Carnival Freedom Makes Line’s First Call to Grand Turk Since Resumption

The Carnival Freedom arrived in Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos, on Dec. 15, marking the line’s first time back to the port since resuming service.

According to a press release, the 2,974-guest Freedom is on a six-day Eastern Caribbean cruise that departed PortMiami on Dec. 12, and featured ports include Half Moon Cay and Amber Cove.

“We are delighted to bring the Carnival Freedom back to Grand Turk and to offer our guests the opportunity to experience all of this port’s beauty once again,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “On behalf of Carnival, I would like to thank the Turks and Caicos Islands government and all our partners on the ground in Grand Turk for working with us to make this opportunity possible.”

By year’s end, Carnival will have 19 ships in operation as the line’s restart of operations continues. All 22 of Carnival’s U.S.-based ships will be back in guest operations by March 2022.

Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Differ on July U.S. Cruising Plans

The three largest cruise brands are targeting different restart plans that should get the green light to cruise in July from U.S. ports, according to recent announcements and comments from executives.

Carnival Cruise Line

Carnival Cruise Line said earlier this week it is hoping for a July restart in the U.S. on select ships.

Carnival hopes to begin operating sailings on three ships from Florida and Texas, including the Carnival Vista and Carnival Breeze from Galveston, and Carnival Horizon from Miami.  

The Miami-based company also said that if it can find a solution to allow cruise ships to visit Alaska, the Carnival Miracle will assume some of the Carnival Freedom's departures from Seattle. 

Royal Caribbean International 

“We believe we are now seeing a clear way forward to safe cruising in the near future,” said Richard Fain, chairman and CEO of the Royal Caribbean Group, on the company's business update call in late April.

Added Michael Bayley, CEO and president of the Royal Caribbean International brand: “With what (CDC letter) we received last night July looks very realistic (for restarting cruises in North America).”

As for the Alaska season, Fain noted there are uncertainties and that service resumption may require a waiver from the Passenger Vessels Service Act as long as Canada will not allow ship calls. Alternatively, Canada could allow technical calls.

“Given the momentum, there is the reason for optimism,” he added.

Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Cruise Line had intended to restart in the United States on July 4, having submitted what it referred to as an ironclad plan and letter to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in early April.

But as of early May, and with no reply from the CDC, company executives said that a July restart from U.S. ports won't be happening.

"The July U.S. launch at least from our company, it's just not possible," said Frank Del Rio, president and CEO, on the company's first-quarter earnings call in early May.

"It was possible back in early April when we proposed to the CDC 100 per cent vaccination. We've always said it takes about 90 days to stand up a vessel.

"So from April 5, when we submitted our proposal, 90 days would have been early July and that was possible, but today we're in early May, so now we're looking past that. But look there is more to it than just what the CDC says, there is only so much capacity to be able to stand up vessels."

Del Rio said getting a cruise ship ready to sail after a 15 to 18-month layup was not an overnight process.

 

CLIA CALLS FOR PHASED RESUMPTION OF US CRUISING IN JULY

Clia has urged the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to lift its framework for conditional sailing order (CSO) and allow the sector to plan for a phased resumption of cruise operations from US ports by the start of July.

"These voyages were successfully completed with industry-leading protocols that effectively mitigated the spread of Covid-19," said Craighead, who noted plans for further sailings in the Mediterranean and Caribbean during spring and into summer.
Craighead said the CDC order no longer reflected operational realities thanks to a combination of an accelerated vaccination programme and better Covid mitigations and protocols.
"The cruise industry has adopted a high bar for resumption around the world with a multi-layered set of policies intended to be revised as conditions change," said Craighead. "Our members continue to follow this multi-layered approach to enhancing health and safety that has proven effective, making cruising one of the best and most adaptable choices."

The association said this would dovetail with President Biden’s forecast for when living in the US would be "closer to normal"; president and chief executive Kelly Craighead said the "highly-controlled" resumption of cruising in Europe, Asia and the South Pacific had proved it was possible.

FRED OLSEN TO LAY-UP BRAEMAR UNTIL 2022

Fred Olsen will lay-up Braemar until 2022 owing to the likely complexity of operating a fly-cruise programme in the early stages of any permitted resumption of cruising.

The line’s focus will instead be on its ex-UK programme, with new ship Borealis likely to be the first of its four-ship fleet to return to service next year.

Borealis will embark on its maiden cruise with Fred Olsen on 23 April 2021 as originally planned – a six-night Scottish Lochs and Isles cruise.

The ship joined the line’s fleet in September, one of two former Holland America Line ships acquired by Fred Olsen to replace Boudicca and Black Watch, which have been retired.

Bolette, the second of these two new ships, will enter service on 29 May 2021 according to the line’s "back in service" timetable, followed by Balmoral on 9 June.

"Due to having an extensive fly-cruise programme, Braemar will remain in lay-up until 2022," said Fred Olsen.

 

"All guests booked onto a cancelled sailing will be notified of the changes, and will be provided with a number of options including a no-quibble refund."

Peter Deer, Fred Olsen managing director, said: "While it is regrettable that our pause in operations is longer than we originally anticipated, we have said right from the start that we will not resume sailing until we are confident that it is safe for us to do so, and we stand by that.

"The safety of our guests and crew remains our utmost priority, and it is important that we fully understand the advances in the roll-out of the vaccine, testing capabilities and other scientific developments and what they mean for how we can operate.

"This is not a process to be rushed, and we are confident that by deferring our return to sailing just a while longer, with our two new ships among the fleet, we can come back better and stronger than ever without compromising on the guest experience."

On Braemer, which Deer said typically operated Fred Olsen’s winter the Mediterranean and Caribbean fly-cruise programme, he added: "Initially, we believe it may be more complex for us to operate the planned fly-cruise programme and we will therefore instead focus on our extensive ex-UK itineraries during 2021.

"The team here are already busy working on a host of exciting and immersive cruises for her return in spring 2022, which make the most of her smaller size.

 

"These will be announced as part of our 2022/23 itinerary launch in March 2021."

Carnival Cruise Line Cancels February Sailings, More Adjustments

Carnival Vista.

Carnival Cruise Line announced today that it is informing guests and travel agents that it has cancelled select itineraries for specific operations in 2021, as it implements its plans for the resumption of cruising in 2021, including cruise operations in February from Miami, Port Canaveral and Galveston and moving the inaugural sailing of Mardi Gras until April 24, 2021.

“We apologize to our guests but we must continue to take a thoughtful, deliberate and measured approach as we map out our return to operations in 2021,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “Our commitment to the health and safety of our guests, crew and the communities we visit is at the forefront of our decisions and operations.”

The Mardi Gras will operate from Port Canaveral and start cruising in April; Carnival will take delivery of the ship from the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland later this month and eventually sail to the U.S. and meet the requirements of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).

Carnival is also cancelling the remaining itineraries scheduled to operate from Miami, Port Canaveral and Galveston through Feb. 28.

Costa Releases More Details on Restart

Costa Cruises restart plan includes two new itineraries for Italian guests only, sailing to only Italian ports. Guests will only be allowed off the ship on organized shore excursions from Costa.

From September 6 to September 27, the Costa Deliziosa will depart every Sunday from Trieste, with calls in Bari and Brindisi in Puglia, Corigliano-Rossano in Calabria, Siracusa and Catania in Sicily.

On September 19, the Costa Diadema will leave from Genoa and call at Civitavecchia/Rome, Naples, Palermo, Cagliari and La Spezia.

"With the aim to allow guests to better enjoy their holidays while respecting the safety of guests, crew and local communities, the company has developed the Costa Safety Protocol for its fleet," the company announced. "The Costa Safety protocol is a comprehensive set of measures and procedures in response to the COVID-19 situation, relating to all aspects of the cruise experience, both onboard and ashore. Supported by a panel of independent scientific experts in Public Health, the Costa Safety Protocol is consistent with the health protocols defined by the Italian Government and European (EU Healthy Gateways) authorities. The protocol will be constantly updated based on the evolution of the scenario and medical knowledge."

Costa Cruises to restart sailings in September

Costa Cruises to restart sailings in September

by Samantha Mayling
Costa Cruises plans to restart its sailings from Italian ports on a gradual basis from September 6, 2020.

On Monday, the Italian government approved the resumption of cruises and new health protocols developed in response to the Covid-19 crisis.

The first ship to set sail will be Costa Deliziosa (pictured), on September 6, offering weekly cruises from Trieste to Greece.

