Cozumel, Q.R. — Carnival Cruise Line says they will restart some North American cruises by August 1. The company made the announcement Monday, saying eight ships will depart three of their ports beginning August.
In a statement, Carnival Cruise says the eight ships will depart ports at Miami, Port Canaveral and Galveston since they are the easiest to access by car. The cruise ships will initially sail to the Bahamas, Transatlantic, Panama Canal and Caribbean, which includes Cozumel.
“We are committed to supporting all public health efforts to manage the COVID-19 situation,” Carnival said. “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.”
The company says they intend to phase in the return of some of their North American cruises beginning August 1. “In connection with this plan, our pause in operations will be extended in all other North American and Australian markets through August 31,” the statement said.
The company noted that for now, all other cruises will remain canceled including all other North American cruises from June 27 to July 31 as well as Spirit Alaskan cruises on September 25 and the Honolulu-Brisbane transpacific cruise on October 6. The cancellations also extend to all of its Splendor cruises in Australia from June 19 to August 31.
The news comes as the No Sail Order, issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on April 15, is set to expire. According to the Federal Register, the Order expires 100 days from April 15, the date the extended order was published in the Federal Register, expiring July 24.
Carnival Cruise Line announced plans to resume service August 1, despite concerns from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that cruise ship travel “exacerbates the global spread of Covid-19.”