Can you freely get off at ports without Carnival Excursion?

[kleibo]

I have heard and read about some lines only letting passengers off the boat if on a sanctioned excursion.   I have been on over 20 cruises and most of the time just get off and taxi to a beach.   I am hoping we can still do that.   I could not find any restrictions on the Carnival site.  Anyone know for sure?

[asalligo]

No one knows for sure yet. This is certainly the way that many European cruises have gone and it is likely that the same could occur for Carnival cruises for a while, but again no one knows yet. I personally hope that for ports like Cozumel, they allow us to get off and roam at least inside the secure area.  

[kleibo]

I agree, but it's information that may make a difference in someone booking or not.  I have 2 cruises booked and will change them if I have to take a Carnival excursion just to get off the boat.  There are many ports with activities within walking distance of the boat - Grand Turk, Cozumel,  and many of the Caribbean islands.  I hope this information is released soon.

[ProgRockCruiser]

10 minutes ago, asalligo said:

No one knows for sure yet. This is certainly the way that many European cruises have gone and it is likely that the same could occur for Carnival cruises for a while, but again no one knows yet. I personally hope that for ports like Cozumel, they allow us to get off and roam at least inside the secure area.  

This.  As with pretty well everything, Carnival has made no announcements, because anything they say could be premature.

 

Once they make announcements about future sailings actually happening, then they will clarify.

[asalligo]

4 minutes ago, kleibo said:

I agree, but it's information that may make a difference in someone booking or not.  I have 2 cruises booked and will change them if I have to take a Carnival excursion just to get off the boat.  There are many ports with activities within walking distance of the boat - Grand Turk, Cozumel,  and many of the Caribbean islands.  I hope this information is released soon.

My own personal opinion is that Carnival will restrict everyone cruising to Carnival only excursions for as long as they feel they can get away with it and not lose customers to other brands. Carnival always said, please only take Carnival excursions for your own safety and to not miss the ship. One might say they even harped on this. Were Carnival endorsed excursions safer, maybe, but the real reason was profit and as long as they can use Covid as a reason, they will restrict excursions.

 

I expect no one gets off the ship without an excursion in places that there are no secured cruiser areas with vendors like Nassau, but I hope places like Cozumel and Freeport allow wandering in the secure area. I think the days of getting off the ship and just catching a cab to the beach will be gone for the first year of our return to cruising.

 

I really cruise for the ship, but I had become accustomed to getting off the ship and bartering for excursions for a quarter of the onboard price. In Cozumel I liked to go outside the secure area and shop. 

[Essiesmom]

I think there will be two options.  Those cruises in Europe that require ship excursions do not as yet require vaccination.  If the cruise line does not require vaccination, ship excursions only.  If vaccine required, no excursion requirements.  EM

[klfrodo]

Not interested in opinions. Everybody has an opinion and I'm sure very few people care what my opinion is.

Will be nice when Carnival and other cruiselines announce what their policies are so we consumers can make educated decisions.

[firefly333]

35 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

Not interested in opinions. Everybody has an opinion and I'm sure very few people care what my opinion is.

Will be nice when Carnival and other cruiselines announce what their policies are so we consumers can make educated decisions.

I think will be even nicer to hear when cruises will resume so that then carnival will need to come out with a policy. 

 

Should hear something within the next week or so as july will be cancelled or hopefully only some of july. That will be the first thing. Without a resumption date, carnival doesnt need to come out with a policy. We dont even know if cruises will be for vaccinated or not which might affect excursions in a bubble. 

 

Cart before the horse.

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, klfrodo said:

Not interested in opinions. Everybody has an opinion and I'm sure very few people care what my opinion is.

Will be nice when Carnival and other cruiselines announce what their policies are so we consumers can make educated decisions.

You asked originally if anyone knows. The answer is they do not know as that information has not be released. It's even possible that the decision makers at Carnival have not reached a decision yet.

