Carnival Extends US Cruise Operations Suspension, Cancels Additional Sailings

Carnival Cruise Line has announced the extension of its pause in United States operations through March 31 and several additional cancellations.

According to the cruise line, all embarkations from U.S. homeports through March 31 have been canceled, with impacted customers and travel agents being notified and offered future cruise credit and onboard credit package or a full refund.

Carnival also revealed several changes to ship itineraries and homeport operations, including canceling Carnival Freedom sailings through April 10, Carnival Miracle voyages through September 16 and more.

As for rescheduled dry dock work, the Carnival Liberty and Carnival Sunshine have canceled fall itineraries to make time for needed refurbishments. Carnival Spirit’s 15-day cruise from Singapore to Brisbane on June 12 has also been canceled.

“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,” Carnival President Christine Duffy said. “We appreciate their patience and support as we continue to work on our plans to resume operations in 2021 with a gradual, phased in approach.”

In more positive news, the cruise line took delivery of its highly anticipated new ship, Mardi Gras, in a live virtual signing ceremony held at the Meyer Turku Shipyard in Turku, Finland.

The 5,200-passenger vessel is scheduled to begin guest operations in April 2021.