Facebook Twitter
Sunday, December 3, 2023 | 
U.S. & World

There are still 6,000 people aboard Carnival cruise ships right now

Passengers remain on cruises amid coronavirus pandemic

By Herb Scribner Herb Scribnerhscribner@deseretnews.com
SHARE There are still 6,000 people aboard Carnival cruise ships right now
The Costa Cruise ship Favolosa is shown, Thursday, March 26, 2020, off the coast of Miami Beach, Fla. Miami-area hospitals received crew members Thursday from two Costa Cruise ships, the Magica and Favolosa. Carnival Corp., which owns the cruise line, said the ships are empty except for crew members. Carnival said that the ships had tried to dock in several Caribbean ports to get treatment due to the coronavirus for the crew members, but had been turned away. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

The Costa Cruise ship Favolosa is shown, Thursday, March 26, 2020, off the coast of Miami Beach, Fla. Miami-area hospitals received crew members Thursday from two Costa Cruise ships, the Magica and Favolosa. Carnival Corp., which owns the cruise line, said the ships are empty except for crew members. Carnival said that the ships had tried to dock in several Caribbean ports to get treatment due to the coronavirus for the crew members, but had been turned away.

Wilfredo Lee, Associated Press

There are about 6,000 passengers aboard Carnival cruise ships right now amid the coronavirus pandemic, which continues to crash against the world.

What’s happening?

  • Carnival Corp. announced in an SEC filing Tuesday that these 6,000 passengers are expected to disembark by the end of April.
  • Carnival will offer crew food and housing since they can’t come home yet.
  • The SEC filing reads: “Substantially all our ships have disembarked their passengers. There are approximately 6,000 passengers onboard ships still at sea that are expected to disembark by the end of April. Some of our crew is unable to return home, and we will be providing them with food and housing.”

Why this matters

  • Carnival Corp. — the world’s largest cruise line — owns Princess Cruises, Costa Cruises and Holland America. Princess Cruises has been at the center of the coronavirus pandemic since the beginning, USA Today reported.
  • In fact, both the Diamond Princess and Grand Princes cruises ships had “highly publicized outbreaks,” according to USA Today.
  • There are two Holland America ships hanging off the coast of Florida due to fears about passengers being sick with the coronavirus, according to NPR.
  • And, similarly, the Costa Magica and Costa Favolosa — which are both owned by Carnival — are resting off the port of Miami, awaiting orders to dock, as I wrote for the Deseret News.