MSC Grandiosa Departs Genoa For First Cruise With New Protocols

Posted on 17 August, 2020 by Spacejunkie2

The MSC Grandiosa departed Genoa on Sunday night for the start of MSC’s first cruise since it paused operations in March due to COVID-19.

Sailing with trimmed occupancy and 10 per cent of staterooms set aside for isolation, MSC’s flagship will visit Civitavecchia/Rome, Naples, Palermo and Valletta.

Gianni Onorato, MSC Cruises’ CEO commented: “It is a real pleasure for me to be here and sail onboard the first of our ships to return to service and to be able to welcome back our guests. Our main goal during these last months has been to put in place the right measures that will protect the health and safety of our guests, crew and the communities we visit. But at the same time, we have worked to ensure that we are able to provide our guests with a cruise holiday that they can enjoy and still experience all of the elements that they know and love from entertainment and activities onboard through to protected ashore visits.”

MSC becomes the third big-ship line to restart operations, following TUI Cruises, which restarted from Germany in July, and Dream Cruises, sailing in Taiwan.

In addition, MSC clarified it will only restart operations in the U.S. when the time is right, following approval by the CDC and other relevant authorities across the region in observance of their requirements and guidelines

A second MSC ship, the MSC Magnifica, will debut into operation later this month sailing cruises to the Eastern Mediterranean.

Among health, protocols are universal health screening of guests prior to embarkation that comprises three comprehensive steps: a temperature check, a health questionnaire and a COVID-19 swab test. Depending on the screening results and according to the guest’s medical or travel history, a secondary health screening or testing will take place. Any guest who tests positive displays symptoms or a temperature will be denied boarding.

The ship will also see elevated sanitation and cleaning measures supported by the introduction of new cleaning methods, the use of hospital-grade disinfectant products and the sanitation of the air on board with UV-C light technology that kills 99.97% of microbes.

Ongoing health monitoring will also be conducted throughout the cruise. Guests and crew will have their temperature checked daily either when they return from ashore or at dedicated stations around the ship to monitor the health status of every guest and crew member.

Guests and crew will only go ashore as part of an organized MSC excursion.

TUI to Add Mein Schiff 6 Back in September, Cruising From Crete

Posted on 16 August, 2020 by Spacejunkie2

The TUI Cruises restart is going so well the company is expanding to three ships as the Mein Schiff 6 will sail round-trip cruises from Crete in September with port calls.

The first week-long sailing will depart on Sept. 13.

Guests will be allowed to take company-organized shore excursions in Athens, Crete and Corfu.

TUI said it will dramatically expand shore excursion capacity so all guests can partake. The ship is expected to operate at 60 per cent occupancy.

The Mein Schiff 1 and Mein Schiff 2 will continue with their “Blue Voyages” (no port calls) in the North and Baltic Sea, offering five- and seven-day cruises in September, according to the company.

For the time being all departures of the Mein Schiff fleet (departures from September) will require a negative COVID-19 test result (PCR test). The costs for this are already included in the travel price.

Before the new crew comes on board, they are tested for COVID-19 shoreside. Only crewmembers who have tested negative can come on board and then they also go into 14-day individual isolation on a balcony cabin before they begin working.

Royal Caribbean Drops ‘Cruise Line’ from Group Name

Posted on 1 August, 2020 by Spacejunkie2

Independence of the Seas in Southampton photo credit Dave Jones.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, the world’s second-largest cruise line operator, will now go by the new moniker: Royal Caribbean Group.

With the new name comes a new identity, as well. The company’s logo has also been updated with the iconic crown and anchor emblem being sharpened and made more symmetrical. The crown will officially now reside inside a circle at all times.

“The name is simpler, fresher and more modern. It’s also more descriptive—Royal Caribbean Group sounds like a parent company name, reflective of our growth and evolution since we last updated our identity more than 20 years ago,” said Royal Caribbean Group chairman and CEO Richard Fain.

Royal Caribbean Group’s flagship cruise line brands still include Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Silversea, Azamara, TUI Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. Together, the brands operate 63 ships with an additional 16 on order as of July 10, 2020.

The new branding comes as the Royal Caribbean Group (NYSE: RCL) has suspended all sailings through September due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The voluntary suspension is in-line with the U.S. CDC required suspension for cruise lines operating out of the United States.