Carnival Cruise Line has provided a further update to crew members on the current status and next phase of crew transfers.
Carnival Cruise Line Crew Member Update
Now that the Carnival Cruise Line fleet has come to a pause the majority of operations are now getting thousands of crew members back home. An update was provided in a letter from Carnival Cruise Line President and CEO Christine Duffy.
At the moment, the Carnival Panorama is on her way to Asia full of crew members. According to our Cruise Ship Tracker, the new Carnival ship which only entered service in December 2019 is in the central Pacific Ocean sailing towards Asia.
Carnival ships are set to sail to different continents to take the crew home including Asia, Europe, India, and Latin America. Carnival Spirit and Carnival Splendor which are usually based out of Australia are already awaiting entry to the Philippines and Indonesia to disembark crew.
In the letter the cruise line stated “we are completing the process of provisioning and bunkering ships and preparing for the next phase of the operation. Vessel transfers will begin no later than Friday, May 1. We’re hoping to start earlier but that will be dependent on having all the necessary details finalized to begin the process. IN the meantime, ships will be positioning to Bahamian water where the transfers will occur.”
The cruise line also mentioned in the letter the logistics in getting crew back is complex and will need cooperation from everyone.
This comes as passenger cruise operations have come to a hold through June 26 with the first sailing commencing from June 27, 2020. There are travel restrictions around the world and due to authorities in the United States, cruise lines are required to arrange travel and charter their flights to get the crew back home.
The crew are being transferred to certain ships via lifeboats or tender boats and then a specific vessel is sailing them back home. Not just Carnival Cruise Line but other cruise lines are also doing similar operations.
Cruise Hive readers can also take a look at when each cruise line plans to resume sailings, here’s the list.
