Resorts World Cruises to Restart Cruises in Hong Kong with Former Explorer Dream

Resorts World Cruises to Restart Cruises in Hong Kong with Former Explorer Dream

Resorts World Cruises announced it will restart cruises from Hong Kong with the Resorts World One from March 10 2023, offering two and three-night high-seas cruises, departing every Friday, Sunday and Wednesday of the week.

The Resorts World One was formerly the Explorer Dream, a 75,338 gross ton 13-storey high cruise ship that features 928 rooms, which can accommodate over 1,856 guests with world-class cruise facilities.

“We are pleased that Resorts World Cruises will have the first cruise ship to homeport in Hong Kong after the resumption of normal travel with the Mainland and overseas. We hope to support the growth of Hong Kong tourism as we had done for both Singapore and Malaysia,” said Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, Chairman of Resorts World Cruises.

Resorts World One is chartered by Resorts World Cruises and she will replace Genting Dream’s regular two- and three-night itineraries from February 17 until March 1 2023, as the Genting Dream goes into drydock for regular maintenance. Departing on March 3, Resorts World One will offer a special five-night repositioning cruise from Singapore, calling at Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, prior to arriving in Hong Kong on March 8.

Passengers can also embark from Kuala Lumpur (via Port Klang) for this re-positioning cruise on March 2, making it a six-night cruise calling at Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang before arriving in Hong Kong on March 8.

“It’s been an exciting journey so far and we are looking forward to starting our next chapter in 2023 with the introduction of the Resorts World One cruise ship. The ship will increase tourist arrivals and generate economic benefits to the hotels, transport, suppliers and other service sectors in Hong Kong. Resorts World One will berth at the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, contributing revenue to the government-owned facility,” said Michael Goh, President of Resorts World Cruises.

 

 

Carnival Restarts Homeport Operations in New York City

Carnival Restarts Homeport Operations in New York City

The Carnival Magic arrived in New York City on Thursday, marking the return of yet another homeport for the Carnival Cruise Line.

The vessel is now set to offer a series of four- to nine-night cruises to Bermuda, Canada and the Caribbean departing from the Manhattan Cruise Terminal.

For its first sailing from the city since 2019, the Magic is operating a four-night itinerary to Bermuda.

In addition to two and a half days at sea, the cruise includes an eight-hour stop in King’s Wharf.

Running through late September, the New York program also features different week-long itineraries to the Caribbean visiting Grand Turk, the Bahamas, San Juan, St. Maarten, St. Thomas and more.

In September, the ship is offering two sailings to Canada as well. Sailing seven-night itineraries, the cruises feature calls in Saint John, Sydney and Halifax.

A Dream-class vessel, the Carnival Magic debuted in 2011 and offers a host of facilities and services.

In addition to traditional features such as a casino and a theatre, the vessel has the SportsSquare, an expansive sports complex with a ropes course and an outdoor fitness area, and The Lanai, a wrap-around promenade with whirlpools that extend out over the ship’s sides.

The vessel also offers an indoor/outdoor café and live entertainment venue called Ocean Plaza, as well as Carnival WaterWorks aqua park and a Serenity adults-only retreat.

Other attractions include the RedFrog Pub, a Caribbean-inspired watering hole with its own private label beer, and Cucina del Capitano, an Italian family-style restaurant that brings the heritage of Carnival’s captains to the table.

After first welcoming guests back in July 2021, Carnival Cruise Line completed its restart plans last month.

On May 2, the Carnival Splendor became the last vessel to resume service for the brand, marking the return of its entire 23-ship fleet.

With the return to New York City, Carnival has also resumed revenue operations from 14 homeports.  

Cruise Restart: 347 Ships Sailing in May

Cruise Restart: 347 Ships Sailing in May

The global cruise industry’s restart is continuing to move forward in May, as 347 cruise ships are expected to sail, according to the May edition of the Cruise Ships in Service Report by Cruise Industry News.

That is a big gain of ships from April, when 300 ships were in service, compared to 264 in March, and just 47 ships in May 2021.

Of the 347 ships set to cruise in April, they represent some 82 cruise brands and just over 550,000 berths.

