Most of us here at KSST love to travel by cruise ship. Whether Alaska, Caribbean, or even traversing the Panama Canal, traveling by cruise ship has wonderful qualities. But a worldwide pandemic has but the entire cruise industry on hold. The dates that cruise companies will resume cruising keep getting pushed back. The much anticipated Virgin Cruises first ship, Scarlet Lady, was supposed to debut at the end of March, then July, and then August, and finally will debut October 16th. Or will it? No one really knows when cruise ships will be allowed to resume, or when the cruise companies themselves will think it is safe to sail. Currently, the ships of all of the major cruise lines are scattered across the globe. Some floating near the Bahamas near their own private islands, and nearly three dozen ships in the Port of Manila (Philippines). One cruise company, Pullmantur, has filed for reorganization. It is a small line with only three ships based in Spain, but Royal Caribbean owns 49% of the cruise company. Royal Caribbean along with Norwegian Cruise line and Carnival (which also owns Holland America and Princess) are all waiting until October to resume cruises. But even then each line will not resume all of their ships right away, and then there is the worry of which ports of call will accept cruise ships.
Even with all of these concerns, the cruise companies are counting on demand to return quickly when the ships start sailing. With all of this confusion and uncertainty, when do you think YOU will cruise again? Vote in our poll:
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