Guidelines straight from Carnival.

[CJHAN]

View Online OPERATIONAL UPDATE MARDI GRAS JULY 31 AND AUGUST 2021 SAILINGS   Dear Carnival Guest: We are excited about getting to welcome you aboard your upcoming cruise in August. We know you are awaiting more details about pre-cruise and onboard protocols and procedures and we want to thank you for your patience while we finalized our plans. Our Have Fun. Be Safe. protocols and procedures have been designed to maximize the health and safety of our guests and crew while delivering a fun and memorable vacation experience. Please take note of our Have Fun. Be Safe. guidelines we expect to follow: Guests, including children who are age-eligible for vaccines, will need to be vaccinated and show proof of vaccination in advance of boarding. (As a reminder, fully vaccinated is defined as receiving the final dose of a vaccine at least 14 days before embarkation.) For your reference, any vaccine approved by either the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or the World Health Organization (WHO) meets this requirement. According to current CDC guidelines, vaccinated guests on your sailing will not be required to wear face masks or physical distance while on board. However, masks are required at the cruise terminal during embarkation. Vaccinated guests may participate in Carnival-sponsored tours or independent activities. We are in the process of finalizing our tours and expect more availability to be added in the next few weeks. Please check back on Carnival.com by the end of the month. All guests are required to follow the protocols and requirements for each destination while ashore. These restrictions are under the control of local government and are subject to change without advance notice. We encourage you to come prepared for potential requirements ashore which may apply to health screening/testing, masks, physical distancing, organized tours/independent activities, etc. A Know Before You Go email will be sent to you the week before sailing with additional information on embarkation related matters.  Please watch for and read that email carefully, as it will be specific about vaccination verification and other details. We know there are some guests who are ineligible or unable to meet the vaccination requirements and we want to provide them with more information on our decision. The current CDC requirements for cruising with a guest base that is unvaccinated are much more restrictive and 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.  Specifically, the current CDC requirements for cruises with unvaccinated guests require that vaccinated guests wear a face mask indoors and that all unvaccinated guests undergo testing at the embarkation terminal (and within 24 hours of debark if the cruise is longer than 4 days).  This requirement applies to all unvaccinated guests, including children, along with physical distancing requirements that will have to be maintained between guests on board. We are in regular communication with the CDC requesting that more manageable guidelines be adopted, especially as it relates to families traveling with children under the age of 12 who are ineligible for vaccination. Until those guidelines are revised, our only alternative is to sail with vaccinated guests.  We also continue to work with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on our plans for our Florida based ships.  We know this is disappointing to those guests who are unable to be or have not been vaccinated, including the many children who are booked to sail with us for their summer vacation.  We had to make some difficult decisions based on where we are with the CDC, general public health guidelines, and the overall health and safety of our guests and crew. We remain optimistic that requirements for cruising from the U.S. will continue to evolve and our approach to future sailings will become more flexible. However, at this time we must follow the guidance we have as of today.  As we operate to meet the CDC guidelines, there is an exemption process to accommodate a small number of guests who are unable or ineligible to be vaccinated (children under 12 and other exceptions as required by federal law).  The current standard to meet the CDC’s criteria for a fully vaccinated cruise – under which guests can sail without a mask and other restrictions – is that at least 95 percent of all guests on board are fully vaccinated.  Please click here to submit  an application for an exemption if a member of your party meets our criteria. Exemption request must be completed by end of day June 25. It’s important to note that the number of exemptions will be a very small subset, will largely be children under 12, and it will be less than 5 percent of guests to account for no shows and other operational matters.  And, we cannot begin to process these requests until after all final payments are received on June 21 and we have certainty on the total number of guests on board – so that we can determine the number of exemptions.  But we are committed to moving as quickly as possible. In the meantime, it is important that you make sure your booking is up to date, which includes the names and ages of all guests in your party.  You can manage that in the MyCruisePlanner function on Carnival.com, with your Personal Vacation Planner, your travel agent or by calling us at 1-800-CARNIVAL. If you determine the time is not right for you to sail, please call 1-800-CARNIVAL, your Personal Vacation Planner or your travel advisor who can help you rebook for a later date. We have ship itineraries open through 2024 and as previously communicated, we have extended your ability to rebook or request a full refund until Monday, June 21.  After that date, our regular fare rules will apply.  Ultimately, we are focused and committed to following all guidelines, protecting public health, AND delivering to our guests, a FUN Carnival cruise vacation.  We look forward to seeing you on a Carnival cruise next month. Sincerely,     Christine Duffy President, Carnival Cruise Line

[arkaine23]

And if you follow that exception request link, you land on the request form page with this information:

 

COVID-19 VACCINATION EXEMPTION REQUEST FORM

Please note we are no longer accepting requests for vaccine exemptions for sailings in July aboard Carnival Vista, Carnival Horizon and Carnival Breeze. The deadline to submit was June 15.

Thank you for your interest in our vaccination exemption process. We are very excited for the restart of guest operations and appreciate your support and patience throughout this pause.

Based on the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) requirements for operating a cruise where 95% of guests are fully vaccinated, we are only able to accept exemptions for children under 12 and for others who need to be accommodated as required by federal law. Please be advised all other guests traveling with children under 12 are required to show proof of vaccination.

