Carnival to resume same-sex marriages on cruise ships after Bermuda changes law
Carnival had to stop allowing same-sex couples to marry on board after Bermuda repealed same-sex marriage
Carnival Corp., the parent company of a number of cruise lines, announced that they hope to resume same-sex weddings on their ships following Bermuda’s decision to reverse their repeal of marriage equality.
The cruise giant was forced to cancel same-sex weddings on their ships, which are registered in Bermuda, after the island nation became the first territory in the world to repeal same-sex marriage.
Now that Bermuda’s Supreme Court has reversed parts of its domestic partnership law and made same-sex marriage legal once more, Carnival UK president Josh Weinstein announced that they hope to continue allowing same-sex people to marry on board.
“We are delighted that the supreme court of Bermuda has decided that same sex marriage is legal in Bermuda and we congratulate OUTBermuda on its hard-won challenge,” Weinstein said, according to PinkNews. “As a result of the judgment, it will also now be legal for same sex couples to marry on board cruise ships registered in the country.”
He continued: “As a company committed to equality, inclusion and diversity, we believe everyone deserves equal dignity and respect, and we are proud to have provided our support to OutBermuda’s efforts to champion marriage equality. We will now be working closely with the Bermudan authorities to understand when we will be able to resume marrying same sex couples on board.”
Carnival, which has 24 Bermuda-based cruise ships in operation, announced in April it would provide financial, civic and PR relations to local LGBTQ advocacy group OUTBermuda, which headed the legal challenge to the repeal.
“While we always abide by the laws of the countries we sail to and from, we believe travel and tourism brings people and cultures together in powerful ways,” Carnival said in a statement at the time. “As a result, we believe it is important to stand by the LGBTQ community in Bermuda and its many allies to oppose any actions that restrict travel and tourism.”
Under Bermuda’s law, both same-sex and opposite-sex couples were able to obtain domestic partnerships, but the word “marriage” would be exclusively reserved for heterosexual couples.
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