The Italian company Somec specializing in engineering and construction of complex turnkey projects in naval and civil engineering has announced a new order for the complete restyling of the boutique cruise ship Azamara Onward for a total value of over 14 million euros. Somec, through the subsidiary TSI, will be in charge of the extensive renovation converting of the cruise ship and making it more consistent with the high-quality standards of the brand.

The cruise ship Norwegian Pearl has become the latest vessel to be hit by a COVID-19 outbreak amid the current global surge in cases by the highly contagious Omicron variant. Norwegian Pearl is heading back to Miami after the captain’s announcement that the current cruise is canceled due to “several COVID-19 positive cases” detected among the crew. The ship is expected to arrive in Miami on January 6, to disembark all passengers onboard.

The year is coming to an infamous end, with the even more contagious Omicron variant that recently contributed to increased numbers worldwide. Not a good sign for the cruise industry, that had been hit hard for these past two years and now another year coming with so many positive cases and chaos to start with.

The cruise industry is once again facing challenges caused by the global pandemic, with the main focus on cruise ships sailing in the USA. The CDC's latest report states that positive cases were found on 89 cruise ships sailing out from the US ports. However cruise ships deployed in other regions around the world are also reporting positive cases onboard.

The dream cruise ended unexpectedly with bitterness for the travelers on board the luxury cruise ship MS Europa 2, after a corona outbreak. Instead of spending New Year’s Eve in Mauritius, they will hopefully reach home and celebrate it there.

All three MSC cruise ships sailing in Brazil for the 2021/22 season will be anchored off Copacabana beach on New Year's Eve for Rio de Janeiro's spectacular fireworks. MSC Preziosa, MSC Seaside and MSC Splendida will be anchored off the coast of Rio to experience the amazing New Year’s Reveillon celebration and world famous fireworks.

Mexican authorities allowed Holland Aerica Line ship Ms Zuiderdam to dock on Tuesday and disembark passengers, despite the COVID-19 outbreak onboard, after they pledged to keep the country open only to cruise ships that follow the sanitary precautions. 

On the 27th of December, Royal Caribbean cruise ship Symphony of the Seas was not allowed to dock in San Juan due to the number of positive cases on board. The local government imposed new restrictions on the arrival of cruise ships, as a result of the rebound by the COVID-19.

Cunard has announced changes of the Queen Mary 2 current itinerary cutting short the Caribbean cruise. New York arrival on January 3 has been canceled and the ocean liner will remain in Barbados until January 2, from where the vessel will sail directly to Southampton. This means that the 7-Nights Eastbound Transatlantic Crossing departing from New York on January 3, has been canceled.

Two cruise ships have reported COVID-19 cases during their latest voyages in Brazil. Costa Cruises ship Costa Diadema set to dock at the Port of Santos on Monday has detected 13 cases of Covid-19 (10 passengers and 3 crew members), reports the Brazilian news portal G1.