Tag Archives: Coronavirus

MSC Gets Approval to Restart Cruising in August

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MSC Grandiosa and Magnifica

MSC Cruises announced today that the MSC Grandiosa and MSC Magnifica will resume operations in the Mediterranean starting from August 16 and 29, 2020 respectively.

The two ships will be the first to implement a new comprehensive health and safety protocol that has been approved by the relevant national authorities from the countries that the ships will call along their East and West Mediterranean itineraries this summer, according to a press release.

Pierfrancesco Vago, MSC Cruises’ Executive Chairman commented, “During the pause in our operations, we focused on developing a comprehensive operating protocol that builds upon already stringent health and safety measures that have long been in place onboard our ships. We have worked closely with the relevant EU-level, national health and other authorities from the countries that MSC Grandiosa and MSC Magnifica will call along their Mediterranean itineraries to develop a comprehensive set of procedures designed to protect the health and safety of all passengers onboard our ships as well as ashore to ensure that local communities feel comfortable welcoming our guests.”

Vago continued: “The new procedures include universal COVID-19 testing for all guests and crew prior to embarkation protected ashore visits at each destination only with an MSC Cruises’ excursion as an added level of protection for our guests and the introduction of a COVID Protection Plan for further peace of mind for our guests. With all of these measures in place, we aim to offer our guests the safest possible vacation.”

The MSC Grandiosa will offer seven-night cruises in the Western Mediterranean calling at the Italian ports of Genoa, Civitavecchia/Rome, Naples, Palermo and Valetta. 

The MSC Magnifica will offer seven-night cruises in the Eastern Mediterranean departing from the Italian ports of Bari and Trieste and calling at the Greek ports of Corfu, Katakolon and Piraeus.

Gianni Onorato, MSC Cruises’ CEO commented, “We are very pleased to be able to start welcoming back guests for a full-experience cruise vacation this summer on board two of our most popular ships — including our flagship MSC Grandiosa — and in the Mediterranean, the very region where our Company’s roots are and we have long been market leaders.”

For this initial phase of the restart of operations, the two MSC Cruises’ ships operating in the Mediterranean for the current summer season will initially only welcome guests who are residents in Schengen countries and subject to any restrictions imposed by the Italian authorities.

MSC Cruises has today cancelled all other cruises in The Mediterranean from August 16 through to and including October 31, 2020. In addition, MSC Cruises announced the cancellation of all U.S. cruise departures through to and including October 31, 2020.

Finally, MSC Cruises also cancelled the Far East cruises from September 10 through to and including October 26.

NCL Holdings forecasts ‘strong demand so long as it’s safe’

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NCL Holdings forecasts ‘strong demand so long as it’s safe’
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings chief executive Frank del Rio reported “strong demand for future cruises” as the company recorded a half-year loss of $2.65 billion this week.
Del Rio dismissed a suggestion the Covid crisis could put many cruise-focused travel agencies out of business, but he described the Covid infection of passengers and crew on Hurtigruten’s MS Roald Amundsen as “disappointing”.
He suggested Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings could see a “limited” return of sailing in November and December.
The company’s sailings are currently suspended through to the end of October.
Del Rio insisted: “There continues to be strong demand for future cruises despite our reduced marketing. Consumer demand is evident across markets.”
He forecast: “The last two months of 2020 could see a return of sailing with limited capacity.  We’ve taken important initial steps.
“We’re developing safety protocols with the formation of the Healthy Sail Panel which demonstrates our commitment to combating the spread of Covid and bringing back cruising sooner rather than later.”
The Healthy Sail Panel of experts, set up in collaboration with Royal Caribbean International in July, is working to develop recommendations for a safe resumption of cruising.
Del Rio said: “The panel will submit its initial recommendations to the [US] government and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for evaluation.”
He acknowledged: “Things will be different, of course. We’ll be mindful of how measures impact on the cruise experience.”
NCL Holdings chief financial officer Mark Kempa said: “We expect to launch with a handful of ships at first with low occupancy.
“Our break-even [on operating ships] is at around 40% of normal revenue. Layer on corporate overheads and it would require 60% of normal revenue.”
Asked whether the crisis could transform cruise distribution, which remains overwhelmingly through travel agencies, del Rio said: “We have seen smaller travel agencies folding and larger ones furloughing employees. We’ve seen an uptick indirect business.”
But he argued: “It might be exaggerated because of the partial closures of agencies. We think travel agencies will survive. Travel agencies have shown their resilience over the long term.
“Not too long ago people were predicting the demise of travel agencies, but they came back stronger. Long term you won’t see much change.”
Del Rio insisted: “We enjoy a very loyal customer base in the cruise industry. Between 15 million and 20 million people have not been allowed to cruise this year – there will be a lot of pent-up demand.
“People are booking. We’ve not seen any major shifts in consumer behaviour. We’ve not changed our itineraries. If people favour cruising closer to home or not going to Asia, we’re not seeing it.
“My instinct is we will be [operating] somewhere in the range of 75% of capacity for the full year 2021. It might start at 50%-60%, with the limitation being concern about the spread of Covid more than about consumer demand.
“So long as we can ascertain cruising is safe we’ll have customers coming back in droves.”
Del Rio added: “We’re hopeful we’ll be able to put together a comprehensive set of health and safety protocols that get us back quickly.”
Asked about the Covid outbreak on the Hurtigruten ship which infected more than 50 passengers and crew, Del Rio said: “It’s disappointing – the re-emergence of Covid aboard vessels.
“But it’s an opportunity to learn something. The cruise companies and ports which suffered these setbacks have handled it well. We’ve not had a repeat of what happened at the start of the crisis.”
Kempa reported the group paid out $725 million in cash refunds to customers in the three months to June, more than the company’s cash burn of $575 million during the quarter.
He said future cruise credits make up 30% of advance bookings and monthly cash burn had fallen to about $160 million.
The company ended June with $2.26 billion in liquidity after raising $2.3 billion during the second quarter.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings operates 28 ships like Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.

After restarting in June, some Hurtigruten crew test positive for Covid-19

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The Roald Amundsen, the Hurtigruten ship launched last year. The crew on the ship have tested positive for Covid-19.

Hurtigruten, one of the first cruise lines to resume service this summer, has reported a Covid-19 outbreak on one of the cruise ships that has been operating coastal Norway itineraries since June.

The line said that 36 of the 158 crew members on the ship, the Roald Amundsen, have tested positive for Covid-19 and that 120 are confirmed as negative. The ship is currently docked in Tromso, Norway, with no passengers on board.

Hurtigruten said it is in contact with all passengers that were on board the Roald Amundsen’s July 17 and 24 departures and that 209 passengers from the first sailing and 178 from the second will self-quarantine in line with Norwegian health authority regulations.

The Roald Amundsen cancelled its scheduled cruise to Svalbard that was to leave on July 31. The next cruise with the ship is not planned until September.

Of the 36 confirmed cases, 32 are from the Philippines. The rest are Norwegian, French and German nationals.

The line said that four crewmembers were isolated last week because of illness symptoms that were thought to not be related to Covid-19. They were then routinely tested before being admitted to hospital in Tromso on Friday.

Hurtigruten claimed to be the first line to resume sailings this summer when the Norway-based line launched domestic Norwegian coastal itineraries in mid-June and then added one sailing from Hamburg, Germany, all with limited capacity and enhanced hygiene protocols in place. It said it would ramp up operations from four to 16 ships by the end of September because demand has been so strong.

Hurtigruten said that all crewmembers are closely monitored and screened daily and that non-Norwegian crew are quarantined before boarding the ship and non-European crew need to undergo two negative Covid-19 tests before leaving their home country.