Red Lip Society

I have had so many questions since I got home about cruising during covid. Did you have to be vaccinated? Did you have to wear a mask? Did you have to get tested?

In my IG stories, I asked what questions you had and I thought I would answer all of them here on the blog. If you have a question about cruising during covid that I don’t answer here, post it in the comments below and I will answer it there.

* Disclaimer: All the answers to the questions below are pertaining to cruising on a Carnival ship during February 2022.

Did you have to be vaccinated?

My husband and I are both vaccinated. We had to have our vaccination cards to board the ship. If you are not vaccinated, there are possible exemptions depending on where you are going. You can go to this page on the Carnival website to see exactly what type of exemptions are accepted.

Did you have to have a Covid test prior to boarding?

Yes, we did have to have a negative Covid test to get on the ship. They accepted a test from CVS so we made an appointment through the CVS website. For those of you that may have not had a rapid test done, this one was very easy and you did not have to have your brain tickled with a swab. I had that done in March of 2020 and, though not painful, it was a little intense. This one was just on the inside of the nostril. This test had to be done within 2 days of departure.

Did you have to wear a mask on the ship?

I’m just going to be completely transparent with you. Did they say to wear your mask everywhere you went on the ship? Yes. Was everyone wearing their mask everywhere they went on the ship? No. The only time they asked me to put my mask on was when I entered one of the dining rooms. So basically, I wore one when getting on and off the ship, and when I walked in and out of the dining rooms. While I was on the ship, I heard people say that a crew member told them that Carnival would be ending their mask mandate on March 1st.

Did you have to wear a mask at the ports?

I had a mask on my person everywhere I went, but did anyone ever ask me to put it on? No. The paper in my stateroom said for us to take our vax passport with us when got off at Nassau and that we had to have a mask on everywhere we went. Our experience was we didn’t have to wear it. My advice would be to exercise respect and wisdom at all times when visiting other places. Read any material your ship leaves in your room and just go off the que’s the locals give you. That’s basically what I do at home as well.

Did you have to get tested anymore once you were on the ship?

We did not. I did read that some longer cruises may require you to do so. When we got back on at Nassau I noticed a long line of people getting tested. I’m guessing they were going somewhere else where they had to have a test. The ship was not requiring it. Also, I think I should note that I did read that once on the ship, Carnival may ask you to test (at no cost to you) if you are showing symptoms of Covid.

Are you getting ready to take a trip somewhere? Give me some good ideas for my next trip! Where should we cruise to next? XOXO – Scarlett