Carnival Corp Testing & Vaccination Changes

Carnival Corporation

Updated October 26, 2022

Carnival Cruise Line has updated their pre-cruise testing protocols. Please see the details below.

 

Statement

Carnival Cruise Line is informing guests and travel agents of additional updates to its pre-cruise testing protocols for guests on voyages 15 nights or less. These changes are consistent with the evolving public health guidelines and will be acceptable for arriving cruise guests effective immediately. Vaccines, proof of vaccination, and testing for unvaccinated guests are no longer required on cruises of 15 nights or less. However, Carnival encourages all guests 5 years and older to be up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines, when eligible, carry proof of vaccination, and get tested before embarkation.

 

What You Need to Know

• Cruises of 15 nights or less: Although not required for either vaccinated or unvaccinated guests, Carnival encourages all guests 5 years and older to take a pre-cruise test within three days of their cruise.
• Cruises of 16 nights or more: Guests age 5 years and older have to present a PCR or antigen test taken within 3 days before sailing (unsupervised self-tests are not accepted).
• A VeriFLY pass is no longer necessary for check-in. 

Princess Cruise Lines has lifted all protocols for most voyages.

Statement

Beginning October 21, protocols to cruising have been lifted. This means that for most voyages there are no longer vaccination or testing requirements. This applies to itineraries to all destinations except where government regulations may vary like Australia and on a few enhanced guidelines voyages that have their own vaccination and testing requirements.

 

Resources

• Important Cruise Details
• Vaccination & testing requirements
• Enhanced guidelines voyages
• FAQs

Updated:  August 24, 2022

Carnival Cruise Line has updated their pre-cruise testing protocols. Please see details below.

Additionally, please be aware that on August 22^nd Bermuda updated their Cruise Passenger Travel Authorisation page and they are now allowing unvaccinated visitors who follow testing protocols to travel to the island. Currently, Carnival is the only cruise line to announce testing changes that reflect this update by the Bermudian government.

 Statement

Carnival Cruise Line is informing guests and travel agents of additional updates to its pre-cruise testing protocols for unvaccinated guests for voyages departing September 6, 2022, and later. These changes are consistent with what local destinations have advised will be acceptable for arriving cruise guests, and Carnival will continue to work closely with local destinations to protect the health of its guests, crew, and the communities the cruise line visits.

What You Need to Know

• In addition to lab administered tests, self-testing is accepted for unvaccinated guests on cruises 15 nights and shorter.
• Certain destinations do not accept unsupervised pre-cruise self-testing, including Bermuda, Canada, Greece, and Spain. If used for visiting these destinations, self-testing must be supervised by a medical professional.
• Regardless of the type of test taken, unvaccinated guests will be required to present their negative test results via VeriFLY or as part of the embarkation process. 
• Travel insurance is no longer a requirement for unvaccinated guests unless it is required by a destination, such as Bermuda. 
• Regardless of vaccination status, travel insurance is required for all guests visiting Fiji.

Westward Ho on Carnival Radiance

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4 Day Baja Mexico Cruise From Los Angeles

We headed west to Long Beach, California for a short Carnival Cruise on the newly enhanced (and renamed) Carnival Radiance. Although it wasn't a brand new ship, we were excited to check out the modifications and report back to our readers. 

About Carnival Radiance: 

Carnival Radiance is a Destiny-class cruise ship operated by Carnival Cruise Line. She became the last of the three Destiny-class ships to undergo a refit and rename. The ship's refit was completed in October 2021, and she resumed service on 13 December.

Carnival's 50th Birthday Celebration

Milestone events only come once in a lifetime and you don't want to miss this one.  This is a great time to sail on Carnival Cruise Line. Carnival's 50th Birthday celebration kicked off in March 2022 – the company's birthday month – with a series of commemorative sailings that featured special entertainment and itineraries and continuing all year long, culminating with Carnival Celebration's arrival in November. 

A sister to the line's first XL-class ship, Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration will debut with an inaugural 14-day Carnival Journeys cruise Nov. 6, 2022, followed by the launch of year-round service from PortMiami Nov. 21, 2022. 

The addition of Carnival Celebration to Miami will maintain PortMiami's position as the top embarkation port for Carnival Cruise Line.

Many of Carnival Cruise Line’s 50th Birthday merchandise items, which have proven popular with sailing guests, are now available for purchase online, as well as select other offerings at shop.carnival.com.

We will write more about our Carnival Radiance cruise in additional posts.   Join in on the fun of Carnival's 50th Birthday by contacting us to plan your dream cruise vacation this year.

 

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I recently completed extensive training and have become Travel Safety Verified. As your dedicated Travel Advisor, your safety is our priority, and it's our job to ensure you have the necessary information you need to give you confidence and peace of mind when making your future travel plans. Click the link to review our Travel Safety program with valuable resources that will answer many of your questions.

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Al Fresco Dining at Sea

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Imagine Watching the Sunset as you Enjoy Your Meal....

Do You Want a View with Your Meal?

Al Fresco dining (eating outside) has become a necessity in the COVID-19 era as restaurants added this option to stay in business with limited indoor capacity imposed by most local governments.   However, Al Fresco dining has been popular long before that.

(Updated 10/14/21)

Can I Dine Outside on a Cruise?

