Updated shipping plans for 2021 from several major cruise lines

No major US cruise company will set sail across the country until at least March.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still recommend avoiding cruise travel as the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread.
These are the updated shipping plans for 2021 for cruise companies like Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Disney Cruises.
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Bad news for cruise enthusiasts: cruise companies continue to extend cruise suspensions until 2021, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

The cruise industry initially went through a period of silence after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted and extended their ban on boarding when the coronavirus pandemic began to emerge in 2020. But after months of waiting in October, the CDC replaced its mandatory sailing break with the “Framework for Conditional Sailing Order”, a list of strict requirements necessary for cruise lines to continue operating again.

Despite this order and the imminent debut of several cruise ships in the coming years, the return of cruises still remains in limbo. Currently, no major cruise through the United States will be sailing until March, but many cruise lines continue to postpone their sailing dates as the coronavirus pandemic continues to increase around the United States.

Read More: COVID-19 created a once-in-a-lifetime crisis for Carnival and Royal Caribbean, but after surviving kidnappings and shipwrecks, the industry seems impossible to sink

Keep scrolling to see updated sailing suspension dates for several of the top cruise lines:

Norwegian cruises

norwegian epic cruise ship — Norwegian Cruises.

According to an update on suspended travel on December 29, 2020, Norwegian pressed the pause button on all of its scheduled cruises to sail through March.

Princess Cruises

Princess Cruises originally stopped its voyages in March, according to a notice published on November 20, 2020. However, on January 6, the cruise line extended this schedule, announcing that it would stop further voyages until May 14.

Princess Cruises also halted all voyages until November 1 that were scheduled to last more than seven days to and from US ports, and all trips to and from Japan until June 25, according to the November notice.

“We continue to prepare our ships for return to service and look forward to seeing our guests back on board to create memories of the summer,” said Jan Swartz, President of Princess Cruises, in a statement.

When the cruise line returns to sailing, several ships – including the Diamond Princess and the Grand Princess – will experience the Princess’ MedallionClass. This “experience” includes new health protocols and contactless features, to name a few details.

Carnival Cruises

A complete list of suspended shipment dates per ship is available on the Carnival website. According to this list, no Carnival cruises will depart until after March 31, although several ships will remain moored further in the future, according to a January 6 press release.

For example, according to a press release posted on December 9, 2020, Carnival set up dry docks for Carnival Magic, Carnival Paradise and Carnival Valor, thereby interrupting any shipment by September 24, 31 May and September 11, respectively.

“We are sorry to disappoint our guests, as we can see from our booking activity that there is clearly a pent-up demand for Carnival cruises,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, in a statement in the press release.

Read More: Carnival’s CEO told employees in an internal video that “a new sense of optimism” in the cruise industry will let it end with 20% pay cuts

The inaugural carnival trip was also postponed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Royal Caribbean

Royal Caribbean will suspend all cruise travel until February 28, according to a December 17, 2020 update. The two exceptions are Australia-based travel, which will be suspended until April 30, and the new Odyssey ship of the Seas, which will be moored until March 26.

According to a December 2 press release, Royal Caribbean’s Celebrity Cruises also halted their travels until February 28, with a new extension of the suspension on South American travel until April 7.

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Royal Caribbean’s Silversea Cruises brand will remain suspended until April 1 (with the exception of the Silver Origin cruise, which will travel on February 6). Royal Caribbean’s Azamara line will remain suspended until March 20.

The first Royal Caribbean vessel to resume navigation will be in China with the Spectrum of the Seas. This particular ship will only be suspended until January 20.

Celebrity Cruises

Celebrity Cruises has suspended all travel until February 28 and travel to South America with the 2021 winter program until April 7, according to a travel alert published on December 2.

Holland America Line

Holland America will pause all cruise travel until April 30, according to an update on January 6. Alaskan cruises originally scheduled to depart in mid-May have also been canceled, although some will be stopped even more in June.

Several international trips – specifically those in Canada and the Mediterranean – will be frozen further with a pause extension until August for selected trips. You can find the pause timeline on the Holland America website.

Read More: Tourists already dedicate 35% of cruise travel budgets to retail purchases on board – and experts say pandemic protocols will only make duty-free retail more important

Disney Cruises

Disney Cruises.

Christian Charisius / Reuters

According to a travel alert published on December 11, 2020, Disney Cruises has suspended all voyages until February 28. Cruises over seven nights have been suspended even more. See the full list of Disney suspended cruises here.

MSC Cruises

The cruise ship MSC Magnifica passes through the Saint Mark Basin in Venice, Italy, on June 9, 2019.JPG — Cruise ship MSC Magnifica in Italy.

MSC has released a list of cruise ship cancellation dates. Trips on MSC Armonia, for example, were canceled until February 28, while MSC Divinia will not see a cruise until after March 27.

P&O Cruises

P&O suspended all trips until April.

Read More: Carnival CEO reveals the advice he would give his 25-year-old self

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