Cruises from Baltimore, Charleston, Jacksonville, Long Beach, Mobile, New Orleans and San Diego will not depart until 28 February, while Carnival Legend will not operate out of Tampa before 26 March.

Carnival said it was working to meet the requirements of the cruise restart framework issued on 30 October by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and was “in the process of building a gradual, phased in approach” to resume guest operations, which will focus initially on Miami and Port Canaveral followed by Galveston.

Carnival Horizon it due to arrive in Miami this week and Carnival Breeze will be the next ship back to the US. In total, 16 Carnival vessels are set to resume sailing from the US in 2021.

Mardi Gras, currently under construction in Finland, will also enter service next year.

President Christine Duffy said: “We are committed to meeting the CDC requirements and keeping our guests and business partners informed of our progress. The entire Carnival team appreciates the great support of our guests, travel advisors and business partners, and local officials in our homeports and destinations.”