MSC Cruises Resumes Sailings From Germany

The MSC Seaview has departed from the German port of Kiel for the first on a seven-night cruises in the Baltic Sea, according to the cruise line’s press release.

The Seaview is the seventh MSC Cruises’ ship to resume sailings with guests onboard with a further three preparing to start future voyages, which will see half of the company’s fleet back at sea by the end of summer.

The vessel will homeport in Kiel until the beginning of October and the ship will welcome German and international guests for an itinerary to Visby on one of Sweden’s largest islands Gotland, Nynäshamn near the Swedish capital city of Stockholm and Estonia’s capital Tallinn before returning to her North German base.

MSC Cruises’ protected shore excursions are available at all ports of call.

In other MSC news, the weekend also saw Marseille added to MSC Seaview’s sister ship MSC Seaside’s West Mediterranean itinerary, the first French port to reopen for the cruise line and welcome international guests for weekly calls.

Five MSC Cruises’ ships are currently sailing in the Mediterranean – the MSC Grandiosa, MSC Seaside, MSC Orchestra, MSC Splendida and MSC Magnifica. A sixth ship, the MSC Virtuosa, has operated cruises around the UK for British guests only since May 20.

The MSC Meraviglia from Aug. 2 will resume Caribbean cruises from Miami and will be joined in the region from Sept. 18 when the MSC Divina restarts sailing from Port Canaveral near Orlando in Florida.

The MSC Seashore will come into service in August with voyages in the West Mediterranean before the company’s newest flagship transfers in November to Miami for a season in the Caribbean.

Hamburg Opens to Cruises with AIDA and TUI Set to Sail

The German port of Hamburg will again welcome cruise ships this summer as the German city is opening to tourism.

TUI Cruises announced it will sail from Hamburg on June 11 with the Mein Schiff 6, offering short cruises with no port calls.

To start, the German brand will offer three- and four-day scenic cruises and hopes to rotate in ports at a later date. Bookings are now open on the TUI website.

Carnival Corporation brand AIDA Cruises also confirmed that it will base a ship in Hamburg starting in July with more details to follow soon.

No Delays to Royal Caribbean’s Odyssey Despite COVID-19 Issue Aboard

“We anticipate that there will be no delay to Odyssey’s arrival into Israel,” said Royal Caribbean International in a statement on Monday following the news that workers aboard the ship had tested positive for COVID-19.

The new ship is due to sail a summer program from Haifa, with fully vaccinated Israeli guests aboard.

“The shipyard workers and crew onboard Odyssey of the Seas are currently preparing the ship for sea trials. They are being tested daily and at this time there are no positive cases onboard the ship,” the company said.

It was reported last week there were positive COVID-19 cases aboard the new Odyssey of the Seas with the ship docked in Bremerhaven for her final touches ahead of sea trials.

German news outlets now report that five employees on the ship tested positive for COVID-19 and have since been disembarked and put into quarantine.