Carnival Corp’s Princess Cruises said on Wednesday its voyages would remain suspended through the end of summer as reduced flights and travel bans around the globe bring the industry to a virtual standstill.Holland America Line, Carnival’s another unit, said it has canceled all cruises for Alaska, Europe and Canada and New England for the year
Carnival Corp announced Monday it plans to resume certain North American voyages in August as it tries to rebound from the coronavirus pandemic, which has idled its ships since March.The company said its Carnival Cruise Line brand intends to restart cruises on eight ships from Miami (Carnival Horizon, Carnival Magic and Carnival Sensation)
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended its “no sail order” for all cruise ships, as it looks to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic.The new CDC order says that cruise ships have to cease operations for up to 100 days, or the expiration of the Secretary of Health and Human Services' declaration that COVID-19 constitutes a public health emergency
Uruguay started on Friday to repatriate 112 Australians and New Zealanders from a cruise ship hit by coronavirus and stranded in the La Plata River near the capital of Montevideo since March 27, the government said.The operation began in the evening when the Greg Mortimer, an Antarctic cruise ship operated by Aurora Expeditions, docked in the port of Montevideo.
Carnival-owned Holland America Line, owner and operator of the coronavirus-stricken MS Zaandam, announced it will extend its pause of global cruise operations for an additional 30 days, cancelling sailings scheduled to depart through May 14, amid continued port closures and travel restrictions surrounding global health concerns.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said that major cruise lines would suspend cruises for 30 days, following a series of industry announcements that came after repeated transmission of coronavirus among passengers at sea.“At my request, effective midnight tonight, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, and MSC have all agreed to suspend outbound cruises for thirty days,” Trump said on Twitter.
Several major cruise operators have voluntarily suspended operations in response to the developing coronavirus pandemic. For most, the reason given has been "an abundance of caution".On Wednesday, Viking became the first major cruise line to temporarily suspend operations, canceling all river and ocean cruises scheduled to embark between March 12 to April 30.
There was important cruise news in January: Viking – a premier European ocean and river cruise company - will offer two new “destination-focused travel experiences,” starting in 2022. One set of cruises becomes Viking’s first foray in the inland North American market, in this case the Great Lakes. Another set of cruises will head to the Arctic and Antarctica.
Shares of U.S. cruise operators sunk on Thursday after the Grand Princess ocean liner, owned by Carnival Corp, was barred from returning to its home portof San Francisco on coronavirus fears after at least 20 people aboard fell ill.Shares of Carnival, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and Royal Caribbean Cruises fell between 9% and 12% amid a broader sell-off in U.S. stock markets.
The plight of the cruise ship off Japan with more than 200 coronavirus infections and the shunning of another by five ports despite no known cases has led to a sharp change in tack for an industry in shock: avoid Asia.To that end, many cruises in the region are being cancelled while others currently sailing are being re-routed, skipping originally scheduled stops in China, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Army veteran-turned-Royal Caribbean Cruise Line founder Edwin W. Stephan passed away on Friday at 87 years old."We at Royal Caribbean mourn his loss and extend our deepest sympathies to the Stephan family," said a statement from the global cruise company said.In 1969 Stephan founded the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, and his contributions helped create the modern cruise industry we know today.
Hungarian salvage crews prepared on Monday to raise the wreck of a pleasure boat that capsized on the Danube river in Budapest, killing 26 South Korean tourists and two local crew.The Mermaid sank after a large Swiss-owned cruise liner struck it from behind on May 29 as both vessels passed under a 19th century bridge in the Hungarian capital during heavy rain.