It’s an exciting time for cruise fans grounded since March 2020. Select cruise ships finally have approval from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to set sail from U.S. homeports. Cruising is back, and passengers and crew are thrilled about the return to cruise.
Folks following along at home can feel overwhelmed by the daily news reports of first revenue sailings, as well as ships headed out on test cruises to gain CDC approval to sail with a higher percentage of unvaccinated guests. It doesn’t help that some test cruises have been postponed due to positive or inconclusive Covid test results for crew and passengers.
Schedule your celebrations – or perhaps your next cruise – with our list of test cruises and first revenue sailings for the major cruise lines setting sail from the U.S. in summer and fall 2021.
Test cruise schedule
The CDC has approved 13 cruise ships for test cruises as of early July 2021. Once ships successfully complete their simulated voyage, they can depart on actual revenue sailings within two weeks of their return to post.
Here is the most current list of test cruise departure dates:
June 20: Freedom of the Seas out of Miami
July 7: Serenade of the Seas out of Seattle
July 13: Grand Classica out of Palm Beach
July 17: MSC Meraviglia out of Miami
July 17: Disney Dream out of Port Canaveral
July 19: Odyssey of the Seas out of Ft. Lauderdale
July 27: Allure of the Seas out of Port Canaveral
July 30: Ovation of the Seas out of Seattle
August 1: Independence of the Seas out of Galveston
August 1: Symphony of the Seas out of Miami
August 11: Mariner of the Seas out of Port Canaveral
August 22: Oasis of the Seas out of Cape Liberty Cruise Port (six-night cruise)
August 26: Disney Fantasy out of Port Canaveral (three-night cruise)
Schedule for first revenue sailings from U.S. homeports
Cruise ships can get approval from the CDC to begin sailing from U.S. homeports in two ways. The first is by completing the aforementioned simulated voyage. The second is to travel with 95 percent of passengers vaccinated and 98 percent of crew vaccinated.
Some cruise lines are taking different approaches with different ships within their fleets. In addition, Florida is disputing the CDC’s authority to control how ships operate. The state has received an injunction, which will downgrade the CDC requirements to recommendations as of July 18 – though the CDC is appealing the ruling.
Here are the 2021 debut dates for cruise ships sailing from U.S. homeports with paying passengers.
June 26: Celebrity Edge out of Ft. Lauderdale
July 2: Freedom of the Seas out of Miami
July 3: Carnival Vista out of Galveston
July 4: Carnival Horizon out of Miami
July 15: Carnival Breeze out of Galveston
July 19: Serenade of the Seas out of Seattle
July 23: Celebrity Millennium out of Seattle
July 24: Holland America’s Nieuw Amsterdam out of Seattle
July 25: Celebrity Equinox out of Ft. Lauderdale
July 25: Majestic Princess out of Seattle
July 27: Carnival Miracle out of Seattle
July 31: Carnival Mardi Gras out of Port Canaveral
July 31: Odyssey of the Seas out of Ft. Lauderdale
August 2: MSC Meraviglia out of Miami
August 7: Norwegian Encore out of Seattle
August 7: Carnival Magic out of Port Canaveral
August 8: Allure of the Seas from Port Canaveral
August 9: Disney Dream from Port Canaveral
August 13: Ovation of the Seas out of Seattle
August 14: Symphony of the Seas from Miami
August 14: Carnival Sunrise out of Miami
August 15: Independence of the Seas from Galveston
August 15: Norwegian Gem out of Miami
August 21: Carnival Panorama out of Long Beach
August 23: Mariner of the Seas out of Port Canaveral
September 5: Oasis of the Seas out of Cape Liberty
September 11: Disney Fantasy out of Port Canaveral
September 12: Carnival Pride out of Baltimore
September 16: MSC Divina from Miami
September 19: Carnival Dream out of Galveston
September 19: Carnival Glory out of New Orleans
September 25: Grand Princess out of Los Angeles
October 1: Disney Wonder out of San Diego
October 3: Liberty of the Seas out of Galveston
October 9: Carnival Freedom out of Miami
October 10: Holland America’s Koningsdam out of San Diego
October 11: Carnival Elation out of Port Canaveral
October 19: Norwegian Joy out of Miami
October 24: Norwegian Breakaway out of New York
October 28: Disney Magic out of Miami
October 31: Ruby Princess out of San Francisco
November 1: Carnival Valor out of New Orleans
November 3: Holland America’s Rotterdam out of Ft. Lauderdale
November 6: Pride of America out of Honolulu
November 7: Norwegian Bliss out of Los Angeles
November 7: Explorer of the Seas out of San Juan
November 10: Enchanted Princess out of Ft. Lauderdale
November 14: Holland America’s Eurodam out of Ft. Lauderdale
November 14: Carnival Legend out of Baltimore
November 16: Crown Princess out of Ft. Lauderdale
November 17: Regal Princess out of Ft. Lauderdale
November 19: Navigator of the Seas out of Los Angeles
November 20: Sky Princess out of Ft. Lauderdale
November 20: Norwegian Escape out of Port Canaveral
November 21: Holland America’s Nieuw Statendam out of Ft. Lauderdale
November 28: Caribbean Princess out of Ft. Lauderdale
December 13: Carnival Radiance out of Long Beach
December 13: Carnival Conquest out of Miami
December 16: Brilliance of the Seas out of Tampa
December 23: Enchantment of the Seas out of Baltimore
December 23: Holland America’s Zuiderdam out of San Diego
December 23: Norwegian Pearl out of Miami
Some ships won't return to cruising with passengers in 2021. Here are the 2022 debut dates for cruise ships sailing from U.S. homeports.
January 24: Vision of the Seas out of Ft. Lauderdale
January 2022: Carnival Sensation out of Mobile
May 8: Westerdam out of Seattle
May 12: Zaandam out of Ft. Lauderdale
Spring 2022: Island Princess out of Ft. Lauderdale
Spring 2022: Diamond Princess out of Japan
Erica Silverstein
Erica Silverstein is a cruise and family travel expert, who has been covering the industry for more than 15 years. Her articles have appeared on Cruise Critic, Porthole, TravelAge West, and USA Today. A staunch advocate of cruising as an ideal family vacation, she has, on occasion, banned her own children from cruising with her.
