Carnival Cruise Line will relaunch three more ships in September, followed by another four in October, when the line plans to have 15 ships back in service.
“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 on board,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, in a statement.
The three ships launching in September are the Carnival Glory from New Orleans on Sept. 5, the Carnival Pride from Baltimore on Sept. 12 and the Carnival Dream from Galveston, Texas, on Sept. 19. In October, the Carnival Conquest will launch from Miami on Oct. 8, the Carnival Freedom from Miami on Oct. 9, the Carnival Elation from Port Canaveral on Oct. 11 and the Carnival Sensation from Mobile, Ala., on Oct. 21.
Carnival said all of its ships will maintain a 95% vaccination rate through at least October. The company will allow a certain number of exemptions to is vaccination rules, but all unvaccinated guests, including children under the age of 12, will be subject to testing pre-cruise, pre-embarkation and 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. Unvaccinated guests departing from Florida and Texas will also need to show proof of travel insurance coverage, based on the itineraries and requirements of ports and destinations visited.
“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.”
Duffy added that the line 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.”
Carnival also extended its operations pause 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, S.C., Carnival Ecstasy from Jacksonville and Carnival Liberty from Port Canaveral will be canceled through Oct. 31, the line said.
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