Tag Archives: Covid-19

Enchanted Princess ‘first ship to be completed in the time of Covid’

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New-build Enchanted Princess has been delivered to Princess Cruises at a shipyard handover ceremony in Italy.
The 145,000-ton, 3,660-passenger vessel expands the Carnival Corporation-owned line’s global fleet of high-technology MedallionClass vessels.
The finalisation of Enchanted Princess marks the first ship to be completed during the time of Covid.
The ship is due to arrive in North America in December for a season of Caribbean cruises provided US health officials to lift a ban on sailings imposed due to the pandemic.
The new addition to the fleet will sail in the Mediterranean next summer, bringing the number of Royal-class ships based in Europe to three.
Enchanted Princess will spend May to September operating a series of new seven and 14-night itineraries from the port for Rome before sailing between Rome and Barcelona on a series of 11-night cruises.
Sky Princess is replacing Crown Princess in Southampton from April to September 2021, running eight and 12-night British Isles cruises and a series of 12-night Scandinavia and Russia voyages.
Regal Princess will also be based in Southampton, sailing a number of itineraries ranging from four to 24 nights to destinations including Iceland and Norway, the Mediterranean, Canary Islands, the Baltic and Canada and New England.
Enchanted Princess represents an evolution of a design platform used for sister ships Regal Princess, Royal Princess, Majestic Princess and the most recently introduced Sky Princess
Enchanted Princess is the 100th cruise ship built by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri. Crown Princess was the first ship to launch Fincantieri into the modern passenger shipbuilding business when it was delivered in 1990.
Princess Cruises president Jan Swartz said: “The heart and soul of the ship are always its teams, and I know she is in good hands with our dedicated crew watching over her with great care and pride.
“We look forward to brighter days ahead when we can officially welcome the first Enchanted Princess guests to enjoy all this beautiful ship has to offer.”

SAGA POSTPONES SHIP LAUNCH AND TOURING PROGRAMME UNTIL 2021

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Spirit of Adventure had been due to take its first passengers this summer, but the inaugural sailing was first shifted to November and will now be on 5 February next year.

Sister ship Spirit of Discovery will not sail until 7 March next year and tours are postponed until 31 January 2021.

A Saga spokesperson said: “Over the past few months, we have worked hard to put in place detailed plans to safely return to cruising and have made fantastic progress with all this work.

“Sadly, however, with Covid-19 again on the increase and most countries still not accepting cruise ships, we have taken the decision to extend the suspension of our cruise operations to next year. This includes the postponement of the inaugural cruise of the Spirit of Adventure.

“We are in the process of contacting all our guests to discuss their options, which include rolling over their booking or receiving a full refund. We look forward to welcoming our guests onboard our ships and on our tours as soon as we are practicably able to do so.”

Saga said 2022 cruise bookings were “extremely strong” and showed pent-up demand. Covid precautions mean ship capacity will be limited to 800, with enhanced cleaning and upgraded air conditioning.

 

 

TUI CRUISES ISOLATES CREW AFTER COVID SCARE

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Tui Cruises’ Mein Schiff 6 was the first cruise ship to dock in Greece since the pandemic. An initial dozen crewmembers tested positive but showed no symptoms. All were placed in isolation on board and re-tested, with the first six results proving negative.

 

Tui Cruises communications director Godja Sonnichsen said she expected all the second test results to be confirmed by Tuesday. She added all crewmembers were routinely tested before they boarded and entered 14 days self-isolation before starting work.

“On Monday morning we received positive test results from 12 crew members of Mein Schiff 6, currently sailing with guests in Greece, from an external laboratory.

“As a purely precautionary measure and in accordance with the strict procedures for resuming cruise operations, which have been agreed with the authorities in Greece, the persons concerned were immediately isolated on board.”

 

The ship, which was moored off the island of Milos with 922 passengers, was allowed to continue on its itinerary to Piraeus.

“Thanks to the extensive hygiene measures and clearance rules on board, there is no reason for neither guests nor crew to worry,” Sonnichsen said.