Canada And USA Ban Cruise Ships

USPA NEWS - Lane Farguson, media spokesman for the Halifax Port Authority said, "The restriction affects around 40 vessels and an estimated 75,000 cruise guests." These numbers are just for the Port of Halifax and other ports across North America will have similar lost traffic.The Canadian ban is to last until June 30th and the American ban is for 30 days. Both countries say the situation will be reviewed at the end of each ban and are not ruling out extensions.

In Halifax, Nova Scotia a sure sign that spring is on the way is when the Halifax Port Authority releases the cruise ship schedule for the upcoming season. A typical cruise season for the Port of Halifax commences in April and ends in November. Throughout the cruise season, Haligonians will see many large floating cities, bringing thousands of visitors to Nova Scotia's capital city.

The 2019 season brought 179 cruise vessels and 323,709 passengers to the Port of Halifax and now the port city is looking to the 2020 season with great anticipation. The 2020 season had been scheduled to bring 12 inaugural calls along with many other returning vessels. The ships that had been scheduled to make their first visit were: Norwegian Star, Empress of the Seas, Hanseatic Inspiration, Norwegian Pearl, Carnival Radiance, Oasis of the Seas, World Dream, Island Princess, Norwegian Encore, Roald Amudsen, Sky Princess and Evrima. The 2020 cruise season was scheduled to commence on April 11th, with the Norwegian Star and will conclude on November 3rd, with the Victory II. Some other highlights were to include several visits from the Norwegian Breakaway, a couple of visits from the Disney Magic and the Queen Mary II. It should also be noted that the Oasis of the Seas inaugural call was scheduled to bring a whopping 5,600 passengers and crew, but now that there is a ban in place until at least June 30th, there is much uncertainty as to when or if there will even be a 2020 cruise season in Halifax. The complete schedule can be found at www.cruisehalifax.ca.

Since the announcement of the implementation of the Canadian and American bans, Carnival, Norwegian, Princess, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Holland America  and Cunard  have all suspended cruises for the time being in efforts to preventing the spread of the Covid 19 Coronavirus. For full information on travel cancellations and restrictions contact the appropriate cruise line for the latest updates.