MIAMI — Carnival Cruise Line will resume sailing from Florida ports starting in July, the cruise line said.
According to the cruise line's website, its ship Horizon will set sail from PortMiami on July 4.
In an announcement made Thursday, Carnival said its new ship "Mardi Gras," which has the first-ever rollercoaster at sea, will begin operating out of Port Canaveral on July 31.
"We are very excited to finally welcome guests on Mardi Gras," said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line in a statement. "With our desire to preserve summer vacations for our Mardi Gras guests, we are going to find a later date to formally christen her so that we can operate these pre-inaugural sailings just as soon as we can."
The cruise line says more of its ships will set sail from the Sunshine State in August and says it has plans to expand operations in Texas, Washington and California in the coming months.
Carnival's announcement came as the state of Florida and the CDC reached an impasse in a case regarding the cruise industry in federal court.
In its lawsuit, Florida wanted the CDC’s conditional sailing rules suspended while the larger case itself is hashed out, arguing Florida is losing millions of dollars and people are out of work. The CDC says there’s nothing in the court record to support that.
Earlier this month, Carnival said it intended for its ship "Horizon" to resume sailing from PortMiami sometime in July, but did not give a specific date. According to its booking site, the ship will set sail starting on July 4.
The news also comes as Royal Caribbean reported two passengers aboard a Celebrity Cruises ship tested positive for COVID-19. The cruise was sailing with 95 percent of its guests and staff fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.
The cruise industry was grounded in March 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
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