10 Cruise Ships Approved by CDC for Test and Revenue Sailings

The CDC has approved 10 cruise ships for sailings this year, eight as test sailings and two for revenue cruises out of multiple different ports.

The dates for many of these cruises are not yet finalized, but will most likely sail sometime this summer.

Carnival Cruise Line has two ships sailing as test cruises. The Carnival Vista will sail from Galveston, Texas, while the Carnival Horizon will sail from Miami, Florida. Dates are not set for these cruises.

The Celebrity Edge is the first large cruise ship approved to sail a revenue cruise, which is considered a regular cruise, and it will set sail from Fort Lauderdale on June 26. The Celebrity Equinox was also recently approved for a revenue sail, provided 95 percent of its passengers and crew are vaccinated. The same is mandated for the Edge. The vaccination mandate allows the cruise line to bypass the test sailings.

The Disney Dream will do a test cruise out of Port Canaveral beginning June 29.

Royal Caribbean holds the most cruise ships sailing this year for trails, at five. The Freedom of the Seas was the first ship approved for a test sailing, and it will sail from Miami on June 20. The Allure of the Seas, Symphony of the Seas, Mariner of the Seas and Independence of the Seas will also do test cruises this year.

The Allure of the Seas will sail from Port Canaveral on July 27, while the Symphony of the Seas will depart from Miami on August 1. The other two ships’ departure dates have not yet been finalized. Royal Caribbean is allowing adults over 18 years of age to volunteer for a test cruise here.