Recently I was invited to attend a media/travel agent one-day event on the Carnival Mardi Gras. During the boarding process, everyone was required to wear a mask, but once onboard, masks were not required. TravelPulse.com is reporting that Carnival has now made changes to their Covid vaccination and mask policy.
“Carnival currently meets the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention’s (CDC) definition of a vaccinated cruise on all sailings—at least 95 percent of all guests and crew are fully vaccinated—with the majority of exceptions being children under 12 years old who are unable to get vaccinated.
The cruise line revealed that departures from all Atlantic and Gulf homeports starting on August 28 and running through October would only provide vaccination exemptions to children under 12 and adults with a qualifying medical condition.
Carnival customers impacted by the changes have been notified and exemptions beyond these two categories have been rescinded. All eligible passengers are required to confirm their vaccination status and show proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR or antigen test.”
In addition, Carnival.com states, “New Mask Requirements — Effective with Sailings Departing as of August 7, 2021
We strongly encourage all guests to wear face masks when indoors, particularly guests who are unvaccinated, including children under the age of 12 who should wear masks in public areas, except when eating or drinking. All guests age 2 and older will be required to wear face masks in elevators and in designated indoor entertainment areas, all retail shops, and in the casino, except when eating or drinking. Guests will be required to wear face masks prior to being seated in our main dining rooms and in the Lido Buffet area and occasionally in other designated areas where larger number of guests may congregate (signs will be posted). Additionally, masks are required in enclosed areas of the ship such as the spa, salon, and at any indoor activity with children under 12 years (i.e., Build-A-Bear®, Family Harbor and Sky Zone®).
All guests must wear masks during the entire embarkation and debarkation process (at the home port and ports of call, including the onboard pre-debarkation process), during any Carnival-approved shore excursions and while on any transportation vehicles, including water shuttles. Additionally, when going ashore, guests must be prepared to follow all local guidance regarding masks and physical distancing. The status of local guidelines will be shared with guests prior to debarkation at the destination.
NOTE: Alaska health officials monitoring the situation ashore have strongly recommended that all guests, including those fully vaccinated, wear a face mask at all times while indoors and also outside when physical distancing cannot be maintained. U.S. regulations require all persons to wear a face mask on public transportation including buses, trains, vans, airports, aircraft and dayboats.
Vaccinated guests are not required to maintain physical distance on board the ship.
It is recommended that unvaccinated guests maintain physical distancing as follows:
- Indoors – Remain at least 5 feet from others not in your cruise companion group. As such, we encourage you to take the stairs whenever possible, if you are able to do so.
- Outdoors – Remain at least 3 feet from others when not wearing a mask and not in your cruise companion group.”
Click on the links below for more information:
