruise line hit the two million mark, rapidly expanding to three million in July. With several ships sailing at 110% occupancy due to the Caribbean summerThe 23 ships that sail for the cruise line are certainly doing their part to bring profitability back to Carnival.
With so many people sailing on board, one thing is for sure, onboard systems such as IT and connectivity are being put under extra strain, something Carnival is busy making improvements to.
Major IT upgrade
Carnival Cruise Line has been busy upgrading its onboard IT systems since bringing its last ships into service earlier this year. With ship occupancy at 110% and almost all guests using the facilities in one way or another, improvements were necessary.
In recent months, the cruise line has improved bandwidth by nearly 50%, ensuring guests can stay connected throughout the ships. On board all Carnival cruise ships, the company has been busy installing more WiFi access points and bringing in multiple satellite providers to stay flexible when usage increases.
This means guests can now stay connected with people back home while browsing onboard activities and booking spa, dining, shore excursions and bar packages. With IT and connectivity becoming a global necessity, Carnival will also invest in more technological advancements in the future.
News about new ships
Carnival Cruise Line released some exciting news about the two ships currently under construction in Germany and Finland.
Carnival president Christine Duffy was at Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany, to celebrate the laying down of the company’s third LNG-powered Excel-class cruise ship, Carnival jubilee.
The ship will begin operations from Galveston, Texas, in 2023. More than enough reason for Carnival’s president to celebrate the ceremony in true Texas style.
A few days later, Carnival announced some exciting new features for Carnival celebration. The ship will have the largest selection of fleet shopping opportunities. For the release of the sister ship to it Mardi GrasCarnival Cruise Line will introduce several new selections while also bringing back the wildly popular 50th Anniversary gifts.
