COVID 19 has really hit the world hard, but the most affected business by far is the cruise industry. Cruise lines have lost millions of dollars and have gone in debt due to the virus. Early cases of COVID were found on the Diamond Princess and Grand Princess, owned by Princess Cruises. The Grand Princess was in Mexico and the Diamond Princess was in Japan. As soon as cases were reported aboard, both ships were quarantined.  These ships were the first cruise ships to be affected by Covid.

Cruises are very dangerous places to have COVID. A main reason for this is because it’s a very small living space. For example, most ships are 600 to 1100 feet long and 90 to 150 feet wide. As a result of these small living spaces, these ships are especially deadly places to get Covid. 

Plans have been made to get cruising back in action in the US. Cruises in Europe are experimenting with a new type of cruise. They are having ships go out into the middle of the ocean and then turning around, instead of going to different destinations. This is supposed to help cruise lines to make money and help people relax, while still reducing the spread of Covid. Many hope that this will be temporary. It’s not the same as going to different destinations. That’s the entire point of a cruise. While cruising may never go back to normal, they are still working with what they have. 

Costa Cruises, a European cruise line has been given the green light to try this new type of cruising. They are currently doing this in Italy, sailing into the Mediterranean Sea. This is much better than what Royal Carribean is doing. Royal Carribean is not sailing at all because they own the biggest cruise ships in the world. Their ships can carry twice as many passengers as most other cruise ships, making it among the deadliest places to get COVID-19. Sadly, many other ships that sail from America are not sailing. The US has one of the biggest cruise demands in the world, making cruising very difficult. While cruising may never be the same, many lessons have been learned.

While Costa Cruises is owned by Carnival corporation and plc group, Carnival Cruises is still not sailing. Carnival says they will resume cruising soon, but know one knows this for sure. Cruising in America is still being questioned. Safety is a major factor. Will too many people be exposed to Covid if one passenger has it? That’s the risk the cruise industry is willing to take