Under investigation for its response to COVID-19 pandemic, Carnival announces plans to resume cruises in August


Carnival Cruise Line plans on resuming operations Aug. 1, just days after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's No Sail Order is set to expire.
In a message to customers and travel agents on Monday, Carnival said it is "committed to supporting all public health efforts to manage the COVID-19 situation," including "focusing our return to service on a select number of homeports where we have more significant operations that are easily accessible by car for the majority of our guests." The company plans on sailing eight ships from Galveston, Texas, and Miami and Port Canaveral in Florida.
Several ships owned by Carnival Cruise Line's parent company, Carnival Corp., experienced COVID-19 outbreaks in the early days of the pandemic, with more than 1,500 infections and dozens of deaths linked to the Diamond Princess, Ruby Princess, and Zaandam. Last week, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure notified Carnival CEO Arnold Donald that it is investigating why the company didn't do more sooner to protect passengers and crew, requesting all documents related to its response.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The CDC's No Sail Order was first issued in March because the agency had "reason to believe that cruise ship travel may continue to introduce, transmit, or spread COVID-19," and was renewed in April. Unless modified, it will stay in effect until either Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar declares COVID-19 is no longer a public health emergency or July 24. The CDC on Monday said it does not "have enough information to say when it will be safe for cruise ships to resume sailing," and has not discussed time lines with the cruise lines.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
July 27 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Today's political cartoons include tough stains, heatwaves, and vote-losing behaviour
-
5 attention-grabbing cartoons about Trump's distraction tactics
Cartoons Artists take on a musical diversion, an NFL team by any other name, and more
-
The Coldplay affair: a cautionary tale
In the Spotlight The pair became 'the most googled people on the planet' after getting caught having an affair at a Coldplay concert
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliable
speed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutiny
Speed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress code
speed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirement
speed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement
-
Trump calls Amazon's Bezos over tariff display
Speed Read The president was not happy with reports that Amazon would list the added cost from tariffs alongside product prices