Carnival Cruise Line has announced its return to San Juan, St. Thomas and St. Maarten following damage the destinations sustained during Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria.
A Carnival representative tells Travel Agent that the cruise line will return to San Juan starting November 30 with a call by Carnival Conquest. St. Thomas visits will resume January 9, 2018, beginning with Carnival Glory, and St. Maarten visits will resume January 15, 2018, beginning with Carnival Sunshine.
Previously, the cruise line had announced that visits to Grand Turk in Turks and Caicos would resume November 1, beginning with a call by Carnival Ecstasy.
Carnival also said that Carnival Fascination will resume year-round weekly departures from San Juan starting February 18, 2018. Earlier this month, Carnival had signed a deal with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to charter the ship to provide housing and meals to relief workers in St. Croix. That charter began October 15, and guests on cancelled voyages received a full refund, along with a future cruise discount.
As the Caribbean continues to recover from the powerful hurricanes, top cruise executives and the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) are working to continue to drive much-needed tourism business to the region. According to a recent press call, more than 90 percent of the Caribbean was not impacted by the storms, and recovery is happening quickly in most of the affected areas. The FCCA is collecting information on open Caribbean destinations on www.caribbeanisopen.com.
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