Carnival Cruise Line’s Resumption of Service

Carnival Cruise Line has officially announced its plans to resume service starting August 1, featuring around a handful of cruises departing from ports in Galveston, Texas, alongside Cape Canaveral and Miami, Florida. However, it remains uncertain whether passengers will be eager to return aboard or if they will heed the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s warning that cruising might still pose too great of a risk.

“We are committed to supporting all public health efforts to manage the COVID-19 situation,” stated Carnival Cruise Line in a prepared 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.”

It has been a difficult spring for the cruise industry. The Diamond Princess, operated by Carnival subsidiary Princess Cruises, experienced the first documented outbreak of COVID-19 on a cruise ship in early February. Subsequently, the Cruise Lines International Association — a consortium of the majority of the world’s cruise operators, including Carnival — voluntarily suspended service for 30 days starting March 13 in response to the pandemic.

Additionally, the US Center for Disease Control issued a “No Sail Order” for cruise lines just a day later, which now extends until July 24. These decisions halted new ships from leaving ports while governments globally attempted to contain the outbreak of COVID-19 and ensure thousands of confirmed or potentially infected cruise ship passengers could disembark safely.

Recently, another ship operated by a Carnival subsidiary, the Costa Deliziosa, returned to port in Genoa, Italy, releasing its remaining passengers after what turned out to be a three-and-a-half-month voyage.

Between the unfortunate Diamond Princess and the return of the Costa Deliziosa, Carnival has faced significant revenue loss due to its canceled services, as well as fluctuating stock values. Further complicating matters, a new Congressional investigation has been launched into how Carnival has managed the COVID-19 outbreak.

Over 1,500 confirmed cases of COVID-19 trace back to Carnival cruise ships, leading to multiple fatalities. The U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure began investigating these matters on May 1st. Moreover, the CDC has raised concerns regarding the safety of cruise ships returning to operations.

On March 17, the CDC updated guidelines on its website, emphasizing the unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and the amplified risk of transmission on cruise ships. The US government has advised travelers to postpone all cruise travel.

These guidelines echo those issued by the US State Department, which cautioned in a statement that “US citizens, particularly those with underlying health conditions, should avoid cruise travel.” The heightened risk of COVID-19 infection in a cruise ship environment has been noted by the CDC.

The active COVID-19 cases in the United States as of August 1 remain uncertain. The country has largely taken a state-by-state approach to dealing with the pandemic. Although some states have succeeded in flattening the curve and are observing a decline in recent COVID-19 cases, Florida and Texas — the two states from which Carnival aims to restart its services — are still grappling with substantial infection rates. As of May 3, Florida reported over 600 new cases, while Texas noted over 1,000 new cases for four consecutive days.

This uncertainty, paired with newly imposed travel restrictions worldwide, including a “travel bubble” for Australia and New Zealand, has prompted additional adjustments to service that will carry on well into the fall. Besides announcing its August 1 return, Carnival also stated that it would extend the pause in operations through August 31 for most of its North American and Australian markets.

This includes the cancellation of all North American cruises from June 27 to July 31, as well as Carnival Spirit cruises from Seattle to Alaska. Additionally, Carnival Spirit cruises planned between Vancouver and Honolulu for September 25 and a transpacific cruise from Honolulu to Brisbane scheduled for October 6 have also been canceled.

Carnival intends to utilize the summer to prepare and assess current conditions.

“We will use this additional time to continue to engage experts, government officials, and stakeholders on additional protocols and procedures to protect the health and safety of our guests, crew, and the communities we serve,” remarked Carnival leadership.