Edited May 3, 2021 by ontheweb
fixed typo

[bstel]

1 hour ago, klfrodo said:

Not interested in opinions. Everybody has an opinion and I'm sure very few people care what my opinion is.

Will be nice when Carnival and other cruiselines announce what their policies are so we consumers can make educated decisions.

Pretty tough for Carnival, or any other cruise line, to make any decisions considering the CDC is driving the boat right now.  If these type of "secondary" concerns are what will drive you to sail or not sail, then you will have to wait awhile and see how things shake out and policies stabilize, but I would assume for the next year or two policies will keep changing weekly. I think with RCCL for their first cruises out of Nassau and Bermuda the final policies for those June cruises wont be set until 2 weeks out.

[crewsweeper]

Not sure what CDC in US has to do with stops at foreign ports.  That's going to depend on the country of the port's policies.  In the Caribbean, while some islands are "open"  many require some length of quarantine for  vacationers.  Thus a ship based excursion would be a way for cruise lines to avoid that. 

Even in Cozumel, and other Mexican cities, you need to have  COVID test prior to leaving. Again, a ship based excursion would be a way around this.

 

But as others have stated, there's a need to wait to see what cruise lines will require. or be required to do, at various ports.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Fortunately we're not really into excursions any longer. For August Mardi Gras, if it happens:

 

Cozumel - just get off the ship to have a margarita at Pancho's Backyard

Costa Maya - just get off to poke around the shops at the pier

Mahogany Bay - stay onboard!!

 

Pretty simple list - finger's crossed!

 

Tom

[Qchell]

We booked our first cruise in a year purely with questions like this in mind and the uncertainty of what we are going to be permitted to do. We specifically chose a 4 day cruise going just to Princess Cays.  Since the port is completely staffed by the crew from the ship and there really aren't excursions outside of the port, we are hopeful that we will be able to experience a fairly normal beach/port day.  

It will be interesting to see exactly how things are going to be handled, but hubby and I are fully vaccinated and very much looking forward to getting onboard again! 

[Qchell]

We booked our first cruise in a year purely with questions like this in mind and the uncertainty of what we are going to be permitted to do. We specifically chose a 4 day cruise going just to Princess Cays.  Since the port is completely staffed by the crew from the ship and there really aren't excursions outside of the port, we are hopeful that we will be able to experience a fairly normal beach/port day.  

It will be interesting to see exactly how things are going to be handled, but hubby and I are fully vaccinated and very much looking forward to getting onboard again! 

[Elaine5715]

56 minutes ago, crewsweeper said:

Not sure what CDC in US has to do with stops at foreign ports.  That's going to depend on the country of the port's policies.  In the Caribbean, while some islands are "open"  many require some length of quarantine for  vacationers.  Thus a ship based excursion would be a way for cruise lines to avoid that. 

Even in Cozumel, and other Mexican cities, you need to have  COVID test prior to leaving. Again, a ship based excursion would be a way around this.

 

But as others have stated, there's a need to wait to see what cruise lines will require. or be required to do, at various ports.

Because they can.  There isn't a port union lobbying the CDC.  

[marshhawk]

Right now in Nassau, masks are mandatory unless you are in the water.  The best way to enforce that is with a Carnival excursion.  (the fine is 200 or 30 days in jail).  Most of the islands that cruise ships visit are not vaccinated because they cannot afford the vaccine.  Not because they dont want it.  We get it for free and look at the folks who wont take it.  

 

When cruising happens, cruise happy (and educated about where you are going).

[bstel]

2 hours ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

Fortunately we're not really into excursions any longer. For August Mardi Gras, if it happens:

 

Cozumel - just get off the ship to have a margarita at Pancho's Backyard

Costa Maya - just get off to poke around the shops at the pier

Mahogany Bay - stay onboard!!

 

Pretty simple list - finger's crossed!

 

Tom

wow

these are 3 of our favorite ports to explore.

