Carnival Cruise Line Cancels Most July 2020 Sailings
Travel news reveals that it has been a bumpy post-COVID road to recovery for the travel industry. Among the slew of re-openings around the globe, there have been false starts and cancelations as well. The latest mass cancellation within the travel industry was announced today with Carnival Cruise Line canceling most sailings in the U.S. through July 30. They pointed to uncertainty with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention regulations as the reason.
On a side note, Carnival Splendor in Australia has been paused for another month, with cruises canceled through mid-September.
They also announced that they hope to begin cruising in July on three ships: Carnival Vista and Carnival Breeze in Galveston, and Carnival Horizon in Miami. And, if cruise ships can resume sailing in Alaska by mid-summer, Carnival Miracle will take over cruises from Seattle that are currently scheduled on Carnival Freedom.
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Anyone booked on those ships may cancel without penalty and receive a full refund by May 31.
According to the line, “Given that there is still some uncertainty in our ability to operate these cruises, guests booked on those sailings who wish to make alternate summer plans.”
Christine Duffy is president of Carnival Cruise Line and she said, “We continue to have constructive discussions with the CDC but still have many questions that remain unanswered. We are working diligently to resume sailing in the U.S. and meet the CDC guidelines.”
“We sincerely appreciate the continued patience and understanding of our guests and travel advisor partners and will share additional information as quickly as we can.”
Carnival Cruise Line Cancels Most July Sailings
The CDC’s COVID protocols have necessarily been fluid as states in the U.S. open up. Inevitably there are clusters of coronavirus outbreaks and many states limit how many people are allowed in one place at one time. As such cruises are affected as are other large gatherings of people at concerts and sporting events.
Even though cruise ships have implemented enhanced health protocols, including limited capacity on ships, temperature and COVID tests, improved air ventilation systems and sanitation measures, many cruisers don’t realize that the CDC has the final say about the measures cruise ships need in order to restart service.
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The CDC has gone on record as saying: “The CDC supports the decision of CLIA to voluntarily extend the suspension of operations for passenger cruise ship travel. … Since our original No Sail Order in mid-March preventing embarkation of any new passengers, CDC has worked tirelessly day and night to control COVID-19 on cruise ships that remained at sea while protecting against further introduction and spread of COVID-19 into U.S. communities. CDC expended to date an estimated 35,000 personnel hours on cruise ship COVID-19 response since mid-March — in addition to the thousands of hours by other HHS components, the rest of the United States government, states and local authorities.”
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