Tag Archives: Costa cruise

Costa Readying Two Ships to Start Mediterranean Cruising

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Costa Smeralda

Costa Crociere may be readying two ships to start cruising in the Mediterranean as soon as August, according to crew aboard the line’s ships who attended a recent town hall-style meeting.

The ships that would be put into operation will reportedly be the newest vessels in the Italian brand’s fleet, the 2014-built Diadema, and the 2019-built Smeralda. 

In a letter sent to the crew, Costa said it has been working with various institutions to restart operations with a limited number of vessels, as soon as August. However, any restart would be linked to a certain number of conditions, according to the company.

Costa Diadema

The new challenge is for Costa to crew its ships, with Costa noting that many countries are restricting the movement of the crew, presenting challenges in getting crew to the ships.

Thus, Costa is asking that crew near the end of their contracts consider extending their contracts aboard.

“We official inform all crew members under a valid contract that they will be requested to fulfil their contract commitment, continuing the regular schedule of operation,” a company letter read.

When the Major Cruise Lines Plan to Restart Service

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Carnival Splendor

The major cruise lines are planning to start operations again this summer.

Carnival Cruise Line

Carnival Cruise Line, in an update, said it intends to start cruising again with some ships in North America starting on August 1, while other itineraries and ships are projected to start service again later this year. Carnival plans to have eight ships in service from Miami, Port Canaveral and Galveston on short cruises.

Royal Caribbean International

Royal Caribbean announced it had extended its suspension of sailing for its global fleet through June 11, 2020.

The company said it plans to return to service on June 12, 2020, with some previously announced exceptions.

The most crew is also being sent home.

MSC Cruises

MSC Cruises announced a further extension of the halting of all its new cruise departures fleetwide through to July 10.

MSC Cruises USA is offering guests affected by this measure a Future Cruise Credit (FCC) where they have the opportunity to transfer the full amount paid for their cancelled cruise plus an additional 25 per cent credit to a future cruise of their choice, on any ship and any itinerary, departing on or before December 31, 2021.

Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Cruise Line announced in late April an extension of its pause of service through the end of June. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings recently raised enough capital to keep it going in a zero-revenue situation through early 2021.

Costa Cruises

Costa ships are out of service through early July at this point.

Princess Cruises

Princess Cruises, in a recent update, cancelled the remainder of its summer season. 

AIDA Cruises

All AIDA sailings through June 30 are currently cancelled.

Celebrity Cruises

Royal Caribbean, which owns Celebrity, announced it had extended its suspension of sailing for its global fleet through June 11, 2020.

Holland America Line

Holland America Line has extended its pause of global cruise operations and cancel all Alaska, Europe and Canada/New England cruises for 2020, according to a press release.

In addition, Amsterdam will not operate the 79-day Grand Africa Voyage from Boston, Massachusetts, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, that was scheduled to depart on Oct. 3, 2020.

TUI Cruises

German brand TUI Cruises has hit pause through June 11, in line with Royal Caribbean, which is a partner in TUI Cruises in a joint venture arrangement.

Marella Cruises

Should it be safe to set sail, Marella Cruises will commence its summer 2020 program in July 2020, with three of its five ships sailing. More details here.

Bahamas Paradise

Sailings will resume onboard Grand Celebration on June 13 and onboard Grand Classica on July 10, according to a press release.

Hurtigruten

Hurtigruten is planning for a gradual restart of operations on the Norwegian coast. The first planned departure will be Finnmarken from Bergen on June 16.

Royal Caribbean Suspends U.S. Cruises, Joining Rivals

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March 13 (Reuters) – Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd said on Friday it was suspending its cruises in the United States for 30 days, an hour after Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd said it suspended all its cruise voyages through April 11.

Earlier larger peer Carnival Corp’s Italy-based unit Costa Cruises halted its trips until April 3. Carnival’s other subsidiary Princess Cruises had suspended its voyages for two months on Thursday.

Costa Cruises accounted for 15% of Carnival’s overall capacity as of Nov. 30, offering voyages in Asia and Europe, including the Mediterranean.

Image result for ncl escape

The Princess Cruises unit has been in the spotlight after its Diamond Princess and Grand Princess ships were quarantined after they became hotbeds for coronavirus infections.

Norwegian, however, said no confirmed case of the virus was reported across its 28 ships.

Walt Disney’s Disney Cruise Line and Finland’s Viking Line have also temporarily paused operations as the global cruise industry battles cancellations in the wake of the fast-spreading virus.

The outbreak, described by the World Health Organization as a pandemic, has infected thousands in the Mediterranean countries such as Italy, where it has claimed more than 1,000 lives.

Carnival said it was checking if their guests are aged over 70 years and would deny entry to people with chronic or severe medical conditions.

Separately, credit rating agency S&P Global said it lowered the credit ratings on Carnival and its unsecured debt to ‘BBB’ from ‘A-‘, on expectations of a significant loss in revenue and cash flow in 2020.

Stocks of cruise operators are among the worst hit, with Carnival, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean down between 66% and 81% this year through Friday’s close. (Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Krishna Chandra Eluri)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019.