JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A tropical destination may be no longer a virtual reality for you during this pandemic. In just over 60 days you could be cruising to the Caribbean for four days on a $139 deal right out of JaxPort.
Carnival Cruise Lines is selling cabins now for an Oct. 1 launch. Jacksonville travel agents are excited your extended cabin fever could mean a boom for their business.
"I believe it's going to be the safest time that there is," said Kathy Harris with Cruise Center World Travel.
Harris said she's seeing a surge in calls for bookings, even as the Centers for Disease Control extended the No Sail order to Sept. 30.
Harris said your cruise experience might be different than before.
"There's been a lot of talk about limiting the number of passengers onboard, the policy for how their cleaning the ships. This is evolving so I don't know if there's anything set in stone," Harris said.
Those shore excursions might be eliminated. The Bahamas just issued a ban for American visitors due to COVID-19 concerns that our country has too many cases. As of now, Bahamas has reported fewer than 200 coronavirus cases and 11 deaths.
If the ban is in place come Oct. 1, it's possible Carnival may push back sailing dates until it's lifted.
"We will continue to work with Bahamian officials, just like we are doing with all governmental authorities where we home port or visit," said Vance Gulliksen with Carnival Cruise Lines.
Carnival says their full refund policy remains in place.