Royal Caribbean International continues to be the biggest brand in service and will have 25 ships sailing in May, including welcoming back the Ovation of the Seas in Alaska and the Rhapsody of the Seas in the Mediterranean.

Carnival Cruise Line will complete its restart with its 23-ship fleet sailing, with the Splendor relaunching operations on May 2 for her 2022 summer program in Alaska.

Norwegian Cruise Line will welcome back the Sun, sailing out of Seattle to Alaska, and the Spirit, which is starting service as well on May 7.

Other highlights include the Royal and Crown Princess relaunching revenue sailings, and the AIDAaura, which cruises from Hamburg on May 7.

Norwegian Star Welcomes Passengers Back in Spain

Norwegian Star Welcomes Passengers Back in Spain

Norwegian Star smiling again Photo credit Spacejunkie

After a two-year hiatus, the Norwegian Star is welcoming passengers back to Spain today. As the 14th ship to resume service for Norwegian Cruise Line, the vessel is kicking off a European program that includes itineraries in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe.

For its first post-pandemic cruise, the 2001-built ship is sailing a ten-night voyage to Italy. Departing from Spain, the itinerary sails from Barcelona and includes visits to St. Tropez, Livorno, Civitavecchia, Naples, Messina, Corfu, Kotor, Dubrovnik and Split, before arriving in Trieste.

Through November, the vessel’s program also includes a series of cruises in Northern Europe, with visits to Iceland, the British Islands, the Norwegian Fjords, the Baltic and more.

The program is highlighted by two special ten- and 11-night sailings in July that feature visits to four different ports in Greenland. Departing from Reykjavik, the itineraries also include calls to three additional destinations in Iceland.

In early December, the vessel repositions to South America, ahead of a winter season in the region.

Originally ordered for Star Cruises, the Norwegian Star entered service in 2001. With 91,000 tons, it can carry up to 2,200 guests on double occupancy, in addition to 1,031 crew members.

Offering Norwegian’s Freestyle Cruising concept, the ship features more than ten dining venues. Options include favourite speciality restaurants, such as the French Le Bistro and the Cagney’s Steakhouse.

The vessel also boasts nine bars and lounges, a swimming pool, five hot tubs, a casino, a full-service spa and salon, and a fitness centre.

As part of the Norwegian Edge program, the Norwegian Star was completely refurbished in 2018. During an 18-day drydock, the vessel received several enhancements, including a revamped atrium, renovated cabins and redesigned restaurants.

Following the Norwegian Star, the Pride of America is also scheduled to resume service for the Norwegian Cruise Line in April.

The Hawaii-based vessel is welcoming back for its seven-night inter-island cruises on April 9.

After first resuming guest service in July 2021, Norwegian Cruise Line has now brought 14 ships back into revenue operations.

Royal Caribbean Ship Sails on First Alaska Cruise for Brand in 2 Years

Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas left Seattle on Monday evening for the first big-ship cruise in Alaska in over two years.

The Serenade left from the Smith Cove Cruise Terminal on one of her seven-night itineraries and the first revenue cruise of the lineup of 83 scheduled voyages this year, which will each bring an estimated $4.2 million to the local economy, according to the port.

Guest, crew and community safety is paramount, with touchless features to limit crowding throughout the terminal and cruise ships, and vaccinations required of eligible travellers.

“The return of passenger cruise to Alaska marks a major milestone in our effort to reopen the regional economy,” said Steve Metruck, executive director of the Port of Seattle. “A year of work by national, state, and local officials and health authorities, cruise lines, and the Port established safety protocols throughout the traveller experience—from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to each of our cruise terminals. These safety measures will begin restoring the economic benefit from a cruise in Seattle, responsible for creating 5,500 jobs and nearly $900 million to our region.”

“It’s exciting to see hundreds of travellers with their families back in Seattle to cruise to Alaska again. As Serenade of the Seas embarks on the first Alaska sailing since September 2019, it also marks another key milestone for Royal Caribbean and the industry – the return of cruising on the west coast,” said Mark Tamis, senior vice president, Hotel Operations, Royal Caribbean International. “Thanks to the collaboration with our partners in this great city and the region, including the Port of Seattle and Alaska, the benefits of cruise tourism will be felt across the local communities once again. We are back, and there’s more to come when our second ship, Ovation of the Seas, returns to Seattle in August.”

