Carnival loses two ships as pandemic continues to beat sector
The pandemic continues to hit hard the cruise sector, forcing giants such as Carnival to restructure their fleet.
The firm announced today that two of its US ships, Carnival Ecstasy and Carnival Sensation, will leave the fleet, while some of the routes they were on will be cancelled.
After initially reporting that Carnival Sensation’s restart was delayed, Carnival decided to halt all operations and moved Carnival Ecstasy to Alabama to cover the itineraries from 5 March to 10 October, cancelling cruises from October to September 2023.
In Australia, two other cruises – Carnival Splendor and Carnival Spirit – have seen their itineraries slashed from June to October, with Carnival saying details for a two-ship return will be announced once confirmed.
“Our guests have remained passionate and supportive throughout the restart and 2022 gives us plenty of reasons for enthusiasm and excitement as we reach full operations in the US, prepare for our 50th birthday celebration, and await the arrival of Carnival Celebration this fall,” said Carnival’s president Christine Duffy. “Our very loyal guests, our vibrant homeport strategy and our fleet of popular ships are strengths to our advantage as we adapt to changing opportunities and circumstances.”
Carnival is not the only cruise line operator forced to make changes following the impact of Covid. Royal Caribbean announced in early January it was forced to cancel of its operations amid rising Omicron numbers, Morning Wire reported.
The sailings of three ships – Serenade of the Seas, Jewel of the Seas and Symphony of the Seas – have been paused while the return of Vision of the Seas was postponed to 7 March.
“We regret having to cancel our guests’ long-awaited vacations and appreciate their loyalty and understanding,” the company adding that these measures have been implemented “in an abundance of caution.”