Good Morning and Happy 4th Of July to all onboard the cruise ships sailing out of the USA and around the world. And what a happy day is today as we have some great news coming from the Carnival Cruise Line crew. 

During the past year, the crew was not allowed to go out in ports and most of them haven’t step foot on land for the entire length of their contract. However, with the recent developments and vaccination of the shipboard employees, things are slowly starting to move in the right direction. I spoke with my fellow crew members to find out if the crew is allowed to go out in ports and if the cruise lines organize protected shore excursions for them. 

No doubt the internet is one of the most important things for crew working onboard the cruise ships. The net is the window to the outside world, connecting the crew with their loved ones back home.

Carnival Cruise Line released detailed instructions and rules for crew members who received a Letter of employment and expected to join the ships. As the company prepares to restart cruise operations Carnival wanted to help the joining crew set the right expectations by presenting more information for the joining crew on the new way of crew life on board.

Costa is crewing up their ships for the upcoming Mediterranean season with four vessels set to restart cruises this summer. Crew from all over the world already started boarding assigned ships in Italy with high hopes and determination. You can simply feel the energy among the sign-on crew happy to get back on board and once again to be part of the global Costa family. The road back to the ships was not an easy one, as many encountered challenges and hardship on the way.

Like many nations struggling with the Covid-19 pandemic, Myanmar faces additional destabilizing risks from the military coup. Cruise ship crew members from this country shared their concerns about the current situation and worries that this might affect their next sign-on date. In hopes that the cruise lines will not forget them they sent an open letter voicing their concerns.

The global MSC family is slowly assembling and returning back to the cruise ships. Crew members from the Philippines, Peru, Indonesia and India have already boarded several ships in Italy, ahead of the necessary preparations for a new restart this year. I had the pleasure to talk with several MSC crew members who just joined the ships, while they are in 14-day mandatory quarantine, and shared their experience and expectations.

Crew members are proud and hardworking people, loyal to the cruise lines and committed to their jobs at sea. They are breadwinners for their families but also visionaries who dream for a better future. During this difficult year some found different jobs, others waited for that call from the cruise lines. However, almost all of them are eager to get back at sea and continue doing what they do best.

As Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings prepares for a restart of cruise operations, the company announced important information regarding crew vaccinations and approved vaccine brands in a letter sent to its crew members via email. Following a recent crew survey, which NCLH conducted regarding the availability and intend to return to work on board, the company received a large number of inquiries related to vaccinations against Covid-19.