“Cruise season introduces new customers to local small businesses in downtown Seattle and across our city. So many of our local businesses — who have endured a gruelling 16 months — rely on cruise season and the visitors it brings to ensure they can survive and thrive,” said Seattle Mayor Jenny A. Durkan. “Seattle is excited to welcome visitors from across our country and world back to our great city, and we hope they enjoy everything our small businesses, arts and cultural organizations, and neighbourhoods have to offer.”

“We are thrilled to see the return of Alaska cruises from the Port of Seattle and welcome the opportunity to provide passengers with high-quality dairy products from our Northwest co-op’s farmer-owners,” said Duane Naluai, President Consumer Products at Darigold. “That industry partners like Royal Caribbean International are resuming operations after such a challenging pandemic year signals our region’s resilience in the face of adversity and comprises an encouraging boost to our local economy.”

Carnival Cruise Line to Bring Back More Ships in September and October

Carnival Cruise Line announced today that three more ships will resume guest operations in September, and another four in October, which brings the total number of ships in operation for the Carnival Cruise Line fleet to 15

Carnival said in a press release will continue to operate all its ships as vaccinated cruises through at least October.

The three ships for September are the Carnival Glory from New Orleans, starting Sept. 5, the Carnival Pride from Baltimore, starting Sept. 12, and the Carnival Dream from Galveston, starting Sept. 19.

In October, the four additional ships to restart will be the Carnival Conquest from Miami, effective Oct. 8, the Carnival Freedom from Miami, effective Oct. 9, the Carnival Elation from Port Canaveral, effective Oct. 11, and the Carnival Sensation from Mobile, effective Oct. 21.

"We are very excited about our restart and greatly appreciate the support of our guests, travel agents and port and destination partners," said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. "By the end of July, we will have five ships in our restart plan, including the introduction of service on Mardi Gras, and we are seeing a great combination of strong demand and strong guest satisfaction scores tied to the positive guest experience onboard."

Carnival is also notifying guests and travel agents of an extension in its pause of operations through Sept. 5 for the Carnival Pride from Baltimore, Sept. 11 for the Carnival Dream from Galveston, Oct. 4 for the Carnival Conquest from Miami and Oct. 16 for the Carnival Sensation from Mobile.

Cruises on the Carnival Sunshine from Charleston, the Carnival Ecstasy from Jacksonville and the Carnival Liberty from Port Canaveral will be cancelled through Oct. 31.

In addition, a three-day cruise on the Carnival Miracle from Long Beach on Sept. 24 is being cancelled, and then the Carnival Miracle will begin sailing from Long Beach on Sept. 27.

Carnival said will continue to welcome unvaccinated guests onboard, but all unvaccinated guests including children under the age of 12, will be subject to pre-cruise and pre-embarkation testing and testing again prior to debarkation (on cruises longer than four days) along with a $150 per person charge to cover the costs of testing, reporting and health and safety screenings.

Carnival also said it is limiting the operation of its supervised youth programs to vaccinated children and youth 12 years and older. Unvaccinated guests departing from Florida (effective July 31) and Texas (effective Aug. 2) will also need to show proof of travel insurance coverage, based on the itineraries being sailed and the requirements of ports and destinations visited. These additional measures will be in place through at least October but may be extended based on guidance from public health and medical advisors and the requirements of destination partners.

"The decision to sail with vaccinated voyages was a difficult one to make, and we recognize this is disappointing to some of our guests especially the many families with children under the age of 12 who we love to sail, and who love to sail with us," said Duffy. "It's important to remember that this is a temporary measure given the current circumstances. In consultation with our medical experts and advisors, we've determined this plan is in the best interests of the health and safety of our guests, crew and the destinations that we bring our ships to. It's very important that we continue to maintain the confidence of our destination partners so that we can provide our guests with the optimal cruise experience and sail our itineraries."

