Finally, the news we have all been waiting for since the resumption of cruising. It’s official, Carnival Cruise Line will allow all of its crew members who are fully vaccinated to go outside in any ports, at any time, for independent shore leave. This is such a great news for thousands of crew members currently onboard Carnival Cruise Line ships, who can finally step foot on land and enjoy the beautiful ports in the Caribbean, Mexico, and the Bahamas, as well as the US home ports.

Carnival team members received a letter from the company informing them about this exciting news, as well as advising them to strictly follow health and safety measures while ashore.

“We are happy to be able to offer these experiences to bring your life and work at sea closer to normal - in healthy safe ways” Carnival Letter reads in parts.

The crew will have to stick with the strict rules such as avoid spending any time indoors (if need to go indoors they must wear face mask), avoid large gatherings and crowds, keep a physical distance of 2 meters from others, practice frequent hand hygiene, and monitor health when returning to the ship.

These protocols are critical in order to protect each crew member, the team, and the ship as well as the communities they visit. The crew will have to follow any local health authority protocols while on shore. Shore leave might be restricted at any time depending on the ship’s health situation or required by the local authorities.

For the crew on the Carnival ships in dry-dock, no-shore leave restrictions are still in place.

As far as we know Carnival Cruise Line is the only company to grant independent shore leave for fully vaccinated crew, and we do hope that other cruise lines will follow and allow their shipboard employees to get out in ports without restrictions.