Carnival Cruise Line extends cancellations through April
PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. —
Carnival on Friday became the latest cruise line to cancel all its sailings in the United States through at least April.
Carnival also moved the start date for Mardi Gras from Port Canaveral to May 29, 2021.
Royal Caribbean and Norwegian had already announced that they would not be sailing until May.
Carnival said booked guests and travel agents are being notified directly of the cancellations and their options for a generous future cruise credit and onboard credit package, or a full refund.
“Our guests and travel agent partners continue to express their loyalty to Carnival and their desire to get back on our ships as soon as they can, and we are heartened by the booking demand and activity we continue to see. We are certainly committed to welcoming them back as quickly as possible, but unfortunately we have determined it’s going to take a while longer, and the situation in Europe will also impact Mardi Gras’ departure to the U.S., and Carnival Legend’s itineraries in Europe,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.
The cruise shutdown has cost 11,000 jobs in Florida, along with $400 million in wages, and $31 million in state and local tax revenue.
“The test-cruising is gonna be the big issue, I think. It’s just gonna take some time to get those up and running,” Colleen McDaniel said.
McDaniel is editor-in-chief of an industry-watcher website, Cruisecritic.com. She says Centers for Disease Control requirements that include a test-cruise are proving difficult for cruise lines to meet. Royal Caribbean is asking passengers to volunteer for a test cruise via a website. Industry watchers also say the change in presidential administrations, which could alter the priorities of the CDC, is another potential delaying factor. Meanwhile,
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