Most ships these days have one or more outside dining options.   Typically, they are found around the pool deck, offering the opportunity for guests to grab a quick meal and get right back to having fun in the sun.   With the advent of specialty dining, introduced by Norwegian Cruise line in 2000 as Freestyle Dining, many restaurants are located on a deck dedicated to these specialty restaurants.   You have the option to dine indoors or outdoors in many cases.

Some of Our Favorites

Rooftop Garden Grill, located on deck 15 on Celebrity Edge offers splendid views of the sea while enjoying lunch or dinner outside.  Dine in early evening and you can be engulfed in color as the sun gently sets into the sea. See our blog post, Rooftop Garden Grill Dining, for details on one of our recent meals.   You will enjoy a great meal with great views .

When Norwegian Cruise Line introduced their Breakaway Class, they introduced The Waterfront, a revolutionary, quarter-mile oceanfront walkway lined with shops, restaurants and bars.   Pictured here La Cucina, Norwegian Escape's Italian restaurant. It is warm, cozy, family friendly (lots of big tables) and has its own bar and even a pizza oven, not to mention tables outside on The Waterfront. A Carnival cruise ship passes by as we dine outside. This is one of our favorite restaurants on Norwegian Cruise Line, due to the ambiance and good food.

On Carnival Cruise Line ships, you have several options to dine outdoors.  Guy's Burger Joint, pictured here, serves up your choice of Guy Fieri's famous burgers topped with your favorite ingredients. Blue Iguana Cantina serves up some of the best burritos at sea.  Enjoy breakfast or lunch poolside with your choice of fixings.

Perhaps the most memorable Al Fresco dining we experienced on a cruise ship was a cookout on Azamara Journey.  They turned the pool deck into an amazing dining venue, complete with entertainment.   The highlight was these grilled lamb chops prepared on deck.  How many of you thought you would ever see a BBQ grill on a cruise ship?

If you enjoy Al Fresco dining, add that to your bucket list for your next cruise vacation.  It's been worth the extra charges, when applicable, to dine outside at one of the specialty dining venues.  We'd be happy to help you select a cruise ship that offers you the most choices including ships with free options.  

Click the banner above for the latest cruise promotions

 

Cruise lines are offering special promotions and pricing on popular cruises to encourage consumers to plan their next cruise vacation now. We'll be featuring promotions on our website and social media.

Choose Cruise Month (click for mini-series)

Connect With Us On

    
    

Sign-up for Exclusive Email Offers

I recently completed extensive training and have become Travel Safety Verified. As your dedicated Travel Advisor, your safety is our priority, and it's our job to ensure you have the necessary information you need to give you confidence and peace of mind when making your future travel plans. Click the link to review our Travel Safety program with valuable resources that will answer many of your questions.

Where have you explored? 

Gather your travel and food pics and join us every Wednesday afternoon at 4 PM Eastern for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat

237K and Counting

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Do you want to return to the sea on your favorite Carnival Cruise ship or perhaps experience their brand new Mardi Gras?  Would you want to have one of those yummy Guy Fieri Burgers?

If the answer to any of the above questions is yes, you aren't alone.

Today, Carnival Cruise line President Christine Duffy sent an update to their travel partners reporting on the three month period since cruises resumed on July 3, 2021.  Carnival Vista was the first to return to service out of Galveston.  Since then 10 additional ships resumed operations including the brand new Mardi Gras which is a remake of one of their legacy ships.  Of course, she's nothing like her namesake with modern attractions including BOLT, the first roller-coaster at sea.

Guy's Burger Joint

There have been 98 voyages with 237,000 passengers enjoying one of the Carnival FunShips.  Without looking at the infographic, can you take a guess at how many Guy Fieri Burgers they consumed?   Well, it looks like most passengers had at least two of them since 499k burgers were served.

Christine Duffy Commented:

*Our resumption of service has provided much-needed vacations to hundreds of thousands of loyal guests, a boost to the economies in its homeport and port-of-call communities and opportunities for its shipboard team members to support their families in 120 countries around the world. 

We announced plans to have 17 ships back in guest service by the end of 2021, with additional ships returning in January and February and the entire U.S. fleet back in guest operations by spring 2022."

What's It Like Onboard?    Check out this video (click here)  

It looks like 8,000 people have partially paid for their vacation by taking home $1000 jackpots from the casino.    If you are yearning to get back on a cruise (or perhaps you've never been on one before), this is the time to book while the crew to passenger ratio is low, everyone is vaccinated (keeping you healthy) and prices are at an all time low.    

We are travel memory makers - let us turn your dreams into reality.

 

Click the banner above for the latest cruise promotions

 

Cruise lines are offering special promotions and pricing on popular cruises to encourage consumers to plan their next cruise vacation now. We'll be featuring promotions on our website and social media.

Choose Cruise Month (click for mini-series)

Connect With Us On

    
    

Sign-up for Exclusive Email Offers

I recently completed extensive training and have become Travel Safety Verified. As your dedicated Travel Advisor, your safety is our priority, and it's our job to ensure you have the necessary information you need to give you confidence and peace of mind when making your future travel plans. Click the link to review our Travel Safety program with valuable resources that will answer many of your questions.

Where have you explored? 

Gather your travel and food pics and join us every Wednesday afternoon at 4 PM Eastern for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat