NEWS: Several Cruise Lines Cancel Sailings Through February 2021

Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s no-sail order has expired, new requirements have been issued which cruise lines must meet in order to sail again. The CDC has also moved cruise travel into a new, higher risk level 4 category.

©Carnival Cruise Line

So far, all Disney Cruise Line sailings through January 31st, 2021, have been canceled, but now some other cruise lines are extending their cancellations past that date.

Carnival Cruise Lines has recently announced that its sailings from Miami, Port Canaveral, and Galveston will be canceled through February 2021, and the debut of its new ship, Mardi Gras, from Port Canaveral will be delayed until April 2021.

©Carnival Cruise Line via Twitter (@CarnivalCruise)

According to the Orlando Sentinel, Carnival had previously announced that it was only planning to return to service from Port Canaveral, PortMiami, and the Port of Galveston with a limited fleet. Sailings from other ports were already previously canceled through February 28th, with others already suspended through late March.

©Carnival Cruise Line

But, Carnival isn’t alone in delaying its sailings. Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean have also announced that their ships will not sail again until at least March 1st, 2021.

©Royal Caribbean Cruise

MSC Cruises, however, appears to still have cruises available for booking on its website for January 2021 at the moment.

The Orlando Sentinel notes that these extensions in cancellations are aimed at giving the cruise lines more time to meet the CDC’s new regulations, which includes ensuring crew members are free of COVID-19 and performing a test sailing to simulate an actual cruise, among several other things.

Although Disney has only canceled its cruises through January 31st, 2021 at the moment, that could certainly change. Bob Chapek, the current Chief Executive Officer of the Walt Disney Company did note that, due to the strict CDC regulations, future sailing departures are more delayed than what they had hoped.