Carnival said a few days ago it plans to restart some of its cruise itineraries from North America in August as it tries to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

Cruises from Miami, Port Canaveral, and Galveston are set to resume on August 1, however, trips for all other North American and Australian markets would remain suspended through August 31.

The pandemic brought the industry to a virtual standstill and every cruise operator has been hit hard by the halt in global tourism. None of them has faced a bigger reputational crisis than Carnival though. No less than three of the company’s Princess Cruises ships became hotbeds for coronavirus infections. Moreover, the Ruby Princess with a capacity of 3,782 passengers and 1,200 crew members, became part of a homicide investigation in Australia as the country’s deadliest virus infection source. After the ship made two trips between Sydney and New Zealand in March, it was reported that more than 600 people have contracted Covid-19 and 21 people have died nationally, after traveling on the Ruby Princess.

That is why the Princess cruise ships are not among the vessels Carnival plans to restart operations. 

One-fifth of all global ocean cruise ships are reported to be infected with coronavirus, leaving at least 2,600 crew and passengers infected and killing at least 66 people.

According to Reuters.