Tag Archives: Royal Caribbean

Here Are the Mainstream Cruise Ships Set to Sail in Alaska

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With the first big vessels now sailing in Alaska, the mainstream cruise industry is now back in the market after two years.

Through August, seven cruise lines and eight modern vessels are set to resume service at the Last Frontier, offering a total 83 voyages.

Here are the ships sailing in Alaska:

Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean International
Ship: Serenade of the Seas
Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 2,100
Built: 2003
Homeport: Seattle (United States)
Itinerary: Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan and Icy Strait Point; scenic cruising in Endicott Arm fjord and Dawes Glacier
Length: 7 nights 
First Cruise: In service since July 19, 2021

Cruise Line: Celebrity Cruises
Ship: Celebrity Millennium
Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 2,038
Built: 2000
Homeport: Seattle (United States)
Itinerary: Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway; scenic cruising in Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier
Length: 7 nights
First Cruise: July 23, 2021

Cruise Line: Holland America Line
Ship: Nieuw Amsterdam
Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 2,100
Built: 2010
Homeport: Seattle (United States)
Itinerary: Juneau, Icy Strait Point, Sitka and Ketchikan; scenic cruising in Glacier Bay and Stephens Passage
Length: 7 nights
First Cruise: July 24, 2021

Cruise Line: Princess Cruises
Ship: Majestic Princess
Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 3,600
Built: 2017
Homeport: Seattle (United States)
Itinerary: Glacier Bay National Park, Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan
Length: 7 nights
First Cruise: July 25, 2021

Cruise Line: Carnival Cruise Line
Ship: Carnival Miracle
Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 2,100
Built: 2004
Homeport: Seattle (United States)
Itinerary: Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan; scenic cruising in Tracy Arm Fjord
Length: 7 nights
First Cruise: July 27, 2021

Cruise Line: Silversea Cruises
Ship: Silver Muse
Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 596
Built: 2017
Homeport: Seattle (United States)
Itinerary: Ketchikan, Juneau, Wrangell, Skagway, Sitka and more; scenic cruising in Sawyer Glacier and Mendenhall Glacier
Length: 10 and 11 nights
First Cruise: July 29, 2021

Cruise Line: Norwegian Cruise Line
Ship: Norwegian Encore
Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 4,200
Built: 2019
Homeport: Seattle (United States)
Itinerary: Icy Strait Point, Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan; scenic cruising in Endicott Arm
Length: 7 nights
First Cruise: August 7, 2021

Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean International
Ship: Ovation of the Seas
Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 4,100
Built: 2016
Homeport: Seattle (United States)
Itinerary: Glacier Bay National Park, the Inside Passage, Juneau and Skagway
Length: 7 nights
First Cruise: August 13, 2021

In addition, a number of small operators with U.S.-flagged ships are operating in Alaska, including Lindblad Expeditions, American Cruise Lines, UnCruise and Alaskan Dream Cruises.

Disney and MSC Ships Leave on CDC Test Cruises

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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. 

CANADA TO CONDITIONALLY ALLOW RETURN OF CRUISE SHIPS IN NOVEMBER

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Canada will allow cruise ships back into its waters starting in November as the COVID-19 pandemic fades, but they must fully comply with public health requirements that have yet to be finalized, Ottawa said on Thursday.

Earlier this year, Canada extended a ban on cruise ships until February 2022, citing the need to protect public health. Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said in a statement that the restriction would now be lifted on Nov. 1, 2021.

“We will welcome cruise ships – an important part of our tourism sector – back in Canadian waters for the 2022 season,” he said.

The news should please major operators who complained that Canada’s ban was hurting their business on the West Coast. U.S. law obliges foreign-flagged cruise ships sailing from Washington state to Alaska to make a Canadian stop.

Canada, however, has not yet lifted a ban on non-essential travel with the United States. A Canadian government official said Alghabra’s announcement would allow both countries to work on ways of safely managing the cruise sector.

“We’re working hard through our embassy, through our officials, myself, through our department, and ensuring that we maintain business as usual,” Alghabra told reporters.

He gave no indication of when the border between the United States and Canada would reopen to tourists.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters in Montreal on Thursday that Ottawa would make an announcement on the next steps to reopening the border in the coming weeks.

A day earlier he had said it “would be catastrophic and heartbreaking to have to go back into lockdown, as some countries are now looking at with surges in the Delta variant, because we were overly eager to reopen by a few weeks.”