Carnival Cruise Will Force Unvaccinated Guests to Buy a $10,000 Insurance Policy

If you are planning to take a Carnival cruise out of Florida this summer, you are going to want to be vaccinated, or else you’ll be required to buy a travel insurance policy worth at least $10,000 to be allowed on the ship.

Beginning July 31, unvaccinated guests on Carnival cruises will need to show proof of a travel insurance policy worth at least $10,000, along with $30,000 coverage for emergency medical evacuation. If an unvaccinated passenger cannot provide proof of insurance, they won’t be allowed on the ship and will not receive a refund.

Unvaccinated guests will also need to undergo additional COVID-19 tests, which will cost approximately $150 per person. Travel insurance will not be required for guests under the age of 12, as the FDA has not yet approved a vaccine for children that age.

Carnival is not the only cruise line requiring unvaccinated guests to have expensive travel insurance. Royal Caribbean announced a similar policy after two teenagers tested positive on one of their “fully vaccinated” ships. These travel insurance rules are specifically being used in Florida because the state has refused to comply with the CDC’s guidelines to allow cruises to resume if 95 percent of passengers and 98% of the crew are vaccinated.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed an executive order in April banning the use of COVID-19 passports in the state and the state won’t allow companies to refuse customers because they’re unvaccinated. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings is suing Florida’s surgeon general because they would like all passengers and crew members to be fully vaccinated.

Obviously, the cruise ship industry was hit hard by the pandemic, with Carnival alone claiming to have lost an estimated $14 billion due to the COVID-19 crisis. Cruise companies are desperate to get people back on their ships in order to start making money again but having unvaccinated passengers on board is a risk some cruise lines would rather not take.