Tag Archives: Mein Schiff 2

Nearly 60% of the Royal Caribbean Group Cruise Fleet is Now Back in Service

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With its cruise restart plan picking up pace, the Royal Caribbean Group will achieve a major milestone in August.

By the end of the month, more than half of the group’s 61-ship fleet have will be back in commercial service.

The 34 vessels sailing around the world mean 56% per cent of the company’s fleet is now operating with passengers in several destinations.

This fall, more ships, homeports and itineraries are set to return.  Here are the latest plans, brand by brand:

Royal Caribbean International
Status: 13 ships in service; three more to follow through October
Ships: Quantum of the Seas, Adventure of the Seas, Freedom of the Seas, Anthem of the Seas, Jewel of the Seas, Serenade of the Seas, Odyssey of the Seas, Allure of the Seas, Ovation of the Seas, Symphony of the Seas, Independence of the Seas, Harmony of the Seas and Mariner of the Seas in service; Oasis of the Seas, Liberty of the Seas and Spectrum of the Seas set to follow
Regions: Asia, Caribbean, Bahamas, Mediterranean, United Kingdom and Alaska

More than half of the Royal Caribbean International 25-ship fleet has now returned to commercial service.

With 13 active vessels, the brand is currently sailing to several destinations around the world, including the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, Asia and Alaska.

In September and October three additional ships are set to resume service, including the Oasis of the Seas.

On September 5, the vessel to the Oasis become the first to welcome passengers back in the New York region, offering weeklong cruises to the Bahamas from Bayonne

The balance of the Royal Caribbean fleet is poised to return to guest operations by May 2022.

Celebrity Cruises
Status: Seven ships in service; two more to follow in September and October
Ships: Celebrity Apex, Celebrity Edge, Celebrity Silhouette, Celebrity Flora, Celebrity Millennium, Celebrity Xpedition and Celebrity Equinox in service; Celebrity Summit and Celebrity Xploration set to follow
Regions: Mediterranean, Caribbean, Bahamas, United Kingdom and the Galapagos

With a bold restart plan, Celebrity Cruises added seven ships back into service since first resuming guest operations on June 5, 2021.

In North America, the Celebrity Summit recently completed a series of Caribbean sailings from St. Maarten.

The vessel is now poised to return to the United States, offering short cruises to Mexico and the Bahamas.

The Celebrity Edge, the Celebrity Equinox and the Celebrity Millennium are also in service in Europe, while other ships are in operation in Europe and the Galapagos.

TUI Cruises
Status: Six ships in service
Ships: Mein Schiff 1, Mein Schiff 2, Mein Schiff 3, Mein Schiff 4, Mein Schiff 5 and Mein Schiff 6
Regions: Mediterranean, Northern Europe, Greece and Italy

After announcing plans to have its entire seven-ship fleet in service this summer, TUI Cruises welcomed guests back on six vessels.

Based in Germany, the brand is currently sailing to several destinations in Europe.

After several months of sailing only in the Canaries archipelago, TUI expanded operations to Germany and Greece recently.

 A return to the Mediterranean was also carried out with cruises calling in Spain and Italy. 

Silversea Cruises
Status: Three ships in service; two more to follow  
Ships: Silver Origin, Silver Moon and Silver Muse in service; Silver Shadow and Silver Spirit set to follow
Region: Galapagos, Mediterranean, Alaska, Northern Europe and British Islands  

Silversea Cruises welcomed its passengers back in June, with the inaugural cruises of two newbuilds, the Silver Moon and the Silver Origin.

Continuing its restart plan, the luxury brand launched service in Iceland and Alaska, with two additional vessels.

After completing its first season in Iceland, the brand is now ready to add new itineraries in the Mediterranean, British Islands and Northern Europe. 

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises
Status: Five ships in service
Ships: Europa 2, Europa, Hanseatic Nature, Hanseatic Inspiration and Hanseatic Spirit
Region: the Mediterranean and Northern Europe

Germany-based Hapag-Lloyd Cruises currently has all of its five-ship fleet in commercial operations. The luxury brand is presently offering several different itineraries in the Baltic, the Norwegian Fjords and the Mediterranean.

The new Hanseatic Spirit was the most recent addition to the active fleet. Recently delivered, the expedition vessel departed Hamburg on its inaugural cruise on August 26.

Málaga Welcomes Mein Schiff 2, First Cruise Ship Since Pandemic

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Málaga has become the first port in Spain’s mainland to host a cruise ship upon the restart of operations after a 15-month pause.

According to a press release, TUI Cruises’ Mein Schiff 2 arrived from the Canary Islands on June 16 at 6:15 a.m.

Carrying 1,275 passengers, she stayed in the port until 7 p.m. of the same day, when she departed for Palma de Mallorca to start domestic itineraries in Spain.

The Mein Schiff 2 will be visiting Málaga again on June 22 and July 6, according to the MedCruise Association.

To mark the special first sailing, representatives from the port and the destination have met with Tom Roth, the captain from Mein Schiff 2, and handed a commemorating plaque.

“Today is a very important day for Málaga, (which) proves how governmental bodies have worked together, and will keep working together, for Málaga, a cruiser-friendly destination,” said the President of the Port Authority of Malaga Carlos Rubio.

The Mayor of Malaga Francisco De la Torre said that cruise tourism will help reactivate tourism in Málaga, which is an “essential cruise destination for cruise lines.”

Roth highlighted that “this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

According to the press release, TUI Cruises developed a “bubble” cruise experience, allowing only organized excursions, which guarantees that the anti-COVID-19 safety measures are respected, thus benefiting both the passenger and the crew, as well as the population of the destinations visited.

In Málaga, cruise passengers visited the city and other towns nearby in small groups, having chosen emblematic places of the historical city centre of Málaga, as well as Ronda, Mijas or Marbella, among others, supporting the recovery of the economy.

The Mein Schiff 4 was also in the Málaga port on June 16, arriving at 3 p.m. for a technical stop with no passengers.

TUI to Add Mein Schiff 6 Back in September, Cruising From Crete

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Mein Schiff 6

The TUI Cruises restart is going so well the company is expanding to three ships as the Mein Schiff 6 will sail round-trip cruises from Crete in September with port calls.

The first week-long sailing will depart on Sept. 13.

Guests will be allowed to take company-organized shore excursions in Athens, Crete and Corfu.

TUI said it will dramatically expand shore excursion capacity so all guests can partake. The ship is expected to operate at 60 per cent occupancy.

The Mein Schiff 1 and Mein Schiff 2 will continue with their “Blue Voyages” (no port calls) in the North and Baltic Sea, offering five- and seven-day cruises in September, according to the company.

For the time being all departures of the Mein Schiff fleet (departures from September) will require a negative COVID-19 test result (PCR test). The costs for this are already included in the travel price.

Before the new crew comes on board, they are tested for COVID-19 shoreside. Only crewmembers who have tested negative can come on board and then they also go into 14-day individual isolation on a balcony cabin before they begin working.