Carnival Cruise Line Extends Homeport COVID Testing Through Year-End

Carnival Cruise Line has extended the availability of coronavirus testing at its homeports through the end of December 2021. This was announced in a Facebook post by the cruise line’s brand ambassador John Heald.

The testing is available for vaccinated guests who sail from Galveston, Baltimore, New Orleans and Long beach through DocGo and for vaccinated passengers sailing from Miami, Port Canaveral and Tampa via Rapid Cruise Testing.

Appointments must be made online and are non-refundable at the price of $100 per person.

Heald asked Carnival guests to use the homeport testing services only if they “exhausted all other ways to get tested such as tests by your local pharmacy, monitored home tests etc.”

“This will be more affordable plus most importantly it will give you peace of mind knowing you already have your negative result 48 hours before your fun starts,” Heald explained.

Any appointment made with the testing centres and not taken will not be refunded in December, according to him.

“The reason for this is that we had people not show up and then ask for a refund which in turn meant that people who wanted appointments could not get them. So, for December there will be no refunds made,” Heald explained.

MSC's Strict Screening Processes Are Already Working

MSC Grandiosa

MSC Cruises' host of new health and safety protocols are already working, as the cruise line has denied boarding to a group of guests following COVID-19 testing, according to a statement.

The Grandiosa was back in Genoa for her turnaround call on Sunday, and while MSC disinfected the ship, guests in the terminal underwent testing. 

MSC said that during embarkation, a young man tested positive for both an antigen test and a second molecular level test.

As a result, MSC denied boarding to both the young man and his family; 15 people in total who had traveled to Genoa for the cruise by van.

In addition, last Saturday while the ship was on her way back to Genoa from Valletta, all guests who went ashore in Malta took the mandatory testing required by the Italian authorities prior to re-entering Italy. All tested negative.

"Other than that, life on board during the first and the early phases of the next cruise ran smoothly, with guests enjoying every bit of the specialty restaurants, cafés and shops that our flagship has to offer. Similarly, many of the shore excursions on offer – we call them protected ashore visits, were sold out," MSC said, in a statement.