"Our plan envisions successfully bringing back our entire fleet by the end of the year, returning to full service – most especially for the millions of families who sail with us – and building back our business for the benefit of our guests, employees and the tens of thousands of jobs and local businesses that depend on our company. We will continue to offer exemptions to our unvaccinated guests on a limited, capacity-managed basis within 14 days of sailing as we finalize the vaccinated guest count. The more bookings we initially secure for our cruises with fully vaccinated guests, the more exemptions we can ultimately offer for those unvaccinated guests already booked and those wishing to sail," Duffy added.

Royal Caribbean Is Back Cruising in the Caribbean

Royal Caribbean International is back in service in the Caribbean as the Adventure of the Seas departed from Nassau on Saturday, marking the company's first sailing in North America in some 15 months.

The Adventure welcomed more than 1,000 vacationers on its opening cruise according to the company.

The ship set sail with the fully vaccinated crew and fully vaccinated guests 16 years of age or older, who make up 94 per cent of all guests onboard while the remaining 6 per cent of guests are children younger than 16.

The ship now begins a summer lineup of 7-night sailings to Perfect Day at CocoCay, Grand Bahama Island and Cozumel.

“The return of Adventure of the Seas marks a start in the tremendous step forward our guests have been waiting for and we’ve been working toward for more than 15 months. This is all possible thanks to the government of The Bahamas, the support of our partners and the hard work of our teams across Royal Caribbean,” said Michael Bayley, president and CEO, Royal Caribbean International.

“We are excited to welcome back our guests and crew and to help our Caribbean family regain the benefits of tourism their communities depend on. This is just the beginning, as we get ready to set sail from the U.S. for the first time on July 2.”

The Biggest Cruise Brands By Capacity This Summer

MSC Cruises may be the biggest cruise brand based on confirmed resumption plans (as of late April 2021) and ships and berths back in service by August 31, using data from the 2021 Cruise Industry News Annual Report.

On a corporate level, Carnival Corporation will have the most ships and berths back in service, with six brands set to operate 13 ships by late August at press time, and indications are that more announcements are forthcoming.

Top 5 Cruise Lines Back in Service by August 31:

MSC Cruises
Ships: Ten – MSC Virtuosa, MSC Grandiosa, MSC Seashore, MSC Seaview, MSC Seaside, MSC Preziosa, MSC Splendida, MSC Magnifica, MSC Orchestra and MSC Musica    
Total Berths: 37,066
Regions: Europe – Western Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean and Northern Europe  

After announcing a massive restart plan, MSC intends to have ten ships in service in Europe by August.

The restart fleet includes two newbuilds, the MSC Virtuosa, slated to offer cruises in the United Kingdom, and the MSC Seashore, poised to spend its inaugural season in the Mediterranean.

Royal Caribbean International
Ships: Six – Odyssey of the Seas, Anthem of the Seas, Quantum of the Seas, Jewel of the Seas, Adventure of the Seas and Vision of the Seas
Total Berths: 19,500
Regions: North America, Mediterranean and Asia

Royal Caribbean International is one of the companies pioneering the cruise restart in North America. In March, the cruise line announced its intention to operate two ships in the region, with the Vision of the Seas sailing from Bermuda and the Adventure of the Seas sailing from the Bahamas.

By August, another four ships will also be in service, offering cruises in Europe and Asia.

Costa Cruises
Ships: Four – Costa Firenze, Costa Smeralda, Costa Luminosa and Costa Deliziosa 
Total Berths: 13,976
Region: Europe – Western Mediterranean and Eastern Mediterranean 

Costa has big plans for the summer in the Mediterranean. The Italian brand recently announced its intention to cruise with four ships in the region, including the new Costa Firenze and the LNG-powered Costa Smeralda.

All vessels will be based in Italy, offering cruises to other Italian ports, as well as destinations in Greece, France and Span.

Norwegian Cruise Line
Ships: Three – Norwegian Joy, Norwegian Gem and Norwegian Jade
Total Berths: 9,000
Regions: Caribbean and Mediterranean

While asking the CDC for permission to cruise from U.S. ports starting in July, Norwegian Cruise Line confirmed the restart of its operations elsewhere.

The company will resume service in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, with three ships.

