Carnival Cruise Line has added seven more ships to its cruise resumption plans, bringing to 15 the total number of vessels it plans to have back in operation by October, 2021, while it will also require full vaccination from passengers.

Carnival Cruise Line’s expanded restart plans mean that by October it will have two thirds of its fleet back in service, sailing from New Orleans, Baltimore, Galveston, Miami, Port Canaveral and Mobile, but only for those who are fully vaccinated.

Carnival’s Mardi Gras will enter service at the end of July

RELATED: CDC removes cruise travel warning for fully vaccinated passengers

RELATED: P&O Cruises announces restart plans and initiatives to ease boarding

Carnival Cruise Line on Monday announced that three vessels will resume cruises in September from New Orleans, Baltimore and Galveston. These are in addition to four ships it said would resume operations out of Miami, Port Canaveral and Mobile by October.

The newly announced restarts include:

Carnival Glory out of New Orleans, starting Sept. 5.

Carnival Pride out of Baltimore, starting Sept. 12.

Carnival Dream out of Galveston, starting Sept. 19.

Carnival Conquest out of Miami, starting Oct. 8

Carnival Freedom out of Miami, starting Oct. 9. 

Carnival Elation out of Port Canaveral, starting Oct. 11. 

Carnival Sensation out of Mobile, starting Oct. 21.

These seven ships join eight Carnival vessels that have either already restarted departures, or will do so in the next few weeks. This means that by October, Carnival Cruise Line will have the majority of its fleet back in service for the first time since the pandemic emerged in March last year.

Carnival Cruise Line, and much of the rest of the world’s cruise fleet, didn’t operate a single vessel with passengers for 15 months until earlier this month.

The 3,954-passenger Carnival Vista restarted sailings out of Galveston, Texas, on July 3rd, while the 3,960-passenger Carnival Horizon resumed voyages out of Miami on July 4th.

The 3,690-passenger Carnival Breeze resumed cruises July 15th from Galveston. They are the only Carnival vessels currently sailing, but five more Carnival ships are scheduled to begin operations in the coming weeks.

Carnival Miracle will sail out of Seattle for Alaska on July 27th, while Mardi Gras will begin cruises to the Caribbean from Port Canaveral on July 31st.

Carnival Magic, Carnival Sunrise and Carnival Panorama will resume departures on August 7th, 14th and 21st, respectively, out of Port Canaveral, Miami and Long Beach, California.

Carnival Magic with its new livery will re-enter service on August 7th

RELATED: Azamara announces vaccine mandate and other safety protocols for restart

RELATED: Carnival says vaccines offer a safe path to cruise resumption as bookings soar

Carnival Cruise Line is limiting its restart primarily to fully vaccinated passengers, although some unvaccinated passengers are allowed, such as children and those not eligible for, or able to receive, the vaccine.

“The decision to sail with vaccinated voyages was a difficult one to make, and we recognize this is disappointing to some of our guests especially the many families with children under the age of 12 who we love to sail, and who love to sail with us,” said Christine Duffy, President, Carnival Cruise Line.

“It’s important to remember that this is a temporary measure given the current circumstances,” she added.

Carnival said any unvaccinated passengers sailing on the newly announced voyages, including children under the age of 12, would be subject to pre-cruise and pre-embarkation COVID-19 testing and onboard COVID-19 testing prior to debarkation (on cruises longer than four days).

The line said it would charge unvaccinated passengers $150 per person charge to cover the costs of the testing and other health and safety screenings.

In addition, while unvaccinated children are allowed to sail, those 12 years and older who are not vaccinated will not be able to take part in the supervised youth programs on ships for the time being.

Unvaccinated passengers departing from Florida will also need to show proof of travel insurance coverage, based on the itineraries being sailed and the requirements of ports and destinations visited.

A similar rule will go into effect for sailings out of Texas ports from August.