News & numbers “[There] is very demonstrable evidence that a holiday at sea, with all that it has to
offer, is a popular and much longed-for option this summer.” Paul Ludlow, P&O Cruises
Norwegian prepares for return to cruising with voyages in Europe and the Caribbean
Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) announced its return to the waves with new itineraries sailing Europe and the Caribbean this summer. The cruise line will restart its operations via the Norwegian Jade on 25 July 2021, with a series of seven-day cruises to the Greek islands from Athens. Trips from Montego Bay, Jamaica and Punta Canal, Dominican Republic are also set to launch in August. “Over a year after we initially suspended sailing, the time has finally come when we can provide our loyal guests with the news of our great cruise comeback,” said NCL’s president and CEO Harry Sommer.
Sommer also cited the growing availability of Covid-19 vaccines as “a game changer” and stated that the group’s science-backed health and safety
protocols “will help us provide our guests with what we believe will be the healthiest and safest vacation at sea”. The news coincides with a statement from Frank Del Rio, CEO for Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, who questioned the continued implementation of the conditional sailing order issued by the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on 30 October 2020, which proscribes a raft of conditions cruise lines need to meet before operating from US ports.
“I’d like to hear an argument why we
couldn’t sail,” Del Rio said in a recent interview. “If everyone on board is vaccinated and following the protocols, there is absolutely no need for the conditional sailing order to exist as it is known today.”
P&O reports “overwhelming” number of cruise bookings
UK cruise line P&O has said that it has received an “overwhelming” number of bookings for its summer itineraries since they went on sale on 22 March. The three, four and seven-night cruises on its flagship Britannia line and new ship Iona went on sale in March and are scheduled to depart from Southampton between June and September. P&O Cruises president Paul Ludlow said: “This is very demonstrable evidence that a holiday at sea, with all that it has to offer, is a popular and much longed- for option this summer. We always hoped that these domestic cruises would be popular, given the uncertainty around holidays abroad, but we have never before seen such significant and immediate demand and it certainly
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shows the effects of lockdown and everyone’s need for a holiday.” Ludlow reported that thousands of guests have already made bookings with P&O, citing Iona’s first voyage to the Scottish islands as a particular favourite. Britannia plans to offer three and
four-night breaks and one six-night holiday running from 27 June until 19 September, while Iona will offer seven- night itineraries between 7 August and 18 September.
Given the advanced progress of the
UK’s vaccination programme and strong expressed preference on the part of its guests for this limited series of UK coastal cruises, these voyages on the Britannia and Iona will be for UK resident Covid-19 vaccinated guests only.
Venice bans cruise
ships from city centre The Italian government has approved a ban on large cruise and container ships entering the centre of Venice. Instead of sailing through St Mark’s Square on the Giudecca Canal, ships will dock at the city’s industrial port on the mainland, in nearby Marghera. A statement released by the government said that it wanted to “reconcile the needs to protect the artistic, cultural and environmental heritage of Venice and its lagoon with those related to cruise activity and goods traffic”. Calls to ban larger vessels from the city have grown since 2019 after the 13-deck MSC Opera crashed into the bankside near the port of Venice, damaging a river cruiser and injuring five people. Campaigns to limit the use of cruise ships in the historic port city have cited incidents such as these as indicative of the health and safety risks posed by larger vessels. Some campaigners have also argued that ships operating in the lagoon pose an environmental threat by polluting its waters. “Anyone who has visited Venice in recent years has been shocked to see these ships, hundreds of metres long and as tall as apartment buildings, passing through such fragile places,” said Dario Franceschini, Italy’s minister of culture, following the vote.
Pressure building on authorities to
resume US cruises Calls for cruise travel to return this summer are growing in the US with trade body Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and other industry authorities arguing that the current set of guidelines prescribed by the CDC are outdated and unnecessary due to the rollout of vaccines. The CDC banned cruises in US waters in March 2020, only for the no-sail order to be lifted in October and replaced with the conditional sailing order (CSO). The CDC added instructions for lab testing in November and expanded the list of tests cruise companies can use in December. “The outdated CSO, which was issued almost five months ago, does not reflect the industry’s proven advancements and success operating in other parts of the world, nor the advent of vaccines, and unfairly treats cruises differently,” said Kelly Craighead, CLIA’s president and CEO.
World Cruise Industry Review /
www.worldcruiseindustryreview.com
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