CCL-Carnival Cruise Line, Carnival Corporation's largest brand company, is launching ships with paying passengers from homeports in the USA.
Carnival Vista departed from Port Galveston Texas Saturday afternoon, July 3 for a weeklong voyage with calls in Mahogany Bay (Roatan Island Honduras); Cozumel Mexico; Belize City. She is the first ship from the line to sail from a US port in 15+ months.
Carnival Vista's Captain Andrea Catalani said in a statement:
“Having our guests on board again is something we’ve been looking forward to for a very long time.
"Our crew is very excited and will provide them with the incredible Carnival vacation they’ve been so patiently waiting for.”
More Carnival sailings are scheduled to take off soon, according to the statement:
- Carnival Horizon is due to depart from PortMiami on Sunday, July 4
- Carnival Breeze is scheduled to set sail from Galveston on July 15
- Carnival Miracle is set to sail out of Seattle WA for Alaska on July 27
- Carnival Mardi Gras is set to begin 7-day cruises from Port Canaveral on July 31
Additional CCL ships are expected to resume service in August 2021.
Carnival Vista is cruising with vaccinated guests.
The company chose to operate with vaccinated passengers during July in U.S. waters because of CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) constraints, president of Carnival Cruise Line Christine Duffy said.
In order to bypass test voyages and move straight into cruises with paying passengers, 95% of guests and 98% of crew members must be vaccinated. The rules don't apply in Florida, which has a state law banning businesses from requiring proof of vaccination.
In order to board, Carnival guests have to complete the final dose of their COVID vaccine 14 days before embarkation.
Vaccinated passengers are not required to wear a face mask onboard a vaccinated Carnival cruise. Masks are required in certain events such as the embarkation/debarkation process.