Carnival Cruise Line was set to make a major announcement today related to its suspension of operations but that has now been delayed.
Will Carnival Cruise Line Extend Suspension?
That is the big question indeed, will Carnival Cruise Line follow in the footsteps of Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and sister line Costa Cruises by extending the suspension of cruises?
An announcement was expected today as the cruise line stated on March 25 “We are aware of the decision by other cruise lines to extend the suspension of operations. We expect a decision by Fri, Mar 27 to share. We appreciate your patience and advise our guests and travel agent partners to watch their email and check Carnival.com for any updates.”
Related: Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises Extend Suspension of Operations Until May 12
However today, the cruise line decided to delay the announcement until Monday, March 30. It is not known why but possibly Carnival is trying to find a way to stick to the original date or even adjusting policies. It does seem unlikely that the original date will stay the same as the coronavirus pandemic is taking hold of the United States. According to Johns Hopkins University the U.S. currently has 86,012 confirmed cases of COVID-19, more than anywhere else in the world and it continues to go up.
Cruise ports around the world including those in the Caribbean which Carnival cruise ships often call at remain closed too. With all this in place, we already are expecting the major cruise lines to extend their suspension until at least the end of April.
The cruise line posted on social media:
While we had previously indicated we would have a decision by Friday about our return to operations, we must move that announcement to Monday, March 30. We apologize for the delay and appreciate our guests’ patience.
There is now a huge disappointment from cruisers who just want to know about their future cruise after the original suspension date. Carnival’s current voluntary suspension of operations is scheduled to be until April 10, 2020.
Also Read: How Will Coronavirus Affect My Future Cruise?
This comes as Carnival Australia has already announced an extension of the suspension of operations until May 15, 2020, after discussion with the Australian government and the restrictions in place to help stop the spread of the virus.