A request for an exemption can only be submitted after the booking is paid in full. Exemptions are subject to capacity control. Submitting an exemption request is not a confirmation as we are required to manage to a specific percentage of unvaccinated guests, which means the final count of vaccinated guests must be determined before we can confirm exemptions.

By submitting your request, you agree to the following protocols that will apply to all unvaccinated guests:

Testing

• All unvaccinated guests will be required to submit at embarkation the negative results of a PCR COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours prior to embarkation.
• As per the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) guidance, unvaccinated guests will also be required to be tested at embarkation (and debarkation if the cruise is longer than 4 days). The cost of testing and administration is US$50, per person, which we will waive for guests sailing in July and August.
• Any guest who tests positive at embarkation –along with their traveling companions –will not be able to join the ship and will be provided a future cruise credit.
• Guests who test positive and have flown in for their cruise may be required to quarantine locally. Although Carnival will secure lodging, any expenses will be the responsibility of the guest.
• Additional COVID-19 tests may be required by the destinations we visit prior to debarkation at the port of call.

Mask wearing

• Although generally not required, it is recommended that unvaccinated guests wear masks on board.
• However, all unvaccinated guests must wear masks in the following instances:
  • During the entire embarkation and debarkation process (at the home port and port of call), during water shuttle operations, company approved shore excursions and while on transportation.
  • At any indoor activity with children under 12, including unvaccinated adults in the same area (i.e., the arcade), medical center, and in spa areas (including treatment rooms).

Shore visits and excursions

• Unvaccinated guests will be limited to a Carnival approved “bubble” tour and will be unable to carry out self-guided or independent exploration. In the event our approved “bubble” tours are sold out, unvaccinated guests will have to remain on board. (More information on “bubble” tours will be on our web site soon.) These guests will also need to follow local guidance regarding testing/screening, mask wearing and physical distancing, etc.
• In private ports of call or port-controlled areas, unvaccinated guests may participate in a Carnival approved tours or independent exploration.

We will not know the total number of exemptions available for each cruise until we have received and processed all final payments. If capacity limits are reached and we are unable to confirm your exemption, you will have the option to receive a full refund and have the option to rebook at a further date. We are unable to grant exemptions at embarkation.

We will be in touch with you via email as soon as we are able to finalize the sailing and our waitlist. Please be aware our contact center is not managing this process and cannot access the exemption waitlist. In the event we are unable to confirm your request, we remain optimistic that requirements for cruising from the U.S. will continue to evolve and our approach to future sailings will become more flexible. At this time, we must follow the guidance we have as of today. We have ship itineraries open through 2024 and if we cannot provide an exemption, we hope you will consider a future Carnival cruise for your vacation.

Thank you for your understanding. We hope to welcome you on board soon.

[CJHAN]

Nice. its looking more and more like vaccinated only cruises at least through Aug. This Means almost Normal cruising for those vaccinated. I'm booked for early Aug on the Breeze and boy does this make me that much more excited about it.

[Joe817]

Not to hijack the thread, but I noticed in the 3rd bullet point:

"Vaccinated guests may participate in Carnival-sponsored tours or independent activities. We are in the process of finalizing our tours and expect more availability to be added in the next few weeks. Please check back on Carnival.com by the end of the month."

 

Independent activities. I'm taking that to read we can venture out on our own, make shore excursions outside of Carnival sponsored excursions.....basically do what ever we want to on our own. Does this apply to all ships that are sailing in August, or only just the M.G. ? We love venturing out on our own. 

Thoughts anybody?

[CJHAN]

2 minutes ago, Joe817 said:

Not to hijack the thread, but I noticed in the 3rd bullet point:

"Vaccinated guests may participate in Carnival-sponsored tours or independent activities. We are in the process of finalizing our tours and expect more availability to be added in the next few weeks. Please check back on Carnival.com by the end of the month."

 

Independent activities. I'm taking that to read we can venture out on our own, make shore excursions outside of Carnival sponsored excursions.....basically do what ever we want to on our own. Does this apply to all ships that are sailing in August, or only just the M.G. ? We love venturing out on our own. 

Thoughts anybody?

I took that the same way. I'm actually sailing on the breeze and this is the message they sent me.

[Joe817]

Just now, CJHAN said:

I took that the same way. I'm actually sailing on the breeze and this is the message they sent me.

Cool! Nachi Cocum, here we come! 

[TNcruising02]

20 minutes ago, Joe817 said:

Not to hijack the thread, but I noticed in the 3rd bullet point:

"Vaccinated guests may participate in Carnival-sponsored tours or independent activities. We are in the process of finalizing our tours and expect more availability to be added in the next few weeks. Please check back on Carnival.com by the end of the month."

 

Independent activities. I'm taking that to read we can venture out on our own, make shore excursions outside of Carnival sponsored excursions.....basically do what ever we want to on our own. Does this apply to all ships that are sailing in August, or only just the M.G. ? We love venturing out on our own. 

Thoughts anybody?

It looks like if you are vaccinated, you will be able to do pretty much anything.  All of the ports should be fine with vaccinated people.  They might require masks though.  Maybe some of the independent excursion operators will have some of their protocols in place online.  

If we've been to a port multiple times, we sometimes get off of the ship and wander around the nearby shops.

[stellarose]

I'm hoping this vaccination rule stays till the end of December. just worried rates might go up in the fall. 

 

I just want to be on Mardi Gras in December with no masks. sorry selfish .

[bolt]

Does anyone know what capacity the ships will be sailing at?