Carnival Cruise Line resumed cruises in Galveston on Friday, launching Carnival Breeze on a four-day cruise as a sign of recovery from the pandemic. New Orleans cruises will be suspended until August.
Carnival resumed restricted operations in the United States on July 3, under guidelines from U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which contain a mandatory proof of vaccination. Cruises returned to Galveston and Miami with the Carnival Vista and Carnival Horizon, respectively. Later this month, Carnival ships will depart from Seattle and Port Canaveral, Florida, and Long Beach, California will be added to the list of operating ports next month.
Carnival Cruise Lines on Thursday extended the moratorium on departures from the port of New Orleans until August, despite the resumption of operations.
“We are pleased that the Carnival Breeze is our first ship to resume short cruise routes and our second ship to resume the port of Galveston,” said Christine Duffy, President of Carnival Cruise Line, in a press release. “Short cruises are very popular with our guests – around half of our fleet offers cruises of five days or less – so we are pleased to expand our travel offer with these convenient and affordable short breaks.”
Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Lines, and river shipping companies American Cruise Lines and the American Queen Steamboat Company all sailed from the port of New Orleans. Carnival is the largest cruise line in the United States with 14 ports and sailed from New Orleans on two ships, the Glory and Valor, each carrying approximately 3,000 passengers and 1,200 crew members.
In 2019, 1.18 million people cruised New Orleans, making it the sixth largest port in the country and generating $ 125 million in local spending, according to a 2019 report the port of New Orleans.
Tony McAuley contributed to this report.
Carnival Cruise Line said Tuesday that it hopes to resume cruises on some of its Miami, Galveston, Texas and Seattle ships in July, but …
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