Carnival Corporation today announced that it has received the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention's (CDC) approval of its Phase 2A Port Agreements for PortMiami, Port of Galveston and Port Canaveral.
All three are key homeports for Carnival Cruise Line and the company plans to concentrate its energies on this trio of major cruise ports in terms of restarting operations this summer.
Carnival had previously announced that it plans to sail Carnival Horizon from Miami, and Carnival Vista and Breeze from Galveston when it resumes passenger service in July as its first ships to carry guests again post-COVID.
The company has also singled out Port Canaveral as a restart priority and Carnival said in a press release that it expects to announce plans to resume operations at the Florida port imminently.
New CDC guidelines dictate that cruise lines must have agreements in place with their various homeports prior to conducting a so-called simulated or actual passenger cruise. Such agreements attest that the ports are equipped to support the cruise operator amid COVID-19 conditions with ancillary public health and operational resources.
"These agreements move us one step closer to sailing with our loyal guests," said Lars Ljoen, executive vice president and chief maritime officer for Carnival Cruise Line. "We appreciate the support from not just these three homeport partners, but all of our homeports, that are eager to have us back as soon as possible."
"This is the exciting news that we have been waiting for," stated Capt. John Murray, Port Canaveral CEO. "A tremendous amount of cooperative effort went into these agreements as we worked closely with our partner, Carnival Cruise Line. This is a monumental step to getting the cruise industry up and running once again."
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