MIAMI — Carnival Cruise Line is one step closer to resuming operations after gaining CDC approval for its port agreements for PortMiami, Port of Galveston and Port Canaveral.

The CDC accepted Carnival’s Phase 2A Port Agreements for the three homeports – all key homeports for Carnival Cruise Line and the first three that the line will focus on for its return to service this summer – on May 28. 

Carnival has already announced that Carnival Horizon (sailing from Miami) and Carnival Vista and Breeze (sailing from Galveston) will be the first ships to carry guests as the line plans its July return to service. Port Canaveral has also been identified as a restart priority and Carnival expects to announce plans for operations from there over the coming days.

Under the CDC guidelines, a cruise line must have agreements with its homeports that they are prepared to support the cruise operator with additional public health and operational resources prior to simulated cruises and/or full guest operations.

“These agreements move us one step closer to sailing with our loyal guests,” said Lars Ljoen, executive vice president and chief maritime officer for Carnival Cruise Line. “We appreciate the support from not just these three homeport partners but all of our homeports that are eager to have us back as soon as possible.

The cruise industry has gained some momentum in recent weeks after more than a year’s pause due to the global pandemic. Last week, Royal Caribbean gained approval from the CDC to operate its first test cruises, as required by the CDC’s updated Framework for Conditional Sailing Order, while Celebrity Cruises announced a Caribbean cruise on June 26 from Fort Lauderdale, lauded as the industry’s first ship to deploy from U.S. waters in more than a year. A handful of cruise lines, including Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Crystal and Holland America, has also announced the resumption of cruises this summer from non-U.S. ports.