Summer/Beach

This is kinda shocking, but Carnival Cruise enthusiasts aren't letting the pandemic scare 'em away from boarding ships with hundreds of passengers.

A rep with Cruise Planners, an American Express​ Travel Representative, travel franchise, tells TMZ ... after Carnival announced this week it would resume some cruises in August, its clients immediately began reaching out to book their reservations first and nab the most premium deals.

We're told in the 3 days after Carnival's announcement ... Cruise Planners' Carnival bookings shot up 600 percent compared to the previous 3 days before the news. That makes sense, but more interestingly, it's a 200 percent increase over the same time period in 2019 -- when folks traveled without fear of the novel coronavirus.

The travel company tells us those booking Carnival cruises were "not a bit concerned about traveling at this time" because many stated they are young and healthy, and just looking to have some fun after being cooped up for so long.

Though Carnival's plan is to resume some of its cruises on August 1, it's made it clear there's no guarantee, saying ... "We continue to work with various government agencies, including the CDC, as we introduce new onboard protocols, but there is no assurance of a return on August 1."

Sorry, Gavin Newsom ... try valiantly as you have, but it seems there's no way you can stop people from flocking to the Pacific to catch a glimpse of those bioluminescent waves ... beach closures be damned!!!

Check out the scene this weekend at Toes Beach in the L.A. neighborhood, Playa del Rey ... there's a caravan of cars stretching around the block and large groups of people descending on the sand ... all just to see the glowing blue ocean.

It's pretty insane actually ... people were waiting in line in their cars just to snag a parking spot, hop out and trudge over the dunes to see the neon action caused by an annual algae bloom.

As you know ... L.A. County beaches remain closed due to the raging pandemic, but people are having a hard time staying away and following orders because of the beautiful show put on each night by Ma Nature.

The beach was crammed with hundreds of people, and while most were social distancing, some were mowing over the caution tape set up to keep people off the sand.

The neighborhood was packed with families, couples, photographers and the like ... and the crowds were reminiscent of July 4, only instead of fireworks in the nearby marina, people wanna see the bioluminescence.

Cali's also under a shelter-in-place order ... so no one's gonna classify this as an "essential" trip out of the house. Sure, neon waves are amazing, but it seems slightly less pressing than say ... finding toilet paper or getting food.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... no one called the cops on the crowds, but if they did, police would respond and educate folks about social distancing.

April Love Geary is ashamed to be from Huntington Beach because of all the "white privilege" punks, as she put it, protesting SoCal beach closures.

Robin Thicke's fiancee went off Friday on the protesters, calling them out for their utter disregard of people's health during this coronavirus pandemic. She said "it's the most white privilege bulls**t" thing she's seen.

Check out the video ... April says it's ridiculous that Black Lives Matter protesters across the country have been met by cops in riot gear, while Huntington Beach protesters -- with much less melanin -- are allowed to exercise their right to free speech. All while cops stand idly by without riot gear.

She urges protesters to keep their asses at home, and adds, "It's not that hard."

The demonstrations started after California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered the closure of all Orange County beaches, starting this weekend. Some protesters carried signs that read, "Masks don't work. My body, my choice."

As we reported ... heavily-armed protesters stormed Michigan's statehouse after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer extended the state's emergency stay-at-home order until the end of May.

There's a war on the beach in Orange County!

There's also a giant penis on the beach in Orange County!

And, local news covered 'em both!

Here's the deal ... with California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordering the closure of all Orange County beaches, several people hit the sand Friday to protest the decision.

One excited beachgoer decided to send a message by drawing a giant design on the shore ... a giant phallus!

And, as the whole thing was being covered by the good people at KTLA, the sand schlong made the shot!

The best part of the whole thing ... the reporter talking about a "hard closure" just as they pan over the wiener.

Stay safe, everyone!

Leave it to Sofia Richie to deliver some sobering news while still looking like she stepped off a bikini runway, but she could just be breaking the law because it looks like that runway is closed.

Sofia hopped on her e-bike Wednesday and hit the beach ... social distancing was not an issue because the beach was empty. Unclear what beach she was at, but L.A. County beaches are closed, and she was definitely in Malibu Wednesday, which is off-limits.  Nevertheless, it's hard to dispute her declaration summer 2020 is over before it begins.

Sofia's BF, Scott Disick, had a lighter spin on things ... calling his Wednesday "Earth Day at its finest" with some help from his e-bike. He looked like he was having a ball, for sure, but again, he's tooling around without a mask, and if it's L.A. County, the beaches are closed. Maybe Sofia hadn't told him yet about summer getting out of dodge.

Things were much simpler just 8 months ago when Sofia turned 21. She got a couple of cars for her birthday -- seriously, a Bentley and Range Roger -- and hopped on a jet with Kylie.

Ah, the good ol' days.

Jacksonville, FL Beachgoers Don't seem at all concerned with the number of coronavirus deaths and cases on the rise ... because they hit the sand Friday and packed in like sardines.

It's a crazy sight, as the sun worshipers took their chances by getting in close contact with other beachgoers.

Jacksonville's mayor, Lenny Curry, celebrated the trek to the beach saying, "This can be the beginning of the pathway back to normal life."

President Trump is clearly encouraging people to break quarantine, with Tweets like, "LIBERATE MICHIGAN," "LIBERATE VIRGINIA," and "LIBERATE MINNESOTA."

