Coronavirus: Carnival cancels next Baltimore cruise; Canada closes ports to cruises until July
Carnival Cruise Line said Friday it is canceling the next seven-day cruise out of the Port of Baltimore, which Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan ordered closed Thursday due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Also Friday, Canada’s transport minister, Marc Garneau, said all Canadian ports would be closed to cruise ships carrying more than 500 passengers from April 2 to July 1.
Carnival’s Pride, which is currently at sea and will be allowed to return to Baltimore as scheduled on Sunday from the Bahamas, will not go out on its next voyage, Carnival spokesman Vance Gulliksen said.
The March 15 cruise is canceled, Gulliksen said. Passengers who are booked on the next scheduled voyage of the Carnival Pride, on March 22, will receive a $400 shipboard credit if the voyage operates as scheduled, depending on how long the Baltimore port remains closed. He said passengers can also cancel their trip and receive a full refund, as well as a $200 shipboard credit when they rebook.
“We sincerely apologize to our guests during this unprecedented time of uncertainty and thank them for their patience and understanding,” Gulliksen said in a statement.
Another cruise ship, the Royal Caribbean Grandeur of the Seas, was scheduled to embark from Baltimore on March 19 for the Southeastern Coast and the Bahamas. Royal Caribbean on Friday suspended its U.S. operations for 30 days, the company said.
Other port closures that affect cruise passengers:
- Canada: Cruise ships carrying more than 500 passengers will not be permitted to dock at any Canadian port from April 2 to July 11.
- Astoria, Oregon: The city’s port has been closed to visiting cruise ships through April 10.
At least 30 cruise ships at sea list port destinations in the USA this week, according to a USA TODAY satellite tracking analysis of 380 of the world’s largest cruise ships. Data from real-time vessel monitoring systems was merged with passenger and crew capacities to produce the snapshot.
That means upward of 100,000 people – 70% of them passengers – could look to come ashore at a range of U.S. ports.
The Carnival Pride has a capacity for 2,124 passengers and 930 crew members. It sails from Baltimore and Tampa, Florida, to the Bahamas, Bermuda, the Caribbean and the Panama Canal.
Coronavirus concerns have prompted other cruise lines to suspend their operations.
Princess Cruises said Thursday it won’t sail for 60 days. Two of its ships, the Diamond Princess and Grand Princess, have experienced outbreaks of the coronavirus in recent weeks.
More than 700 people aboard the Diamond Princess tested positive, and six of them died. At least two passengers and 19 crew members aboard the Grand Princess also tested positive. The Grand Princess has been disembarking this week in Oakland, California.
Viking Cruises said Thursday it would cease sailing through May 1. Disney Cruises said Thursday it would cancel new departures starting Saturday through the end of March.
The U.S. State Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have advised Americans, especially those with underlying health conditions, to avoid cruise travel because of the coronavirus.
On Wednesday, Norwegian Cruise Lines began requiring passengers over the age of 70 to submit a medical fitness certificate before boarding. The cruise industry’s trade association submitted an identical proposal to the White House on Tuesday that would make the policy apply to all cruises.
Former Food and Drug Administration chief Scott Gottlieb told USA TODAY on Monday that no one should be taking a cruise right now.
“This is a very sticky pathogen,” he said. “It’s an awful risk to pack a lot of people on a cruise ship.”
Contributing: Curtis Tate, Morgan Hines, David Oliver, Nick Penzenstadler and Marco della Cava, USA TODAY