Costa Diadema will set sail on September 19, operating seven-day cruises in the western Mediterranean from Genoa.

Costa Cruises said it is working with authorities and the destinations to ensure a “responsible, smooth and well-organised application of the new regulations and protocols”.

Further details on the Costa Deliziosa and Costa Diadema itineraries will be announced in the coming days.

However, the cruise line is extending the suspension of its cruise season for other departures until September 30.

Costa Cruises’ new safety protocol is consistent with the health protocols defined by the Italian government and European (EU Healthy Gateways) authorities.

The UK Foreign Office last month advised against cruise ship travel.

German Cruise Line AIDA Delays Service Resumption, Pending More Approvals

German Cruise Line AIDA Delays Service Resumption, Pending More Approvals

AIDA Perla

he German cruise line AIDA cancelled its planned resumption of service this weekend over an approval technicality.

The line, which is owned by Carnival Corporation & plc., has implemented new health and testing protocols that had caught 10 crew members who were positive for COVID-19 after they boarded two AIDA ships but before any passengers came aboard.

The hold-up for AIDAperla and AIDAmar, leaving on short cruises August 5 and August 12, though, came because the country of Italy, where the ships are flagged, had not given approval for the ships to sail, the company said in a release.

"Contrary to our expectations, the final formal approval for the start of the short trips from August 5, 2020, by our flag state Italy is still pending," the release said. "We assume that we will receive the last formal approval by the flag state Italy in a timely manner."

While COVID-19 is not cited in the release, the spectre of coronavirus hangs over international ships coming back into service, after virus outbreaks among passengers and crew occurred last weekend

 in two separate corners of the world.

In Norway, Hurtigruten faces an investigation after 36 crew and five guests have tested positive for COVID-19. And in French Polynesia, passengers on Paul Gauguin are quarantined on the ship and getting tested, after the ship's doctor found a positive result with a guest. Both lines had resumed sailing with reduced capacity and improved health and safety requirements; Paul Gauguin and French Polynesia both require passengers to present a negative COVID-19 test before boarding or entering the country.

AIDA, too, has implemented strict health and safety guidelines for its resumption. Those guidelines, in fact, had detected the COVID-19 cases among the crew before sailing resumed and passengers could be exposed.

No cases had been detected among crew coming on board AIDAperla, which was the first ship in the fleet to have a scheduled cruise. The incidents had been reported on AIDAmar and AIDAblu on July 22, well before those ships were slated to cruise on August 12 and August 16, respectively.

Current policies call for all crew members to be tested for COVID-19 in their home countries before flying to Rostock, Germany, and getting on board the ship. The crew members then take a second coronavirus test while they are secluded on the ship.

Once the 10 infected crew members were detected, they were taken off the two ships and the remaining crew members were contained to the ship in isolation and underwent a third round of tests, the line said.

Cruise restart protocols to go ‘way beyond’ other sectors

Cruise restart protocols to go ‘way beyond’ other sectors

The UK cruise sector is working closely with the government, public health bodies and maritime authorities on restart protocols that will go “way beyond” other sectors, according to Clia.

Andy Harmer, director of Clia UK & Ireland, said a focus on the resumption of air travel and safety measures at airports was being mirrored by cruise lines and ports.

In a column on Travel Weekly’s website, he said: “A lot of work is going on in the background to transform the experience of taking a cruise. The industry is working in collaboration with the government on a ‘door to door’ strategy – from the time of booking through to the passengers’ return home – that will go way beyond protocols in place or proposed for any other travel sector.”

He added: “Clia has been working closely with the Department for Transport, Port Health, Public Health England and the Maritime & Coastguard Agency to develop the roadmap to resumption – what will happen from the time of booking to embarkation at the port, onboard, ports of call, disembarkation and customer follow-up.

“We are also engaged with public health professionals as we review the customer journey, from minimising the likelihood of onboard cases by a screening of each guest before departure, through comprehensive onboard management and repatriation plans should case occur on board.”

Harmer welcomed comments made recently by the prime minister that cruise was a “great British industry” which would be supported by the government “in any way that we can”.

And he said plans for a pan-European framework should pave the way for the sector’s restart, adding: “We expect interim guidance from [joint action scheme] EU Healthy Gateways to be published this week, supporting the resumption of cruise activity in a coordinated way.”