- No major US cruise line will be setting sail around the country until, at earliest, March.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still recommends avoiding cruise trips as the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage on.
- These are the updated 2021 sailing plans for cruise lines like the Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and Disney Cruises.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Bad news for any eager cruisegoers: cruise lines are continuing to extend cruising suspensions into 2021 as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
The cruising industry initially saw a quiet period after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted and extended its no-sail order as the coronavirus pandemic began surging in 2020. But after months of of waiting, in October, the CDC replaced its mandatory sailing pause with the “Framework for Conditional Sailing Order,” a list of rigorous requirements needed for cruise lines to continue operating again.
Despite this order, and the impending debut of several cruise ships over the next few years, the return of cruising still remains in limbo. Presently, no major US cruises will be setting sail until March the earliest, but many cruise line are now continuing to push back its sail dates as the coronavirus pandemic continues to surge around the US.
Read more: COVID-19 has created a once-in-a-lifetime crisis for Carnival and Royal Caribbean, but after surviving hijackings and shipwrecks, the industry looks unsinkable
Keep scrolling to see the updated sailing suspension dates for several major cruise lines:
Norwegian Cruises
According to a suspended sailings update on December 29, 2020, Norwegian has hit the pause button on all of its cruises that were set to sail through March.
Princess Cruises
Princess Cruises originally paused its trips through March, according to a notice posted on November 20, 2020. However, on January 6, the cruise line extended this timeline, announcing it would halt further sailings through May 14.
The Princess Cruises has also paused all sailings through November 1 that were set to be longer than seven days going to and from US ports, and any trips sailing to and from Japan through June 25, according to the November notice.
“We continue to prepare our ships for our return to service and we are eager to see our guests back on board to create summertime memories,” Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises’ president, said in a statement.
When the cruise line resume sailing, several ships – including the Diamond Princess and the Grand Princess – will have Princess’ MedallionClass Experience. This “experience” includes new health protocols and contactless features, to name a few details.
Carnival Cruises
A full list of suspended sailing dates per ship is available on Carnival’s website. According to this list, no Carnival cruises will be setting sail until after March 31, although several ships will stay docked even further into the future, according to a January 6 news release.
For example, according to a press release posted on December 9, 2020, Carnival has set up dry docks for the Carnival Magic, Carnival Paradise, and Carnival Valor, therefore halting any of the ships’ embarkments through September 24, May 31, and September 11, respectively.
Gallery: These cruise ships are set to debut in 2021 (USA TODAY)
“We are sorry to disappoint our guests, as we can see from our booking activity that there is clearly a pent-up demand for cruising on Carnival,” Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, said in a statement on the news release.
Read more: Carnival’s CEO told employees in an internal video that ‘a new sense of optimism’ in the cruising industry will let him end their 20% pay cuts
The upcoming inaugural Mardi Gras trip was also pushed back as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Royal Caribbean
Royal Caribbean originally suspended its cruise trips through February 28, according to a December 17 update. However, on January 12, the cruise line pushed its no-sail date back even further through April 30. The only exceptions to this are its Quantum of the Seas ship in Singapore and Spectrum of the Seas ship in China.
Royal Caribbean’s Celebrity Cruises line has also halted any trips originally planned through April 30, according to an update on January 12. Several other Celebrity Cruises sailings have been paused even further through October.
Read more: Carnival and Royal Caribbean salaries revealed: From $32,000 to $383,000, here’s how much the cruise industry’s power players pay some of their employees
On January 13, Royal Caribbean’s Silversea Cruises also released its new sailing dates. According to this update, the soonest trip will set sail on April 1, although two trips have been pushed back to November.
Celebrity Cruises
Celebrity Cruises has suspended all trips through February 28, and South America sailings with the winter 2021 program through April 7, according to a travel alert posted on December 2.
Holland America Line
Holland America will be pausing all cruise trips through April 30, according to an update on January 6. Alaska cruises originally set to depart through mid-May have also been canceled, although some will be halted even further into June.
Several international trips – specifically ones in Canada and the Mediterranean – will be frozen even longer with a pause extension through August for select trips. You can find the pause timeline on Holland America’s website.
Read more: Vacationers already devote 35% of cruise trip budgets to onboard retail purchases – and experts say pandemic protocols will only make duty-free retail more pivotal
Disney Cruises
According to a travel alert posted on December 11, 2020, Disney Cruises has halted all trips through February 28. Cruises longer than seven nights have been suspended even further. See the full list of suspended Disney Cruises here.
MSC Cruises
MSC released a list of cancellation dates per cruise ship. Trips on the MSC Armonia, for example, have been canceled until February 28, while the MSC Divinia won’t see any sailings until after March 27.
P&O Cruises
P&O has halted all trips through April.
Read more: Carnival’s CEO reveals the advice he would give to his 25-year-old self
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