Starting in August, the Norwegian Joy will sail from Jamaica, while the Norwegian Gem will sail from the Dominican Republic. In Europe, the Norwegian Jade will be based in Greece starting on July 25.

P&O Cruises
Ships: Two – Iona and Britannia 
Total Berths: 8,811
Region: Europe – United Kingdom

Carnival Corporation’s British cruise line, P&O Cruises, will resume service in June, with domestic sailings in the United Kingdom.

Sailing from Southampton, the company plans to use its two newest ships, the 5,200-guest Iona and the 3,611-guest Britannia.

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Numbers by Corporation

Carnival Corporation
Ships: 13
Brands in Service: 6 out of 9
Total Berths: 38,557

By Brand

Costa: 4 ships and 13,976 berths
AIDA: 2 ships and 5,424 berths
P&O: 2 ships and 8,811 berths
Princess: 2 ships and 7,200 ships
Cunard: 1 ship and 2,092 berths
Seabourn: 2 ships and 1,054 berths

MSC Cruises
Ships: 10
Brands in Service: 1 out of 1
Total Berths: 37,066

By Brand

MSC: 10 ships and 37,066 berths

Royal Caribbean Group
Ships: 15
Brands in Service: 5 out of 5
Total Berths: 36,982

By Brand

Royal Caribbean: 6 ships and 19,500 berths
Celebrity: 3 ships and 7,840 berths
TUI: 3 ships and 8,300 berths
Hapag-Lloyd: 2 ships and 746 berths
Silversea: 1 ship and 596 berths

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings
Ships: 1 out of 3
Brands in Service: 1 out of 3
Total Berths: 9,000

By brand

Norwegian: 3 ships and 9,000 berths

Genting Cruise Lines
Ships: 6
Brands in Service: 3 out of 3
Total Berths: 8,486

By Brand

Dream: 2 ships and 5,204 berths
Star: 1 ship and 1,090 berths
Crystal: 3 ships and 2,192 berths

Norwegian Cruise Line Sets Restart Plan With 3 Ships From Greece, Jamaica and Dominican Republic

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings today announced it will restart service this July with cruises from Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and Greece with the Norwegian Joy, Jade and Gem. 

The Jade will sail seven-day cruises to the Greek Isles from Athens starting on July 25. The Norwegian Joy will sail seven-day itineraries from Montego Bay starting on August 7, and the Norwegian Gem will launch service from the Dominican Republic on seven-day cruises starting on August 15.

The Jade's Greek Isles program will see a different port call daily, including Iraklion, Rhodes, Mykonos, Olympia, Corfu and Santorini.

Both Caribbean sailings each feature four ports and two days at sea. Sailing from Montego Bay,  Norwegian Joy's calls include Harvest Caye, Roatan, Cozumel and Ocho Rios. Sailing from La Romana in the Dominican Republic, the Gem will visit Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Maarten and Antigua.

Guests wishing to go ashore will need to purchase a Norwegian Cruise Line shore excursion for sailings taking place in July and August. Norwegian said this policy will be continually evaluated and it will modify requirements accordingly.

The company said the news was part of a two-pronged plan for its long-awaited return to cruising this summer, also including the proposal the company sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC on April 5, 2021, outlining its plan to restart cruising from U.S. ports starting July 4 and requesting the CDC lift the Conditional Sail Order.

All initial voyages will operate with fully vaccinated guests and crew in addition to the company’s robust, multi-layered SailSAFE health and safety program, which includes universal COVID-19 testing prior to embarkation.

The company has also announced the formation of the SailSAFE Global Health and Wellness Council, the company’s expert public health council, chaired by former Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Dr Scott Gottlieb, which will complement the work of the Healthy Sail Panel (HSP).

“We are excited to unveil our initial plans for the resumption of cruise voyages embarking outside of the U.S. with sailings to the Caribbean and Europe. In addition, we continue to plan for a resumption of cruising from U.S. ports and await further discussion with the CDC regarding our proposal for a July 4 restart to participate in America’s national opening. As we prepare for our return to cruising, the health and safety of our guests, crew and communities we visit is our first priority, as demonstrated by the establishment of our robust, multi-layered SailSAFE health and safety program and our Company’s SailSAFE Global Health and Wellness Council,” said Frank Del Rio, president and chief executive officer of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.

