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Despite the last fifteen months or so being a torrid time for the cruise industry, there are reasons to be cheerful for cruise enthusiasts and those in the industry alike. Concessions by the CDC – followed by the successful vaccination drive and drop in cases in the US – means that the cruise industry is in its best spot since the pandemic began.
Carnival Corporation, the group behind cruise lines such as Carnival, Costa and P&O, has announced plans for its brands to resume operations around the world – which could include a July restart in the US. Here’s what we know so far.
Carnival Brands To Set Sail – Information for Travelers
A statement released by the company on Monday revealed that Carnival’s extensive network of cruise lines are set to begin sailing again in the near future, giving the chance for cruise fans from all corners of the globe to get on deck once more. The cruises and their schedules are as follows:
- AIDA Cruises, based in Germany, began sailing in March and will see their season extend beyond July and offer new voyages from Gran Canaria. The cruise line will also add further ships throughout May and July, which will see cruises visit the Greek islands
- Costa Cruises – based in Italy – already has two cruises ships sailing through Italy and Greece. A third, the Costa Deliziosa, is set to start on June 26th, which will also offer one-week cruises to Greece, whilst on July 4th the Costa Firenze will debut with a trip through Italy
- Seabourn will return with two ships, Seabourn Ovation and Seabourn Odyssey. Seabourn Ovation will operate a round-trip from Athens throughout the Greek Isles from July 3rd, whilst Seabourn Odyssey will restart on July 18th with a roundtrip out of Bridgetown, Barbados, visiting Antigua, the British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Maarten and St. Kitts
- Holland America Line will restart on August 15th from Athens, taking in several of the Greek Isles, whilst a second option will be available on August 22nd
- Britain-based P&O Cruises will restart on June 27th with the flagship Britannia, taking passengers on short breaks until September 19th. On August 7th, the new ship Iona will set sail around the Scottish Isles. These cruises will be for vaccinated passengers currently residing in the UK only
- Princess Cruises will see two of its ships, Regal Princess and Sky Princess, resume with trips from Southampton sailing around the UK. Starting July 31st, Regal Princess will offer 14 voyages cruise whilst Sky Princess will offer a further eight from August 30th.
- Cunard will resume with just one ship, Queen Elizabeth, and will offer several cruising options from Southampton, last from between three and 12 nights.
Speaking about the mass resumption of operation, Carnival’s chief communications officer, Roger Frizzell, said:
“The resumption of our cruises marks a critical step in the recovery of our brands and the industry as a whole, which provides a major economic impact and supports jobs across multiple sectors around the world. As our cruise line brands gradually resume cruising, we will continue to work as an industry to share important learnings and best practices to help ensure the resumption of cruise operations is done in the best interest of public health.”
US Cruises in July – What Travelers Should Know
Despite cancelling most of their cruises last week, the cruise line is in talks to resume their US-based operations this summer. Carnival’s President Christine Duffy confirmed that the company was in active discussions with the CDC, working towards a resumption of stateside operations in July. Duffy stated that both Carnival and the CDC had the same goal in mind, and that they wanted to make sure the cruise industry was a part of President Biden’s plan to re-open the US by the fourth of July.
Read More:
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