Hong Kong Bans All Cruises for Next 2 Weeks

Hong Kong has announced the introduction of new COVID-19 restrictions, which include bans on incoming flights from eight countries, weekend indoor dining, banning of all cruises and more.

The two big cruise lines that operate in Hong Kong have already reacted to the new regulations by cancelling their cruises.

Royal Caribbean Hong Kong has issued an update through their social media channels that said the Jan. 6, Jan. 9, Jan. 12, Jan. 14 and Jan. 17 cruises on the Spectrum of the Seas have all been cancelled due to the authorities’ update.

“We fully expect to welcome back our guests onboard Spectrum’s Jan. 21 cruise,” the cruise line said.

Guests affected by the cancellations are invited to either transfer to a later sailing or apply for a full refund.

Dream Cruises said it’s cancelling all itineraries between Jan. 9 and Jan. 19 due to the government directive.

Affected guests are invited to either transfer, receive a future cruise credit with additional onboard credit or cancel receiving a full monetary refund.

“This cancellation is due to the government’s directive and not as a result of any COVID-19 related incidents on board the ship,” the cruise line said.

Venice bans cruise ships from the historic centre

Italian authorities have approved a ban on cruise ships entering the historic centre of Venice.

The country's culture minister said on Wednesday, 'that the decision came in response to UN cultural body Unesco'.

Large ships will now have to dock at the city's industrial port until a permanent solution is found.

Critics argue the ships cause pollution and erode the foundations of the city, which suffers from regular flooding.

On Wednesday, Italian ministers agreed that large cruise and container ships would no longer be able to enter the city's Giudecca canal, which leads to the historic St Mark's Square.

Culture Minister Dario Franceschini hailed the move, which he described as "a correct decision, awaited for years".

The government will hold a "call for ideas" for an alternative cruise terminal in the city.

Cruise ships are currently unable to enter Venice due to coronavirus restrictions but their absence since has been credited with improving water quality in the lagoons.

Pressure to pass a ban on large vessels mounted in 2019 after a cruise ship crashed into a harbour in the city, injuring five people. However, no permanent solution was found.

Previous initiatives to stop cruise ship traffic have also failed. In 2013, the government banned ships weighing more than 96,000 tonnes from the Giudecca canal, but the legislation was later overturned.

Other plans to divert cruise ships from the centre of Venice were announced in 2017 but were never fully implemented.

Venice to Ban Large Cruise Ships From City Center

PHOTO: Large cruise ships will be banned from docking in Venice by 2021. (photo via Flickr/Martin Cooper)

Venice has taken action against cruise ships in a move that isn't likely to sit well with future passengers.

According to The Independent, an Italian government committee has ruled to ban cruise ships over 60,000 tons from docking in the city centre by the year 2021.

Instead, the large ships will bypass the Grand Canal and St. Mark's Square for the mainland at Marghera, a destination that pales in comparison to the photogenic Venice.

The controversial decision comes in the wake of concerns expressed by both locals and activists that the vessels are harming the city's historical infrastructure as well as the environment.

Venice hosts approximately 30 million tourists annually, according to CNN. While the large cruise ships that enter the city represent a key driver of its tourism-based economy, Venice's 50,000 or so residents have warned that the city can't withstand all the attention.

"We want it to be clear to UNESCO and the whole world that we have a solution," said Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro via The Guardian. "This takes into account all the jobs created by the cruise industry, which we absolutely couldn’t afford to lose, and we can start to work seriously on planning cruises."

Ships under the specified mass will continue to travel along the iconic Zattere waterfront and into Venice's city centre.

While 99 percent of Venetians who voted in an unofficial referendum this past June supported the ban, not everyone is optimistic about the committee's ruling.

Activist Tommasso Cacciari of the No Grandi Navi (No Big Ships) protest group told The Guardian that the "declaration means nothing."

"They haven't found a solution, there is no plan—basically, nothing will change. They say the largest ships will go to Marghera—but where will they put them?" he asked. "They say all of this will be done within four years, but even projects in Dubai do not get completed in that space of time."

Cacciari also argued that the ban won't quell environment concerns.

This week's decision comes four years after authorities banned ships over 105,000 tons from sailing through the city. That ban was subsequently overturned in 2015.

Seabourn the latest cruise line to ban in-room smoking

By Tom Stieghorst

The smoking lamp has just about gone out for passengers who want to light up in their cabin.

