by Nancy Soulé

Every day seafarers seeking jobs online fall victim to fraudulent emails, texts and ads from scammers pretending to be legitimate manning agencies. This trend has increased during the pandemic when thousands of seafarers were left without jobs. 

Last year while many people were experiencing their own repercussions of a worldwide pandemic, Krista Thomas and Thais Marques de Souza were focused on an issue that the cruise industry was facing. Crew were stranded at sea as the world shut down its borders and although they were mainly safe onboard, their mental health became a key focus for the social media advocates. Today, Thomas and Marques de Souza are the founders of the not-for-profit organization, Sea Me Crew Wellness Foundation.

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. 

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.

Several crew members from India have contacted Crew Center raising concerns about their current status and rejoin dates on Celebrity Cruises. The crew said since the decision by Royal Caribbean to temporarily suspending all crew assignments in April, amid a surge of Covid-19 cases in India, they haven’t received a Letter of Employment or sign-on date by Celebrity Cruises.

It's been an emotional day for the people of Torbay and the skeleton crew on board Holland America Line ms Oosterdam as the ship prepares to depart the bay. For the past year during the global shutdown of the cruise industry ms Oosterdam was anchored off the coast of Torbay, and the crew received a warm welcome.

The Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK Cruises) announced today that three upcoming voyages on the cruise ship Asuka II are suspended after one crew member tested positive for Covid-19. According to the company statement, the crew member underwent three polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for coronavirus before boarding, and all results were negative. The crew member is undergoing medical treatment at an onshore hospital and doesn’t have serious symptoms or fever.

The new Indian start-up company, Cordelia Cruises plans to set sail in May 2021, with short coastal voyages on board the recently purchased Royal Caribbean cruise ship Empress of the Seas. 

Dream Cruises and Singapore Marina Bay Cruise Centre have welcomed 100,000th cruise passenger since the restart of the global shutdown of the cruise industry, safely piloting cruises in the city. The first cruise ship to restart voyages out of Singapore was World Dream setting sail for the first time on 6 November 2020.