MIAMI, Sept. 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Two cruise
line brands from Carnival Corporation &
plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world's largest cruise
company, have announced plans to resume sailing operations, with
Italy-based Costa Cruises
scheduled to restart sailing in Italy this Sunday,
Sept. 6, followed by Germany-based AIDA Cruises scheduled to resume
on Nov. 1.
The brands will begin in a gradual, phased-in manner with six
initial ships and limited itineraries, becoming the first two of
the company's nine global cruise line brands to resume operations.
The initial cruises will take place with adjusted passenger
capacity and enhanced health protocols developed with government
and health authorities to follow shoreside mitigation
guidelines.
Costa Cruises is restarting sailing with two initial ships
departing from Italian ports beginning Sept.
6. Costa Deliziosa will offer weekly cruises from Trieste on
Sept. 6, 13, 20 and 27, visiting five
destinations in southern Italy,
including Bari and Brindisi in
Puglia, Corigliano-Rossano in Calabria, and
Siracusa and Catania in Sicily. Costa Diadema will follow on
Sept. 19 from Genoa, calling at Italian ports in the western
Mediterranean, including
Civitavecchia/Rome, Naples, Palermo, Cagliari and La
Spezia. The one-week itineraries are being reserved
exclusively for Italian guests.
AIDA Cruises will resume its cruise operations with two of its
ships, sailing from the Canary Islands in November 2020, followed by an additional two
ships departing from the western Mediterranean and United Arab Emirates beginning in December 2020. The first of the brand's cruises
is set to begin Nov. 1, with
seven-day voyages to and departures from Las Palmas, Gran
Canaria, with AIDAmar, followed by sailings from Las Palmas
and Santa Cruz de Tenerife with
AIDAperla on Nov. 7. In December,
AIDA Cruises will resume sailing operations in the Western
Mediterranean with AIDAstella departing on seven-day cruises from
Palma, Mallorca, beginning Dec. 12.
Additionally, AIDAprima will offer seven-day cruises from
Dubai starting Dec. 11 and from Abu
Dhabi beginning Dec. 15.
In working with global and national health authorities and
medical experts, Costa Cruises and AIDA Cruises have developed a
comprehensive set of health and hygiene protocols to help
facilitate a safe, healthy return to cruise vacations. Both brands
are providing guests with detailed information about enhanced
restart protocols, which will continue to be modeled after
shoreside health and mitigation guidelines as defined by each
brand's respective county, and approved by the flag state,
Italy. Protocols will be updated
based on evolving scientific and medical knowledge related to
mitigation strategies.
Costa Cruises has developed the Costa Safety
Protocol for its fleet, including new operating procedures
supported by independent scientific experts in public health and
consistent with the health protocols defined by the Italian
Government and European authorities. The comprehensive set of
measures and procedures cover key areas such as crew health and
safety, the booking process, guest activities, entertainment and
dining, and medical care on board, as well as pre-boarding,
embarking and disembarking operations, which will include testing
for all guests prior to embarkation. Additional information on the
Costa Safety Protocol is available here.
"Our highest responsibilities and top priorities are always
compliance, protecting the environment, and the health, safety and
well-being of our guests, the communities we visit and our crew,"
said Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corporation. "We are
engaged with a large number of medical experts and scientists
around the world, and they are providing us with extremely valuable
insight that we are using to develop new and enhanced protocols
that are in the best interest of our guests, crew and overall
public health. In areas of the world where community spread is
largely mitigated and authorities are supportive of a gradual
return to service over time, we look forward to again welcoming
guests on board."
More broadly, as the understanding of COVID-19 continues to
evolve, Carnival Corporation has been working with a number of
world-leading public health, epidemiological and policy experts to
support its ongoing efforts for developing enhanced protocols and
procedures for the return of cruise vacations. Among the experts
are:
- Dr. Simon Clarke, associate
professor in cellular microbiology, University of Reading School of
Biological Sciences (UK)
- Michael S. Diamond, MD, PhD,
Herbert S. Gasser professor of
medicine, molecular microbiology, pathology & immunology; and
associate director, Center for Human Immunology and Immunotherapy
Programs, Washington University School
of Medicine in St. Louis
- Michael Z. Lin, MD, PhD,
associate professor of neurobiology, bioengineering, and chemical
and systems biology; and principal investigator, The Lin Lab,
Stanford University School of
Medicine
- Dr. Jewel Mullen, MD, MPH, associate dean for health
equity, University of Texas at Austin,
Dell Medical School
- Emil C. Reisinger, MD, full
professor of internal medicine, infectious diseases and tropical
medicine and director of the Division of Tropical Medicine and
Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, University of
Rostock, Germany
- Dr. Stefano Vella, MD, former
director, National Center for Global Health, Istituto Superiore di
Sanità (Italian National Institute of Health); and adjunct
professor of global health, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
(Catholic University of the Sacred
Heart) in Rome
These advisors and others have been working with the company and
its brands to review existing and enhanced procedures and provide
supplemental advice based on the latest scientific evidence and
best practices for protection and mitigation.
About Carnival Corporation & plc
Carnival
Corporation & plc is one of the world's largest leisure travel
companies with a portfolio of nine of the world's leading cruise
lines. With operations in North
America, Australia,
Europe and Asia, its portfolio features Carnival Cruise
Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, P&O
Cruises (Australia), Costa
Cruises, AIDA Cruises, P&O Cruises (UK) and Cunard.
Additional information can be found on www.carnival.com,
www.princess.com, www.hollandamerica.com, www.seabourn.com,
www.pocruises.com.au, www.costacruise.com, www.aida.de,
www.pocruises.com and www.cunard.com.
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SOURCE Carnival Corporation & plc