by Donald Wood
Last updated: 9:57 AM ET, Tue July 7, 2020
Carnival Cruise Line announced it would begin notifying guests and travel agents Tuesday on a cadre of coronavirus-related updates regarding its fleet of ships and new itineraries.
Officials from Carnival revealed Mardi Gras-the cruise line's newest ship-is now scheduled to enter service from Port Canaveral, Florida, on February 6, 2021. All sailings between November 14 and January 30, 2021, have been canceled.
"We continue to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global commerce, public health and our cruise operations," Carnival president Christine Duffy said. "In addition to our current pause in service, there have been many other unintended consequences, including shipyard, dry dock and ship delivery delays, and related changes to our deployment plans for our fleet."
"While we had hoped to make up construction time on Mardi Gras over the summer, it's clear we will need extra time to complete this magnificent ship," Duffy continued. "We share our guests' disappointment and appreciate their patience as we work through this unprecedented time in our business and the lives of so many people. We remain committed to working with government, public health and industry officials to support the response to the pandemic and to return to operations when the time is right."
The company also provided an update on the $200 million transformation of Carnival Radiance, which was suspended due to the viral pandemic. As a result, the cruise line is now evaluating shipyard options to complete the dry dock upgrades.
The Carnival Radiance project is now expected to be completed in Spring 2021.
The delay will cause the cruise line to redeploy Carnival Breeze from Fort Lauderdale to Port Canaveral and assume the itineraries of the Carnival Radiance between November 8 and April 24, 2021.
For travelers currently scheduled to sail on the Carnival Breeze between November 7 and March 7, 2021, the cruises have been canceled. In addition, seven voyages previously scheduled for Carnival Breeze from Fort. Lauderdale will sail on Carnival Magic operating from PortMiami.
Carnival Magic's transatlantic and European itineraries from March 13, 2021, to May 3, 2021, have also been canceled.
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