Carnival Cruise Line has announced new protocols for guests sailing on cruises that call in Greece or Spain. The new protocols, which involve a relaxed requirement for testing, apply to two ships, Carnival Pride and Carnival Cruise Line’s newest cruise ship, Carnival Celebration.
No More Testing for Vaccinated Guests
Good news for guests sailing onboard Carnival Pride and Carnival Celebration in the coming months. Greece and Spain have introduced relaxed testing requirements. This means that guests sailing this coming October and November will no longer need to show a negative COVID-19 test result as long as they are fully vaccinated.
The two European countries have been some of the last countries in the Mediterranean to hold on to stricter testing measures, which have been in place for the entire Mediterranean summer cruise season. While the changes are now in place for vaccinated guests, the same does not apply to unvaccinated guests.
Those who have not been fully vaccinated will still need to provide proof of a negative PCR or antigen test no earlier than three days before sailing. This applies to all guests aged five years and older.
Guests booked onboard the European sailings received a letter from Carnival Cruise Line which outlines the new protocols:
“As countries have continued to relax their testing requirements, we want to provide you with an update for your upcoming cruise.“
- Vaccinated guests – A pre-cruise test is not required unless you are unable to provide proof that you are fully vaccinated.
- Unvaccinated guests – Guests age five years and older, will have to present the negative results of a PCR or antigen test taken no earlier than three days before sailing.
Carnival Pride Sailings
The new protocols have a direct impact on three cruises onboard Carnival Pride. The first two are 10-day cruises from Civitavecchia, sailing to Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey; Santorini, Piraeus, Katakolon (Olympia), Greece; Messina and Naples, Italy, on October 1 and October 11.
The third cruise where the new protocols apply is the 9-day voyage from Civitavecchia to Lisbon, Portugal. This cruise will call Naples and Messina, Italy; La Valletta, Malta; Malaga, Spain; Gibraltar, UK; and Portimao, Portugal, which sails from Italy on October 21.
On October 30, Carnival Pride will be returning to the United States. Sailing from Lisbon, Portugal, she will be setting a course to her homeport of Tampa, Florida, by way of the Azores, Bermuda, and Grand Turk.
Carnival Celebration
Carnival Cruise Line’s newest cruise ship, Carnival Celebration, will also have some relaxed protocols for her maiden cruise, which departs Southampton in the UK on November 6.
This first Transatlantic cruise will visit La Coruna and Vigo, Spain; Funchal, Madeira; and Tenerife in the Canary Islands before she heads across the Atlantic Ocean, arriving in Miami, Florida, on November 20.
The 180,000 gross tons Carnival Celebration is the newest cruise ship for Carnival Cruise Line and the second LNG-powered cruise ship. A sistership to Mardi Gras, she is in the final stages of construction and recently completed her first sea trials.
With just a little more than a month to go, anticipation is certainly building for what has already been dubbed the most exciting cruise ship of 2022.
The first cruise from the United States will sail on November 21, 2022, from the cruise line’s newly updated Terminal F. She will sail five-, six-, seven- and eight-day cruises to the Eastern and Western Caribbean.
