Carnival Cruise Line says it’s making plans to return to the high seas in August, despite a number of coronavirus outbreaks on cruise ships around the world this year.
The cruise line announced Monday it will forge ahead with service Aug. 1 on five ships from Miami and Port Canaveral, Florida — in addition to three more from Galveston, Texas — just one week after a virus no-sail order is set to expire.
“We are committed to supporting all public health efforts to manage the Covid-19 situation,” the company said in a statement. “We are taking a measured approach, focusing our return to service on a select number of homeports where we have more significant operations that are easily accessible by car for the majority of our guests.”
Cruises ships have been docked by a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention order that stopped them from sailing until July 24.
The order came after the embattled industry faced a number of coronavirus outbreaks that left more than a dozen dead and hundreds sick.
The cruise line’s beleaguered parent company, Carnival Corp., has seen more than 1,500 cases and 39 deaths on its fleet of vessels, Bloomberg reported.
Carnival Corp., the world’s largest cruise line company, operates Princess Cruises, which suffered notable outbreaks on the Diamond Princess and Grand Princess ships.
On Feb. 3, the Diamond Princess was quarantined in Yokohama, Japan, ultimately seeing more than 700 passengers sick and nine dead.
The next month, the Grand Princess was linked to a cluster of cases in northern California. At least 21 former passengers have become sick, while one guest has died, officials said.
The CDC at this time still “recommends that travelers defer all cruise travel worldwide,” saying that passengers are at “increased risk” of catching infectious diseases.
But despite the risks, there’s already demand from travelers looking to set sail again, CNBC reported.
Jackie Ceren, a Florida-based travel agent, said she’s received inquiries from clients for weeks looking to book cruises.
“I do have people waiting. People do really want to get back on ships,” she told CNBC. “But if people book and they end up having to cancel these cruises, no one’s going to be happy.”
Carnival said Monday that it will use the time until it resumes service to “engage experts, government officials and stakeholders” on how to protect the crew and guests.
“We appreciate the understanding and support of our guests and travel agent partners and look forward to welcoming them on board as the environment for travel and tourism improves,” the company said.
