CCL-Carnival Cruise Line's ship Carnival Pride left from Port Baltimore (Maryland USA) on Sunday, September 12.
The vessel, operating at 70% of its max passenger capacity, is CCL’s 9th to start commercial operations since the Coronavirus/COVID crisis halted the industry in March 2020.
Sunday’s 7-day long voyage comes with a host of health & safety restrictions for passengers. All guests were required to be fully vaccinated, with a limited number of exceptions for kids under 12, who cannot be vaccinated yet, and people with medical conditions. Less than 5% of the ~1500 passengers on the ship are unvaccinated for those reasons. All guests were also required to obtain a negative antigen/PCR test within 3 days of boarding.
Onboard the ship, all passengers aged 2+ are required to wear face masks in elevators as well as in certain indoor areas, including in the casino and retail shops unless they're eating/drinking.
Port of Baltimore's Executive Director said they had followed all safety protocols and implemented brand new systems to keep people safe.
In November the newer ship Carnival Legend will replace Carnival Pride at homeport Baltimore. The ship will then be homeported in Tampa Florida.
On December 23, the RCI-Royal Caribbean ship Enchantment OTS is expected to be docking in Baltimore to pick up guests and depart later the same day.