Disney and MSC Ships Leave on CDC Test Cruises

Posted on 20 July, 2021 by Spacejunkie2

MSC Merivigila on her CDC test.

Two more cruise ships are hoping to score a CDC Conditional Sailing Certificate upon the successful completion of simulated voyages, better known as test cruises, with volunteer passengers aboard.

The Disney Dream sailed from Port Canaveral on Friday, while the MSC Meraviglia sailed from Miami on Friday.

Officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sailed with Royal Caribbean International on the Freedom of the Seas test cruise in June, and are expected to be aboard with both Disney and MSC to observe COVID-19 related health and safety measures.

If approved, the Conditional Sailing Certificate allows a cruise ship to operate with less than 95 per cent vaccinated guests aboard, which many cruise operators believe is needed to continue to appeal to families with children.

Cruise Load Factors On U.S. Sailings So Far

Posted on 6 July, 2021 by Spacejunkie2

How many passengers are on the start-up cruises from U.S. homeports?

So far, data collected from Cruise Industry News suggests a widely varying return to service load factors with Carnival Cruise Line leading the way.

With the Vista sailing on Saturday from Galveston, the ship was said to have 2,940 guests aboard, and operating at about 70 per cent occupancy.

Similar numbers were said to be the case for the Sunday sailing of the Carnival Horizon from PortMiami.

Royal Caribbean International’s Freedom of the Seas sailed on Friday, July 2, from Miami, with just over 1,000 guests aboard, for an estimated 30 per cent occupancy rate.

The Celebrity Edge’s first cruise, and the first U.S. sailing for a large modern cruise ship, operated at just over 40 per cent occupancy from Port Everglades, sailing on June 26.

Load factors are expected to increase quickly, as ships get back into a regular rhythm of sailings with new policies and procedures.

Carnival Cruise Line to boost fleet with two more ships

Posted on 1 July, 2021 by Spacejunkie2

Carnival Cruise Line will take delivery of an Excel-class cruise ship (pictured is arendering) source: CCL

One of the vessels is an Excel-class ship that had previously been assigned to sister line AIDA Cruises that will arrive in late 2023, as well as taking ownership of Costa Magica from another of its European sister lines. Costa Magica will go through a drydock, renaming and Carnival-branded conversion before joining the fleet in mid-2022.

These two ships are in addition to the new capacity growth represented by Mardi Gras, Carnival’s first Excel-class, LNG-powered ship which starts sailing from Port Canaveral on 31 July and its sister ship Carnival Celebration, which will be delivered and sail from Miami starting late-2022, as part of Carnival’s 50th birthday festivities.

The addition of these four ships will bring the Carnival fleet to 27 by year-end 2023. The cruise line said these ships “bring many new amenities and features for guests, as well as environmental benefits and enhancements as Carnival continues to exceed and expand targets for emissions efficiencies”.

“We are excited about these additions to our fleet which reflect the strong position Carnival has established in the US, the pent-up demand we continue to see for cruise vacations, and the overall plans by Carnival Corp to optimise capacity and growth in key markets,” said Carnival Cruise Line president Christine Duffy.

“While our immediate focus is on our restart of guest operations this summer, this is another cause for excitement at Carnival, and we will be announcing more detailed plans about homeports, itineraries and ship names very soon.”