Carnival Cruise Line temporary halts bookings for cruises longer than 7 days: Here's why
The cruises aren't canceled just yet — but they're no longer available to book through Oct. 2021
Carnival is capping its cruises at just seven days — at least for the time being.
The cruise line confirmed that any voyages originating out of U.S. ports, which last longer than a week, are currently “closed for sale” in adherence with the latest guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The CDC’s Framework for Conditional Sailing Order, outlined on Oct. 30, stipulates that cruise operators must not offer sailings longer than seven days.
“We continue discussions with the CDC about the Oct. 30 order which lays out conditions under which cruising in the U.S. can resume," a spokesperson for Carnival said. (iStock)
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“We continue discussions with the CDC about the Oct. 30 order which lays out conditions under which cruising in the U.S. can resume, including a proposed 7-day cap on itineraries,” writes a spokesperson for Carnival in a statement shared with Fox News. “For the time being, we have closed for sale any 8-day or longer cruises from the U.S. We have not taken any other action on these cruises, and will update guests and travel agents once we make decisions about these itineraries.”
On its website, Carnival has also removed such sailings out of U.S. ports through at least Oct. 31, 2021, as first noted by both CruiseRadio.net and Cruise Critic.
Longer sailings out of non-U.S. ports, meanwhile, remain available to book.
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The CDC’s Conditional Sailing Order also outlines a number of other mandates, including adherence to screenings, testing and hygiene standards, among other requirements.
“We have been clear that sailing should not resume until cruise lines demonstrate that they can significantly mitigate the risk of COVID-19 exposure and spread,” said Dr. Robert Redfield, the CDC’s director, in a statement issued at the time of the Conditional Sailing Order’s announcement. “The Conditional Safe Sail Order presents cruise lines with the opportunity to apply new strategies aimed at managing the risks associated with the pandemic in a way that protects the health and safety of guests and crew.”
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Representatives for Royal Caribbean and Norwegian did not immediately respond to requests for comment on similar caps on cruise lengths. Although, as CruiseRadio.net noted, both lines had previously suggested as much.