FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ Carnival Cruise Line canceled its cruises in North America through June 27 despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's latest no-sail order extending through mid-July.
The Miami-based company announced the new date Monday, citing health and safety concerns surrounding the new coronavirus. The CDC's latest no-sail order took effect April 9.
Most major cruise companies canceled their cruises into May.
Royal Caribbean's cruises are currently suspended through May 11. A spokesman for the company _ the second largest cruise ship company in the world, both in terms of yearly number of passengers and revenue _ said they are looking at the CDC's latest order and determining their next step.
"We are aware of the CDC order and are studying how best to respond to its provisions," Jonathon Fishman, manager of corporate reputation for Royal Caribbean Cruises, said in an email Monday afternoon.
The CDC's order requires cruise ship companies to submit an "appropriate, actionable and robust plan to prevent, mitigate and respond to the spread of COVID-19 on board cruise ships," to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDC and Coast Guard by April 16.
As far as the new cancellations go, Carnival is offering either a 100% refund or a deal in which customers can apply money paid toward a future cruise along with $300 to $600 of onboard credit per stateroom, depending on length of sailing. The future cruise doesn't have to be booked until the end of the year, and can be for sailings through the end of 2022. That offer retroactively applies to those who may have already canceled their bookings since March 6 as well.
