This morning the cruise ship Costa Luminosa arrived at the port of Trieste, Italy for the final preparations ahead of the restart of cruise operations this weekend.

Norwegian Cruise Line is crewing up the Norwegian Jade for the upcoming summer season. Crew from all around the world are joining the cruise ship in the port of Bar, Montenegro where the vessel is docked for the past month.

Starting May 21st Royal Caribbean will once again hire crew from India. This great news comes two weeks after the company announced a temporary suspension of all assignments for shipboard employees from India or people who reside in this country. 

Yesterday morning the crew of the cruise ship MSC Meraviglia received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in Port Miami. Captain Francesco Di Palma and around 90 crew members currently on board, were vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. The general atmosphere on board is great as all crew were eager to get the vaccine. The vaccination cards are with the ship doctor who will update the crew when they will receive the second dose. 

Dream Cruises announced the start of vaccination for all crew members on board the cruise ship Explorer Dream as well as the staff in the company’s office in Taiwan.  Starting from May 7, crew members and the land-based employees will receive their first dose of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine at the Keelung Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. It is expected that the first dose of the vaccine will be completed in three batches.

Odyssey of the Seas has departed the port of Limassol, Cyprus today and is heading back to its homeport Haifa, Israel where the crew will receive the first dose of the vaccine against Covid-19. According to our source, the captain made an announcement on the ship’s PA system that the port agent confirmed the crew vaccination for tomorrow May, 7. Odyssey of the Seas crew will receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, our source said.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings is temporarily suspending all assignments for its crew from India, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and South Africa amid a surge of Covid-19 cases in these countries. According to a letter by NCLH Vice President, Shipboard HR Operations the company has made a hard decision to suspend incoming crew movement based on reviewing crewing pools by country considering three factors: Prevalence, Number of mutations, and general availability of vaccines to seafarers in the listed

Following the popularity of the Carnival’s latest stunning red, white and blue livery adorning Mardi Gras hull, another ship in the fleet will soon receive the fresh hull design that will become a trademark feature for all Carnival Cruise Line ships as the company prepares to celebrate its 50th birthday in 2022.

Viking ocean-going cruise ships are in the final stage of preparations for the upcoming cruise season, starting with the Viking Venus which will set sail on her first voyage on May 22, with round-trip cruises in the U.K. from the port of Portsmouth. The crew onboard Viking Venus have already received the first dose of the vaccine against Covid-19 ahead of the ship’s maiden voyage.

Following the recent announcement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that cruises could resume from the US ports by mid-July, cruise lines are moving forward with the restart plans and already started with the necessary preparations for the upcoming season. Yesterday three major cruise lines announced the start of crew vaccination including MSC Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean International.