The cruise line industry was gutted after COVID-19 spread around the world and now, Carnival is canceling more.
Carnival Cruise lines are trying to get back into the water but now, it will be at least February before we see the “whale tale” oceanliner take to the seas.
It has been announced by Carnival that they have canceled all of their sail dates from January 1st to January, 31. In some cases, northern ports from Baltimore to New York will not see a cruise leaving until at least March.
Carnival is trying to get their ships ready for passengers but they have to follow rigid rules set by the U.S. CDC and some of those requirements will include test sails with volunteer passengers to test the ship’s safety measures. While Norwegian Cruise lines have already begun reaching out to their frequent sailers, Carnival has not yet started.
Initially, Carnival will try to resume operations from the ports of Miami and Cape Canaveral with other ports added if successful. Earlier this year, Carnival sold off several of their older ships for scrap as the pandemic hit a high-point.
The cruise industry was hit hard by the pandemic and many blamed the rapid spread on the industry that was unable to protect their passengers from the spread. Of course, there were no early tests available and many cruise ships full with passengers were kept out of ports fully loaded.
As the industry starts to get back to business, there will likely not be a “business as usual” for a year or two. Cruise liners have already altered their excursion policies and will have a mask and social distancing requirements. Which won’t be easy given the size of those pools!