Tag Archives: Mardi Gras

Carnival Cruise Line to Bring Back More Ships in September and October

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Carnival Cruise Line announced today that three more ships will resume guest operations in September, and another four in October, which brings the total number of ships in operation for the Carnival Cruise Line fleet to 15

Carnival said in a press release will continue to operate all its ships as vaccinated cruises through at least October.

The three ships for September are the Carnival Glory from New Orleans, starting Sept. 5, the Carnival Pride from Baltimore, starting Sept. 12, and the Carnival Dream from Galveston, starting Sept. 19.

In October, the four additional ships to restart will be the Carnival Conquest from Miami, effective Oct. 8, the Carnival Freedom from Miami, effective Oct. 9, the Carnival Elation from Port Canaveral, effective Oct. 11, and the Carnival Sensation from Mobile, effective Oct. 21.

“We are very excited about our restart and greatly appreciate the support of our guests, travel agents and port and destination partners,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “By the end of July, we will have five ships in our restart plan, including the introduction of service on Mardi Gras, and we are seeing a great combination of strong demand and strong guest satisfaction scores tied to the positive guest experience onboard.”

Carnival is also notifying guests and travel agents of an extension in its pause of operations through Sept. 5 for the Carnival Pride from Baltimore, Sept. 11 for the Carnival Dream from Galveston, Oct. 4 for the Carnival Conquest from Miami and Oct. 16 for the Carnival Sensation from Mobile.

Cruises on the Carnival Sunshine from Charleston, the Carnival Ecstasy from Jacksonville and the Carnival Liberty from Port Canaveral will be cancelled through Oct. 31.

In addition, a three-day cruise on the Carnival Miracle from Long Beach on Sept. 24 is being cancelled, and then the Carnival Miracle will begin sailing from Long Beach on Sept. 27.

Carnival said will continue to welcome unvaccinated guests onboard, but all unvaccinated guests including children under the age of 12, will be subject to pre-cruise and pre-embarkation testing and testing again prior to debarkation (on cruises longer than four days) along with a $150 per person charge to cover the costs of testing, reporting and health and safety screenings.

Carnival also said it is limiting the operation of its supervised youth programs to vaccinated children and youth 12 years and older. Unvaccinated guests departing from Florida (effective July 31) and Texas (effective Aug. 2) will also need to show proof of travel insurance coverage, based on the itineraries being sailed and the requirements of ports and destinations visited. These additional measures will be in place through at least October but may be extended based on guidance from public health and medical advisors and the requirements of destination partners.

“The decision to sail with vaccinated voyages was a difficult one to make, and we recognize this is disappointing to some of our guests especially the many families with children under the age of 12 who we love to sail, and who love to sail with us,” said Duffy. “It’s important to remember that this is a temporary measure given the current circumstances. In consultation with our medical experts and advisors, we’ve determined this plan is in the best interests of the health and safety of our guests, crew and the destinations that we bring our ships to. It’s very important that we continue to maintain the confidence of our destination partners so that we can provide our guests with the optimal cruise experience and sail our itineraries.”

“Our plan envisions successfully bringing back our entire fleet by the end of the year, returning to full service – most especially for the millions of families who sail with us – and building back our business for the benefit of our guests, employees and the tens of thousands of jobs and local businesses that depend on our company. We will continue to offer exemptions to our unvaccinated guests on a limited, capacity-managed basis within 14 days of sailing as we finalize the vaccinated guest count. The more bookings we initially secure for our cruises with fully vaccinated guests, the more exemptions we can ultimately offer for those unvaccinated guests already booked and those wishing to sail,” Duffy added.

Carnival Dream Gets New Hull Design

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The Carnival Dream has become the latest Carnival Cruise Line ship to be adorned with a new hull design, joining the Carnival Magic and the Carnival Glory which were completed over the past few weeks.

According to a press release, the Dream got the new colors in a drydock in Marseilles, France.

The livery is inspired by the design that debuted on the line’s newest ship, the Mardi Gras while serving as “an homage to maritime tradition with patriotic red, white and blue hues, also the colours of Carnival Cruise Line,” the cruise line said.

The next ship in line is the Carnival Valor, which is currently in drydock with work scheduled to be done by the end of July, marking the fourth ship to feature the new livery. Going forward, the new design will be added across all Carnival Cruise Line ships, the cruise line said.

Carnival Cruise Line COVID-19 Policy to Require Masks, Organized Excursions Only

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In a sign a U.S. restart to cruising may be inching closer, Carnival Cruise Line has revealed a number of COVID-19 regulations, with guests now required to wear face masks on company ships.

COVID-19 Policy Highlights:

Face Masks

All guests over the age of two will be required to wear a mask when indoors except when inside their own stateroom while eating and drinking seated at a table and when using the cardio equipment at the gym and physical distancing is maintained, the company said.

Guests are required to wear a mask outdoors when physical distancing cannot be maintained.

Carnival noted that masks should have two or more layers and be worn over the nose and mouth. Gaiters and bandanas are not allowed, and face shields are permitted when used with a mask These requirements apply during all aspects of the cruise, including embarkation, shore excursions and disembarkation. A limited supply of masks will be available in staterooms after boarding.

Negative Test Required

Every guest 2 years of age or older, joining a ship, regardless of method of travel to the ship, is required to take a SARS-CoV-2 test between 5 days to 24 hours prior to the date of embarkation and must receive a negative result.

Carnival said it may perform additional testing at the terminal or on board the vessel

Shore Ex

Guests will not be permitted off the ship on their own.

Carnival said that during the initial return to sailing, guests will only be allowed to participate in excursions or activities executed and escorted by vetted tour operators who maintain Carnival’s level of COVID-19 controls. Shoreside visits may be also limited to port areas that have no public access. Self-exploration or non-Carnival sponsored excursions will not be permitted. 

Carnival did note it may offer indoor excursions only if physical distancing, use of masks, and other recommended protective measures can be implemented.

We will have pre-arranged transportation from the ship to the venue and back again. Guests will be able to pre-purchase shore excursions through Carnival.com, the Carnival HUB app or onboard, subject to availability and capacity restrictions. All guests will have to comply with physical distancing, mask-wearing and all other COVID-19 related requirements.

Throughout the duration of the shore excursion, guests will be asked to remain with their cruise companions. There may be additional restrictions during shore excursions depending on local conditions.

Any non-compliance by the guest or members of guest’s travelling party with Carnival COVID-19 Policies and Procedures shall be grounds for a refusal to re-board after going ashore, or other steps deemed necessary in Carnival’s sole discretion to protect the health and safety of others. If a guest is denied boarding or disembarked due to failure to comply, they will not be entitled to a refund, credit, or compensation of any kind. Guests will be responsible for all costs and fines, including without limitation travel expenses.

Contact Tracing

Carnival said that all guests may be required to provide identifying information and information about certain activities engaged in during the cruise so Carnival can perform contact tracing in the event any person onboard is suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19. Various location tracking technologies may be used to assist in the collection of contact tracing information such as wearables, video surveillance, transaction data, and photographs taken during the cruise.