 

Cozumel - go to the wild side for drinks, ocean, and no crowds.

 

Costa Maya - go past the tourist cruise port, and head to Mahawual (the real mexican city) and walk the "board walk" and sit under an umbrella drinking beer.  The ships used to port in Mahawhual or tender in, until Carnival built their own port to keep more money for themselves in the "authentic city of Costa Maya" 😉

 

Mahogany Bay - hire a private driver and go where ever we feel like going that day and just wing it.  One trip we even stopped off at the cab drivers house and met his family and hung out.

Edited May 3, 2021 by bstel

[klfrodo]

3 hours ago, ontheweb said:

You asked originally if anyone knows. 

You may be mistaken.

I didn't ask anything. 😲

[bstel]

3 hours ago, crewsweeper said:

Not sure what CDC in US has to do with stops at foreign ports. 

they can absolutely dictate what the ship does at foreign ports by controlling the rules for the ship to return to the US port.

 

oh, you want to come back to Miami?   Well that will require a PCR test.  Oh you don't want to PCR test everyone on board?  Ok, you can come back without a test if you do x,y,z.

 

 

[BoozinCroozin]

The way things are progressing (positively), cruise line excursions will not be mandatory. I think NCL already put that out and they are more conservative than CCL I think. 

[evandbob]

15 minutes ago, bstel said:

wow

these are 3 of our favorite ports to explore.

 

Cozumel - go to the wild side for drinks, ocean, and no crowds.

 

Costa Maya - go past the tourist cruise port, and head to Mahawual (the real mexican city) and walk the "board walk" and sit under an umbrella drinking beer.  The ships used to port in Mahawhual or tender in, until Carnival built their own port to keep more money for themselves in the "authentic city of Costa Maya" 😉

 

Mahogany Bay - hire a private driver and go where ever we feel like going that day and just wing it.  One trip we even stopped off at the cab drivers house and met his family and hung out.

I enjoyed Mahahuel back when it still had a dirt road as it's main thorofare.  In the last few years it's been built up and "modernized" and is almost a replica of a cruise line port.  Still better than the immediate port area, but not by much anymore.   JMO, YMMV.

[evandbob]

3 hours ago, ontheweb said:

You asked originally if anyone knows. The answer is they do not know as that information has not be released. It's even possible that the decision makers at Carnival have not reached a decision yet.

Different OP -kleibo, not klfrodo.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

25 minutes ago, bstel said:

wow

these are 3 of our favorite ports to explore.

 

Cozumel - go to the wild side for drinks, ocean, and no crowds.

 

Costa Maya - go past the tourist cruise port, and head to Mahawual (the real mexican city) and walk the "board walk" and sit under an umbrella drinking beer.  The ships used to port in Mahawhual or tender in, until Carnival built their own port to keep more money for themselves in the "authentic city of Costa Maya" 😉

 

Mahogany Bay - hire a private driver and go where ever we feel like going that day and just wing it.  One trip we even stopped off at the cab drivers house and met his family and hung out.

 

 

A decade+ back, we did frequent the other side of Cozumel a few times (Chen Rio) and had a great time. The only sketchy thing was making sure we had a reliable taxi/pick up time for the ride back!

 

Costa Maya - we were (shirt wearing) members of the "Hole in The Fence Club" (Chac-Chi) while the fun lasted. Darn "progress" !!  I still actually have that shirt - we had them made up as a large (20 or so) group of people on our roll call all went there one trip. I wore it back on subsequent trips, and it was always a conversation maker.  🙂

[ontheweb]

25 minutes ago, evandbob said:

Different OP -kleibo, not klfrodo.

Oops, my bad.😢

[BlerkOne]

It isn't up to Carnival alone - it is up to Carnival and whatever they negotiate with each port. I doubt the first few cruises will let you go do your own thing. Either ship only excursions or ship and other Carnival vetted tours.