With the state of Louisiana impacted by Hurricane Ida, including New Orleans, Carnival Cruise Line has cancelled its first return sailing out of the Port of New Orleans on September 5, 2021.
Carnival Glory Cruise Cancelled
Carnival Cruise Line has informed guests booked on the first return sailing from New Orleans that their September 5 cruise is now cancelled. The city is impacted by Hurricane Ida, which swept through the state last week and damaged the power grid.
Carnival said in the letter, “Our Fleet Operations Center in Miami has been in close contact with the port authority officials in New Orleans, who conducted a port-storm assessment. They have informed us that the channel leading to the cruise terminal is still closed, and the city is currently under emergency management.”
The cruise line has apologized to guests for the cancellation, and it comes after the category 4 hurricane hit the city last week, causing damage. More than 1 million homes and businesses have been left without power since Sunday, and Louisiana Governor has asked residents not to return to the state until told it’s safe to do so.
Also Read: How to Get to the New Orleans Cruise Port
Carnival Glory’s first return cruise from New Orleans was scheduled to depart on September 5 on a seven-day voyage, including calls at Bimini, Freeport, and Nassau, all in the Bahamas. The ship was then set to return to the Port of New Orleans on Sunday, September 12.
Impacted Guests
Those guests booked on the first sailing are automatically being refunded, and there is no need to call the cruise line. The refund includes and additional payments such as Fly2Fun reservations, pre-booked shore excursions, gratuities, and more.
Guests who used their bonus incentive package, including a future cruise credit due to the suspension of operations, can reuse it on another cruise as long as it’s used within a certain timeframe.
Carnival is allowing impacted guests to transfer to the Carnival Vista sailing departing the Port of Galveston in Texas this Saturday, September 4, 2021. Guests will have to be fully vaccinated to be allowed to transfer. Unfortunately, those under the vaccine exemption won’t be allowed to transfer their booking to the Carnival Vista but are being asked to contact Carnival about their options.
Ships Resatrt Despite Setbacks
Despite this setback, Carnival Cruise Line continues with its phased-in return to service, and hopefully, New Orleans will be ready for the next scheduled departure on September 12. That voyage will be a seven-day Western Caribbean cruise.
Eight Carnival ships have already resumed operations, including out of Florida, Texas, California, and Washington State. It has not been all smooth sailing as Carnival Panorama, based out of Long Beach, California, is suffering from a maximum cruising speed issue. 27 people also became infected on the Carnival Vista recently on a cruise out of Galveston.
The cruise line continues to follow the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), guidelines, and updates have been made to its protocols to keep everyone onboard its ships protected. This will be the same for Carnival Glory once the ship eventually begins sailings out of New Orleans.
Carnival Glory is among the first ships to receive its new red, white and blue livery and just recently completed a dry dock in France. The ship is 110,000 gross tons and has a guest passenger capacity of 2,980 at double occupancy, However, once the vessel resumes sailings, she will sail at around 70% capacity just like other ships that have already restarted.
