The cruise line industry is among one of the many hard-hit business sectors as a direct result of the pandemic. No-sail orders have continued to halt departures, and a slow return to normalcy is all but certain.
Port Canaveral, one of the major ports in the state of Florida, is anticipating that 2021 will continue to be a rough year for cruising.
According to Orlando Sentinel, Port Canaveral began setting budgets in preparation for their fiscal year 2021, which begins on October 1st. The working model currently assumes departures can begin again in January, given that there is no confirmation yet on when ships can start sailing again. Based on that model, Port Canaveral projected four ships sailing at 50% capacity. They hope to add more ships each quarter.
All cruise ships are under no-sail orders from the CDC, currently in effect until September 30th, and there is reason to believe those orders may be extended once again. There are still many moving parts that could have a drastic impact on any of the projections made thus far. While Port Canaveral is budgeting for no sailing to occur until at least January 2021, things could change at any time.
Port CEO Capt. John Murray pointed out that if the CDC releases sailing guidelines requiring capacity to be less than 50%, then it’s possible cruise ships won’t sail at all, as it would not be financially feasible given the cost of fuel for the ships themselves.
The budget that is currently in the works for the upcoming fiscal year has money set aside for the revamp of Cruise Terminal 8, which is the one used by Disney Cruise Line.
Do you have any cruising plans for 2021? Let us know in the comments!
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Scheduled for Disney in February 2021.
We are cruising with Disney Cruise Line in September 2021.