UPDATE:
The guest who was tested for COVID-19 as a precaution is confirmed to be negative which is some good news. The Carnival Panorama will now be sailing an altered 6-day cruise departing on Sunday. The guest in question will disembark the vessel on Sunday.
PREVIOUSLY:
Debarkation on Carnival Panorama which is currently the newest ship in the fleet has been halted by officials due to medical reasons and one passenger being tested for COVID-19 just as a precaution.
Carnival Panorama Debarkation Suspended
The debarkation process for guests ending their Carnival Panorama cruise has been suspended by officials at the Long Beach Cruise Terminal in California. According to a statement released from the cruise line, it is medical related.
There is apparently a guest onboard with a medical issue but does not meet the criteria of COVID-19 which is causing fears across the industry and beyond. As a precaution, local authorities need to make extra checks and require more information before allowing the debarkation process to continue. According to Carnival Cruise Director Matt Mitchan, the passenger in question is being tested for COVID-19 just to be on the safe side and they will need to wait until the test results come back.
Dear Carnival Panorama Guests,
We want to provide you with an update for our embarkation plans for today.
There is a medical matter involving a guest currently on board that has caused authorities to suspend the debarkation process. Although the guest in question does not meet CDC criteria for coronavirus risk, officials still require additional information. Our shore side medical team is in direct contact with authorities and debarkation will resume as soon as we have received clearance from local authorities.
At this time, we do not have an estimate as to when embarkation for today’s cruise will start. Since we have limited seating, please do not proceed to the cruise terminal until you have heard from us.
A US$15, per person, lunch credit will be posted on your Sail & Sign account so you can enjoy lunch on us during this delay.
We will keep you updated as we have more information. All future updates will be by text. If you haven’t already done so, we kindly ask that you sign up by texting CCL3 to 278473 (CRUISE).
We sincerely apologize for this delay and thank you for your understanding.
The Vista-class cruise ship is ending its 7-day Mexican Riviera cruise which called at Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta before returning back to its homeport today.
This does mean those guests booked on the following sailing which is scheduled to depart Long Beach today on another 7-day Mexican Riviera sailing will be delayed. Carnival Cruise Line is asking guests not to arrive at the cruise terminal until informed to do so in another update.
To make up for the delay kicking off their cruise vacation on the newest ship in the fleet, the cruise line is offering $15 of onboard credit per person. This money will automatically be added to the onboard Sail & Sign account.
The Carnival Panorama joined the fleet towards the end of 2019 and is the first new Carnival ship to be based on the U.S. West Coast in 20 years! The ship has a passenger capacity at 4,008 at double occupancy and is 133,500 gross tons.
Also Read: Carnival Cruise Line is “Enormously Frustrated” After Ship Denied at Grand Turk
This news comes as another Carnival-owned vessel remains off the California coast with 21 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Passengers on the Grand Princess must remain in their staterooms and authorities are testing them. The cruise industry has been heavily impacted by the coronavirus and many have now implemented even tighter restrictions and updated cancellation policies for guest confidence.
As this is developing news we will update this post once the debarkation process continues.
