Cruise Ships That Got Retired or Sold for Scrap Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Faced with decreasing revenues and a lack of passengers during the global COVID-19 pandemic, some cruise line operators are taking an unpopular but necessary step: selling off their ships or taking them out of service and recycling them.

Most modern cruise vessels have service lives of 40 years or more. It is not uncommon to see cruise ships built in the 1970s and 1980’s go to the breakers. Older vessels are often sold first to another, smaller cruise operator — a market that is often referred to as “second-hand tonnage.” However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, you can see now relatively young vessels to be sold or scrapped, as the cruise lines are looking to trim operational costs.

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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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Carnival Cruise Line Plans to Sail Again Starting in August

Carnival Cruise Line announced last week its plans to gradually resume cruising in North America in August, nearly five months after it stopped operations due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Sailings will begin on August 1 with eight ships setting off from Galveston, Texas; Miami; Port Canaveral, Florida. The company noted they decided to resume operations at these ports as the majority of customers can easily drive to them.

According to Carnival’s website, the cruises will sail to destinations including the Bahamas and Cozumel, Mexico.

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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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Carnival, Royal Caribbean Cruises Increase Passenger Screening After Coronavirus Outbreak

Several cruise lines have implemented new travel restrictions this week and boosted their passenger screening procedures.

Cruise operators issued travel advisories to ensure that their guests are not affected by the coronavirus outbreak. Cruise lines are not letting people sail if they have traveled in China amid the outbreak of the new coronavirus that started there.

The coronavirus appeared in Wuhan, China, in December last year. Due to the virus, almost 20 people died and 600 were infected.

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