Photo Dairy Story: Rotterdam Harbour Tour

Posted on 20 July, 2022 by Spacejunkie2

MSC Virtuosa.

The Photo header of the MSC Virtuosa is berthed outside the Rotterdam Cruise terminal with the bridge just on the Sturnside side (backside 🤣) and I took this image at the Harbour Cruise Tour ticketing counter. The Harbour tour cost £13pp but they only accept credit/debit card payments, so the dirty deed was done and tickets purchased.

With the bridge (Erasmusbrug), in the background, we sat on the open top deck which was a bit windy and chilly but the best for viewing and taking snapshots of the ships in the harbour.

When you move off check that bridge out behind you it’s an amazing piece of engineering and it’s within walking distance from the cruise terminal.

Before you enter the working part of the docks keep an eye on Rotterdam’s wonderful architecture all around from the old windmills to the original port buildings including the original Holland America Line head office, where the 1908 steamship the SS Rotterdam is now berthed as a hotel and restaurant.,

When you cruise the industrial area of the docks you will see Massive floating dry docks, containerships being offloaded and loaded, bulk carriers and specialised craft, such as the WaveWalker 2 which has been used to repair the train station and promenade in Dawlish Devon.

The wave walker on the right and the MPI Resolution on the left which has 6 massive 70-ton legs and are used for the installation of wind turbines at sea.

On the return to the tour, dock check out the HAL head office a bit closer which is worth a visit, cruise past any ships in the cruise terminal and take in the wonderful bridge again before disembarking the 75-minute harbour tour.

We enjoyed this harbour tour and it gave us a good close-up and views of the ships on the dock, below are a few more harbour images taken by myself and Dawn my ever-loving Wife, I hope you have enjoyed this tour description and the photograph included.

Mein Schiff 3 ‘Saves’ Tourists Stranded on Spitsbergen

Posted on 19 July, 2022 by Spacejunkie2

Mein Schiff 3 entering the River Mersey Liverpool, photo credit Spacejunkie2

TUI Cruises Mein Schiff 3 “saved” visitors stranded on Spitsbergen following the Scandinavian Airlines’ pilots’ strike, according to Norwegian press reports.

Mein Schiff 3 carried more than 100 people as passengers sailing from Longyearbyen to Tromso in Northern Norway. The ship reportedly had available cabin space.

Scandinavian Airlines’ pilots went on strike on July 3, and with only Norwegian Air also flying regularly to the Arctic archipelago, there have not been enough air seats for tourists and locals to travel to the mainland or return to their country of origin. Thus, effectively stranding many expedition cruise guests in Longyearbyen.

This has also prevented many from being able to fly to Spitsbergen unless their expedition lines had reserved seats with Norwegian or arranged charter flights.

The Longyearbyen harbour master Kjetil Braaten was quoted saying that some expedition ships have sailed with hardly any passengers on board and that discounted sailings are offered to the local population.

CDC Ends COVID-19 Program For Cruise Ships

Posted on 19 July, 2022 by Spacejunkie2

Centres for Disease Control and Prevent

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevent on Monday ended its COVID-19 Program for Cruise Ships.

“New guidance for cruise ships to mitigate and manage COVID-19 transmission will be available in the coming days,” the CDC said in a statement on its website.

While no guidance was immediately available, this would point to cruise line’s being able to set their own vaccination and testing rules for ships operating or calling in U.S. ports.

The CDC will also reportedly stop tracking COVID-19 cases on cruise ships, having launched a dashboard earlier this year.

The CDC’s Program for Cruise Ships replaced the previous Conditional Sail Order, which went through multiple revisions that led to the industry’s 2021 restart in North America. That Order had replaced the original No Sail Order that was issued in March 2020.