Carnival Cruise Line to fall in line with CDC, would require “booster” if mandated

By Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer

#February 9, 2022 – Guests may need a booster to board Carnival Cruises in the future.  Carnival Cruise Line in a show of commitment to safety, announced on Jan 21 that they would be keeping their CDC guided protocols in place.

“Until further notice, we will continue to operate vaccinated cruises with our enhanced protocols. All our operations will follow these guidelines so we can maintain the confidence of the destinations we visit and deliver on our itineraries and guest experience,” a release from the cruise line said.

Further, in a letter sent out to guests, the cruise line said they would still be operating vaccinated sailings and guests would still need proof of full vaccination at least 14 days before cruise departure.

Carnival made it clear that if the CDC changes its definition of fully vaccinated to include booster shot, the cruise company would change their policy as well. The cruise line is also offering testing for guests who register for it, at a cost of $10 per test.

To streamline its health check process, Carnival rolled out a VeriFLY pilot program for a number of guests on one of their ships last weekend. Guests on the Mardi Gras cruise ship at Port Canaveral were invited to download the app for a smooth health check-in.

VeriFLY is a solution also used by airlines which allow guests to upload their health details for verification before boarding. Carnival said the rollout was a success and that moving forward the plan was for the program to be instituted across all Carnival cruise ships with US departures, which would include ships coming to the Caribbean region.