Bookings up for cruises

Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer

Carnival Cruise Line is smashing pre-Covid booking numbers following the loosening of its Covid protocols for boarding.

Previously, cruise lines were bound by the conditional sailing order created by the US Centers for Disease Control which mandated vaccinations and immediate reporting of Covid cases on board ships. Those protocols ended in July.

Now carnival says bookings for at least one day in August nearly doubled the bookings of the same day in 2019.

Christine Duffy, President of Carnival Cruise Line said, “Mid-August is typically not a busy month for cruise bookings, but it’s clear that pent-up demand for Carnival has not been satisfied and guests are responding very favorably to our updated protocols.”

The company has dropped the requirement for pre-testing for vaccinated individuals and unvaccinated people only have to present a negative test to qualify for boarding.

The cruising industry and its local branches were one of the worst hit worldwide and the effect was felt in the Turks and Caicos as well with vendors out of work for months on end, so the possible uptick is welcome.