JT1962

My best guess is Carnival decided to have everyone test to simplify the process at the pier. No need for agents at the pier to have to verify who does and does not need a negative test. Just make everyone show one. The other possibility is the percentage of unvaccinated guests Carnival is allowing exceeds what the Bahamas was comfortable with, unless everyone was tested.

No one knows at this point, but if I had to guess, it has to do with the percentage of unvaccinated passengers allowed on board. Either Carnival’s percentage of unvaccinated passengers exceeded what the Bahamas allows or Carnival just decided to require everyone to be tested to simplify things at the pier.

Things are always trivial when they don’t affect you. The main issue is, the cuts will continue and will eventually affect something that most people enjoy. I don’t drink alcohol, gamble, swim in the pools or get in the hot tubs, use the spa or gym, eat at specialty restaurants, etc. They could remove all of those from the ships and it would not affect me, but I know there are many (most?) that enjoy those amenities.

Several cruises on the Carnival Paradise in October 2023 have been canceled due to the ship going into dry dock. The upside is it looks like the ship will stay part of the fleet for a while. https://www.cruisehive.com/cruises-canceled-due-to-carnival-paradise-dry-dock/78123

They likely will use tenders to take passengers to a different dock near downtown. That is what most have been doing recently.

The “Hairy Chest” contest is gone permanently as well: https://www.cruisehive.com/carnival-cruise-line-confirms-end-of-popular-lido-deck-activity/78081

Here is a story with video. It’s interesting that only a few sites reported it: https://mustreadalaska.com/skagway-rock-slide-hits-cruise-ship-dock-again/

None of those affect me either, other than no more door hangers for room service breakfast. I know there have been lots of complaints about Pizza not being available 24 hours.

https://www.cruisehive.com/carnival-cruise-line-announces-permanent-cutbacks/78094

I have not seen any news about an actual rockslide since last month. There was a geological study that was released that showed there was the potential for a major rock slide above the front berth of the railroad dock. They closed the front berth of the railroad dock last week after the study was released. Some ships have been going to other ports . Ships docking at rear berth of the railroad dock have been using tenders to take passengers to a different location to meet excursions and get to downtown.

https://secureservercdn.net/198.71.233.189/2xl.54d.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/SKG-Skagway-2022-2.pdf

The percentage of unvaccinated guests onboard was my thought as well. Either Carnival was allowing more unvaccinated than the Bahamas wanted to allow or Carnival decided to just test everyone going to the Bahamas rather than having those at the pier having to verify who did and did not need a test. Whatever the reason, there is going to be lots of confusion and angry passengers at the piers tomorrow. Updating the website on Monday, but not sending the email until a day before some are cruising is a PR nightmare.

I see that now. it appears Royal left themselves an out with the following statement after the update for sailings after Aug 8. “Details on the above protocols, as well as any other guidelines for your vacation, will be provided to booked guests the week of August 1, 2022.”

Yes, so far. Royal Caribbean begins their new testing policy on Aug 8 and still haven’t posted the details on their website, that I have seen, so they may require testing for the Bahamas as well. I can’t imagine Carnival deciding to do this on their own if it was not a requirement from the Bahamas.

Someone in another thread posted that it looked like Sitka would be the replacement port for most northbound itineraries and Icy Strait Point would be the all alternate for southbound.

You will likely have to skip VeriFLY if you are not testing. John Heald posted that VeriFLY did not currently match the Carnival requirements for cruises not requiring a Covid test. Since it is not a Carnival app, he was unsure when or if it would be updated.

The testing requirements now also include the Bahamas and Grand Cayman as of an update yesterday. I am guessing a lot of people will be upset when the arrive at the pier in a few days, are unaware of this and are denied boarding. https://www.carnival.com/legal/covid-19-legal-notices/covid-19-guest-protocols TESTING REQUIREMENTS (UPDATED 8/01/22) CRUISES 5 DAYS OR LESS Except where destination requirements differ, effective with sailings departing August 4, 2022, there will be no pre-cruise testing for fully vaccinated guests booked on certain cruises with itineraries 5 days or less. Due to destination requirements, ALL guests on itineraries that include Bahamas, Bermuda and Grand Cayman must complete a pre-cruise test, irrespective of the length of the cruise. For these itineraries, guests may take either a PCR or antigen test starting 3 days before departure and including embarkation day, provided test results are received in time for check-in (for example, if the sailing is on Saturday, the test may be taken any time from Wednesday).

I would definitely use VeriFLY, if you have not already planned on it. Make sure to upload your test results. It should help you bypass those that are arguing with the personnel at the pier about the testing requirement. You may only have a few dozen other fellow passengers with you at the buffet for the first few hours. I feel sorry for the workers at the port that will have to feel the brunt of the angry passengers. Most, if not all, do not work for the cruise line, but are the front line workers that have to deal with the mess the cruise lines cause with ever changing policies. A lot of this confusion could be resolved if they made sure of all of the requirements before releasing statements trying to keep up with or beat their competition. Between the lack of staffing, complaints about the food quality, the ever-changing Covid rules, etc., it will be a wonder if anyone decides to cruise again for a long time.

Five day or less cruises from Mobile, New Orleans and Galveston primarily go to Mexico, so they will still require no testing.

The ability to save a copy of the chat conversation is another advantage to using it, in addition to not having to wait on hold. If there is a question about what was said, you can always refer back to it and have it as proof as to what you were told. If you speak to someone on the phone, unless you are recording the call, there is a little recourse if there is an issue with what you were told vs what actually happened.

The testing requirements clarification for the Bahamas and Grand Cayman will catch many by surprise. I would guess at least 1/2 of the Carnival cruises of 5 days or less stop in the Bahamas. Even though they posted the clarification yesterday on the website, I expect many people to show up to board with no test results and be denied boarding and scrambling trying to find a place to get tested at the last minute.

Glacier Winds is excellent and a family owned business. You will enjoy it. Kenai Fjords is well worth doing, but not just for whales. While you may see whales, the other scenery is the primary attraction. The 8.5 hour Northwestern Fjord cruise is excellent and will get you very close to one or more glaciers. When we went the captain shut off the engines at the glacier so we could hear the sounds of the glacier. We saw several calvings and it sounded like explosions as the ice gave way and crashed into the water. Excursions in Alaska are not cheap, and money always factors in the decision, but the experiences are unique and the memories you will make will last a lifetime.

There should be a box at the bottom of the main webpage in Blue that says Chat. Just click on it to begin.

My suggestions in order based on prior excursions: #1 - Icy Strait Point - Glacier Winds or Hoonah Travel Adventures # 2 - Juneau - Juneau Whale Watch Whale Watch - Mendenhall Glacier Combo # 3 - Seward - The longest Kenai Fjords cruise you can do with Major Marine

Sounds like the best option is to either use a travel agent who will make the changes for you or move on to another cruise line. Although most of them have the same issues with long waits on hold for customer service as well. It’s not just cruise lines, but all businesses now have issues with long waits due to staffing shortages and cutbacks. The fastest way to get anything done is to use their app or online tools.