Carnival Cruise Line has seen a very surprising increase in bookings after the raging coronavirus pandemic shut down most of the cruise line industry, and announced last week that it plans to hit the high seas starting August 1.
The reopening would be very limited, with a fleet of just eight of the cruise company's 109 ships departing Miami and Port Canaveral in Florida and Galveston, Texas. Carnival has otherwise extended its pause through August 31 in all other North American and Australian operations.
The company said three of its vessels will set sail from Galveston, Texas - Carnival Independence, Carnival Vision, and Carnival Vista - and three others will set off from Miami - Carnival Wonder, Carnival Horizon, and Carnival Sensation. Two of its boats would depart from Port Canaveral, Florida - the Carnival Breeze and Carnival Elation, the company stated.
After Carnival Cruise announced this week that it would reopen some cruises in August, bookings from Cruise Planners increased by 600 percent compared to the previous three days before the news, TMZ said.
This reflects a rally of 200 percent over the same timeframe last year, well before the pandemic exploded, TMZ reported, who talked to the travel franchise of Cruise Planners, an American Express Travel representative.
Clients are not a bit worried about traveling at this point in time, the travel service, with many looking to have fun until restrictions are lifted, the company said.
The company disclosed to TMZ that after being cooped up from the national coronavirus quarantines, much of the clientele that is calling in right now can be described as young, safe and eager to sail.
Carnival said it will restart its voyage but things can still change, given the ongoing global crisis. Previously, when it first shutdown in March, the cruise line hoped to reopen for business in April or May. Later, the date was moved to June 26 and now August 1.
"It is so in flux, that it is nearly ludicrous," Ross Klein, a sociology professor at Newfoundland's Memorial University, and cruise industry analyst, said. He describes the preparations to restart cruises as "aspirational" this summer.
Because of worries about the spread of COVID-19 on cruise ships, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control issued a "no sail order' to all cruise ships in U.S. waters on March 14. On July 24, the order will expire - unless the CDC decides to prolong it.
