Same-day bookings at Carnival Cruise Line on the first business day after the cruise line announced it was streamlining its COVID protocols were double bookings made on the same date in 2019.
The cruise line's revisions of its pre-cruise vaccination and testing requirements will allow more guests - specifically, unvaccinated guests - to sail, and the spike is being attributed to that pent-up demand.
“We have previously disclosed strong occupancy projections for the summer, and our bookings through the end of 2022 have also been very solid,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.
“With the further alignment of protocols to other vacation choices, our guests are booking the remaining 2022 inventory, and getting a head start planning for 2023. Mid-August is typically not a busy month for cruise bookings, but it’s clear that pent-up demand for Carnival has not been satisfied and guests are responding very favorably to our updated protocols.”
Duffy reiterated that the cruise line remains committed to the health and safety of guests, crew, and the communities it visits, and will continue to work with medical experts and public health officials to refine its protocols responsibly.
As Open Jaw reported, Carnival announced simplified protocols Friday, 12AUG, that eliminated pre-cruise testing requirements for vaccinated guests, and eliminated the exemption request process for unvaccinated guests, who now will only need to show a negative test result at embarkation. The changes take effect for cruises departing on Tuesday, 06SEP 2022 or later on voyages less than 16 nights.
For additional information visit www.carnival.com.
Clean Sweep
Carnival Cruise Line is just one of the cruise companies that, in the past week or so, has radically transformed its COVID protocols, opening the door for more - especially unvaccinated - guests to sail, and relaxing often-challenging testing requirements.
Leading the way was Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, including all three of its brands: Norwegian Cruise Line, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, and Oceania. In making its industry-first announcement 08AUG that unvaccinated guests would now be permitted to sail, NCLH said the move will "further align the Company to the broader travel, leisure and hospitality industry worldwide."
Two of Royal Caribbean Group's sister cruise lines: Royal Caribbean and Celebrity, quickly followed suit and updated their COVID protocols as well. As of time of writing this article 17AUG, Royal Caribbean Group's luxury line Silversea's protocols remain unchanged.
Almost all of Carnival Corp's brands, including Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn, Cunard and others, also updated their COVID protocols.
Although the cruise line's different demographics mean not every cruise line will have equal numbers of unvaccinated past guests chomping at the bit to book a cruise once vaccine barriers drop, Carnival's incredible performance is a clear indication that bookings and cruising in general are normalizing.
