Carnival Corp's North American brands have cancelled some voyages to November as it prepares to adhere to US government rules for sailing in the nation's waters.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on 30 October lifted a US no-sail order but issued a "Framework for Resuming Cruise Ship Operations Order" that requires, among other things, simulated voyages and onboard Covid-19 testing labs.
"We are committed to meeting the CDC requirements and keeping our guests and business partners informed of our progress," Carnival Cruise Line president Christine Duffy said in a statement.
"The entire Carnival team appreciates the great support of our guests, travel advisors and business partners, and local officials in our homeports and destinations."
Sailings delayed to at least March
Carnival Cruise Line, which owns 23 of Carnival Corp's 87 vessels, has pushed back sailings from US homeports to at least February.
All embarkations from Baltimore, Charleston, Jacksonville, Long Beach, Mobile, New Orleans and San Diego have been delayed to March, nine-brand Carnival Corp said.
Those on the 2,124-berth Carnival Legend (built 2001) out of Tampa have been postponed until 26 March.
"Carnival is in the process of building a gradual, phased-in approach to resume guest operations, which will focus initially on Miami and Port Canaveral, to be followed by Galveston," Carnival Corp said.
Carnival Cruise Line is Carnival Corp's largest line with 23 ships.
Carnival Corp's other North American brands — Holland America Line, Princess Cruises and Seabourn —have also further delayed sailings to the end of March and pushed back longer voyages until November 2021.
Carnival Corp's shares, which trade on the New York Stock Exchange as CCL, slipped 4.4% to $17.38 by mid-afternoon trading in New York on Friday.
