It’s been almost 3 years since the start of the pandemic, and even less time has passed since cruising has made its come back. Just recently major cruise lines have dropped all Covid restrictions and protocols aboard the ship, however due to a recent mass covid outbreak aboard a cruise ships those protocols are back in place.
Recently on this blog we wrote about the massive Covid-19 outbreak aboard the Majestic Princess. The ship ported in Australia and had set sail for New Zealand. In a continuation of that blog post, the unfortunate outbreak has prompted both Carnival Cruise line in Australia and New Zealand, as well as the surrounding areas, to reinstate Covid protocols. These reinstated covid procedures will only apply to these areas because these locations are currently experiencing increased Covid rates. At this time only Carnival has made a statement about reinstating the covid protocols, but it will apply to not only their Carnival ships but to all the branches of the company. Just like prior to covid protocols previously ending, passengers in these affected areas will need proof of vaccination with testing 24 hours prior to boarding. Masks are also required onboard again, and only a small percentage of passengers will be exempt from these restrictions due to medical reasons. At this time, these reinstated cruising restrictions will not being coming back to the U.S. or any other port besides New Zealand, Australia and the ports in those regions. Hopefully in time, when infection rates go back down these protocols will be scaled back, but in the mean time they are in place for the foreseeable future in order to keep all the cruise goers and crew safe while still having a fun time.
