Tag Archives: restart

Norwegian Star Welcomes Passengers Back in Spain

Posted on by
Reply

https://flic.kr/s/aHsm1LS4LVNorwegian Star smiling again Photo credit Spacejunkie

After a two-year hiatus, the Norwegian Star is welcoming passengers back to Spain today. As the 14th ship to resume service for Norwegian Cruise Line, the vessel is kicking off a European program that includes itineraries in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe.

For its first post-pandemic cruise, the 2001-built ship is sailing a ten-night voyage to Italy. Departing from Spain, the itinerary sails from Barcelona and includes visits to St. Tropez, Livorno, Civitavecchia, Naples, Messina, Corfu, Kotor, Dubrovnik and Split, before arriving in Trieste.

Through November, the vessel’s program also includes a series of cruises in Northern Europe, with visits to Iceland, the British Islands, the Norwegian Fjords, the Baltic and more.

The program is highlighted by two special ten- and 11-night sailings in July that feature visits to four different ports in Greenland. Departing from Reykjavik, the itineraries also include calls to three additional destinations in Iceland.

In early December, the vessel repositions to South America, ahead of a winter season in the region.

Originally ordered for Star Cruises, the Norwegian Star entered service in 2001. With 91,000 tons, it can carry up to 2,200 guests on double occupancy, in addition to 1,031 crew members.

Offering Norwegian’s Freestyle Cruising concept, the ship features more than ten dining venues. Options include favourite speciality restaurants, such as the French Le Bistro and the Cagney’s Steakhouse.

The vessel also boasts nine bars and lounges, a swimming pool, five hot tubs, a casino, a full-service spa and salon, and a fitness centre.

As part of the Norwegian Edge program, the Norwegian Star was completely refurbished in 2018. During an 18-day drydock, the vessel received several enhancements, including a revamped atrium, renovated cabins and redesigned restaurants.

Following the Norwegian Star, the Pride of America is also scheduled to resume service for the Norwegian Cruise Line in April.

The Hawaii-based vessel is welcoming back for its seven-night inter-island cruises on April 9.

After first resuming guest service in July 2021, Norwegian Cruise Line has now brought 14 ships back into revenue operations.

Royal Caribbean Ship Sails on First Alaska Cruise for Brand in 2 Years

Posted on by
Reply

Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas left Seattle on Monday evening for the first big-ship cruise in Alaska in over two years.

The Serenade left from the Smith Cove Cruise Terminal on one of her seven-night itineraries and the first revenue cruise of the lineup of 83 scheduled voyages this year, which will each bring an estimated $4.2 million to the local economy, according to the port.

Guest, crew and community safety is paramount, with touchless features to limit crowding throughout the terminal and cruise ships, and vaccinations required of eligible travellers.

“The return of passenger cruise to Alaska marks a major milestone in our effort to reopen the regional economy,” said Steve Metruck, executive director of the Port of Seattle. “A year of work by national, state, and local officials and health authorities, cruise lines, and the Port established safety protocols throughout the traveller experience—from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to each of our cruise terminals. These safety measures will begin restoring the economic benefit from a cruise in Seattle, responsible for creating 5,500 jobs and nearly $900 million to our region.”

“It’s exciting to see hundreds of travellers with their families back in Seattle to cruise to Alaska again. As Serenade of the Seas embarks on the first Alaska sailing since September 2019, it also marks another key milestone for Royal Caribbean and the industry – the return of cruising on the west coast,” said Mark Tamis, senior vice president, Hotel Operations, Royal Caribbean International. “Thanks to the collaboration with our partners in this great city and the region, including the Port of Seattle and Alaska, the benefits of cruise tourism will be felt across the local communities once again. We are back, and there’s more to come when our second ship, Ovation of the Seas, returns to Seattle in August.”

“Cruise season introduces new customers to local small businesses in downtown Seattle and across our city. So many of our local businesses — who have endured a gruelling 16 months — rely on cruise season and the visitors it brings to ensure they can survive and thrive,” said Seattle Mayor Jenny A. Durkan. “Seattle is excited to welcome visitors from across our country and world back to our great city, and we hope they enjoy everything our small businesses, arts and cultural organizations, and neighbourhoods have to offer.”

