A Holland America-branded cruise ship, part of the Carnival Corp. line of vessels, docked in Alaska. By. GETTY IMAGES
Carnival Corp., the world's largest cruise ship operator has cleared three of its ships for planned cruising to Alaska in July, following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's updated sail order last month that cleared cruise ships to set sail if 95 percent of passengers are vaccinated, along with 98 percent of the ship's crew.
The sailings would be among the first to embark from the U.S. since March 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic dealt a near fatal blow to the cruise industry. Carnival said Thursday that three of its ships are scheduled to sail to Alaska from the Holland America, Carnival Cruise and Princess Cruises brands.
The ships will set sail from Washington following a bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives Thursday that would temporarily allow cruise ships to sail from the aforementioned state to Alaska. U.S. law prohibits foreign-flagged vessels from transporting passengers between U.S. ports.
A Carnival Corp. spokesman on Thursday told the Wall Street Journal the company was optimistic that ongoing discussions with the CDC would be completed before the scheduled dates of sailing, which are July 25 for Princess Cruises (the Majestic Princess is set to make the seven-day roundtrip voyage); on July 27 the Carnival Miracle (from the Carnival Cruises line) will start weekly departures until Sept. 14; and on July 24 Holland America's Nieuw Amsterdam will kick off seven-day itineraries, the company said (via WSJ).
