By Cailey Rizzo – The company is also selling over a dozen of its ships.
Carnival Cruise Line is canceling sailings into early 2021 and is also selling two of its ships as COVID-19 continues to tremendously affect the travel industry.
Announced this week, the cruise line canceled cruises on both their Carnival Magic and Carnival Paradise ships until March 2021. Carnival Valor’s itineraries are also canceled through April 29 and cruises on the Carnival Spirit are canceled through May 16.
Currently, all 27 Carnival cruise ships are currently paused until at least the end of September, and Carnival CEO Arnold Donald said its cruise ships likely won’t be at full capacity again until at least 2022.
“With evolving restrictions on travel from the UK, unfortunately, it is necessary to cancel these itineraries,” P&O Cruises President Paul Ludlow said in a statement this week.
The cancellations vary according to ship and itinerary, based on ports of call and safety procedures.
However, AIDA Cruises, also part of the Carnival Corporation which operates in Germany, will resume its Mediterranean autumn cruises with a “highlights of Italy” tour planned to kick off on Oct. 17, 2020. The seven-day cruise will be offered weekly until Nov. 28, 2020 and is available to book starting Sept. 21, according to a press release. The cruises are operating with new safety rules, including mandatory face masks while in public areas and a COVID-19 test before boarding.
“While we are sad to see Carnival Fascination and Carnival Imagination leave our fleet, it is a necessary move as it allows us to focus on ships that offer the greatest variety of features and stateroom accommodations for our guests,” Carnival Cruise Line President Christine Duffy, said.
This comes after two other ships were sold in July. In total, according to Good Morning America, Carnival Cruises will sell 18 ships. The cruise line reportedly said the ships would have been sold regardless of the pandemic.
Cailey Rizzo is a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure, currently based in Brooklyn. When in a new city, she’s usually out to discover under-the-radar art, culture, and secondhand stores. No matter her location, you can find her on Twitter, on Instagram or at caileyrizzo.com.
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