“Safe and highly effective vaccines are a gamechanger and to create the safest environment possible, we will require all guests and crew to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Vaccine requirements will be combined with multiple additional layers of protection against COVID-19 introduction, including universal testing, and we will continue to evaluate and modify protocols over time as the science dictates.”

Del Rio continued: “The return to cruising has been much-anticipated by our loyal guests, valued travel partners, the destinations we visit and our team members across the globe. We look forward to once again delivering best in class vacation experiences and also restarting our cruise ecosystem, bringing much needed economic benefit back to our homeports and the destinations we visit that have been significantly impacted by the halt in cruising.”

As Norwegian Cruise Line makes its final preparations to welcome guests onboard, guests will have the opportunity to follow along with its new docuseries, EMBARK – The Series, premiering April 15 at www.ncl.com/embark and Facebook.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Oceania Cruises will announce details on their voyage resumption plans at a future date. All voyages on these brands with embarkation date through July 31, 2021, have been cancelled.

Royal Caribbean CEO Fain: Cruising Has Restarted

The CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, Richard Fain, has highlighted the changing times since the CDC’s conditional sail order in October and hopes for a more topical approach to the resumption of cruising.

“The CDC issued the conditional sale order last October in an effort to provide a path for cruising to reopen in the United States … When the conditional sale order was written, there were no vaccines. The disease was on an upward trajectory and heading towards a terrible peak. Testing was less available and more costly, and therapeutics were limited. In general, the situation looked very bleak back then,” Fain said in a video post on social media.

“Last October, preparing for resumption service based on extensive protocols made good sense. But today, a vaccine approach makes much more sense than this old protocol-based approach. The vaccines are bringing down the incidence of COVID-19 in society; the testing enables us to catch cases early. And the preparation we're doing allows us to handle individual cases safely and simply,’ he added.

Click on the above image to hear the Interview.

Fain said that he expects that the CDC will take these changes into consideration.

“We look forward to a constructive dialogue with health officials in the United States and elsewhere, for the path forward under these new circumstances,” he said.

According to Fain, 100,000 cruisers have sailed aboard Royal Caribbean Group’s ships since the pandemic started, with 10 having tested positive for the coronavirus.

“And all of them have been handled smoothly and without undue disruption of other guests’ cruises. And without undue burden on the communities and the governments involved,’ he said. “Our experience with these 100,000 guests is a very powerful proof of concept. In essence, we've just had 100,000 test cruisers and demonstrated that the process works.”

The cruise industry overall has carried more than 350,000 passengers since the pandemic with “minimal disruption,” he added.

“This is precisely what we thought would be the case. And now it is the most powerful and reliable evidence in multiple real-world settings,” he said. “No longer are we talking about when will cruising restart cruising has already restarted.”

Fain also said that Royal Caribbean’s post-pandemic cruises have received higher ratings from guests than pre-pandemic.

Fain also stated that the coronavirus vaccines are a “gamechanger,” but he can’t say yet if all Royal Caribbean sailings will require them from guests.

“We have announced three cruises that will require inoculations for all adults, and there are likely to be more. But each circumstance is different. And I would note that the cruises we are currently operating are operating without requiring vaccines,” he said.

Fain finally called on people not to become complacent, as letting “our guard down” and stopping to take simple precautions would cause another spike.

“I, therefore, encourage all of you to get your vaccine, follow the CDC advice, and we can be sailing in time to meet President Biden's goal of reopening society in time for the Fourth of July,” he concluded

Costa Restarts Cruises With New Program From March 27

Costa Cruises will be restarting service on the Costa Smeralda from March 27 and on the Costa Luminosa from May 2. This was announced by its parent company, Carnival Corporation, in a press release.

“The cruise ships of Costa Cruises … are ready to set sail again and offer guests holidays filled with leisure and relaxation, along with enhanced health and safety protocols,” the company said.

The Costa Smeralda program will consist of an unchanged itinerary across Italy for three- or four-day mini-cruises or, alternatively, a 7-day cruise, calling at Savona, La Spezia, Civitavecchia, Naples, Messina and Cagliari.

