Carnival has made no decision on vaccine requirements
Carnival Cruise Line has no plans to resume service outside of the U.S. and has not made a decision as to whether or not to mandate vaccinations when it can sail again.
“Here at [Carnival] we currently do not have any plans to move our ships away from their U.S. homeports,” said president Christine Duffy in a video message to travel advisors. “I’ve always said Carnival Cruise Line is America’s cruise line. We sail from 14 U.S. homeports … and a significant number of our guests drive to their Carnival vacations, and we also sail with more families and children than any other cruise line.”
The message comes after a flurry of announcements from Carnival’s crosstown competition, Royal Caribbean Group, which in the last week has said it will launch cruises open to North Americans this spring and summer from Cyprus, Greece, Bermuda, the Bahamas and St. Maarten on its Celebrity and Royal Caribbean International brands.
Duffy said Carnival’s focus is for the CDC to “allow for a resumption in cruising from our U.S. homeports, consistent with the expected return of other forms of travel for the summer.”
Florida governor Ron DeSantis on Friday became the latest politician to express frustration with the CDC.
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“If it’s safe to fly on an airplane, stay in a hotel or resort or visit an amusement park, it should be safe to cruise on a ship with the additional health and safety protocols that we have in place,” she said.
Regarding vaccines, Duffy said Carnival’s decision about vaccines will continue to be informed “by our global medical and science experts” and the requirements of the places the line operates its ships to and from.
Duffy added that she hopes everyone will be vaccinated, and said she is getting her vaccination this week.
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