As COVID-19 began to spread around the globe, one of the areas that drew increased attention was cruise ships. The spread of coronavirus in that environment, and the way some executives responded to it, has drawn understandable criticism in recent weeks. All of which leads to the question: will people return to cruise lines when the danger of the pandemic has subsided?
Based on a new report from the New York Post, it turns out that cruises have a very dedicated following. Isabel Vincent reports that Carnival Cruise Lines has seen a massive amount of bookings since announcing that they’re planning to resume operations in August. That announcement came last week; since then, the company has seen a substantial interest in travelers wanting to venture on the high seas.
Cruise Planners, a company that books cruises on the world’s largest cruise ship line, said bookings shot up by 600% when they announced that cruises would begin August 1. The spike is a 200% increase over the same time period last year.
As the Post reports, however, there’s no guarantee that the date Carnival expects to return is the date Carnival will actually resume operations. As the company noted in a press release on May 4, that timetable includes a number of variables outside of the company’s control.
Any resumption of cruise operations — whenever that may be — is fully dependent on our continued efforts in cooperation with federal, state, local and international government officials. In our continued support of public health efforts, any return to service will also include whatever enhanced operational protocols and social gathering guidelines that are in place at the time of the resumption of cruise operations.
Alternately, even if you are able to go on a cruise in September, there may be some substantial differences between it and the cruise you took last September. What will travel by boat look like in the near future? That remains to be seen.
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