On May 1, the Costa Smeralda will return to one-week cruises in the Western Mediterranean with visits to Italy (Savona, Civitavecchia and Palermo), France (Marseille) and Spain (Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca).

The Costa Luminosa will be departing from Trieste from May 2, and the following day from Bari, confirming its program of one-week cruises in Greece and Croatia, according to the press release.

“Costa is working with national and local authorities of the countries included in the itineraries of its ships outside Italy to define the details of the restart of cruise operations, with enhanced health and safety measures through the implementation of the Costa Safety Protocol,” Carnival Corporation wrote. “The protocol contains operational measures related to all aspects of the cruise experience, both onboard and ashore, which were implemented in the past months of cruise operations.”

All other cruises scheduled until the end of May, and not included in the program updated on Feb. 17, will be cancelled. Costa is in the process of informing travel agents and customers affected by changes.

MSC Cruises Delays Magnifica Restart to Feb. 14

MSC Cruises announced today the extension to the pause of operations for the MSC Magnifica in connection with the additional lockdown measures that the Greek government has recently put in place ashore to manage the pandemic and that will now likely extend beyond the current holiday period, according to a press release.

As part of these measures, MSC said that passenger ships are only able to make technical calls in Greek ports through Jan. 6.

Due to the uncertainty at this stage as to whether these ports will fully re-open on Jan. 7  or if these measures will be further extended as it is very likely to be the case, MSC said it has made the decision to postpone for the benefit of its guests the resumption of operations for MSC Magnifica until Feb. 14, 2021.

Guests booked on MSC Magnifica before her new restart date will be able to transfer their booking to MSC Grandiosa as early as Jan. 10, when the ship is due to restart her Western Mediterranean itinerary calling ports only in Italy and Malta.

CRUISE CHIEFS: 'WE'VE DONE EVERYTHING GOVERNMENT HAS ASKED US'

UK cruise chiefs believe they are working with the government on “the last pieces of the jigsaw” to enable a restart to sailings next year.

Speaking on a panel at Clia’s virtual showcase on Thursday (10 December) Royal Caribbean Group’s vice-president of government relations Stuart Leven said talks around new protocols were “pretty much done”.

 

Saga Travel chief executive Nick Stace said the sector had set a target of seeing the Foreign Office (FCDO) advice against ocean cruising “revised or removed” by the new year, adding he believed the industry had “literally done everything government has asked of us”.

 

“We’re pushing as hard as we can through all agencies of government - even right up to Number 10,” he said. “I think we’re making good progress.”

 

Stace revealed officials from the FCDO, Department for Transport and Public Health England had met with cruise sector leaders during a “summit” onboard Saga’s Spirit of Discovery in July.

 

“We literally put everything out on the table to understand what we needed to do in order to resume,” he explained, branding the FCDO advice in its current form as “a tremendous block” on bookings and being able to bring crew into the UK.

 

Leven said learning from the summer summit was: “never send anything to the government unless it’s got a pretty picture and an arrow on it. Don’t expect for one second they know everything about our industry."

 

He said the resumptions of MSC, Costa, and Tui in Europe in recent months had enabled UK lines to “talk about the actuality” of protocols.

 

“We’ve been unable to show with those 200-plus cruises that have been operating that you can offer a great guest experience but at the same time, a safe one. You can then evidence that to the UK government who aren’t cruise experts – it makes life easier for us.”

P&O Restart by March 'Not Impossible'

P&O Restart by March 'Not Impossible'

P&O Iona

The likelihood of P&O Cruises returning to sailing by March is “not impossible”, according to boss Paul Ludlow.

The line’s president has said a decision on its restart of operations would be “informed by what is happening with the country at large”, speaking on Tuesday (3 November) ahead of England’s second national coronavirus lockdown later this week. 

The government was having to consider the national “macro environment” when working with UK cruise operators, he said - P&O’s operations are currently suspended until the end of February 2021.

“Do I think March is still realistic? I don’t think it’s impossible,” Ludlow told media during a briefing for its summer 2022 programme, which went on sale this week.

