Cruise Saudi Welcomes Second MSC Cruises Ship to Saudi

Posted on 13 April, 2022 by Spacejunkie2

MSC Virtuosa entering the Liverpool docks, photo credit Spacejunkie2

Cruise Saudi has welcomed MSC Cruises’ MSC Virtuosa to Jeddah, making it the line’s second vessel to visit the Jeddah Islamic Port.

The ship spent around 17 hours at the port before continuing its voyage along the Red Sea.

The MSC Virtuosa joined MSC Bellissima at Saudi’s largest and busiest port, where the latter ship has been homeporting throughout the 2021-2022 Summer and Winter Seasons.

The visits are part of Cruise Saudi’s efforts to build a fully integrated, world-class cruise industry in the country, elevating tourism in line with Vision 2030 – the Saudi leadership’s transformation plan to diversify the economy, according to a press release.

Commenting on MSC Virtuosa’s visit, Lars Clasen, Chief Executive Officer of Cruise Saudi, said: “We are proud to host the flagship of one of the world’s most established and popular cruise lines. MSC Virtuosa’s visit highlights Saudi as an exciting cruise destination for international cruise lines and travellers. At Cruise Saudi, we look forward to welcoming more guests and operators to experience the glistening waters of the Red Sea as the tourism industry gathers pace.

“By supporting Saudi’s tourism industry, we are not only enabling the world to experience Saudi’s pristine islands and beaches as well as a unique culture, heritage and hospitality – but we are also opening new gateways to connect Saudi with the world and transform the country into a tourism hub.”

Cruise Saudi has welcomed several major international cruise lines since its launch including MSC Cruises, Scenic Group, Silversea, and Viking, which have completed more than 70 sailings during the 2021/2022 Summer and Winter Seasons.

In April 2021, Cruise Saudi established a five-year deal with MSC Cruises to bring their ships to Saudi. MSC Bellissima spent 2021/22 Summer and Winter Season’s homeporting in Jeddah and sailing around the Saudi coast.

MSC Cruises to Increase Dominance in Europe

Posted on 6 April, 2022 by Spacejunkie2

MSC Magnifica in Queensferry Edinburgh, Photo credit Spacejnkie2

The European market will increase by dominated by MSC Cruises, according to the 2022 Cruise Industry News Annual Report.

By 2027 MSC will not only have the most passenger cruise capacity in Europe but also be the single largest brand, based on its new build program and projected ship deployments.

MSC Cruises, including its Explora Journeys brand, will have a total passenger capacity of 4.3 million in Europe in 2027, compared to 4.0 million for Carnival Corporation brands and 1.5 million for the TUI Group.

In addition, would be ships deployed from Carnival’s North American brands and by the Royal Caribbean Group, but their passenger sourcing, pending circumstances, is primarily from the U.S.

From 2022 to 2027, MSC will see its capacity grow by 36.2 per cent, Carnival by 3.3 per cent and the TUI Group by 41.7 per cent.

MSC is a pan-European brand, along with Costa Cruises, while national brands dominate some markets, such as P&O in the UK, AIDA and TUI in Germany.

The market capacity of the Europe-based brands is estimated at 9.2 million passengers this year and is projected to grow to 11 million by 2027.

CDC Scraps Cruise Ship COVID Warning After 2 Years

Posted on 31 March, 2022 by Spacejunkie2

Norwegian Jade photo credit Spacejunkie2

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday removed its COVID-19 notice against cruise travel, around two years after introducing a warning scale showing the level of coronavirus transmission risk on cruise ships.

The move offers a shot of hope to major U.S. cruise operators such as Carnival Corp, Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd that have struggled to bring in revenue since the pandemic started.

Cruise operators had also said the health agency was discriminating against the industry when hotels and airlines could operate with limited or no restrictions.

“While cruising will always pose some risk of COVID-19 transmission, travellers will make their own risk assessment when choosing to travel on a cruise ship, much like they do in all other travel settings,” the CDC said in a statement.

The guidelines for travelling on cruise ships on the health agency’s page no longer shows a scale for its warning. Instead, it now only says guests should make sure they are up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines before boarding the ships.

(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)