Several cruise trips have already been cancelled this year. See when major cruise lines plan on operating again.

Brittany Chang

Jan 22, 2021, 21:22 IST

Several cruise trips have already been cancelled this year. See when major cruise lines plan on operating again.

Major cruise lines such as MSC Cruises have already begun sailings in Europe.James McEntee/AP

No major US cruise line will be setting sail around the country until, at the earliest, March.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still recommends avoiding cruise trips during the pandemic.
These are the updated 2021 sailing plans for cruise lines like Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and Disney Cruises.

Bad news for any eager cruisegoers: cruise lines are continuing to extend cruising suspensions into 2021 as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

The cruising industry initially saw a quiet period after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted and extended its no-sail order as the coronavirus pandemic began surging in 2020. But after months of waiting, in October, the CDC replaced its mandatory sailing pause with the "Framework for Conditional Sailing Order," a list of rigorous requirements needed for cruise lines to continue operating again.

Despite this order, and the impending debut of several cruise ships over the next few years, the return of cruising still remains in limbo. Presently, no major US cruises will be setting sail until May at the earliest, but many cruise lines are now continuing to push back their sail dates as the coronavirus pandemic continues to surge around the US.

Keep scrolling to see the updated sailing suspension dates for several major cruise lines:

Norwegian Cruises

On a suspended sailings update on December 29, 2020, Norwegian hit the pause button on all of its cruises that were set to sail through March. However, on January 19, the cruise line pushed this sail date back one month through April.

Princess Cruises

Princess Cruises originally paused its trips through March, according to a notice posted on November 20, 2020. However, on January 6, the cruise line extended this timeline, announcing it would halt further sailings through May 14.

The Princess Cruises has also paused all sailings through November 1 that were set to be longer than seven days going to and from US ports, and any trips sailing to and from Japan through June 25, according to the November notice. "We continue to prepare our ships for our return to service and we are eager to see our guests back on board to create summertime memories," Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises' president, said in a statement.

When the cruise line resume sailing, several ships - including the Diamond Princess and the Grand Princess - will have Princess' MedallionClass Experience. This "experience" includes new health protocols and contactless features, to name a few details.

Carnival Cruises

A full list of suspended sailing dates per ship is available on Carnival's website. In a January 6 news release, Carnival cruises announced it would resume sailing after March 31 with several ships remaining docked even further into the future.

However, 16 days later, Carnival updated this statement and decided to hit the pause button on all trips through April 30.

For example, according to a press release posted on December 9, 2020, Carnival has set up dry docks for the Carnival Magic, Carnival Paradise, and Carnival Valor, therefore halting any of the ships' embarkments through September 24, May 31, and September 11, respectively.

"We are sorry to disappoint our guests, as we can see from our booking activity that there is clearly a pent-up demand for cruising on Carnival," Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, said in a statement on the news release.

The upcoming inaugural Mardi Gras trip was also pushed back as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Royal Caribbean

Royal Caribbean originally suspended its cruise trips through February 28, according to a December 17 update. However, on January 12, the cruise line pushed its no-sail date back even further through April 30. The only exceptions to this are its Quantum of the Seas ship in Singapore and Spectrum of the Seas ship in China.

Royal Caribbean's Celebrity Cruises line has also halted any trips originally planned through April 30, according to an update on January 12. Several other Celebrity Cruises sailings have been paused even further through October.

On January 13, Royal Caribbean's Silversea Cruises released an updated list of sailing dates with the first trip embarking on April 1. However the soonest sail date was later pushed back to May 1, according to a January 21 update.

Celebrity Cruises

Celebrity Cruises originally suspended all trips through February 28, and South America sailings with the winter 2021 program through April 7, according to a travel alert posted on December 2.

However, on January 12, Celebrity updated this no-sail date by pushing it through April 30.

Holland America Line

Holland America will be pausing all cruise trips through April 30, according to an update on January 6. Alaska cruises originally set to depart through mid-May have also been canceled, although some will be halted even further into June.

Several international trips - specifically ones in Canada and the Mediterranean - will be frozen even longer with a pause extension through August for select trips. You can find the pause timeline on Holland America's website.

Disney Cruises

Disney Cruises halted all trips through February 28, according to a travel updated posted on December 11, 2020. Cruises longer than seven nights have been suspended even further. One month later on January 12, Disney Cruises extended its no-sail date through March.

See the full list of suspended Disney Cruises here.

MSC Cruises

MSC released a list of cancellation dates per cruise ship, and the sail dates vary from the end of January to November. Trips on the MSC Armonia, for example, have been canceled through March 31, while the MSC Bellissima won't have any passengers through November 22.

Ships like the MSC Fantasia won't hit the seas until April 4.