Carnival has updated its testing protocols for passengers onboard its ships.

The move comes in the wake of last month’s announcement from the CDC that it had ended its COVID-19 program for cruise ships.

Says Carnival: “We remain, as always, committed to the health and safety of our guests, crew and the communities we serve.”

Carnival’s changes will be made in phases, with the first of these updates effective for embarkations on or after August 4, 2022 and focused on short cruise itineraries of 5 nights or less:

• No pre-cruise testing for fully vaccinated guests booked on cruises with itineraries five nights or less
• Pre-cruise testing for itineraries six nights or longer can be conducted three days before departure
• There will be no in-terminal testing for unvaccinated guests on day of departure, but all unvaccinated guests ages 2 and older must provide proof of a negative result of a lab-administered or supervised self-administered antigen COVID test taken within three days before embarkation

Carnival says more changes will be announced shortly and all changes are subject to any requirements of destinations on the itinerary. More details can be found at the Have Fun. Be Safe. page on Carnival.com for more information.

Carnival has also announced a new milestone: three million guests since the restart of guest operations in July 2021, amidst a busy summer season across its fleet of 23 ships.

After recording its biggest booking week in the cruise line’s 50-year history this spring, Carnival expects to reach nearly 110% occupancy on its ships this summer. Carnival saw its total guest count hit the two million mark in May and it has now risen to three million in less than 75 days – an average of 95,000 guests per week.

Source: Travelweek