Carnival Cruise Line announces the Carnival Glory will again set sail out of New Orleans starting Sept. 5, but the cruise line says unvaccinated passengers will have to pay an additional $150 fee for COVID testing.
“Carnival will continue to welcome unvaccinated guests on board, but all unvaccinated guests, including children under the age of 12, will be subject to pre-cruise and pre-embarkation testing and testing 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,” Carnival Cruise Line said in a statement.
Vaccinated passengers will have to submit their COVID-19 vaccination card before entering the ship and will not be charged the added fee.
Related
“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 Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.
“It’s important to remember that this is a temporary measure given the current circumstances. In consultation with our medical experts and advisors, we’ve determined this plan is in the best interests of the health and safety of our guests, crew, and the destinations that we bring our ships to."
Carnival says starting next month, unvaccinated guests departing from Florida, and from Texas beginning, August 2, will also need to show proof of travel insurance coverage.
Carnival Glory joins three other Carnival ships restarting their voyages.
The Carnival Pride from Baltimore will start sailing on Sept. 12, and Carnival Dream from Galveston, starting Sept. 19.
In October, the four additional ships to restart will be Carnival Conquest from Miami, effective Oct. 8, Carnival Freedom from Miami, effective Oct. 9, Carnival Elation from Port Canaveral, effective Oct. 11, and Carnival Sensation from Mobile, effective Oct. 21 according to Carnival Cruise.
Carnival also says it is extending its paused operation for the following ships in port:
Carnival Pride from Baltimore, Sept. 11
Carnival Dream from Galveston, Oct. 4
Carnival Conquest from Miami and Oct. 16
Carnival Sensation from Mobile
Cruises on Carnival Sunshine from Charleston
Carnival Ecstasy from Jacksonville and Carnival Liberty from Port Canaveral will be cancelled through Oct. 31.
In addition, a three-day cruise on Carnival Miracle from Long Beach on Sept. 24 is cancelled, and then Carnival Miracle will begin sailing from Long Beach on Sept. 27.