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Cruises: What will they look like during the COVID-19 pandemic?
The International Association of Cruise Lines, which represents 95% of the cruise industry, has introduced mandatory requirements for returning to sea.
USA TODAY
Princess Cruises has announced that it will cancel all cruises from U.S. ports until May 14 – more than a year after the industry shut down in mid-March last year.
The Princess itself has been affected by the pandemic from the start: two of its ships, the Diamond Princess and the Grand Princess, were among the first ships to quarantine passengers due to coronavirus infections.
Previously, Princess Cruises had canceled all itineraries until March 31. The additional cancellations come as the cruise line works on restart plans that will meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “Framework for Conditional Sailing” announced in October.
This additional suspension also applies to European cruises scheduled before May 15, Princess Cruises spokesperson Negin Kamali told USA TODAY.
Carnival Cruise Line also announced an extension of its navigation suspension, canceling cruises scheduled until March 31 in U.S. waters.
Carnival also canceled some domestic itineraries in the fall and an international overseas cruise in June, according to a statement provided by spokesperson Vance Gulliksen.
While many of the schedule changes are linked to pandemic-induced regulations, including travel length restrictions, some are also linked to rescheduled dry dock work.
Cancellations include:
- All crossings from US ports until March 31.
- Carnival Freedom April 10, departure from Galveston.
- Carnival Miracle crossings of San Diego and San Francisco until September 16.
- Carnival Liberty crossings departing from Port Canaveral from September 17th to October 18th.
- Carnival Sunshine sailings departing from Charleston October 11 through November 13.
- The Carnival Spirit’s 15-day trip from Singapore to Brisbane is scheduled to depart on June 12.
“We are sorry to disappoint our customers, as we can see from our booking activity that there is clearly pent-up demand for cruises on Carnival,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, in the communicated.
Duffy added that the cruise line plans to resume operations in 2021 with a “phased approach,” a strategy that the cruise line’s parent company, Carnival Corp., has frequently referred to since the start of the pandemic.
The cancellations come as the United States sees a continuing upward trend in COVID-19 cases, reaching 21 million cases on Tuesday evening, just over four days after reporting 20 million cases, data from Johns shows Hopkins. And Georgia became the fifth state to report a case of the most contagious viral strain first identified in the UK, joining Colorado, California, Florida and New York.
Another Carnival Corp. subsidiary, P&O Cruises Australia, also announced cancellations of its New Zealand cruises in April on Wednesday.
“P&O Cruises Australia is extending its continued hiatus from New Zealand operations departing on and before April 25, 2021, as the cruise line and the industry in general continue to work with government and public health authorities at the time. opportune to resume navigation, ”the company said in a statement provided by spokesperson Lindy Lamme.
The cruise line plans to return to New Zealand in July 2022 for a 150-day season in the region.
“We know much better days ahead and we remain optimistic that cruising resumes. As we halted our operations, P&O Cruises, as well as the industry at large, have used the time wisely to plan the return from the cruise, ”said Sture Myrmell, president of the cruise line, in the communicated.
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Contribution: Adrianna Rodriguez and Jessica Flores
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