Tag Archives: Norway

Hurtigruten Cancels Remaining 2020 Cruises

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The MS Roald Amundsen ship, operated by Norway’s Hurtigruten line, is seen after its crew members were diagnosed with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at a port in Tromso, Norway July 31, 2020. Rune Stoltz Bertinusse/NTB Scanpix/ via REUTERS

OSLO, Sept 17 (Reuters) – Norway’s Hurtigruten has called off its remaining cruises this year due to the rise in COVID-19 cases in Europe and the Americas, the company said on Thursday.
“Our goal is to resume operations in January 2021,” the company said in a statement.

The decision affects Hurtigruten’s so-called expedition cruises, which often take passengers into Arctic or Antarctic waters, though its business of shipping goods and people between ports along the Norwegian coast will continue.

The company was the first cruise operator worldwide to return an oceangoing cruise ship to service in mid-June, touting reduced passenger capacity, social distancing and strict rules on hygiene.

But dozens of crew and passengers onboard a Hurtigruten ship tested positive for the coronavirus following an Arctic cruise in July, triggering a police investigation into the circumstances. (Reporting by Terje Solsvik)

Tom Cruise & Mission Impossible Crew Rent Two Hurtigruten Cruise Ships

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The Hollywood star and his production crew are reportedly anchored off the coast of Norway.

There’s no mission impossible for Tom Cruise and his crew, even filming a blockbuster movie during a pandemic…

Helping to get filming safely wrapped up, Hollywood star Cruise and the Mission Impossible production crew have reportedly hired two Hurtugrten cruise ships, MS Vesterålen and MS Fridtjof Nansen.

According to Norway Today, Hurtigruten’s new ship MS Fridtjof Nansen is acting as a hotel ship for the 400 crew members, who have been housed on the ships during filming in August and September.

The ship is said to be anchored off the coast of Hellesylt, a small village in Norway, allowing the crew to get on with filming and avoid any further delays to production. Production on the new Mission Impossible 7 movie was put on hold in February due to the pandemic but has now restarted.

MS Vesterålen | Hurtigruten´s ships | Hurtigruten

While they didn’t confirm if Cruise himself was staying on the premium expedition ship, Hurtigruten did confirm the rental to Norway Today, revealing they rented the two ships out to the company Truenorth. Truenorth is currently working on the seventh Mission Impossible movie with Tom Cruise.

According to the Sun newspaper, Cruise himself picked up the bill for the rental for August and September, which came in at an impressive £500,000.

MS Fridtjof Nansen is currently docked at Hellesylt, with its use as a hotel ship confirmed by the Counsellor of Stranda municipality.

It is not known what MS Vesterålen is being used for, but there is speculation that the ship will even appear in the upcoming blockbuster.

Hurtigruten is currently operating a limited amount of cruise sailings due to Covid-19, allowing the ships to be used for private rental and filming.

MS Fridtjof Nansen was due to sail a handful of sailings around Iceland and the European Atlantic coast, but they have since been cancelled by the line.

Cunard Cancels Cruises Into 2021 and Makes Sweeping Deployment Changes

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Queen Mary 2
Queen Mary 2

Cunard will be extending its pause in operations from November 2020 until March 25, 2021 for its ship Queen Elizabeth; until April 18, 2021 for Queen Mary 2 and until May 16, 2021 for Queen Victoria, the company announced.

Cunard president Simon Palethorpe said:  “We are so sorry to all those guests who were due to sail on any of the cancelled voyages and for the disappointment this news will cause. After very careful consideration and reviewing the latest guidance, we simply do not feel it would be sensible to start sailing again with our current schedule so we have reviewed future itineraries.

“Queen Elizabeth has returned to the UK and with ongoing uncertainty over the re-opening of many ports and countries, it is sadly not practical to continue her planned itineraries for 2021.

“Therefore, in addition to the pause in operations, all of Queen Elizabeth’s sailings due to depart between March 26, 2021 and December 13, 2021, in and around Australia, Japan and Alaska, will be cancelled.

“These voyages will be replaced with a programme of shorter duration European holidays ranging from three to 14 nights, departing from Southampton. These will start at the end of March 2021, with a series of scenic voyages around the coast of Cornwall, the west coast of Ireland and the Scottish Isles. There will also be short breaks to Amsterdam which will include an overnight in the city, as well as voyages to northern and southern European destinations including Norway and the Iberian coast, with several of these itineraries featuring overnight city stays.

Fincantieri | Queen Elizabeth
Queen Elizabeth

“Queen Elizabeth’s new program will be completed with a series of seven and 14 night voyages in the Mediterranean, sailing from Barcelona. It is an exciting new programme which I am sure will have great appeal.”

All new itineraries onboard the Queen Elizabeth will be available to book from September 29, 2020.

Palethorpe continued: “Additionally, recognising the immense disappointment of those onboard Queen Mary 2’s curtailed World Voyage this year, and the cancellation of her World Voyage in 2021, we are delighted that Queen Mary 2 will sail a classic World Voyage in 2022. This will replace her scheduled sailings departing January 3, 2022 to April 3, 2022, including the voyage to South America.”

The new 104 night adventure will depart from Southampton on January 10, 2022 and include calls to Greece, Dubai, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Australia and Bali before returning to Southampton via Abu Dhabi, Oman, Italy and Portugal. The ship will sail through the Suez Canal both on the outbound journey and on return. It will be bookable, either as a full world voyage or as one of six sectors, from September 8, 2020.

“Given the current uncertainty, the complexity of our scheduled World Voyage with our international mix of guests visiting many countries and continents, each with its own evolving travel regulations was a very real factor in our decision making.”