About 3,000 excited passengers lined up at the dock in Seattle for their first opportunity this year to cruise up to Alaska.
The Carnival Splendor’s week long journey to the Northwest frontier is the first passenger cruise in two years for this ship, and as the 23rd Carnival ship to return to cruising, it means the company’s full fleet is back at work.
Northwest Newsradio talked to some of the passengers, who say they’re not worried COVID despite recent outbreaks on other ships. They say the cruise line has been very thorough about minimizing the risk.
Carnival president, Christine Duffy, says all crew members are vaccinated, boosted and they wear KN-95 masks when in all public areas. Duffy says they also have protocols should any passengers test COVID positive, including a quarantine area with meals delivered to their rooms. We also asked if passengers who test positive might get at least a partial credit for a future cruise, and Duffy says, “I think we’ve encouraged everyone to get insurance, and…we’re really hoping we don’t have those situations. We’re ready to deal with them on a case-by-case.”
The CDC’s cruise ship dashboard lists the Carnival Splendor at yellow level, but that’s with only the crew on board, so it’s being monitored. 45% of Carnival ships are at level orange, which prompts a CDC investigation.
