Hong Kong has announced the introduction of new COVID-19 restrictions, which include bans on incoming flights from eight countries, weekend indoor dining, banning of all cruises and more.
The two big cruise lines that operate in Hong Kong have already reacted to the new regulations by cancelling their cruises.
Royal Caribbean Hong Kong has issued an update through their social media channels that said the Jan. 6, Jan. 9, Jan. 12, Jan. 14 and Jan. 17 cruises on the Spectrum of the Seas have all been cancelled due to the authorities’ update.
“We fully expect to welcome back our guests onboard Spectrum’s Jan. 21 cruise,” the cruise line said.
Guests affected by the cancellations are invited to either transfer to a later sailing or apply for a full refund.
Dream Cruises said it’s cancelling all itineraries between Jan. 9 and Jan. 19 due to the government directive.
Affected guests are invited to either transfer, receive a future cruise credit with additional onboard credit or cancel receiving a full monetary refund.
“This cancellation is due to the government’s directive and not as a result of any COVID-19 related incidents on board the ship,” the cruise line said.
P&O Britannia in St. Kitts with 2 Oasis Class ships and the Celebrity Edge, Photo credit Spacejunkie2
This week will be the busiest in terms of cruise travel for St. Kitts since the island reopened its borders to international visitors.
According to a press release, 21 cruise ships will have arrived by the end of the week across the island’s four ports: Port Zante, Basseterre Harbour, Deep Water Harbour and South Friar’s Bay.
The ships arriving include the Enchanted Princess, Seabourn Ovation, Viking Sea, Allure of the Seas, and the third visit of the Explorer of the Seas. Dec. 16 marked the first day with five ships in port, St. Kitts Tourism Authority wrote.
“This week comes as an optimistic sign that the cruising industry is making an unstoppable comeback in St. Kitts. We see the number of ship arrivals growing weekly,” said the Minister of Tourism, Transport and Ports, Lindsay F.P. Grant. “Our commitment to safety paired with our exceptional tours and on-island experiences are driving high demand for the destination on cruise itineraries, and we expect this to continue well into 2022.”
This record number of ship arrivals comes in conjunction with changes to the destination’s arrival requirements. As of Dec. 11, Port Zante is completely free-flow, enabling cruise passengers to seamlessly integrate into the federation and providing nationals and residents with access to the port. Travel Approved tours, attractions, restaurants and bars are now open to all fully vaccinated travellers, nationals and residents.
“This busy cruise week shows that demand for our destination continues to grow,” said Racquel Brown, CEO of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority. “The reduced travel restrictions make it easier for cruise and international air travellers to engage their senses and seamlessly immerse themselves in our quintessential Caribbean escape.”
After pausing cruise travel when borders closed in March 2020, St. Kitts and Nevis welcomed back its first ships last July. Since then, the twin-island federation has hosted a steady increase in ship arrivals and has allowed passengers to explore the destination via “Travel Approved” tours and attraction sites.
Norwegian Cruise Line will soon open a new Miami terminal.
PortMiami has reached a series of long-term deals with cruise lines that will consolidate its position as the cruise capital of the world for the near future.
Together, the six cruise companies will have preferential berthing rights at all but one of the 11 terminals envisioned by the port. Each cruise company plans use the new terminals to bring bigger ships to Miami than they have previously operated there.
The latest agreement was announced by Carnival Corp., whose Carnival Cruise Line brand is the biggest tenant by passenger volume and is gearing up to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2022.
“Over the last several months, we have had very constructive discussions with PortMiami and Miami-Dade County leaders about our plans for Miami and our goal to enhance and grow our capacity and operations in our hometown,” Carnival president Christine Duffy said.
Carnival’s agenda includes bringing the second ship in its 5,200-passenger Excel class to the new terminal in 2022, in time for its jubilee.
To do so, Carnival agreed to guarantee 2.25 million passenger movements a year through PortMiami for at least the next 20 years. The county, with partial reimbursement from Carnival, will commit to spending $195 million on a major makeover of Terminal F using $20 million earmarked for improvements at terminals D and E, also used by Carnival.
The agreement also commits the two parties to begin negotiations concerning the construction of a nearby 5,000-space parking garage, by far the largest at the port.
The upgrade to Terminal F, which follows a $37 million upgrade in 2016 for current tenant MSC Cruises, will give Carnival a low-slung, glass-walled terminal facing Miami’s major automobile connection to Miami Beach, the six-lane Mac-Arthur Causeway, which averages 81,625 vehicle trips per day.
To take advantage of that exposure to the causeway, the expanded Terminal F will install a multimedia mesh on its north side that Carnival and the county can use to deliver electronic messages.
In keeping with its value-mindedness, Carnival is the only cruise company not building a PortMiami terminal from scratch.
Virgin Cruises, for example, won approval from the county for its new Terminal V at the far west end of the port, which will be built to remind visitors of a palm grove, according to the designers, Miami architecture firm Arquitectonica.
The red and white Virgin terminal, budgeted at $179 million, would carry preferential berthing rights for 30 years.
MSC is also building from the ground up and is upping the ante by creating two terminals, also designed by Arquitectonica. Labelled terminals AA and AAA, they will open onto a 2,474-foot pier that enables simultaneous berthing of two megaships.
MSC Cruise new Evo Class of ship will call Miami home
“This design takes advantage of the length of the site to project a powerful shape and dimension like no other at the port,” Arquitectonica said. “The [parking] garage is thin, so it appears as a cloud over the glass spaces below.”
MSC Cruises USA will move its offices into the building from Fort Lauderdale, becoming the second cruise line headquartered at the port, after RCCL — which is finishing its new headquarters building, on the western end.
MSC’s terminals, to be finished by 2022, would join RCCL’s $247 million “Crown of Miami,” which opened in late 2018, and NCLH’s $239 million “Pearl of Miami,” which is set to open in November.
Plans for Disney’s Terminal K, on the port’s south side, were outlined in a 2018 memorandum of understanding, but details are on hold pending a dredging project to widen the channel on that side of the port.
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