Carnival to part ways with 18 ships as U.S. cruises remain banned amid pandemic
Businesses across the world are scrambling to recover from financial hits that find their root cause with the COVID-19 pandemic, and the cruise industry is no different.
Amid efforts to remain financially afloat, Carnival Corporation has decided to part ways with 18 of its ships, the Miami Herald reports.
At a time when U.S. health officials have included the temporary banning of cruises among measures taken to curb the spread of novel coronavirus among Americans, the nearly 50-year-old company announced an adjusted third-quarter loss of $1.7 billion in a financial filing.
Ships that have already been scrapped include Carnival Fantasy, Carnival Fascination, Carnival Imagination, Carnival Inspiration and Costa Victoria.
The company has also adjusted the delivery schedule of new ships now expecting only five of the nine ships originally scheduled to be delivered by the end of 2021.
At least 24 Carnival Corporation ships have been impacted by novel coronavirus and at least 80 of the company’s passengers and crew have died from the virus, according to a Miami Herald investigation.
As of September, Health officials plan to let U.S. cruises reopen on October 1.