Carnival Cruise bookings up 600 PERCENT

Posted on 11 May, 2020 by Spacejunkie2

Carnival Cruise Line bookings rose 600 per cent after the company said it will resume some of its cruises in August
That’s 200 per cent more bookings than this same time last year, reports a travel industry representative
Customers were primarily focused on locking down reservations and getting premium deals, says an American Express travel agent
Most of the travellers calling are described as young, healthy and eager to travel after being forced to stay home during COVID-19 lockdowns
The customers are ‘not a bit concerned about travelling at this time,’ says the representative

Carnival Cruise Line bookings rose 600 per cent after the company said it will resume some of its cruises in August, says a member of the travel industry.

The sharp rise in bookings is 200 per cent higher than this same time last year, reports an American Express travel agent.

An Instagram post from Carnival (pictured) explains 'enhanced protocols and social gathering guidelines will be put in place' once the company starts sailing again

Customers were primarily focused on locking down reservations and getting premium deals, says the agent.

Most of the travellers calling in at the moment were described as young, healthy and eager to travel after being forced to stay home during nationwide coronavirus quarantines, TMZ reports.

The customers are ‘not a bit concerned about travelling at this time,’ the representative told the news outlet.

So far, there have been 1,366,962 confirmed cases in the US of the coronavirus, which has been blamed for 80,696 deaths.

An Instagram post from Carnival explains that ‘enhanced protocols and social gathering guidelines will be put in place’ once the company starts sailing again.

While Carnival says it hopes to get back on the high seas by August, the company warns that plans could change and that there are no guarantees because of the potential for further delays due to the coronavirus pandemic.

‘We continue to work with various government agencies, including the CDC, as we introduce new onboard protocols, but there is no assurance of a return on August 1,’ Carnival wrote in its announcement.

Carnival had previously hoped to return in April or May after it first suspended its voyages in March. The date was later pushed to June 26 and now August 1.

One-fifth of all global ocean cruise ships were infected with the coronavirus after the outbreak began, leaving at least 2,592 crew and passengers infected and killing at least 65, according to research compiled last month detailing the pandemic’s impact on the cruise ship industry.

The data revealed that cases of the deadly virus were directly linked to at least 54 cruise ships, as they continued to travel the waters while the pandemic ravaged communities on land.

All four of the world’s largest cruise lines – Carnival, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and MSC Cruises – were struck by outbreaks, as well as several smaller lines.

At least 922 of those infected and 11 who died were crew members working on the ships.

The stark findings, collated into a study by the Miami Herald using data from the CDC, cruise companies and passenger testimonies, show that the situation on board ships was far worse than official figures revealed.

MSC Extends Cruising Halt Through May 29

Posted on 30 March, 2020 by Spacejunkie2

MSC Cruises has decided to further extend the pause of its cruise operation through May 29, according to a statement.

This is due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the company said, extending its operations pause from April 30 for another month.

“As governments across the globe have since further strengthened ashore public health and safety measures to protect local populations and contain the further spread of the virus, today’s decision by MSC Cruises to further extend this extraordinary measure aims to mirror and further support the effectiveness of such efforts,” the company said.

“MSC Cruises is working tirelessly with all guests and their travel agents to address the impact of this necessary decision to their bookings on our ships up to May 29 and it is genuinely sorry for the inconvenience that this will cause them. By announcing this now, the Company intends to provide travel agents and guests who are booked on affected sailings with as much time as possible to move their booking to a future cruise.”

Cruise Lay Up Best Practices: Be Ready to Enter Service

Posted on 18 March, 2020 by Spacejunkie2

The key to laying up a cruise ship may be in the preparation to quickly enter revenue service again, according to Per Bjornsen, director, V.Ships Leisure.

“The only option right now is a hot lay-up,” he told Cruise Industry News. “That means the ship runs on its own power, its own systems and there is a crew; a proper crew onboard maintaining the vessel.”

That is a full deck and engine crew and some hotel crew to cater, clean and run various hotel systems.

The ship will thus be ready to resume regular passenger service on short notice.

“You need to make sure the systems are running, going into cabins every day and running the water for example,” said Bjornsen.

Overseeing multiple cruise ships for various brands, Bjornsen said the company was ready to support industry players with a wide network of offices.

“If you want to support your vessel from a shore-based organization, the vessel should be laid up where you have an office,” he said, noting most borders in Europe were closed. “We have the offices, the network and our operation are more resilient.”

V. Ships Leisure is also looking at synergies among its clients and talking to other cruise lines he said, considering putting ships in one place or port, for best practices.

“We are discussing these synergies as they relate to operating costs to see how we can be looking after ships together in the best possible way.”