As the world turns towards Ukraine with prayers and support, loyal cruise ship guests reach out to the cruise lines' Head Quarters with inquiries about the safety, support and concern of Ukrainian crew members. Each company responds to the cruise guests with understanding of their concerns, addressing the same and reminding that the companies are focused on the wellbeing and support of both Ukrainian and Russian crew members.

Some good news is coming from Royal Caribbean regarding the easing of the health and safety protocols for the cruise ship crew. With the latest announcement that masks will be optional for fully vaccinated guests sailing from U.S. ports, the cruise lines has also updated protocols for crew which will go into effect for new sailings, starting Friday, February 25.

This year Starguard Elite hosted its annual Conference for Aquatics Professionals aboard the Royal Caribbean International ship Independence of the Seas. At the conference, RCI Lifeguards were awarded 5 STAR standard for safety, the only cruise line to be awarded the highest standard for aquatic safety. 

The Saks Fifth Avenue luxury department store has presented its 2022 Spring collection aboard the cruise ship Celebrity Apex. The team tasked with creating fashion shoots in a perfect setting didn’t have to search hard for inspiration aboard this magnificent ship. The bright colors and vibrant energy provided a colorful canvas and blend with this year's fashion designs.

Celebrity Cruises has updated its health and safety protocols for sailings from the United States. The cruise line which has 11 ships currently in service and 13.000 crew back onboard, has made a few changes to the guidelines, developed in partnership with the Healthy Sail Panel.

Shore leave in US homeports is once again allowed for the Royal Caribbean International crew. The cruise line announced resumption of crew shore leave program in US homeports starting February 12.

As the Covid-19 surge caused over the past several months by the Omicron variant continues to decline and many cruise ships are reporting zero Covid cases in the past few weeks, several cruise lines decided to relax some of the safety measures. This week Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line announced rolling back of its onboard mask policy for guests, allowing fully vaccinated passengers to go without masks in most of the public areas.

The US Coast Guard is conducting an investigation after a Royal Caribbean cruise ship ventured near the hazard area of the rocket trajectory on Sunday, causing the SpaceX launch from Cape Canaveral to be aborted at the last moment.

Elon Musk's SpaceX launch of the rocket Falcon 9 was aborted at the last moment from Cape Canaveral after a cruise ship ventured under the planned flight trajectory near the hazard area. SpaceX was set to fire a Falcon 9 rocket into orbit on Sunday at 6:11 p.m, but the US Coast Guard could not clear a cruise ship in time out of the rocket’s downrange hazard area.

Royal Caribbean International officially expanded its fleet on January 27th, 2022, after taking over the new Wonder of the Seas from the shipyard Chantiers de l'Atlantique. From April 2019 to January 2022, the world’s largest cruise ship was under construction at the well-known French shipyard in Saint-Nazaire The newest ship in the Oasis-class has now been handed over to Royal Caribbean International with a flag ceremony in Marseille. The company's fleet now consists of 26 cruise ships.