When will cruise ships resume sailing? A line-by-line guide

When will the Great Cruise Shutdown end? That’s the question many cruise fans are asking now as they eagerly await the day when they can get back on the high seas.

The bad news, for those who are itching to cruise again, is that many ships might not return to service for many months. Every major cruise line in the world suspended departures in mid-March as the coronavirus outbreak grew, and its likely many lines will remain completely shut down through the end of summer and even well into the fall.

While we may see a handful of river lines and small-ship cruise specialists resume operations in Europe and North America in the coming weeks (with trips mostly aimed at local vacationers), most major lines have canceled all sailings through early August. A few lines, such as Cunard, Holland America, Princess Cruises and Windstar Cruises, already have announced they won’t be resuming sailings with most ships until the fall at the earliest.

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In North America, the cancellations are partly being driven by a 100-day “no-sail” order issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in April and a cruise ship ban by Canada that will remain in effect until at least Oct. 31. Cruise lines also are contending with country-by-country travel restrictions and port closures around the world.

Here’s a look at the dates when major river, ocean and expedition cruise brands that market to North Americans say they will resume operations:

Adventure Canada has canceled all 2020 departures.

AmaWaterways has canceled all sailings through July 31.

American Cruise Lines hopes to resume limited departures in the Pacific Northwest on June 20, with sailings on the Mississippi River and Alaska returning by July. But most sailings in the coming weeks have been canceled.

American Queen Steamboat Company plans to resume limited operations on the Mississippi River complex on July 20 with a single vessel, the American Duchess. The line has canceled sailings on the Mississippi River complex-based American Countess and American Queen through July 15 and has not announced specific restart dates for the vessels. The Pacific Northwest-based American Empress is now scheduled to resume operations on July 6.

Avalon Waterways has canceled all sailings through Aug. 31.

Azamara has canceled all sailings through July 31.

Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line plans to resume sailings on Grand Celebration on July 25. Sailings on Grand Classica will resume on Oct. 3.

Carnival Cruise Line has canceled most departures through Aug. 31. The exceptions are sailings on eight ships — Carnival Horizon, Carnival Magic, Carnival Sensation, Carnival Dream, Carnival Freedom, Carnival Vista, Carnival Breeze and Carnival Elation — that are scheduled to resume on Aug. 1. Carnival also has canceled all sailings from New York City and San Francisco for the rest of the year as well as all Alaska sailings.

Celebrity Cruises has canceled all sailings through July 31. The line also has canceled all Alaska sailings for the rest of the year as well as fall sailings to Canada and New England, and Hawaii.

Celestyal Cruises has canceled all sailings through July 30.

Costa Cruises has canceled all sailings through July 31.

Crystal Cruises has canceled sailings of Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity through Sept. 1 and Oct. 1, respectively. The line also has canceled October sailings to Canada on Crystal Serenity and replaced them with trips out of Miami. Sailings of Crystal Esprit are canceled through Aug. 2, and all river sailings are canceled through Sept. 6. The line also has delayed the debut of its new expedition ship, Crystal Endeavor, until 2021.

Cunard Line has canceled departures of Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria through Nov. 1. Sailings of Queen Elizabeth have been canceled through Nov. 23.

Disney Cruise Line has canceled departures worldwide through the end of July. The line also has canceled all sailings out of Vancouver, B.C., through Sept. 14, including all Alaska sailings. All sailings in Europe are canceled through Oct. 2.

Emerald Waterways has canceled all sailings through Aug. 31.

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises has canceled all sailings through July 1.

Holland America has canceled all Europe, Alaska, Canada and New England sailings for the rest of the year. The line also has canceled a 79-day Grand Africa voyage that was scheduled to begin in Boston on Oct. 3 and end in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Also canceled: All sailings out of Vancouver in September and October, and some Hawaii cruises as far out as February 2021.

MSC Cruises has canceled all sailings through July 31. The line also has sailings out of New York City scheduled to take place between Sept. 5 and Oct. 22 on MSC Meraviglia, and all cruises on MSC Divina and MSC Armonia from March to October 2021.

Norwegian Cruise Line has canceled all sailings through July 31. Voyages on Norwegian Sun have been canceled through Oct. 18.

Oceania Cruises has canceled all sailings through July 31.

Paul Gauguin Cruises has canceled all sailings until an unspecified date. The line says sailings will resume “in the near future.”

Ponant has canceled cruises on its 11 vessels through varying dates in June and beyond. The line hopes to resume some sailings in France, on new itineraries, in July.

Princess Cruises has canceled all Europe and Alaska sailings for the rest of the year as well as all 2020 cruises in the Canada and New England region. The line also has canceled Caribbean sailings through Nov. 4. Other cancellations include Japan cruises on Diamond Princess into the fall and Australia cruises on Sapphire Princess, Majestic Princess, Sun Princess and Sea Princess through mid-September. Seven-night roundtrip West Coast cruises on Star Princess out of San Francisco scheduled for September and October also have been canceled.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises has canceled all sailings through July 31.

Royal Caribbean has canceled most departures through July 31, with the exception of a few July cruises out of China. The line also has canceled all Alaska sailings for the rest of the year. In addition, sailings on Jewel of the Seas scheduled for Aug. 8, 16 and 23 have been canceled along with a sailing on Brilliance of the Seas scheduled for Aug. 21. All August sailings of Explorer of the Seas have been canceled. Voyager of the Seas sailings are canceled through Sept. 30.

Scenic Luxury Cruises Tours has canceled all sailings through Aug. 31. Scenic Eclipse sailings have been halted through Sept. 30.

Seabourn has canceled all sailings into October. The line’s five ships will return to service from Oct. 13 to Nov. 20.

Sea Cloud Cruises has canceled sailings through Aug. 1.

SeaDream Yacht Club has canceled Mediterranean voyages through the end of August. The line has relocated both of its vessels to Norway with plans to resume sailings there in June.

Silversea has canceled most departures into the fall, with most ships now scheduled to resume operations in September or October. Silversea also has pushed off the debut of two new ships scheduled to debut this year. Silver Moon now is scheduled to debut on Oct. 2. Silver Origin won’t arrive until Aug. 22.

Star Clippers has canceled sailings on Royal Clipper and Star Flyer through Aug. 1. Star Clipper is now scheduled to resume sailing on Sept. 12.

Tauck has canceled all sailings through Aug. 31.

UnCruise Adventures has canceled Alaska departures until mid-July.

Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection has canceled sailings through July 15.

Variety Cruises has canceled all sailings through July 24.

Victory Cruise Lines has canceled all sailings for the rest of the year.

Viking has canceled all sailings through the end of August.

Virgin Voyages has postponed the official debut of its first ship until Oct. 16.

Windstar Cruises has canceled all sailings through early September. The line’s three sailing ships — Wind Spirit, Wind Surf and Wind Star — will resume operations in September, November and January, respectively. Its three motor ships — Star Breeze, Star Legend and Star Pride — will restart operations in October, March 2021 and July 2021.

Additional resources for cruisers during the coronavirus outbreak:

Feature image courtesy of SeaDream Yacht Club.

When will cruise ships resume sailing? A line-by-line guide

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