Seven cruise brands from Carnival Corp. & plc plan to resume operations this summer, with AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn and P&O Cruises (UK) sailing from ports in Europe and the Caribbean.
Also, while the company works for a restart in the U.S., Carnival Cruise Line announced plans to possibly begin operating in July on three ships from Miami and Galveston, Texas. The company and several of its brands are also hopeful that cruises will be allowed to sail to Alaska for part of the summer.
“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,” said Roger Frizzell, chief communications officer for Carnival Corp. “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.”
The brands resuming sailing over the next several months will use a gradual, phased-in approach, including limited itineraries on 16 initial ships to date, representing nearly 20 percent of the company’s global fleet. The initial cruises will take place with adjusted passenger capacity and enhanced health protocols developed in conjunction with government and health authorities, and informed by guidance from the company’s public health, epidemiological and policy experts.
Princess Cruises, Cunard and P&O Cruises (UK) will each offer cruises this summer in U.K. coastal waters, including the inaugural sailing for P&O Cruises’ new flagship Iona.
Cruises also will resume this summer around the Greek Islands with four brands – AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Holland America Line and Seabourn.
Additionally, Seabourn has announced plans to restart in the Caribbean with a series of new summer sailings out of Barbados.
The company’s Germany-based AIDA Cruises brand resumed sailing in late March in the Canary Islands, and its Italy-based Costa Cruises restarted in May sailing to Italian ports. These cruises “have demonstrated the effectiveness of enhanced health protocols developed in conjunction with local, national and global experts, and have generated high guest satisfaction scores, measured by detailed net promotor surveys,” the company said.
Meanwhile, while cruising isn’t allowed in Alaska, Holland America Line and Princess Cruises offer land-based vacations this summer through Gray Line Alaska. Travelers can experience Alaska through a combination of escorted, explorer and rail tours, and lodging and sightseeing, between Kenai, Anchorage, Denali and Fairbanks, Alaska.
“We are excited to have the majority of our leading cruise line brands resume sailings this summer, as we are seeing strong pent-up demand from our past guests and consumers in general to get away on a cruise, one of the world’s most popular vacations,” Frizzell said.
