Carnival cancels April cruises from U.S. ports
Carnival Cruise Line is again delaying its return to cruising from Port Canaveral, Florida, and other U.S. ports as it seeks to meet U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for multiday cruises.
Carnival, the world’s largest cruise line, said it is canceling all of its April cruises. It also is pushing back the debut of its new cruise ship, the Mardi Gras, at Port Canaveral from April 24 to May 29.
Major cruise lines have not sailed from U.S. ports since mid-march because of the coronavirus pandemic that triggered a CDC no-sail order. Cruise lines are working on restart plans that will meet the CDC’S “framework for conditional sailing” announced in October that replaced the no-sail order.
Other major cruise lines in recent weeks also have canceled their March or April sailings.
Among cruise lines that had ships based at Port Canaveral:
h Disney Cruise Line on Jan. 12 announced that it was canceling all sailings through March “as we continue to refine our protocols and await further technical guidance from the CDC.” Disney ships periodically stop at Port Canaveral without paying passengers to take on fuel and other supplies.
h Norwegian Cruise Line on Jan. 19 announced that it was extending its suspension of sailings through April, as “the company will continue to work in tandem with global government and public-health authorities and its Healthy Sail Panel expert advisers to take all necessary measures to protect its guests, crew and the communities visited.” The extension also affects Norwegian’s sister companies, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
h Royal Caribbean Group on Jan. 12 announced that it was extending its suspension of sailings through April for its Royal Caribbean International,
Azamara and Celebrity Cruises divisions, except for Royal Caribbean International’s Quantum of the Seas, which sails on short itineraries in Singapore. Its announcement said Royal Caribbean “continues to focus on the healthy and safe return to cruising for guests, crew and the communities we visit.”
In a statement issued Friday, Carnival Cruise Line President Christine Duffy said Carnival is committed to restarting cruises as quickly as possible, “but, unfortunately, we have determined it’s going to take a while longer.” Additionally Carnival said it was: h Canceling Australian operations through May 19.
h Canceling the European itineraries for Carnival Legend, which were to begin this May, through Oct. 31.
Carnival said affected customers and travel agents are being notified directly of the cancellations and their options for a future cruise credit and onboard credit package, or a full refund.
The Carnival Mardi Gras – the cruise line’s newest and largest ship – will offer seven-night cruises to the Caribbean. Prepandemic, the Mardi Gras had been scheduled to start sailing from Port Canaveral in October.
The Mardi Gras will be the first cruise ship based in North America to be powered by liquefied natural gas and will feature BOLT, the first roller coaster at sea.