MSC Seaside and Divina Both to Sail from Port Canaveral

MSC Cruises to base ships at Port Canaveral next spring, starting November 2020 and becoming the fifth cruise line here.

MSC Cruises announced Thursday that it will begin sailing from Port Canaveral for the first time this winter and offer a year-round presence.

Starting with the MSC Seaside from November to March 2021 and followed by the elegant The MSC Divina that begins sailing at the end of March, the Swiss-based cruise line becomes the fifth major cruise line to have ships based at Port Canaveral.

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Carnival Plans to Restart Cruises on Eight Ships from its Miami and Texas Ports in August

Carnival said a few days ago it plans to restart some of its cruise itineraries from North America in August as it tries to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

Cruises from Miami, Port Canaveral, and Galveston are set to resume on August 1, however, trips for all other North American and Australian markets would remain suspended through August 31.

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Coronavirus Found on Diamond Princess Surfaces 17 Days Later

Coronavirus stays on surfaces far longer than scientists first thought. Traces of coronavirus remained inside cabins of the Diamond Princess for more than two weeks after the 3,711 passengers and crew were removed, according to alarming new research.

A report released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control Monday traces of the coronavirus is found in cabins on the stricken cruise ship 17 days after they were abandoned. More than five times longer than it was believed at first. Scientists had initially claimed the potentially deadly bug live two to three days on some surfaces.

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Carnival Offers to Turn its Cruise Ships into Floating Hospitals

Carnival Cruise Lines, the world’s largest cruise operator is willing to convert its unused cruise ships into temporary hospitals, as the growing number of COVID-19 cases would put pressure on land-based hospitals.

Carnival announced its offer to governments and health authorities last week. The cruise ships are “capable of being quickly provisioned” to serve as hospitals with up to 1,000 hospital rooms that can treat patients suffering from less critical or non-COVID-19 conditions,” Carnival said in a press release.

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Winter Cruises Worst for Viruses, Research Shows

 In winter months, passengers onboard cruise ships run a far higher risk of contracting a virus than summer travelers. 

The Diamond Princess is currently being quarantined in Japan because of the coronavirus, scientists analyzed almost 120 serious virus outbreaks aboard cruise ships over the past decade. All of them are recorded by the US Centers for Disease Control. Any ship that stops at the US and which has an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness aboard must report it to the Centers for Disease Control.

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