South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Carnival to try out COVID-19 app at Port Canaveral
Carnival Cruise Line has announced it will try an app-based verification system for COVID19 vaccines and negative tests for passengers sailing on the Mardi Gras cruise ship out of Port Canaveral.
The cruise line said it would use the product called VerifFLY by the company Daon, something already used in the airline industry, to allow passengers to confirm their required documentation ahead of sailings on the line’s new ship beginning Saturday.
“Once the pilot at Port Canaveral is complete, Carnival intends to move quickly to implement the solution across its fleet,” the line said in a press release.
The announcement comes while also confirming the line will keep up with the safety measures in place that were required during the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s conditional sailing order, which ended on Jan. 15. The CDC is transitioning to a voluntary program, the details of which have yet to be released. Norwegian Cruise Line also announced it would continue with safety protocols.
The line’s current protocols require vaccinations for those eligible as well as pre-cruise negative COVID-19 tests and onboard mask requirements for indoor spaces.
At the same time, the line is looking to expand testing capabilities at its terminals, especially for its shorter three- and four-night sailings, so that the pre-cruise testing requirement can be met on site during embarkation. The move will require pre-registration from passengers and be limited by capacity. Carnival plans to phase in the on-site testing for these short cruises by the end of January.
With the recent addition of Carnival Sunshine sailing from Charleston, S.C., Carnival now has 19 of its 22 U.S.-based ships sailing from eight home ports.