“We are thrilled to see the return of Alaska cruises from the Port of Seattle and welcome the opportunity to provide passengers with high-quality dairy products from our Northwest co-op’s farmer-owners,” said Duane Naluai, President Consumer Products at Darigold. “That industry partners like Royal Caribbean International are resuming operations after such a challenging pandemic year signals our region’s resilience in the face of adversity and comprises an encouraging boost to our local economy.”

Carnival Cruise Line to Bring Back More Ships in September and October

Posted on by
Reply

Carnival Cruise Line announced today that three more ships will resume guest operations in September, and another four in October, which brings the total number of ships in operation for the Carnival Cruise Line fleet to 15

Carnival said in a press release will continue to operate all its ships as vaccinated cruises through at least October.

The three ships for September are the Carnival Glory from New Orleans, starting Sept. 5, the Carnival Pride from Baltimore, starting Sept. 12, and the Carnival Dream from Galveston, starting Sept. 19.

In October, the four additional ships to restart will be the Carnival Conquest from Miami, effective Oct. 8, the Carnival Freedom from Miami, effective Oct. 9, the Carnival Elation from Port Canaveral, effective Oct. 11, and the Carnival Sensation from Mobile, effective Oct. 21.

“We are very excited about our restart and greatly appreciate the support of our guests, travel agents and port and destination partners,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “By the end of July, we will have five ships in our restart plan, including the introduction of service on Mardi Gras, and we are seeing a great combination of strong demand and strong guest satisfaction scores tied to the positive guest experience onboard.”

Carnival is also notifying guests and travel agents of an extension in its pause of operations through Sept. 5 for the Carnival Pride from Baltimore, Sept. 11 for the Carnival Dream from Galveston, Oct. 4 for the Carnival Conquest from Miami and Oct. 16 for the Carnival Sensation from Mobile.

Cruises on the Carnival Sunshine from Charleston, the Carnival Ecstasy from Jacksonville and the Carnival Liberty from Port Canaveral will be cancelled through Oct. 31.

In addition, a three-day cruise on the Carnival Miracle from Long Beach on Sept. 24 is being cancelled, and then the Carnival Miracle will begin sailing from Long Beach on Sept. 27.

Carnival said will continue to welcome unvaccinated guests onboard, but all unvaccinated guests including children under the age of 12, will be subject to pre-cruise and pre-embarkation testing and testing again prior to debarkation (on cruises longer than four days) along with a $150 per person charge to cover the costs of testing, reporting and health and safety screenings.

Carnival also said it is limiting the operation of its supervised youth programs to vaccinated children and youth 12 years and older. Unvaccinated guests departing from Florida (effective July 31) and Texas (effective Aug. 2) will also need to show proof of travel insurance coverage, based on the itineraries being sailed and the requirements of ports and destinations visited. These additional measures will be in place through at least October but may be extended based on guidance from public health and medical advisors and the requirements of destination partners.

“The decision to sail with vaccinated voyages was a difficult one to make, and we recognize this is disappointing to some of our guests especially the many families with children under the age of 12 who we love to sail, and who love to sail with us,” said Duffy. “It’s important to remember that this is a temporary measure given the current circumstances. In consultation with our medical experts and advisors, we’ve determined this plan is in the best interests of the health and safety of our guests, crew and the destinations that we bring our ships to. It’s very important that we continue to maintain the confidence of our destination partners so that we can provide our guests with the optimal cruise experience and sail our itineraries.”

“Our plan envisions successfully bringing back our entire fleet by the end of the year, returning to full service – most especially for the millions of families who sail with us – and building back our business for the benefit of our guests, employees and the tens of thousands of jobs and local businesses that depend on our company. We will continue to offer exemptions to our unvaccinated guests on a limited, capacity-managed basis within 14 days of sailing as we finalize the vaccinated guest count. The more bookings we initially secure for our cruises with fully vaccinated guests, the more exemptions we can ultimately offer for those unvaccinated guests already booked and those wishing to sail,” Duffy added.