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 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.”
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings today announced additional voyages as part of its U.S. voyage resumption plan.
According to a press release, Norwegian Cruise Line plans to set sail beginning summer 2021 with voyages from New York, Los Angeles, Port Canaveral and Miami and the line announced that the Norwegian Encore will debut in Alaska this summer in place of Norwegian Bliss.
Voyages expected to operate in the U.S. are contingent on obtaining a Conditional Sailing Certificate from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the company said. All initial voyages will operate with fully vaccinated guests and crew.
“I am pleased to continue our Great Cruise Comeback with plans already announced for 23 of our 28 ships across our three brands beginning in July 2021 and phasing in through early 2022,” said Frank Del Rio, president and chief executive officer of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.
“We want to thank Governor DeSantis and the State of Florida for fighting in support of our industry. His leadership helped bring the CDC to the table. We are currently in communication with his staff and legal counsel to ensure that we can offer the safest cruise experience for our passengers departing from the cruise capital of the world.”
Deployment Moves:
• Norwegian Gem will cruise seven-day itineraries to the Caribbean beginning August 15, 2021, and a four-day voyage to the Bahamas in November from Miami; • Additional itineraries on Norwegian Breakaway are open for sale to Bermuda starting September 26, 2021, from New York; • Norwegian Bliss will sail on October 24, 2021, to the Mexican Riviera from Los Angeles; • Norwegian Escape will sail on November 13, 2021, to the Caribbean from Port Canaveral; • In addition, the Norwegian Encore will make her debut on the West Coast, taking the place of the previously announced Norwegian Bliss for the 2021 summer Alaska cruise season. The Alaska itinerary will include visits to Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan and Icy Strait Point, while also offering guests majestic views of Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier or Glacier Bay.
Wetravel2u's Weblog 