The cruising restart has seen a positive trend over the past few months. Fueled by various countries and markets reopening ports to cruise vessels, the industry saw an unprecedented number of vessels resuming revenue operations around the world over the summer.
As the restart continues, 205 ships are expected to be in guest operations by the end of September. This number means that, for the second month in a row, nearly half of the entire global cruise fleet is in operation.
According to the 2022 Global Cruise Ship Index by Cruise Industry News, the combined fleets of the nearly 90 active cruise lines currently account for approximately 410 cruise ships.
After significant growth over the previous months, 190 cruise ships were sailing with paying guests by Aug. 31. With 15 additional ships entering service through the end of September, the active cruise fleet is growing nearly 8 per cent this month.
The restart numbers started growing in May, which saw 55 ships operating revenue sailings. In the preceding eight months – only an average of 20 ships were in service.
A turning point, however, was reached in July. With the U.S. ports reopening for business, 141 vessels were back in service by the end of that month – an 82 per cent increase over June numbers.
From May to September, the average guest capacity per ship grew significantly, too, going from 994 to 1,454.
Building up its return to service, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings plans to have most of its fleet back in service by early 2022.
Here’s the latest, brand by brand:
First sailing: July 25, 2021 Ships: Norwegian Jade, Norwegian Bliss, Norwegian Epic, Norwegian Getaway, Norwegian Joy, Norwegian Breakaway, Pride of America, Norwegian Encore, Norwegian Escape, Norwegian Pearl, Norwegian Jewel, Norwegian Sun and Norwegian Spirit Regions: Mediterranean, Caribbean, Bermuda, Hawaii, West Coast, Bahamas, Panama Canal, Asia and Australia
According to its current plans, Norwegian Cruise Line will have 13 ships back in service by February 2022.
The first ship to resume cruising will be the Norwegian Jade, which is set to offer new itineraries from Greece starting on July 25. Later, in September, two additional vessels are entering service in Europe as the Norwegian Epic and the Norwegian Getaway resume their originally announced schedule in the Western Mediterranean.
Oceania Cruises First sailing: August 29, 2021 Ships: Marina, Riviera, Insignia and Sirena Regions: Northern Europe, Mediterranean, Caribbean and World Cruise
Norwegian’s upper premium brand, Oceania Cruises plans to reenter service in August. The company announced that it will resume cruise operations with the 1,250-guest Marina sailing in Scandinavia and Western Europe.
The vessel will resume her originally published voyage schedule, commencing on August 29, 2021, in Copenhagen.
Regent Seven Seas First sailing: September 11, 2021 Ships: Seven Seas Splendor, Seven Seas Explorer, Seven Seas Mariner, Seven Seas Navigator and Seven Seas Voyager Regions: Northern Europe, Mediterranean, Caribbean, Panama Canal and World Cruise
Regent Seven Seas Cruises announced its return to sailing with Seven Seas Splendor. The vessel will begin cruising from the UK in September, resuming its previously scheduled itineraries in Northern Europe and the Mediterranean.
While most of the ships are set to sail previously announced itineraries in Europe or the Caribbean, the Seven Seas Mariner will offer a World Cruise. The vessel is poised to sail on a published Panama Canal itinerary, before starting the 120-night itinerary on January 5, 2022.
Royal Caribbean International has seen a number of company adjustments, fleet changes and deployment moves since COVID-19 began, plus the resumption of cruising aboard the Quantum of the Seas from Singapore.
Here are the main moves that took place for the cruise line since the pandemic started:
Newbuilds Odyssey of the Seas and Wonder of the Seas Delayed
Under construction in Germany, the Quantum-Class ship was delayed six months and is now scheduled to join the fleet in April.
A few weeks later, the company revealed that the Wonder of the Seas was also delayed. The China-bound Oasis-Class ship was previously scheduled for a mid-2021 delivery and is now expected in 2022.
In both cases, Royal Caribbean cited the coronavirus pandemic and its impacts as the main reason for the changes.
Royal Amplified Postponed Until Further Notice
When the pandemic started, Royal Caribbean was in the middle of a program of fleet modernization called Royal Amplified.
Two ships were scheduled to go trough the work in the second quarter of 2021, including the Allure of the Seas. The Oasis-Class vessel was set to undergo a 58-day, $165 million drydock, starting in March.
Grandeur of the Seas Stays and Debuts a New Homeport
A few weeks after confirming the Majesty and Empress departures, Royal Caribbean announced that the Grandeur of the Seas will operate a new program from Barbados, starting in December.
Built in 1996, the ship was in limbo after the Spanish brand Pullmantur Cruceros filed for insolvency last June. The sister company was set to receive the Grandeur early this year, which was announced back in 2019.
Healthy Sail Panel Launched in Partnership with Norwegian
Putting together a group of experts, the companies formed the “Healthy Sail Panel”, which, in September, revealed a 65-plus-page report detailing 74 best practices to protect the public health and safety of guests, crew and the communities where cruise ships call.
The new protocol is expected to be adopted by Royal Caribbean International when sailings are resumed globally.
Cruises Resumed in Singapore and Global Resumption Plans
With the approval from local authorities, Royal Caribbean started sailing from Singapore in early December. Sailing a program of short cruises to nowhere, the Quantum of the Seas became the first ship to resume service in the company’s fleet.
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