Guests on the Carnival Panorama have been provided with onboard credit today due to the ship cancelling its scheduled call at Cabo San Lucas in Mexico. It comes as authorities required testing for guests that would have been debarking.
Carnival Cruise Ship Cancels Cabo San Lucas
The Carnival Panorama’s scheduled call at Cabo San Lucas in Mexico was cancelled on December 16, 2021. Authorities at Cabo decided that all departing guests would have to be tested, which would have caused issues due to it being a tender port and with limited time.
In a letter sent to guests on the current sailing from the ship’s captain, it said, “Local authorities in Cabo have decided that, due to a small number of positive COVID cases on board, all guests who debark must be tested. As you know, this is a water shuttle port, and we have a short stay. Furthermore, health authorities are not yet prepared to conduct the testing.”
The letter continues with, “We know this is disappointing, but this situation could have turned very quickly into a frustrating day for you. We are not sure why the Mexican authorities in this particular port are taking this position again, we offer our apologies.”
The cruise line confirmed a small number of COVID cases onboard, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) currently has the vessel under yellow status, meaning, “Reported cases of COVID-19 have met the threshold for CDC investigation.” However, there are currently four other Carnival cruise ships that are also in yellow status and not having any issues with scheduled ports of call.
Cruise Hive reached out to Carnival and received the following statement: “Carnival Panorama is following all protocols and has a small number on board who are in isolation due to a positive COVID test. Our protocols anticipate this possibility and we implement them as necessary to protect the health and safety of our guests and crew.”
The cruise line continued to state: “This is a vaccinated cruise and all guests were also tested before embarkation. Unfortunately, Mexican authorities imposed some testing conditions of all guests who debark that made our call in Cabo San Lucas very difficult, if not impossible, and we cancelled the call today. We are providing our guests with an onboard credit so they can enjoy the extra sea day.”
In response to a guest who was worried that future calls could be impacted, Carnival Cruise Line Brand Ambassador John heald responded with, “Hello, the captains let everybody know that we were unable to call there today. This isn’t something that is going to be each cruise and obviously, we will keep everybody safe and make sure that the fun continues.”
Guests are being provided with a $50 onboard credit, which is automatically added to the Sail & Sign account. Any port fees and taxes are being refunded along with pre-booked shore excursions through the cruise line.
Also Read: Things to Do in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico During a Cruise
The Vista-class cruise ship is now spending a day at sea instead of the call at Cabo San Lucas. There will also be another sea day as normal on Friday while the ship returns home. Carnival Panorama is coming to the end of a seven-day Mexican Riviera voyage that departed the Long Beach Cruise Terminal in California on December 11, 2021. Other ports during the voyage were Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan, they all went ahead as scheduled.
