Carnival says it will resume cruises from Galveston in August.
Port of Galveston cruise terminal to reopen in the summer after projected losses of $14 million
Carnival Cruise Line announced Monday it would resume cruises leaving Galveston beginning in August, after cruises were postponed across the globe due to the novel coronavirus pandemic for nearly two months.
Beginning Aug. 1, Carnival will offer cruises on its Dream, Vista, and Freedom lines. A total of eight Carnival ships will operate out of three ports: Galveston, Miami and Port Canaveral, Fla. The company’s other North American and Australian homeport cruises will be canceled through the month of August.
Carnival said in a statement that resumption of its cruise operations is “fully dependent” on cooperation with local, state and federal officials and that any return to service would include enhanced protocols regarding social gathering.
“We are committed to supporting all public health efforts to manage the COVID-19 situation,” the company said in a news release. “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.”
Royal Caribbean did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether it, too, would resume cruise travel out of Galveston.
Galveston, the nation’s fourthlargest cruise port, has been hit hard by the global cruise line shutdown. The Galveston County Daily News reported that the city’s Wharves Board of Trustees projected the port would lose $14 million in net income this year because of cruise cancellations.
A spokeswoman for the Port of Galveston said it would have a conference call with Carnival in the coming days regarding the
preparation and support needed to resume cruise operations. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and U.S. Customs and Border Protection will also be involved in those discussions.
“This announcement is great news for the port, our port partners,
Galveston’s tourism industry, cruise vacationers and everyone else who benefits from our cruise business,” said Rodger Rees, CEO and director of the Port of Galveston, in a statement. “We are looking forward to working with Carnival Cruise Lines and the agencies who oversee our cruise operations to ensure a safe, successful restart.”
Miami-based Carnival
Cruise
Lines is the largest brand owned by Carnival Corp., which also owns Princess, Holland America Line and other brands. Carnival Cruise Lines has 27 ships and transported 5 million passengers last year.
The new coronavirus has dealt a blow to the company, stranding some ships at sea with sick passengers. Multiple ships reported outbreaks and struggled to find
places to dock. In early April, two Holland America cruises disembarked in Florida with at least nine passengers sick with COVID-19.
Carnival Cruise Lines halted new sailings on March 13. It initially expected to be able to sail again on April 10.
Still, parent Carnival Corp. is in strong financial shape, having raised nearly $6 billion in debt and equity since the crisis began.
Carnival Cruise Lines said it is offering future travel credits or refunds to passengers whose cruises are canceled. The company said it will engage government and health experts to ensure that it can safely sail in August.