With 75% of its fleet set to be in service in December, Carnival Corporation is accelerating plans to restart its nine brands.
In July, when U.S. ports opened, three additional Carnival brands resumed guest operations, bringing the total active brands to eight for the world’s largest cruise company.
Carnival now plans to expand its offering to additional ports and destinations.
These are the latest reboot plans, brand by brand:
Carnival Cruise Line
First navigation: In service since July 3, 2021
Boats: Carnival Vista, Carnival Breeze, Carnival Horizon, Carnival Miracle, Mardi Gras, Carnival Magic and Carnival Sunrise currently in service; eight more ships through October
Regions: Caribbean, Alaska, Bahamas and Mexican Riviera
With seven ships in service, Carnival Cruise Line is poised to launch a new phase of its gradual restart plan. As of October, eight more ships are back in service, bringing Carnival back to more U.S. ports of origin.
Currently sailing from Miami, Galveston, Seattle and Port Canaveral, Carnival is about to welcome ships back to Long Beach, New Orleans, Baltimore and Mobile. The brand also plans to have its entire fleet in service by the end of the year.
Princess Cruises
First navigation: In service since July 25, 2021
Boats: Majestic Princess and Regal Princess in service; Sky Princess, Grand Princess, Ruby Princess, Enchanted Princess, Caribbean Princess and Crown Princess resume operations until November
Regions: Alaska, United Kingdom, Caribbean, Panama Canal, Mexico, Hawaii and California
Princess Cruises returned to operations on July 25 with the Majestic Princess. Seattle-based, the ship currently offers a seven-night itinerary to Alaska, visiting Glacier Bay, Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan.
The premium cruise line also resumed service in Europe and Regal Princess offered a number of “Seacations” in the British Isles until late summer.
Sky Princess, an additional ship, begins a similar program on August 30th.
This fall, Princess also welcomes passengers back to San Francisco and the Everglades Harbor.
Between September and November, eight Princess ships will once again offer cruises across the Caribbean, the Panama Canal, Mexico, Hawaii and the California coast.
Holland America Line
First navigation: In service since July 24, 2021
Boats: New Amsterdam and Eurodam in service; Zuiderdam, Koningsdam, Rotterdam and Nieuw Statendam resumed operations until November
Regions: Alaska, Mediterranean, Mexico, Caribbean, Hawaii, Panama Canal and California
Holland America Line included a total of six ships in its current restart plan.
The Nieuw Amsterdam was the first ship to welcome guests and began a short season in Alaska on 24 July.
Meanwhile, Eurodam resumed service on August 15, offering cruises across the eastern Mediterranean from Piraeus, Greece.
Starting in September, the company will also return to Port Everglades and San Diego with six ships, including the one from Rotterdam, built in 2021.
Seabourn
First navigation: In service since July 3, 2021
Boats: Seabourn Ovation and Seabourn Odyssey in service; Seabourn Quest is scheduled to continue in November
Regions: Mediterranean, Caribbean and Antarctic
Seabourn resumed cruise operations on July 3 with Seabourn Ovation. Based in Piraeus, the ultralight ship currently offers a number of itineraries to the Greek islands.
A second ship was added to the active formation on July 18, as the Seabourn Odyssey resumed service from Barbados, launching a series of new summer voyages to the Caribbean.
Continuing the company’s restart plan, Seabourn Quest will resume guest operations in November with voyages to Antarctica.
Also in November, Seabourn plans to return to the United States with departures from Miami to Seabourn Ovation.
P&O Cruises UK
First navigation: In service since June 27, 2021
Boats: Britannia and Iona in service; Ventura and Azura will continue until December
Regions: United Kingdom, Atlantic Islands, Mediterranean and Caribbean
P&O Cruises is back in service in the UK. The British brand has resumed service on June 27 with a series of domestic cruises aboard the Britannia. In August followed the new Iona, which offered a similar product.
Now the two ships will have to continue offering the “short trips” to and from Southampton until 25 September, when international itineraries are resumed.
At the end of this year, the P&O relaunched cruises across the Mediterranean, the Atlantic Islands and the Caribbean. The Ventura and Azura also welcome passengers, bringing the total number of active P&O vessels to four.
Cunard Line
First navigation: In service since August 13, 2021
Boats: Queen Elizabeth currently in service; Queen Mary 2 will follow in November
Regions: United Kingdom, Transatlantic, Western Europe, Atlantic Islands and Caribbean
After a 17-month break, Cunard Line returned to operations on August 13th.
Like P&O, the brand resumed service in the UK, sailing on a number of national scenic cruises through the British Isles to Queen Elizabeth.
Following the UK summer program, Queen Elizabeth is poised to resume its international operations with new itineraries in Western Europe and the Atlantic Islands.
Queen Mary 2, meanwhile, welcomes passengers in November, offering transatlantic passes before making new getaways to Western Europe. Later in the year, the ship also sails the Caribbean with three new cruises.
Coast Cruises
First navigation: In service since May 1, 2021
Boats: Costa Smeralda, Costa Luminosa, Costa Deliziosa and Costa Firenze in service; Costa Toscana, Costa Fascinosa and Costa Diadema will continue until November
Regions: Western and Eastern Mediterranean, Middle East, South America, Caribbean and Canary Islands
Carnival’s Italian brand, Costa Cruises, currently has four ships in service in Europe. The formation includes the Costa Smeralda, with 5,200 guests, the first vessel to resume operations of the brand on 1 May.
The operation also includes the new Costa Firenze, which sailed on its inaugural cruise on July 4, embarking on a series of Italian itineraries throughout the week. Costa Luminosa and Costa Deliziosa complete the active fleet, offering cruises in the eastern Mediterranean.
Starting in September, Costa plans to add three more ships in service, sailing to Western Europe, the Canary Islands, the Middle East, South America and the Caribbean.
AIDA Cruises
First navigation: In service since March 20, 2021
Boats: AIDAperla, AIDAblu, AIDAsol, AIDAprima, AIDAstella and AIDAmar in service; AIDAluna will follow in September
Regions: Europe: Northern Europe and the Mediterranean
AIDA Cruises, based in Germany, resumed sailing in March with a Canary Islands program at AIDAperla.
The brand currently offers cruises across the Mediterranean and Northern Europe with six ships.
AIDAluna will become the seventh ship in the AIDA fleet to restart guest operations in 2021. From 5 September, the ship will offer three- and four-day cruises from the German port of Kiel.
By the end of this year, AIDA Cruises expects to have 10 ships sailing, including the new AIDAcosma, which will be delivered in December 2021.
P&O Australia
First navigation: December 18, 2021
Boats: Pacific Explorer, Pacific Encounter and Pacific Adventure
Regions: South Pacific – Australia
The only Carnival brand currently out of service, P&O Australia, canceled all scheduled cruises to leave until 17 December.
In addition, due to changes in deployment, the company also canceled selective itineraries that went out until February 2022.
According to the P&O, the measure was necessary as it “continues to obtain guidance from international and local government authorities, public health experts and the community at large”.
Currently, P&O Australia’s first scheduled cruise departs on December 18 for Pacific Adventure.