Carnival Cruise Line updated its Have Fun. Be Safe protocols on Tuesday evening by ditching the majority of its requirements.
The Miami-based cruise line no longer requires vaccines and testing, making a cruise vacation almost back to normality. However, there are still some requirements for cruises of 16 nights or more.
Carnival Cruise Line Removes Requirements
It’s a significant step to normality as Carnival Cruise Line has updated its Have Fun. Be Safe protocols. The cruise line no longer requires passengers to be fully vaccinated, and testing is not needed for almost all cruises for all guests.
For cruises that are 15 nights or less, the cruise line now says, “Although vaccines are not required, we encourage all guests 5 years of age and older to be up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines, when eligible, and carry proof of vaccination. Guests are considered fully vaccinated if they have received their final dose of an approved COVID-19 vaccine at least 14 days prior to the sailing day (not counting embarkation day).”
Carnival has sent out a communication to booked guests, letting them know about the changes: “Consistent with the evolving public health guidelines, we have continued to update our protocols over the last several weeks.”
“In summary, vaccines, proof of vaccination, and testing for unvaccinated guests, are no longer required on cruises of 15 nights or less. However, we encourage all guests 5 years 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 guests who could not provide proof of vaccination had to present a negative PCR or antigen test result taken no earlier than three days before sailing.
It now means those requirements are ditched, and for most sailings, anyone can cruise. However, Carnival still has some guidelines, which passengers need to be aware of for longer sailings.
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There are still requirements for longer sailings of 16 nights or more. Guests that are 18 years and over 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 aged five and older must also present a PCR or antigen test taken within three days before departure.
What About Certain Destinations?
As travel has continued to reopen through 2022, there are now fewer cruise destinations that have their own restrictions for cruise ship passengers. Many cruise islands in the Caribbean have already dropped all protocols in recent weeks, including Barbados and St. Vincent. Canada has also dropped its protocols for cruise travel.
When it comes to Carnival Cruise Line, there are still requirements in place for three cruise destinations. Grand Turk in the Turks and Caicos and Cartagena in Colombia still don’t allow unvaccinated guests aged 18 and over to go ashore.
Even though 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 got those aged two years and above. The country 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 dropped protocols and eased restrictions. Norwegian Cruise Line dropped testing, masking and vaccination requirements on October 4.
Royal Caribbean announced an easing on requirements in August 2022. And Princess Cruises became the first Carnival-owned brand to announce the removal of protocols from October 21, 2022.
