Cruise News Today — September 2, 2022: Line Says No Testing or Vaccines, Bidding, Carnival Booze

Editorial Summary

Doug Parker reports on several updates within the cruise industry for September 2, 2022. Azamara announced that starting in December, the line will drop vaccination requirements for cruises in the Caribbean and Europe. Guests will no longer need to present negative COVID tests regardless of their vaccination status, making Azamara the first cruise line to remove testing requirements for unvaccinated passengers. Princess Cruises is launching a stateroom bidding program that allows guests to bid on upgrades to higher room categories. This program requires bookings to be paid in full and is based on double occupancy. Norwegian Cruise Line has officially ended its thirteen year partnership with Pepsi and signed a deal with Coca-Cola. The new partnership aims to have Coca-Cola products available on all eighteen of the line's ships by the end of 2022. Additionally, Carnival Cruise Line has entered the hard seltzer market with the introduction of two new vodka based drinks. The new flavors include Thirsty Frog Pina Colada and Berry Hibiscus, which are available in twelve ounce cans across the fleet. The report concludes with a brief overview of recent stock performance for Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian.

Written by TripBacon from this video's transcript.