Carnival Cruise bookings soar 600% for August trips

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When the COVID-19 pandemic began its spread earlier this year, some of the worst horror stories about the disease came from people trapped on cruise ships. Unsurprisingly then, cruise companies were also some of the worst-hit businesses when the economic fallout from the pandemic began to hit.

But apparently the prospect of being stuck on a boat full of infected people isn’t enough to deter some people from going back out to sea as soon as possible, reports TMZ. The publication says a rep from Cruise Planners, an American Express Travel Representative, has revealed bookings for Carnival Cruises in August have surged.

Last week Carnival announced that some of its cruises could resume in August. Since that announcement, the Cruise Planners representative says, Carnival bookings shot up 600% compared to the previous three days before news of August Carnival trips were announced. However, what’s really surprising is that Cruise Planners says that August 2020 bookings are up 200% over August 2019 bookings—back when no one had any worries about being stuck on “death ships.”

So why the surge in bookings? The Cruise Planners representative said those making bookings were generally younger and healthy and thus “not a bit concerned about traveling at this time.” The rep also said a pent-up desire for traveling after being cooped up in lockdown for so long has played a part in the surge of bookings.

Of course, the fact that you can also book a Carnival Cruise for as low as $28 a night might have something to do with the high number of August bookings, too.