Following the increased number of travel restrictions put in place around the world and the uncertainty related to the COVID-19 Carnival Cruise Line has decided to send all non-essential Carnival Spirit team members home. The disembarkation of the Carnival Spirit crew members will start on March 21, in Sydney the company said in a letter sent to the shipboard employees. All debarking team members will receive 30 days pay or through end of the crew contract, whichever comes first.

Carnival Cruise Line sent two letters to the Carnival Spirit crew, the first on March 18,  and the second letter on March 19 which was correction and clarification about the itineraries in Canada and Alaska this spring.

March 18, 2020

Dear Carnival Spirit Team Member

We have reviewed our scheduled itineraries and determined that Carnival Spirit will not be able to begin her season in Alaska as scheduled on April 20 because of additional restrictions Canada has put on cruise tourism, suspending all ship arrivals until at least July 1. Therefore following her trans-Pacific voyage, Carnival Spirit will remain out of service for some time.

As such, we've made the very difficult decision to release all non-essential Carnival Spirit team members until the time when we are able to resume operations in Canada. Given that the situation with COVID-19 continues to be very fluid, we are not sure yet when that will be. We realize that this may come as surprising news, but we hope this will give you some very valuable time to spend with your family and friends.

We are planning to have team members disembark the ship in Sydney in the next few days once all of the logistics have been confirmed and fly home from there. All debarking team members will receive 30 days pay or through end of your contract, whichever comes first.

March 19, 2020

Dear Carnival Spirit Team

There seems to be some confusion around the letter sent to Carnival Spirit team members about the decision to sign some of you off, beginning March 21. And for that, we take responsibility.

In our haste to communicate with you quickly, we made some incorrect statement about our itineraries in Canada and Alaska this spring. The decision by the Canadian government to close its port to cruise operators creates some questions for us as we think about operating our Alaska sailings, but we are looking at several options and remain in discussion with the government authorities on those options. And the Canadian decision does not prevent our ship from departing in Alaska.

Because of the increased number of travel restrictions put in place around the globe and the uncertainty related to the COVID-19 situation, we made a decision to sign off many team members now, while sailing in Australia. Many of you are closer to home, and as we look at flight options and looming restrictions, we are in a better position to get you home from Australia than on alternative options later.

We remain committed to securing approvals to allow us to operate our Alaska itineraries and securing those approvals will allow us to call team members back. Until that time, we hope you will enjoy your time at home.

We appreciate your understanding and apologize for the incorrect information and explanations that was shared yesterday.