“We’re going to see what happens over the next few weeks. We could leave it [a decision on further extending the suspension] until the New Year but we have to think of our guests and agent partners.

 “From my perspective, if you have to move things further to the right [suspend further] I would want to make that decision this year.

“We are in regular contact directly with the government, and via Clia, and the dialogue remains very positive. I’m pleased with how talks are progressing.”

Discussing P&O’s eventual return to operations, Ludlow said Covid testing “will be key” to a successful resumption.

Although he added that he believed cruising could still operate safely without a vaccine with adapted onboard health and safety protocols in place.

He confirmed – as suggested by Clia’s recent pledge – that all P&O vessels would feature testing capabilities onboard.

“The type [of testing] is yet to be defined as the technology is moving so quickly but we are committed to being able to test all of our guests and crew.”

Upon the line’s restart, Ludlow predicted social distancing could be used “really effectively” with ship capacity capped “at about 85%” but said a lower threshold could be put in place.

“It depends upon which ship and where it’s going. The answer to how long we do that [limit capacity] and what level does somewhat depend on our testing capabilities and the prevalence of a vaccine. I think at this stage there are too many unknowns.”

Carnival: Optimistic For Restart in the U.S. By Year’s End

“At this time, we have every reason to be optimistic we will be sailing in the U.S. before year’s end,” said Arnold Donald, president and CEO of Carnival Corporation, on today’s third-quarter earnings call.

The company’s Costa Cruises brand has already returned to service with two ships in the Mediterranean, soon to be joined by a third ship, the Costa Smeralda, according to Donald. They are sailing weeklong cruises from different Italian homeports. The sister brand, AIDA, is set to launch service later this month, also in the Mediterranean, with German passengers.

Donald explained that the ships are sailing with lower occupancy levels enabling the cruise lines to test and assess their health and safety protocols.

With national brands, Donald said Carnival is ideally positioned for a phased-in return to service, as each brand can be restarted independently, and in most cases with ready access to drive-to markets.

Also, with a small percentage of the fleet entering service, for now, he said, there will be less reliance on new-to-cruise, compared to all previous growth cycles that required the brands to tap more new passengers.

In addition, as Carnival is disposing of some 18 older ships and right-sizing its shoreside organization, Donald said a leaner and more efficient company would emerge.

“All initiatives going forward will be focused on maximizing cash generation and creating shareholder value. The delivery schedules of new ships have been stretched out and there is only one new ship on order for 2024 and one for 2025. This will further reduce our capital expenditures and allow us to repay debt,” he added.

Added David Bernstein, CFO and chief accounting officer: “We are focused on assets that are cash generative, so we can pay down debt, rebuild our balance sheet and get back to investment-grade rating.

“We are working through a number of different financial scenarios, but there is a lot of uncertainty involved so it is difficult to give (financial) guidance. (However), we expect over time to build occupancy up to generate positive cash flow and reduce the cash burn. The start-up occupancy level is less than 50 per cent. Over time, once we know we have things right, we will increase occupancy, while keeping social distancing in mind as well.”

Bernstein noted that the break-even point ranges from 30 to 50 per cent occupancy for different ships.

A-Rosa releases video to highlight Covid health and hygiene measures

Agents are being encouraged to share a new video highlighting Coivid-19 health and hygiene measures introduced by A-Rosa River Cruises.

The film shows what life has been like onboard the German company’s ships since they restarted sailing in June.

The two and a half minute video covers various elements of the cruise experience including pre-departure, embarkation protocols, dining and excursions.

The river cruise line hopes agents will use it as a training tool for their staff, and to share with potential customers to give them confidence in booking a future river cruise.

UK and Ireland managing director Lucia Rowe said: “We know how important it is for agents to understand exactly what life onboard our ships have been like since our restart in June, so they can sell it with confidence.

“This short video demonstrates how our ships are operating to keep our guests safe as they sail on Europe’s rivers.

“Our feedback from guests onboard has been really positive and we hope that visually showing agents just how we balance our health and hygiene concept, with all the reasons why our guests love to travel us, will give them the assurance they need to promote our river cruises going forward.”

The video is available at – https://bit.ly/2G0KnHa