Carnival Cruise Line has further eased its COVID-19 rules, dropping most of its remaining requirements this week.
The cruise line no longer requires proof of vaccination or COVID-19 testing for voyages of 15 nights or less, according to its website. “However, regardless of vaccination status, we encourage all guests age 5 and older to get tested three days before their cruise,” Carnival spokesman Matt Lupoli told USA TODAY in an emailed statement.
Passengers aged 18 and over sailing on voyages of 16 nights or more must be fully vaccinated, including booster doses if more than six months have passed since the last dose of their primary vaccination series. Unvaccinated travelers must apply for an exemption.
Passengers age 5 and older on those voyages must take an antigen or PCR test within three days before their sailing, according to the line’s website. Changes are subject to local requirements in different destinations.
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Carnival previously relaxed its COVID-19 requirements last month, no longer requiring unvaccinated guests to apply for an exemption for many cruises, but passengers still had to show proof of vaccination or take a test to board.
Other cruise lines are changing their COVID-19 rules
Princess Cruises made a similar change last week, removing remaining vaccine and testing requirements for many voyages. The changes apply “except to destinations where government regulations may change such as Australia and some enhanced travel guidelines that have their own vaccination and testing requirements,” a spokesperson for the Princess said in an email.
Passengers can check their cruise requests online through the line’s CruiseHealth tool.
The updates come after Norwegian Cruise Line also dropped all mask, vaccination and testing requirements earlier this month. Many cruise lines began relaxing the rules after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ended its COVID-19 program for cruise ships in July.
