As someone who loves cruising – and travel in general – this pandemic is definitely putting a damper on my future plans. There are many others in a similar situation with cancelled trips, future travel credits, and the desire to get back out into the world and travel. Cruising has definitely been impacted by the virus, and because of this it’s hard to predict what the future of cruising might look like. And if you’re following any cruise news, the outlook can seem quite bleak.
Here are some recent cruise news updates that may help cruisers stay up to date on what’s going on in the world of cruising.
Cruise Cancellations
If you’ve been paying any attention to the news, you will see cancellation after cancellation from all of the major cruise lines. It’s not for lack of trying on the cruise companies part – they continue to announce new dates, and then have to extend due to the government restrictions on the ports. Here’s a look at some of the country-specific cruise bans in effect across the globe.
Australia
The cruise ban in Australia has been extended until September 17. This means no cruise ships are permitted in Australian waters until at earliest September 18. This decision will be revisited closer to mid-September and at that point further guidance will be provided.
Canada
In Canada, cruise ships carrying more than 500 passengers have been banned to dock at Canadian ports until July 1. The Canadian arctic ports are banning cruise ships for the duration of the cruise season. At earliest cruising to Canadian ports could resume on July 2.
To protect Canadians, I announced today measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This season, cruise ships will not be permitted to dock at Canadian ports from April 2 to July 1. In Northern and Arctic ports, the cruise ship season will be deferred for the entire season.
— Marc Garneau (@MarcGarneau) March 13, 2020
United States
The no-sail order from the Center for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) is a little bit more complex than the others. On April 9th, the CDC announced that they were extending their no-sail restrictions until one of the following activities occur:
- COVID-19 is no longer considered a public health emergency
- the CDC Director alters the order as a result of public health or other considerations
- 100 days have passed from April 15, the date the extended order went into effect. If there are no changes, July 24th would be the earliest cruises could dock or leave from US ports.
Cruise Line Specific Updates
This is where it gets more confusing! The cruise ships all have different cancellations in effect and continue to revise their dates on what seems like a monthly basis. Here are some of the major cruise line updates and links to more information on what the pandemic means for their operations and cancellations.
Carnival has announced various cancellations and they are basing them by ship. Cancellation dates range from July 31 to all of 2020 depending on the ship. Their credits include 100% refund or a bonus value that includes 100% future cruise credit and onboard credit values per stateroom. Conditions apply based on length of cruise and staterooms. For full details of their cancellations, check out their Health and Sailing page.
Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean have also announced that they will be cancelling all cruises until July 31. Royal has also said this doesn’t include cruises from China, as these will only be cancelled until June 30.
(1/5) Important update on sailings departing through July 31, 2020.🔗 https://t.co/bBZpOEmnEG pic.twitter.com/niLLmljdiT
— Royal Caribbean (@RoyalCaribbean) May 20, 2020
Holland America has cancelled all 2020 cruises to Alaska, Canada/New England, and Europe. There are different options for cancellations on their travel advisory page, but essentially cruisers can choose from a full refund, different future cruise credit values, and onboard credits.
Norwegian Cruise Lines announced cruise suspensions until July 31. They’ve also listed on their page specific details about their future cruise credits at 150% and 125% of the purchase value. Check our their site for complete details.
To get the complete details for each of these cruise lines (or other cruise lines) check out their websites. They have all set up detailed options for cruisers when it comes to re-booking, cancelling, getting refunds, etc. Some of the details are a little confusing and you may not know which option to choose because of this. Be sure to read all of the fine print and policies so you completely understand what would be best for your personal situation before you decide.
Future of Buffets & Social Distancing On-Board
As social distancing remains in effect in most places around the globe, that puts the future of cruise buffets into question. Personally, I never liked the buffets before the pandemic. I watched too many people avoid using the the hand sanitizer in the buffets (and around the ship). Some people would cough into their hands, touch their faces, scratch places they shouldn’t, and then use that same hand to grab the serving utensils.
Royal Caribbean was bold enough to say that when cruises resume there likely wouldn’t be a traditional buffet experience. Since that statement they’ve changed their tune. A week later the CEO of Royal Caribbean stated that there will be buffet experiences onboard, but guest likely wouldn’t be serving themselves.
As for the other cruise lines, it’s safe to say that they will take similar approaches to limit passengers touching the serving utensils and minimize contact and germs spreading.
But that leads to other areas of the ship where social distancing isn’t really possible – the pool deck for example! Even if masks are required onboard, do you think sun-worshippers are going to wear their mask while tanning? Ship employees would be in full-time policing mode. The shows and common areas for live performances are other areas that make social distancing difficult to say the least.
Cruise News Summary
There’s still a lot of work to be done by the cruise companies to help make cruising safer in a post-COVID-19 world. I think we are still in for some further delays and cancellations ahead. From my perspective, I would definitely cruise again, because I love the experience. However, I want to wait until they have some of the kinks worked out, and will continue to monitor the cruise news and updates. What about you? Have you been impacted by the cruise cancellations? Would you cruise again (or for the first time) after they resume safe operations? Let me know in the comments below!
