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Coronavirus: Carnival Cruise Line extends US sailing pause through at least April amid COVID-19

Carnival Cruise Line announced Saturday that its pause on U.S. departures has been extended through April 30 as the novel coronavirus pandemic continues its spread.

The news comes as the number of cumulative coronavirus infections worldwide continues its climb toward 100 million and the global death toll attributed to COVID-19 swelled past 2.1 million, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally.

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The company also announced that Australian operations have been canceled through May 19 and that European itineraries aboard the Carnival Legend, which had been slated to sail between May and Oct. 31, have been canceled, Cruise Industry News reported.

Due to the pandemic, all of Carnival’s passenger-carrying vessels operating in U.S. waters have been subject to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s no-sail order since March 14, ABC News reported.

Meanwhile, guests are being offered either a full refund or a “generous future cruise credit and onboard credit package,” the company said in a prepared statement.

“Our guests and travel agent partners continue to express their loyalty to Carnival and their desire to get back on our ships as soon as they can, and we are heartened by the booking demand and activity we continue to see,” Carnival Cruise Line President Christine Duffy said in the statement.

“We are certainly committed to welcoming them back as quickly as possible, but unfortunately we have determined it’s going to take a while longer,” Duffy added.

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