Big cruise ships banned from Canada at least until February 2021

   October 30, 2020 ,   Cruise Industry

According to Canada's Transport Minister Marc Garneau, big cruise ships will be banned from Canadian waters until at least the end of February 2021.

The same extension is applied to the ban on smaller ships carrying 12 or more travelers in Arctic coastal waters.

Cruise ships were hot spots for COVID with hundreds of passengers falling ill and liners being stranded at sea as many countries began refusing them in ports.

In mid-March, Canada banned cruise ships with overnight accommodations for at least 500 passengers.

In May, the country extended the ban until the end of October 2020 and increased it to include all vessels with passenger capacity 100+ (berths).

Most cruise companies stopped sailing entirely during the spring months, but several have already resumed operations or plan to do so before the end of the year.