He's clearly dog-whistling, because he threw in this ... "And save your great 2nd Amendment."

Not hard to read between the lines ... he's telling his stalwarts to ignore the advice of doctors, scientists, their governor and mayor, because they're Americans dammit.

Princess Cruise Lines is being sued by a woman who claims her husband died from COVID-19 after contracting the virus on one of its cruises.

Juishan Hsu and her daughter just filed docs against Princess Cruise Lines, claiming the company exposed passengers aboard the Ruby Princess to the novel coronavirus ... which eventually killed her husband, Chung Chen.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Juishan says she and her husband set sail out of Sydney on March 8. She claims PCL was aware of a COVID-19 outbreak on the ship, but proceeded with the cruise without warning passengers.

Juishan claims they would not have boarded if they knew about the outbreak, and would have immediately taken the first flight home. In the docs, she and her daughter claim PCL still sent out ships after 3 major outbreaks on its cruises, including one a week before on the Ruby Princess.

Princess Cruise Lines only took minimal precautions, according to the suit, including delaying boarding for the Ruby Princess by 6 hours and handing out lunch vouchers to passengers while crews tried to disinfect the ship.

But, the family claims the cruise line failed to quarantine onboard and didn't even notify passengers of the outbreak, "allowing the sailing to continue as if it were a normal cruise"

Juishan says her husband died April 4 from COVID-19 complications. She's going after the cruise line for more than $1 million in damages.

Italy wants to inch back to normalcy using baby steps -- and as summer nears, one company suggests keeping people boxed in on their sandy shores ... say hello to beach cubicles!!!

Officials in the European nation -- which has been hard-hit by coronavirus, and is currently on a full-blown national lockdown -- have been brainstorming ways to ease people back into public life, especially as their tourism season starts to pick up in the next few months.

Welp, a company called Nuova Neon Group Due Srl gave their elevator pitch this week to a bunch of Italian bigwigs on how to get folks back to their gorgeous shores, but still maintain some social distancing at the same time. As we've seen, it's hard to do both.

Their bright idea ... 15 feet x 15 feet plexiglass walls that would enclose a party of no more than two or three people tops, just enough for a couple chairs and an umbrella. That's what Nuova thinks will do the trick, but Italian lifeguard orgs think it's a bit too wacky.

The president of a lifeguard cooperative there is quoted as comparing the beach boxes as "chicken coops," going on to say no one in their right mind would subject themselves to being stuck in there under the scorching sun. Other lifeguard honchos agreed ... they hate it.

Surfers in California are flocking to one of the most famous surf spots in the world ... and it's getting so crowded, social distancing is going out the window!!!

Here's the deal ... surfers are making their way to the Wedge in Newport Beach -- not only for the waves, but because it's sort of a final outpost. While Los Angeles County has completely closed all beaches -- doling out $1,000 fines for surfers and arresting paddleboarders -- Orange County beaches remain open.

There are some deterrents -- like closed parking lots and boardwalks -- but you can see in this video, it's not having much of an impact.

Surfers argue they can maintain 6-feet of social distancing in the water, but with so many catching waves on Wednesday ... surfers were literally bumping into each other!!!

One guy who paddled out at the Wedge tells us locals are pissed L.A. County peeps are coming by the droves ... along with San Diego surfers. Their beaches are closed too. We're told some locals even showed up and asked the out-of-towners to beat it.

As we've reported ... scenes like those at the Wedge are exactly why L.A. County shut down its beaches more than a week ago. Clearly, OC folks are worried they could face the same fate.

Lifeguards are doing their best to alert surfers in the OC when they get too close together. Although, a leading scientist warns the SoCal ocean water could expose surfers and swimmers to the virus -- some people don't care.

Colton Underwood looks like a walking clean bill of health after being stricken by coronavirus -- and the first thing on his checklist was a jaunt with his boo.

The ex-'Bachelor' hit the road Monday for a walk with his girlfriend, Cassie Randolph, and her sis, Michelle. The good-looking trio took a stroll down the coast near Huntington Beach, CA ... and Colton's looking good as new, compared to a few weeks ago.

You'll recall ... shortly after he disclosed he'd caught the 'rona -- Colton was looking pretty ill and down in the dumps.

Now he's looking much better and feeling that way, too. He says, "I have made a full recovery from the coronavirus and we managed to keep the entire family healthy as well."

Colton added, on IG ... "I am now working with medical professionals to figure out the best way to support their efforts against the coronavirus."

He also thanked Cass and her fam for caring for him while he was sick.

Anyway, Colton has another reason to celebrate right now -- his new book, "The First Time," is coming out.

Khloe Terae is still strutting her bikini bod, but don't panic ... she appears to be practicing some social distancing.

The model threw on a tiny pink bikini Monday in Malibu to do a photoshoot for a water company. Now, on the one hand, this is great news or Khloe and other models -- even in the middle of a pandemic, some things haven't shut down. Namely, companies willing to pay super-hot people to promote their products.

On the other hand, International Playboy's 2014 Playmate of the Year doesn't seem to be suffering from the so-called quarantine-19 weight gain many of us are. Soooo ... yeah.

Hey, as long as Khloe's staying at least 6 feet away from the photog (who we hope is wearing a mask) ... more power to her.