Carnival Opens Sales for New Venezia, Year-Round Cruising from NYC

Posted on 14 November, 2022 by Spacejunkie2

Carnival Cruise Line today opened reservations for the inaugural season of its next new ship, the Carnival Venezia, which will begin sailing year-round from New York City starting June 15, 2023, and will showcase “Carnival Fun Italian Style,” the company said.

The ship will offer guests a wide range of sailing options, with 10 different cruise durations and 22 unique itineraries featuring visits to 25 ports across 14 countries.

“Our summer season in New York has been extremely popular, so increasing our offerings with a larger, newer ship that sails year-round provides the opportunity for more guests in the tri-state area and beyond to enjoy the convenience of sailing right from Manhattan,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “Carnival Venezia will give guests our signature fun, combined with Italian theming, to beautiful destinations from The Bahamas and the Caribbean to Bermuda and Canada.”

Following a 15-day trans-Atlantic Carnival Journeys cruise from Barcelona that departs on May 29, 2023, the Carnival Venezia will sail a variety of cruises from New York’s Manhattan Cruise Terminal, and for the summer will alternate between sailing four-, five- six- and eight-day sailings to the Caribbean, Bermuda and ports in Canada and New England, including Halifax and Saint John.

Beginning Sept. 29, 2023, the ship will alternate between operating eight- to 12-day cruises to the Eastern Caribbean, Southern Caribbean and The Bahamas, visiting destinations like St. Thomas, San Juan and Aruba, along with four of Carnival’s private destinations: Half Moon Cay, Princess Cays, Amber Cove and Grand Turk. In addition, Carnival Venezia’s nine-day cruises will feature Miami as a port of call.

Sample Cruises:

Nine-Day sailing to Miami and the Bahamas (10/14/2023) – Miami, Nassau, Half Moon Cay and Freeport, Bahamas
10-day Eastern Caribbean sailing (1/23/2024) – Princess Cays, Bahamas; Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos; Amber Cove, Dominican Republic and San Juan, Puerto Rico
12-day Southern Caribbean Carnival Journeys sailing (2/11/2024) – Antigua, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Maarten
15-day Caribbean Carnival Journeys sailing (9/29/2023) – Grand Turk, Aruba, Curacao, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Maarten and St. Thomas

Built-in 2019 and set to undergo enhancements before entering service, Carnival Venezia will be home to many of the activities and experiences guests enjoy aboard other Carnival ships, including Carnival Waterworks, Piano Bar 88, Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse, Bonsai Sushi, Seafood Shack, Cloud 9 Salon & Spa and the Serenity Adult-Only Retreat.

In 2024, Carnival Cruise Line will welcome a second Carnival Fun Italian Style ship, when the Carnival Firenze joins the fleet, scheduled to sail year-round from Long Beach, Calif.

Celebrity Cruises Announces New Protocols for Sailing

Posted on 23 August, 2022 by Spacejunkie2

Celebrity Cruises today announced new protocols for guests sailing from U.S. and European ports by dropping vaccination requirements and simplifying testing guidelines.

Beginning September 5, 2022, all guests, regardless of vaccination status, departing on most sailings from the U.S. and Europe can now cruise as long as they meet local testing requirements to board. Celebrity Cruises will also now accept any commercially available test, including unsupervised self-tests, in many destinations.

“A new world is waiting and I’m thrilled to now more closely align our operations with the rest of the travel industry and open up opportunities for everyone to explore, once again,” said Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, president and CEO of Celebrity Cruises. “Travel is making its grand comeback and we’re looking forward to the continued momentum from consumers around the world.”

New pre-boarding testing requirements for the U.S. and Europe include:

Fully vaccinated guests no longer need to test to board sailings from the U.S. that are nine nights or less (excluding sailings that visit Canada and Bermuda).
A negative test result from a simple, unsupervised and self-administered test will be accepted for all sailings (excluding sailings that visit Australia, Bermuda, Canada, Greece or New Zealand).
Children under 5 years of age sailing from the U.S. and guests under 12 years of age sailing from Europe do not need to test prior to boarding.

Requirements in Other Regions

While Celebrity Cruises has dropped vaccination requirements, sailings to and from ports in Canada, Australia and New Zealand require all guests ages 12 and up to be fully vaccinated to sail in keeping with country requirements. Galapagos cruises require guests ages 3 and older to be vaccinated.

Carnival Removes Pre-Cruise Testing for Vaccinated Guests, More Changes Announced

Posted on 14 August, 2022 by Spacejunkie2

Carnival Cruise Line today announced protocol updates for COVID-19.

\With these changes, Carnival said is making it easier for more guests to sail with simplified vaccination and testing guidelines, including no testing for vaccinated guests on sailings less than 16 nights, and eliminating the exemption request process for unvaccinated guests, who will only need to show a negative test result at embarkation.

All new guidelines are effective for cruises departing on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022, or later, and include:

• Vaccinated guests must continue to provide evidence of their vaccination status prior to embarkation. Pre-cruise testing is no longer required, except for cruises to Canada, Bermuda, Greece and Australia (per local guidelines), and on voyages 16 nights or longer.
• Unvaccinated guests are welcome to sail and are no longer required to apply for a vaccine exemption, except for cruises in Australia or on voyages 16 nights and longer.
• Unvaccinated guests or those who do not provide proof of vaccination must present the results of a negative PCR or antigen test was taken within three days of embarkation.
• All policies are subject to local destination regulations.

Guests under the age of five years are exempt from vaccination and testing requirements from the United States and under the age of 12 from Australia, the company said.

Voyages 16 nights and longer will continue to have vaccination and testing requirements that are specific to the itinerary. Requirements for long voyages and destination-specific protocols are available on Carnival’s Have Fun. Be Safe. page on Carnival.com

For guests who have a pending vaccine exemption application and are awaiting confirmation for cruises departing Sept. 6 or later, the booking is confirmed unless booked on a sailing that calls on Canada, Bermuda, Australia or if the voyage is 16 nights or longer.

“Our ships have been sailing very full all summer, but there is still room for more of our loyal guests, and these guidelines will make it a simpler process, and make cruising accessible for those who were not able to meet the protocols we were required to follow for much of the past 14 months,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.

“We’ve got lots happening, with Carnival Luminosa and Carnival Celebration joining our fleet this November and more to come in 2023. Whatever the ship, homeport or itinerary that works for you, our great onboard team is ready to deliver a fun vacation – something we all look forward to even more nowadays!”

Duffy added that Carnival is in the process of updating its website, communications, and processes, and sharing more details with guests and travel advisor partners to reflect these new, simplified policies. “We appreciate the patience of our guests and travel advisor partners as we update all materials, but the end result is a very positive one for all who are looking forward to cruising with us,” she said.