Tag Archives: Corfù

TUI to Add Mein Schiff 6 Back in September, Cruising From Crete

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Mein Schiff 6

The TUI Cruises restart is going so well the company is expanding to three ships as the Mein Schiff 6 will sail round-trip cruises from Crete in September with port calls.

The first week-long sailing will depart on Sept. 13.

Guests will be allowed to take company-organized shore excursions in Athens, Crete and Corfu.

TUI said it will dramatically expand shore excursion capacity so all guests can partake. The ship is expected to operate at 60 per cent occupancy.

The Mein Schiff 1 and Mein Schiff 2 will continue with their “Blue Voyages” (no port calls) in the North and Baltic Sea, offering five- and seven-day cruises in September, according to the company.

For the time being all departures of the Mein Schiff fleet (departures from September) will require a negative COVID-19 test result (PCR test). The costs for this are already included in the travel price.

Before the new crew comes on board, they are tested for COVID-19 shoreside. Only crewmembers who have tested negative can come on board and then they also go into 14-day individual isolation on a balcony cabin before they begin working.

Tender left hanging from Costa Cruises ship

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Photo Credit: Facebook (unknown photographer)  Thanks to http://www.cruiselawnews.com/

A lifeboat was left hanging from the side of a Costa Cruises ship due to a malfunction during a tendering operation.

No passengers or crew were hurt in the incident off Kotor in Montenegro involving the ship Costa Mediterranea.

Italian media reported that the tender boat was being lowered into the water but was left hanging over the side of the ship.

The cruise line said: “Costa confirms that Costa Mediterranea experienced a technical problem with one of the ship’s lifeboats during operations for tendering while anchored in Kotor as per planned itinerary.

“The safety of the ship and of its passengers and crew has never been put at risk, as the tender was not carrying any passenger or crews members.”

However, the ship cancelled a call in Argostoli in Greece and is due to arrive from Kotor to the next scheduled port of call in Corfu tomorrow (Wednesday).

Carnival Cruise Line to return to Europe

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Carnival Cruise Line will make a return to Europe in 2016 when it launches new ship Carnival Vista.

The news comes after the line announced in May 2013 that it would have no ships sailing in Europe during 2014 and 2015, citing increasing airfares as the reason behind the decision.

New itineraries for summer 2016 on Carnival Vista include Athens, Barcelona, Dubrovnik, Izmir, Corfu, Livorno, Marseille, Messina (Sicily), Naples, Rome, Trieste and Valetta.

The ship will have its first European sailing on May 1 and will then have 18 sailings in Europe before moving on to New York in October. The ship’s official homeport has yet to be revealed.

The ship will have the first IMAX cinema at sea, as well as new dining options, more alfresco dining and the biggest Waterworks of any Carnival ship. The ship will also have a new Havana pool at the back of the ship, with Havana cabana staterooms available to book.

Mark Tamis (pictured), senior vice president of guest operations, said: “I really feel and we do [at Carnival] that this is the greatest ship to date and certainly the best ship to come from Carnival Cruise Line.

“This is about building on past success. This is built of the success of Carnival Breeze and what is rolling out across the whole Carnival fleet.

“We set out to make this our most innovative ship to date. This is about creating connects and a connection to the sea. This ship, like no other ship, brings that all together.“

When the line announced it was pulling away from Europe in last year, the company said it didn’t believe Americans, who make up the vast majority of its passengers, would pay increased airfares to cross the Atlantic.

In May last year, agents were praised for switch-selling customers to book a Caribbean cruise with Carnival rather than a European one.

During a VIP agent trip on Carnival Breeze last year, Lynn Torrent, executive vice-president os sales and guest services, said the line’s bosses were watching the moves being made by other international brands. She said Carnival was sitting back and seeing what other lines were doing in the UK market before making a decision.