Carnival Cruise Line brand ambassador John Heald went live on his Facebook page Monday morning, providing updates on the line’s staff shortages, the Camp Ocean kids’ club and testing and vaccination protocols.
Crew shortages are easing
In May, we reported that Carnival had closed its specialty dining restaurant Cucina del Capitano on all ships except Mardi Gras due to the “challenge of securing visas for cruise industry workers”. The kitchen table dining experience was also closed across the fleet for the same reason.
Last week, Heald announced that Chef’s Table was starting to restart, and today he gave another staffing update, saying that “the staffing shortages that plagued the industry are improving every day and there is hope [that Carnival can] return to full staffing levels by the end of this month.”
He continued, “That means from August onwards, we can go back to opening things like Cucina and bringing back 24-hour tea and pizza time.”
Due to the lack of crew, the normally 24-hour pizza counter was discontinued, with open hours from 8 a.m. to 3 a.m.
Heald explained what is happening to allow crew members to more easily return to the ship, saying, “We have to acknowledge the wonderful cooperation of United States Customs and Border Protection, who are allowing many members of crew from all over the world … to return to work on expired visas and then renewing them while on the ship.”
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Camp Ocean reopens to all children
Also in May, Carnival Cruise Line updated its health and safety protocols to remove the vaccination requirement for children attending its Camp Ocean youth clubs.
At the time, Camp Ocean was only open to children ages 5 to 11, as well as youth and teens ages 12 to 17. Programs for young travelers ages 4 and under had not yet resumed.
In today’s live stream, Heald revealed that Camp Ocean is now available to them: “One of the things you’ll notice that we’ve been able to do over the last couple of weeks is open up Camp Ocean… to vaccinated and unvaccinated 2 in 5-year-olds.”
He also commented that the evening kids club program, called Night Owls, is not back yet, but should be back soon once the ships are filled again.
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Testing and vaccination requirements
Carnival Cruise Line continues to require guests to present a negative test for COVID-19 before boarding the ship, and also requires all guests five years of age and older to be vaccinated in order to sail. A small number of exceptions to the vaccination rule are granted for travel, but they are not guaranteed.
Heald provided an update on these protocols, reiterating why they haven’t changed yet as other cruise lines, such as Viking and Norwegian Cruise Line, begin to phase out testing in regions such as Europe.
“Our hands are still tied,” he explained. “If we’re sailing from the United States of America… and we’re going to the Caribbean, Alaska and Canada, we have to give everybody a test before we get on the ship, otherwise the ship is stuck in that port .”
At this point, the testing mandate is largely in place because of the destinations that most cruises visit outside of the United States… not because of a mandate set by the US itself.
“Right now, the highest level of Carnival Corporation… are working hard to try and get permission for us to stop testing.”
Heald’s response to the continued vaccination requirement was simple: “As for those of you who chose not to get the COVID vaccination, I don’t know when you will be allowed to travel again. We want it, we would love it, but for now… we have to stick with these rules.”
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