MIAMI — Three additional Carnival Cruise Line ships will be resuming guest operations in September, with another four coming back online in October, bringing the line’s total number of operating ships to 15. 

The three ships for September are Carnival Glory from New Orleans (starting Sept. 5), Carnival Pride from Baltimore (starting Sept. 12) and Carnival Dream from Galveston (starting Sept. 19).

In October, Carnival Conquest will start sailing from Miami (starting Oct. 8), Carnival Freedom also from Miami (starting Oct. 9), Carnival Elation from Port Canaveral (starting Oct. 11), and Carnival Sensation from Mobile (starting Oct. 21).

All ships will continue to operate as vaccinated cruises through at least October. 

With this latest announcement, Carnival is notifying guests and travel agents of an extension in its pause of operations through Sept. 5 for Carnival Pride from Baltimore, Sept. 11 for Carnival Dream from Galveston, Oct. 4 for Carnival Conquest from Miami, and Oct. 16 for Carnival Sensation from Mobile. Cruises on Carnival Sunshine from Port Canaveral will be cancelled through Oct. 31. Plus, a three-day cruise on Carnival Miracle from Long Beach on Sept. 24 is being cancelled, and then Carnival Miracle will begin sailing from Long Beach on Sept. 27.

“We are very excited about our restart and greatly appreciate the support of our guests, travel agents and port and destination partners,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.  “By the end of July, we will have five ships in our restart plan, including the introduction of service on Mardi Gras, and we are seeing a great combination of strong demand and strong guest satisfaction scores tied to the positive guest experience onboard.”

Earlier this month, the cruise line celebrated the resumption of Carnival Breeze as well as Carnival Vista from Galveston and Carnival Horizon from Miami. Later this month, Carnival will begin operating Alaska cruises onboard the Mardi Gras from Port Canaveral for the first time. 

Carnival will continue to welcome unvaccinated guests onboard however all unvaccinated guests, including children under the age of 12, will be subject to pre-cruise and pre-embarkation testing, plus testing again prior to debarkation (on cruises longer than four days). They will also be charged US$150 per person to cover the costs of testing, reporting and health and safety screenings. At this time, Carnival is limiting operation of its supervised youth programs to vaccinated children and youth 12 years and older. 

Unvaccinated guests departing from Florida (effective July 31) and Texas (effective Aug. 2) will also need to show proof of travel insurance coverage, based on the itineraries being sailed and the requirements of ports and destinations visited. These additional measures will be in place through at least October but may be extended based on guidance from public health and medical advisors and the requirements of destination partners.

“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 Duffy. “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.”

Duffy also added that she envisions the cruise line to bring back its entire fleet by the year’s end, and that it will continue to offer exemptions to unvaccinated guests on a limited, capacity-managed basis within 14 days of sailing as the guest count for the fully vaccinated is finalized.

“The more bookings we initially secure for our cruises with fully vaccinated guests, the more exemptions we can ultimately offer for those unvaccinated guests already booked and those wishing to sail,” she added. 

Booked guests and travel advisors are being notified of the plans for the returning ships, the cruise cancellations and the process by which they are being asked to follow to confirm traveler vaccination status and to apply for an exemption to the vaccination standard.  Guests who want to change their plans, who are unable to wait to see if they receive an exemption, or who cannot meet the vaccination standards may change their reservation without penalty or request a full refund. 

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