Tag Archives: resumption

Costa Cruises to restart sailings in September

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Costa Cruises to restart sailings in September

by Samantha Mayling 

Costa Cruises plans to restart its sailings from Italian ports on a gradual basis from September 6, 2020.

On Monday, the Italian government approved the resumption of cruises and new health protocols developed in response to the Covid-19 crisis.

The first ship to set sail will be Costa Deliziosa (pictured), on September 6, offering weekly cruises from Trieste to Greece.

Costa Diadema will set sail on September 19, operating seven-day cruises in the western Mediterranean from Genoa.

Costa Cruises said it is working with authorities and the destinations to ensure a “responsible, smooth and well-organised application of the new regulations and protocols”.

Further details on the Costa Deliziosa and Costa Diadema itineraries will be announced in the coming days.

However, the cruise line is extending the suspension of its cruise season for other departures until September 30.

Costa Cruises’ new safety protocol is consistent with the health protocols defined by the Italian government and European (EU Healthy Gateways) authorities.

The UK Foreign Office last month advised against cruise ship travel.

German Cruise Line AIDA Delays Service Resumption, Pending More Approvals

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German Cruise Line AIDA Delays Service Resumption, Pending More Approvals
AIDA Perla
he German cruise line AIDA cancelled its planned resumption of service this weekend over an approval technicality.
The line, which is owned by Carnival Corporation & plc., has implemented new health and testing protocols that had caught 10 crew members who were positive for COVID-19 after they boarded two AIDA ships but before any passengers came aboard.
The hold-up for AIDAperla and AIDAmar, leaving on short cruises August 5 and August 12, though, came because the country of Italy, where the ships are flagged, had not given approval for the ships to sail, the company said in a release.
“Contrary to our expectations, the final formal approval for the start of the short trips from August 5, 2020, by our flag state Italy is still pending,” the release said. “We assume that we will receive the last formal approval by the flag state Italy in a timely manner.”

While COVID-19 is not cited in the release, the spectre of coronavirus hangs over international ships coming back into service, after virus outbreaks among passengers and crew occurred last weekend

 in two separate corners of the world.

In Norway, Hurtigruten faces an investigation after 36 crew and five guests have tested positive for COVID-19. And in French Polynesia, passengers on Paul Gauguin are quarantined on the ship and getting tested, after the ship’s doctor found a positive result with a guest. Both lines had resumed sailing with reduced capacity and improved health and safety requirements; Paul Gauguin and French Polynesia both require passengers to present a negative COVID-19 test before boarding or entering the country.

Norway Says No To Cruises After Hurtigruten Coronavirus Outbreak

AIDA, too, has implemented strict health and safety guidelines for its resumption. Those guidelines, in fact, had detected the COVID-19 cases among the crew before sailing resumed and passengers could be exposed.
No cases had been detected among crew coming on board AIDAperla, which was the first ship in the fleet to have a scheduled cruise. The incidents had been reported on AIDAmar and AIDAblu on July 22, well before those ships were slated to cruise on August 12 and August 16, respectively.
Current policies call for all crew members to be tested for COVID-19 in their home countries before flying to Rostock, Germany, and getting on board the ship. The crew members then take a second coronavirus test while they are secluded on the ship.
Once the 10 infected crew members were detected, they were taken off the two ships and the remaining crew members were contained to the ship in isolation and underwent a third round of tests, the line said.

Cruise restart protocols to go ‘way beyond’ other sectors

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CLIA Announces President and CEO Transition - Cruise Industry News ...

The UK cruise sector is working closely with the government, public health bodies and maritime authorities on restart protocols that will go “way beyond” other sectors, according to Clia.

Andy Harmer, director of Clia UK & Ireland, said a focus on the resumption of air travel and safety measures at airports was being mirrored by cruise lines and ports.

In a column on Travel Weekly’s website, he said: “A lot of work is going on in the background to transform the experience of taking a cruise. The industry is working in collaboration with the government on a ‘door to door’ strategy – from the time of booking through to the passengers’ return home – that will go way beyond protocols in place or proposed for any other travel sector.”

He added: “Clia has been working closely with the Department for Transport, Port Health, Public Health England and the Maritime & Coastguard Agency to develop the roadmap to resumption – what will happen from the time of booking to embarkation at the port, onboard, ports of call, disembarkation and customer follow-up.

“We are also engaged with public health professionals as we review the customer journey, from minimising the likelihood of onboard cases by a screening of each guest before departure, through comprehensive onboard management and repatriation plans should case occur on board.”

Harmer welcomed comments made recently by the prime minister that cruise was a “great British industry” which would be supported by the government “in any way that we can”.

And he said plans for a pan-European framework should pave the way for the sector’s restart, adding: “We expect interim guidance from [joint action scheme] EU Healthy Gateways to be published this week, supporting the resumption of cruise activity in a coordinated way.”