Tag Archives: Caribbean cruise

MSC Cruises Resumes Sailings From Germany

Posted on by
Reply

The MSC Seaview has departed from the German port of Kiel for the first on a seven-night cruises in the Baltic Sea, according to the cruise line’s press release.

The Seaview is the seventh MSC Cruises’ ship to resume sailings with guests onboard with a further three preparing to start future voyages, which will see half of the company’s fleet back at sea by the end of summer.

The vessel will homeport in Kiel until the beginning of October and the ship will welcome German and international guests for an itinerary to Visby on one of Sweden’s largest islands Gotland, Nynäshamn near the Swedish capital city of Stockholm and Estonia’s capital Tallinn before returning to her North German base.

MSC Cruises’ protected shore excursions are available at all ports of call.

In other MSC news, the weekend also saw Marseille added to MSC Seaview’s sister ship MSC Seaside’s West Mediterranean itinerary, the first French port to reopen for the cruise line and welcome international guests for weekly calls.

Five MSC Cruises’ ships are currently sailing in the Mediterranean – the MSC Grandiosa, MSC Seaside, MSC Orchestra, MSC Splendida and MSC Magnifica. A sixth ship, the MSC Virtuosa, has operated cruises around the UK for British guests only since May 20.

The MSC Meraviglia from Aug. 2 will resume Caribbean cruises from Miami and will be joined in the region from Sept. 18 when the MSC Divina restarts sailing from Port Canaveral near Orlando in Florida.

The MSC Seashore will come into service in August with voyages in the West Mediterranean before the company’s newest flagship transfers in November to Miami for a season in the Caribbean.

Royal Caribbean Is Back Cruising in the Caribbean

Posted on by
Reply

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.”

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

Posted on by
1

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.