LONG BEACH, California. A cruise ship bound for the Mexican Riviera departed Saturday from the port of Long Beach, the first cruise ship to leave California in 17 months.
The Carnival Panorama makes a seven-day voyage and will stop at the Mexican ports of Cabo San Lucas and Mazatlán before returning to Long Beach, Carnival Corp. CCL,
he said in a statement.
The 1,060-foot Panorama Carnival premiered in 2019.
Passenger Bob Lechtreck said he and his wife were in the inaugural sail on December 11, 2019.
“I can’t tell you how excited I am to be at Panorama for their inaugural return to service,” Lechtreck said he told Press-Telegram in a text. “We haven’t sailed in too long and we couldn’t be happier going back to our favorite activity.”
The cruise industry was hit hard by the pandemic after passengers and crew tested positive for COVID-19 and some ships were pulled out of ports. The industry has struggled with U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for health requirements to resume navigation in U.S. waters.
The company said its operating protocols exceed CDC recommendations. They include vaccinating all employees and requiring all passengers to take a negative COVID-19 test.
Passengers must be vaccinated, but the company will allow “a reduced number of exemptions” for those who cannot receive the vaccine, including those under 12 who are not yet eligible. Those who are not vaccinated will need to follow additional precautions, according to the COVID-19 Carnival guest protocols.
Last week, 27 people tested positive for COVID-19 on a carnival cruise just before the ship made a stopover in Belize City, Belize. The ship returned to Galveston, Texas, on Friday after stopping in Mexico.
The positive cases were between 26 crew members and a Carnival Vista passenger, who was carrying more than 1,400 crew and about 3,000 passengers, the Belize Tourism Board said in a statement.
The 27 were vaccinated, had mild symptoms or showed no isolation, according to the statement. The tourism board said 99.98% of the ship’s crew was vaccinated, as well as 96.5% of its passengers.