Carnival Cruise Line on Monday confirmed its plans to return to guest operations from Port of Galveston on July 3 with Carnival Vista, followed by the return of operations on Carnival Breeze on July 15.
These cruises are available for guests who have received their final dose of a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-approved COVID-19 vaccine at least 14 days prior to the beginning of the cruise and have proof of vaccination, in accordance with current guidelines from the CDC.
“We appreciate the progress and support for our U.S. restart from the CDC and other key federal agencies; however, the current CDC requirements for cruising with a guest base that is unvaccinated will make it very difficult to deliver the experience our guests expect, especially given the large number of families with younger children who sail with us. As a result, our alternative is to operate our ships from the U.S. during the month of July with vaccinated guests,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, in a written statement.
The other ship and port identified for a July restart is Carnival Horizon from PortMiami. Carnival says it continues to work with both the state of Florida and the CDC for Carnival Horizon sailings and plans to provide an update by Friday concerning protocols specific to these sailings to all booked guests. (Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed an Executive Order prohibiting businesses that operate in the state from requiring vaccinations from its patrons.)
That said, Duffy also acknowledged the strong support of both Governor DeSantis and Texas Governor Greg Abbott, as well as other state officials, in making vaccinations available to cruise line personnel, which has expedited the restart process. She also said the support of local officials, especially Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, Galveston Mayor Craig Brown and PortMiami and Port of Galveston leaders, has been instrumental in the restart efforts.
Carnival also said it will be advising guests and travel advisors about its plans for August sailings over the coming days.
Visit www.carnival.com.
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