About 600 Indian crew members stranded on the cruise ship Marella Explorer staged a peaceful protest today demanding their government to allow them to return home. The crew stuck on the cruise ships since the Covid-19 pandemic started, have not received repatriation approval by the Indian government to this day. Therefore they decided to stage a protest on the open deck to rise awareness and ask for their rights.
A group of 227 Indian crew members from Carnival Victory disembarked the ship yesterday at the port of Seville and took on a charter flight to Mumbai. The disembarkation and transfer of the Indian crew to the Seville airport was carried out on nine buses in order to avoid any setbacks and ensure the operation is conducted following all safety protocols by the health authorities. The flight took off on Friday at 8 pm, and the crew landed in Mumbai on Saturday morning at around 9:30 am.
The latest update regarding Costa Cruises repatriation plan for the Indonesian and Filipino crew members sailing on the Costa Mediterranea is that the ship will arrive in Indonesia on June 14, and The Philipines on June 22. A fellow crew member sailing on the Mediterranea sent us the following message:
After crossing the Atlantic Ocean with 1450 crew members on board, the cruise ship MSC Divina finally arrived at the port of Civitavecchia, Italy on June 4. Crew Center received the following appreciation letter from a crew member expressing his respect and gratitude towards all on board, making this journey a great experience.
Today the first repatriation flight for the Indian crew members from Southampton was successfully completed. About 280 crew members disembarked P&O Ventura and took the flight to Mumbai. P&O Cruises and Cunard will arrange 8 additional charter flights in order to bring back all the Indian crew, not just back to their country, but at their homes as well.
After a Month's Quarantine Costa Atlantica has finally left Japan and is heading to the Philippines.
As the cruise industry is suffering its biggest crises in history the cruise companies started to adjust its operational costs any way they can. As a result, a number of employees have already been laid off across all cruise lines. The latest cuts comes from Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, with 300 employees on the private island destination Harvest Caye being left without jobs.
More than 200 Mauritian crew members are stranded onboard the cruise ship Norwegian Epic, waiting for a charter flight in order to be repatriated home. As the country has not lifted the ban of its citizens arriving by plane they are desperate after spending more than two months on ship. In order to raise awareness to the government, last night they decided to make a video, beginning the prime minister to allow them to return home.
Disney Cruise Line crew members, currently stranded on Disney Magic in the port of Dover, UK are waiting for repatriation. Disney transferred crew members from the Disney Fantasy and the Disney Dream to Disnay Magic which arrived in Dover, UK, May 19, 2020. Crew members were initially informed by Disney of its intention to fly them back home from the UK via commercial flights, as opposed to private charter flights, one crew member said.
A Filipino crew member died on the Virgin Voyages’ cruise ship Scarlet Lady this week. Cruise Law News who reported first about this tragic news said that several of his colleagues stated the crew member may have intentionally ended his life. The crew member who was a hotel utility employee was reportedly found in his cabin.
