Carnival Cruise to Likely Restart First for Parent Company

Carnival Corp. is still not sharing a target date to resume cruising – even the test voyages required by the CDC – because so much remains in the air.

“The good news on the CDC sail order is that we’re talking about sailing, as opposed to talking about not sailing,” Carnival Corp. President and CEO Arnold Donald said at CruiseWorld 2020, a virtual conference hosted by Travel Weekly, a sister publication to TravelPulse.com.

Donald said cruise companies are still awaiting some technical information from the CDC, but what will help restart cruising are refinements in epidemiological protocols, getting cheaper and more accurate testing, and, of course, an effective vaccine.

“It’s too early to be able to pronounce with any precision exactly when we’ll be cruising again. The order itself has additional data that has to come out,” Donald said. “What’s really going to drive it is evolution of science.”

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He indicated that Carnival Cruise Line would likely be one of the first brands to resume sailing, although that could change.

Carnival President Christine Duffy, speaking on the same panel as Arnold, didn’t give an exact timeline to restart cruising, but did share where it would resume.

“We are focused on a phased restart, and we’re going to start probably with Miami and Port Canaveral – those are a little closer to home for us – and it will be gradual.”

She said tentative plans are to bring the Carnival Horizon home to PortMiami, followed by Carnival Breeze to Port Canaveral.

“We will be back to Galveston,” she added. “Carnival Vista will likely be the first ship back. We’ll definitely be back to Galveston.”

Duffy summarized the optimism and enthusiasm felt throughout Carnival Corp. and its brands: “We can see the light at the end of the tunnel and it’s not a train, it’s a ship!”