Carnival Corp is moving forward with plans to return most of its fleet to service by the end of this year, despite a growing spread of Covid-19's Delta variant worldwide in recent weeks.
The Arnold Donald-led owner of 94 ships plans by year's end to bring back 63 ships across eight out of nine brands, achieving a 75% re-entry of fleet capacity into the global cruise market.
New York-listed Carnival may alter its return to service if ships start having Delta outbreaks, but for now, it plans to roll out vessels as planned.
"Our focus is to continue on a gradual, phased-in approach to resumption of cruising that is in compliance with the requirements in place everywhere we operate, including protocols or vaccination requirements as appropriate based on the region," spokesman Roger Frizzell told TradeWinds.
Ready to adjust
"As we always do, we’ll continue to work with and follow guidelines from government and health authorities globally, and as the situation continues to evolve, we will be well prepared to comply and adjust to any changing circumstances while serving the best interest of public health."
The Delta variant has become a worldwide concern as outbreaks surface around the world, while many Americans are refusing available vaccines out of fear of side effects.
The strain has appeared in more than 100 countries and infected tens of thousands of people. Countries with the highest infection rates include Indonesia, the UK and Russia.
Miami-based cruise giant Carnival, which expects to keep its P&O Australia brand at anchor past 2021, would not disclose planned capacity levels for individual vessels as the Delta variant becomes the most dominant Covid-19 strain worldwide.
"It’s a fleetwide view of the overall guest capacity when all of these ships are operating," Frizzell said.
"But there are still more announcements to come."
So far, Carnival plans to have vessels owned by US brands Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America and Seabourn and European brands Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises, P&O Cruises UK and Cunard offering voyages by the end of this year.
Carnival Cruise Line has resumed guest voyages with three ships sailing from US ports Galveston and Miami and intends to sail 15 ships by 31 October and all 24 vessels by year's end.
Princess Cruises, which plans to have eight vessels sailing by the end of 2021, expects to sail ships from Seattle to Alaska and along the UK coast by late July.
The brand also plans to offer autumn trips from California and Florida to the Caribbean, Panama Canal, Mexico, Hawaii and California.
Holland America Line is set this weekend to sail a ship from Seattle to Alaska, followed by itineraries from Greece in August and from Italy and Spain in September.
It also has voyages on tap to the end of 2021 to Mexico, Hawaii, California and the Caribbean.
Seabourn, which has resumed voyages with two ships sailing from Greece and Barbados, plans to begin the Antarctica season in November with a third ship.
Sights set on Europe
Italy's Costa Cruises, which began sailing again in May with sailings in Italy and Greece, now offers trips to France and Spain.
This will be followed by sailings to Portugal and Turkey in September that will result in seven ships visiting the Mediterranean Sea by the end of the year.
German brand AIDA Cruises, which has sailed the Canary Islands since March and Greece and Germany since May, plans to visit Spain, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands and the Middle East Gulf by year's end, taking its active fleet to nine ships.
P&O Cruises (UK), which has cruised the UK coast since June, plans to start sailing the Mediterranean, the Atlantic coast and the Caribbean in September with four ships at sea.
Cunard will resume guest cruise operations in August, with one ship sailing the UK coast, followed by trips to the Iberian coast and the Canary Islands.
It expects to return a second ship to service in November with a combination of transatlantic crossings and Caribbean cruises.
