Carnival Cruise Line announced that it discarded its terminal testing plan. In a letter sent by Carnival’s president Christine Duffy, “While we had previously raised the possibility of more on-site testing at our terminals, the logistics of making this service widely available to a large number of guests does not make this a viable option”.
Terminal Testing Plan
Initially, Carnival planned to set up mobile testing sites in its embarkation ports. According to Carnival Cruise Line’s site, they planned on conducting a “rapid test the day before or day of your departure”.
The terminal testing plan was fortified after the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced its new recommendations. The agency recommended on September 13 that even vaccinated guests must take pre-cruise testing two days before the sailing date. This was brought about by the recent COVID19 surge in the US.
The labs were supposedly near the Carnival terminals. Carnival was scheduled to partner with Quest Diagnostics for their terminal testing.
It was announced then that “Access to testing continues to play an important role in the restart of our guest operations, and working with Quest simplifies the process for our guests by making it easier to access convenient testing options from a trusted national laboratory provider”.
Passengers Testing Positive
Carnival had its share of outbreaks. Twenty-seven individuals aboard the Carnival Vista tested positive last month. One passenger even died due to COVID19 complications. Following the report of an outbreak, the CDC issued a warning. The CDC, on August 20, issued one of its harshest warnings yet and told at-risk travelers to avoid cruises. This warning included the vaccinated.
For a time, the demand for cruises was right around 2019’s peak levels if not higher. But in the last 2 months, things didn’t look as good. Jason Ader, CEO of SpringOwl Asset Management said that “everybody doesn’t know how this ball is going to go”.