Carnival Cruise Ship – Carnival Freedom
The Caribbean cruise destination of St Kitts and Nevis has denied Carnival Freedom to make its scheduled port of call on January 5, 2022, as part of an eight-day voyage out of Miami in Florida. The decision was made due to positive cases on board among the crew.
According to the current entry requirements for cruise ship passengers into St. Kitts as of December 30, 2021, fully vaccinated guests must provide proof of a negative PCR or antigen test taken not more than 72 hours before entry into the island nation.
The cancellation was due to positive cases among the crew members, as confirmed by the captain over the PA system. Carnival Cruise Line Brand Ambassador John Heald responded to a guest on the current sailing and confirmed that there is no outbreak onboard:
“Hello, well, first of all, I’m very very sorry that this has happened and it’s a shame that this port has decided to do this. There is not an outbreak. I just want to make that clear as well. We are testing crew daily – more than 20 percent of crew are tested each day as part of our proactive approach to managing public health.
All crew are fully vaccinated, those who are eligible have also received a booster. For crew members that have tested positive the vast majority of Covid-19 cases are asymptomatic – and were only identified because of our frequent testing.”
Carnival Freedom has continued with the sailing, and the cruise ship spent a day at sea due to the canceled call at St. Kitts. The vessel is currently en route to the next port of call at Grand Turk in the Turks and Caicos. The ship is scheduled to arrive on January 7, with guests being allowed to enjoy a day ashore, including the stunning beach right next to the pier.
The ship will arrive home in Miami, Florida, on January 9, 2022.