Carnival Cruise Line will be sending crew members home from the Carnival Victory due to its postponed transformation into Carnival Radiance.
Carnival Radiance Dry Dock Latest
Carnival Cruise Line has confirmed in a letter to crew members currently onboard the Carnival Victory that they will be sent home. With the coronavirus impacting the world including a lockdown in Spain which is where the vessel is currently located Carnival had no choice but to delay the planned dry dock.
The ship is currently located in Cadiz, Spain and the dry dock was scheduled to begin on March 19 and be completed on April 26. The cruise line mentioned in a letter:
“We’ve made the decision to sign off team members. Our travel team is working on arrangments to get you home, which has grown more challenging with more travel restrictions. We are also working with the authorities for those of you that require a Schengen Visa to transit Europe. However, we are working through those issues and will have more information to you soon.”
There is no doubt arranging travel for crew members will be difficult as much of Europe now have strict travel measures in place as COVID-19 takes hold and impacts daily life. When some crew members go back home they may even have to go through their own 14-day quarantine procedures depending on the country. Carnival will provide a further update to crew members once more details are known on how to get them home.
Carnival’s early sign off policy is to make a final payment of 15 days of pay or pay through the end of the contract but the cruise line has now decided to apply 30 days pay for all eligible employees scheduled to sign off. A compensation package is also being planned for all crew members who will have to leave the ship unexpectedly due to the impact of the situation.
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As expected the cruise line has also cancelled four European sailings and the transatlantic voyage. The new transformed Carnival Radiance was scheduled to depart Barcelona, Spain on April 29 to kick off a series of cruises from the port. A transatlantic voyage from Barcelona departing on June 11 was set to end in New York on June 24 but all these exciting new offerings will no longer take place.
Work at the Navantia shipyard in Spain has pretty much come to a halt as only essential work is being done and the company shifts in helping the authorities fight the outbreak with its advanced construction facilities.
The much-anticipated transformation was set to bring a new name and new features to a totally new look Carnival cruise ship just like sister ships Carnival Sunshine and Carnival Sunrise. One of the biggest highlights will be the Big Chicken restaurant, a fleet first brought by Carnival Chief Fun Officer Shaquille O’Neil.
We’ll just have to hold longer until we get to see Carnival’s shiny new Carnival Radiance. The entire Carnival fleet is on hold for at least 30 days to help stop the spread of the virus along with all other cruise lines.
Spain has been hit hard by the outbreak and according to Johns Hopkins University the country currently has 39,673 infections and the death toll stands at 2,696.
Photo Credit: Navantia Shipyard
