Carnival Cruise Line Will Bring More Ships Back in Service This Fall

Carnival Cruise Line announced its plans to restart seven more of its ships this September and October. This addition will bring the line’s total number of restarted vessels to 15, more than half of its fleet. To accommodate these ship restarts, Carnival will resume sailing from New Orleans, Mobile, and Baltimore. 

The full list of ships restarting in September and October from Carnival includes: 

• Carnival Glory from New Orleans, starting Sept. 5, 2021
• Carnival Pride from Baltimore, starting Sept. 12, 2021
• Carnival Dream from Galveston, starting Sept. 19, 2021
• Carnival Conquest from Miami, starting Oct. 8, 2021 
• Carnival Freedom from Miami, starting Oct. 9, 2021
• Carnival Elation from Port Canaveral, starting Oct. 11, 2021 
• Carnival Sensation from Mobile, effective Oct. 21, 2021 

According to the line, “Based on the success of its initial resumption of service and the guest response to the onboard experience and health and safety protocols that have been implemented, Carnival will continue to operate all its ships as vaccinated cruises through at least October.”

However, Carnival will welcome unvaccinated guests onboard on a case-by-case basis. Guests not vaccinated must pre-submit an exemption to Carnival, and be pre-approved by the line prior to sailing. Any unvaccinated guests (including children under 12) will be subject to pre-cruise and pre-embarkation testing and testing again prior to debarkation (on cruises longer than four days), along with a $150 per person charge to cover the cost of testing, reporting, and safety screenings. Unvaccinated guests departing from Florida (starting July 31) and Texas (starting Aug. 2) will be required to show proof of travel insurance coverage, based on the itineraries and the requirements of ports and destinations visited. These measures will be in place through at least October. 

"The decision to sail with vaccinated voyages was a difficult one to make, and we recognize this is disappointing to some of our guests especially the many families with children under the age of 12 who we love to sail, and who love to sail with us," said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. "It's important to remember that this is a temporary measure given the current circumstances.  In consultation with our medical experts and advisors, we've determined this plan is in the best interests of the health and safety of our guests, crew and the destinations that we bring our ships to. It's very important that we continue to maintain the confidence of our destination partners, so that we can provide our guests with the optimal cruise experience and sail our itineraries."

"Our plan envisions successfully bringing back our entire fleet by the end of the year, returning to full service – most especially for the millions of families who sail with us –  and building back our business for the benefit of our guests, employees and the tens of thousands of jobs and local businesses that depend on our company.  We will continue to offer exemptions to our unvaccinated guests on a limited, capacity-managed basis within 14 days of sailing as we finalize the vaccinated guest count," Duffy continued. 

Carnival has already successfully resumed operations in the U.S. with the Carnival Horizon sailing passenger cruises from Miami, and the Carnival Vista and Carnival Breeze sailing from Galveston. Later this month, Carnival Miracle will resume sailing in Alaska and Mardi Gras will make its long-awaited debut sailing from Port Canaveral. 

Explore All Carnival Cruise Line Return to Cruising Ship Guides

In addition to this announcement, Carnival has made the decision to extend its pause in operations for the following ships: Sept. 5 for Carnival Pride sailings from Baltimore, Sept. 11 for Carnival Dream sailings from Galveston, Oct. 4 for Carnival Conquest sailings from Miami, and Oct. 16 for Carnival Sensation sailings from Mobile. Cruises on Carnival Sunshine from Charleston, Carnival Ecstasy from Jacksonville, and Carnival Liberty from Port Canaveral will be canceled through Oct. 31. 

Explore All September and October 2021 Carnival Cruises

Read More: 

Return to Cruising Ship Guide: Carnival Horizon

Carnival Announces Summer Sailings & First Cruise for Mardi Gras

Return to Cruising Ship Guide: Carnival Miracle