Seabourn Cruises, the last major holdout among U.S. cruise lines, announced that starting next February, it will longer allow smoking in staterooms on its six ships.

Passengers will still be able to smoke on verandas, with some exceptions, and in designated public areas on deck and on terraces.

The policy was changed, spokesman Bruce Good said, “based on feedback from Seabourn’s guests and travel professional partners and to better align us with consumer trends.”

Seabourn was just about the only North American cruise line that still allowed in-cabin tobacco use.

The trend to curb smoking mirrors restrictions on land in the U.S., where the habit has declined and concerns about the effects of secondhand smoke have increased.

About 18% of the adult U.S. population smoked last year, down from 45% in the early 1950s.

Maurice Zarmati, a longtime Carnival Cruise Lines executive and currently senior global consultant to Costa Cruises, recalled that at one time, smoking was completely unrestricted on ships.

“It was overwhelmingly up to the individual,” Zarmati said.

Today, in the U.S., the tables are turned, and nonsmokers are increasingly dictating the smoking regime on ships. The move to ban smoking in cabins gained momentum in 2011 when Carnival, Princess and Holland America Line all outlawed it.

Now the battleground has moved to the balconies, where Disney Cruise Line and Cunard Line have become the latest to enact a smoking ban. Disney’s new constraints start Nov. 15.

Cunard is waiting until after its 2014 world cruises. Next year, effective on Queen Victoria from April 28, and on Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth from May 9, balcony smoking will be banned.

“This change .. means that all passengers will be able to enjoy full use of their private balconies, without the effect of drifting smoke” from a nearby balcony, Cunard said in a statement.

There isn’t a consensus yet. Balcony smoking is still allowed on Carnival Cruise Lines, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean International, the three biggest players.

Smoking rules began to change in the 1980s. As on land, smoking at sea was first restricted in the dining rooms, which were divided into smoking and nonsmoking sections.

Carnival Cruise Lines took a big leap forward in 1997 when it made one ship, the Carnival Paradise, completely smoke-free. That lasted five years, but pricing lagged other ships of its class.

“If you throw a party and not that many people come, you have to throw a different party,” Carnival Cruise Lines’ then-president Bob Dickinson said at the time.

Today, the practice is to keep most areas smoke-free, but have a few open deck spots or spaces in some bars and casinos reserved for smoking.

This works even in Europe, Zarmati said. Few smokers will refuse to cruise if they have some venue for their habit, he said.

“There are some, but I have to think the percentages are small,” he said.

Even so, some of the most promising new markets for cruise lines are countries like Japan and Korea, where smoking rates are much higher than in the U.S.

A Princess Cruises spokeswoman said there had been no accommodations made for a series of Japan cruises on the Sun Princess this summer.

China has the most smokers of any country, about 350 million. If that market takes off, it could be a challenge for Western cruise firms.

“It would be interesting to understand how the Chinese operators handle it, or how they handle the nonsmokers,” Zarmati said.

Disney Cruise Line bans smoking on balconies

By Tom Stieghorst

Disney Cruise Line is telling customers and agents that as of Nov. 15 it will no longer permit passengers to smoke on balconies.

Guests already booked in verandah balcony cabins will be contacted by e-mail about the change.

Disney will impose a $250 penalty on passengers who are found to be smoking on the balcony or in their stateroom.

Smoking will still be allowed in designated open-air spaces on deck, Disney said. 

We have just come of a Carnival cruise and they allow passengers to smoke on the balconies, we don't smoke but every time we went on our balcony all we could smell was the different types of smoke from pipes, cigars and cigarettes, this ruined our private open space that we have paid for. Smoking should be banned from all public areas, and a smoking area should be set up out of the way of non-smokers and children.

Card transactions banned in the Vatican

By Gay Nagle Myers

Tourists headed to the Vatican's museums and shops now need cash for tickets and souvenirs. Credit and debit cards no longer are accepted.

The Bank of Italy decided to block electronic payments, effective Jan. 1, due to concerns that the tiny city-state has not fully complied with stringent European Union safeguards against money laundering. This means that Italian banks no longer are authorized to operate within the Vatican.

All ATM machines are being removed, and cash is needed at the ticket booths for admission to the Vatican's museums and guided tours. Souvenir shops will accept euros, dollars but no cards.

The ability to buy tours online using credit or debit cards will end on Jan. 15.