Carnival says not taking stance on mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations for travelers

Carnival Corp, the world’s largest cruise operator, is currently not taking a position on mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations for passengers before traveling, a company spokesman told Reuters on Tuesday.

The company’s statement comes just a day after rival Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd said it would mandate travelers be vaccinated under a proposed plan to restart US cruises in July.

The US cruise industry is currently under a “no-sail order” from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Last week, the agency updated its guidance for the resumption of passenger voyages, which included the need for Covid-19 vaccinations and more frequent reporting of coronavirus infections from cruise operators.

The threat comes on the heels of new guidance published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Friday detailing the second phase of its Conditional Sailing Order — which the cruise industry had pushed the agency to lift the week prior.

However, Carnival said on Monday the guideline was “largely unworkable and stood in stark contrast to the approach taken in other travel and tourism sectors.”

Carnival Cruise Line threatened to move its ships out of US waters Tuesday after canceling additional all cruises departing from US ports through June 30.

“While we have not made plans to move Carnival Cruise Line ships outside of our US homeports, we may have no choice but to do so in order to resume our operations which have been on ‘pause’ for over a year,” Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, said in a statement provided by spokesperson Vance Gulliksen.

Carnival has 14 home ports along the east and west coasts and the Gulf of Mexico in the US, Gulliksen said.

“We remain committed to working with the Administration and the CDC to find a workable solution that best serves the interest of public health,” Duffy said in the release, adding that Carnival is asking that the “cruise industry be treated on par” with other sectors of the travel industry “as well as US society at large.”

Norwegian and Royal Caribbean Group have both said they would restart cruises from the Caribbean later this year with vaccinated passengers.

“We continue to closely monitor the evolving situation with vaccines globally,” a Carnival spokesman said in an emailed statement.