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.
MSC Cruises has announced a fleet-wide COVID-19 vaccination program for all crew members. The program has already started on Friday on the cruise ship MSC Bellissima with Captain Giuseppe Maresca and all crew members on the ship completing their vaccination, reports Cruise Industry News.
Today, May 1st Costa resumes cruise operations, with its LNG-powered flagship Costa Smeralda. as the first vessel in the fleet to start cruising with guests. The start of cruise operations was celebrated this morning in the presence of the Costa Cruises General Manager Mario Zanetti, and the local authorities, including the mayor of Savona Ilaria Caprioglio.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings announced today the next phase of return to cruising which includes restart of its two brands Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises outside the U.S.
The cruise ship Viking Sun is officially the first vessel of the joint venture between China Merchants Shekou and Viking Cruises. The ship will sail under the Chinese flag with its new name “Zhao Shang Yi Dun”. China Merchants Shekou and Viking Cruises agreed on the joint venture in April 2019 and formally concluded it at the end of November 2020.
The boutique cruise line Azamara announced today the restart of cruise operations this summer with the cruise ship Azamara Quest. Starting August 28, 2021 Azamara Quest will set sail on a seven-day back-to-back Country-Intensive Voyages and one classic Mediterranean itinerary in Greece. The ship will have a total of 18 late-night stays in port, including Santorini, Rhodes and Heraklion.
Indian crew members will not be able to board Royal Caribbean ships at this stage after the company decided to temporary cancel all assignments for shipboard employees from India or people who reside in this country. According to a letter sent to the crew, this decision is based on various reasons and related to recently announced travel restrictions and complexities with crew movement to and from India.
Costa Cruises officially presented the program for summer 2021, which will start on May 1, with Costa Smeralda. The company decided to focus on destinations in the Mediterranean, close to the European guests offering cruises on Costa Deliziosa and Costa Luminosa in the Eastern Mediterranean and Costa Smeralda together with Costa Firenze in the Western Mediterranean.
On Thursday afternoon, the Coast Guard suspended its search for a missing crew member who went overboard a cruise ship off the coast of Cyprus. Larnaca-based search and rescue coordination centre said that the search operations to locate the crew member reported missing since Tuesday, has been called off without locating the missing person.
