I love all things Cruise and add that to my hobby Photography I’m in dreamland, I’m an exTravel agency owner with the inside contacts, so I will try to keep you updated in all things travel related with a side serving of images and other maritime stories.
The new 5,200 guests P&O Iona sailed into Southampton on Sunday ahead of her naming ceremony.
Dame Irene Hays, chair of Hays Travel, Britain’s largest independent travel agency, will name the LNG-fueled ship and a specially produced Nebuchadnezzar (equivalent to 20x 750ml bottles) of Alex James’s Britpop cider will smash against the hull of the ship to bring it a good fortune in the future.
P&O Cruises president Paul Ludlow said “It is a landmark day for both P&O Cruises and for the travel industry as a whole.
“We are on the cusp of a bright new beginning and Iona’s arrival into Southampton this morning is very visible evidence of this much-anticipated future.
“Our guests are longing to get back to sea and Iona’s summer season of UK coastal cruises, including her maiden voyage on August 7 up to her namesake island of Iona, has seen overwhelming demand.”
The U.S. Senate has passed a bill that will allow foreign-flagged cruise ships to operate in Alaska without calling on a Canadian port as the Alaska Tourism Recovery Act was passed on Thursday.
It’s a huge step to saving part of the 2021 Alaska cruise season.
The legislation was the work of Alaskan Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan.
Next, the bill goes to the U.S. House for approval.
The House will need to vote it through and then President Joe Biden will need to sign it.
“Huge victory today in my effort to provide an opportunity for economic recovery for Alaskan communities who rely on cruise ship passengers — the Senate just passed my bill,” said Senator Murkowski in a social media post.
If the bill moves through other branches of the U.S. government efficiently, the next step would be for the industry to gain CDC approval to operate.
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.
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.
