Carnival Will Resume Cruises From Three Ports In August

Beginning August 1, Carnival will cruise from ports in Galveston, Texas, as well as Florida’s Port Canaveral and Miami; the company stressed it is committed to safety, and as part of a “measured approach,” chose those ports because they are “easily accessible by car.”

In addition to pausing all other North American and Australian operations, Carnival says it will cancel all Spirit Alaskan cruises from Seattle and two Hawaii cruises scheduled for September and October.

Bloomberg reported April 16 that at least seven Carnival cruise ships had become coronavirus hotspots as the disease spread across the world, with 1,500 confirmed infections and 39 deaths.

In February, the Carnival-owned Diamond Princess became the largest outbreak of coronavirus cases outside of China at that time, with over 540 cases; in total, 712 people were infected and 14 died.

Carnival canceled all cruises in the middle of March, after the U.S. State Department warned citizens not to take cruises due to the outbreak.

A House of Representatives committee opened an investigation Friday into Carnival’s handling of coronavirus on its ships, which the committee described as “a fertile breeding ground for infectious diseases.”