This one caught us by surprise. American Queen Steamboat and American Cruise Lines quietly started operations again this past weekend. Crystal Cruises announced it will sail from the Bahamas. Bookings open this week.
Yesterday marked one year since I have stepped on board a cruise ship. My last sailing was aboard MSC Cruises’ MSC Meraviglia. Some of you may remember me embarking on that sailing at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. I wrote about the COVID-19 protocols put in place by MSC. But with all the craziness surrounding Covid onboard and ashore I glanced over the most important part of this trip – my experience on board.
Seabourn Is maintaining its optimism for the ultimate restart of travel while, in the meantime, continuing to take a practical approach in extending its current operational pause. As a result of the Canadian Transport Ministry’s Interim Order that closed Canadian ports and waters to passenger vessels, the brand is cancelling its 2021 Alaska/British Columbia departures.
Oceania Cruises announced that its 2022-2023 Tropics and Exotics Collection of voyages is available for preview online. Fresh on the heels of the line’s single-day sellout of its 2023 Around the World in 180 Days voyage, Oceania Cruises is opening these 127 new late-2022 and early-2023 voyages for sale on March 3, 2021.
As Israel continues to roll out its successful vaccination campaign, we are also getting positive travel news regarding The Holy Land. Royal Caribbean’s new ship, Odyssey of the Seas will sail from Israel for the first time beginning in May 2021. While this isn’t the first report of voyages resuming during the pandemic, there is a definite correlation between Israel’s vaccination efforts and its travel restrictions.
At the end of a 7-day cruise I almost always have the same thought: I wish this didn’t have to end. Some might have a similar thought and look at taking grand voyages, spanning anywhere from a month to a couple of months. But for those who want to take their love of cruising to the next level, there’s a World Cruise for that.
Crystal announced that it has updated its new health and safety protocols to now require all guests to be fully inoculated with a COVID-19 vaccine at least 14 days prior to their Crystal cruise. Guests will need to provide proof of vaccination before embarkation and must have received both doses of the vaccine if recommended by the manufacturer by that timeline.
On December 21, 2020, Steve and Janet Randall started a GoFundMe page. The goal of the page was simple in theory: to provide relief to small group of Silversea crew members who were unable to work due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The small group consisted of 200 employees who worked less than four months in 2020. The group consisted of the lowest paid Silversea employees, such as dishwashers, and other crew who work behind the scenes. As of January 4th, an initial goal of $66,000 was reached which covered a US$250 donation to each of the 200 crew members mentioned
American Queen Steamboat Company (AQSC) and Victory Cruise Lines (VCL) have announced a COVID-19 vaccination mandate for all guests that will go into effect for all sailings beginning July 1, 2021. Additionally, the vaccination requirement will apply to shipboard crew members and non-shipboard employees across all seven vessels in the AQSC and VCL fleets.
Despite setbacks in Canada and New Zealand, we expect cruising to resume in the spring – with caveats, however. For their part, cruise companies are ready to return as soon as they get the green light. What will be first to return and where?
What are the hottest small-ship cruise itineraries for 2022/2023? Silversea’s Barbara Muckermann and Conrad Combrink joined us to discuss current booking trends for the luxury cruise company’s classic and expedition fleet.
Based on guest interest and predictions from Silversea’s destination experts, the cruise line has identified popular travel trends for 2022-2023, highlighting those destinations that are attracting travelers with the recommencement of sailing. Popular sailing regions include the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, Alaska, Antarctica, the Galápagos Islands, and Australia’s Kimberley region.
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