A 36-year-old crew member has died on the cruise ship Norwegian Escape this morning. The crew member had reportedly completed his 10-day COVID isolation, and one day after his release he passed away. According to our source, the deceased crew member is an Indian national who was working in the bar department. The cause of the death is unknown.

After the bankruptcy of the parent company, Genting Hong Kong, Crystal Cruises announced it will temporarily cease cruise operations. The luxury cruise line is suspending all cruises aboard its three ocean going ships currently in service through April 29, 2022, and river cruises are suspended through the end of May 2022. After completing current voyages the crew will be sent back home and the vessels will be placed in lay-up.

The spread of COVID-19 aboard Mein Schiff 2 has forced TUI Cruises to cancel the upcoming Caribbean voyage. The last-minute cancellation comes as the number of positive cases among the crew has increased exponentially, especially within the service staff, which makes it impossible to maintain daily operations for guests. All passengers will disembark the ship today and tomorrow in Bridgetown, Barbados and will be sent home on charter flights back to Germany.

Tahiti welcomed the arrival of Viking Orion, the first international cruise ship in nearly two years, to visit French Polynesia. As the Viking Orion, docked in Papeete the ship was welcomed by orchestra and dancers, on the dock while busses and tourist guides were all ready to show the beauty of the island to the guests. With its 228 meters and 450 passengers on board out of the maximum capacity of 930, the vessel is the first transpacific cruise ship to stop in Tahiti since March 2020.

One more cruise ship was forced to cancel its Caribbean voyage due to COVID-related circumstances. The German-based cruise line TUI Cruises has informed guests booked on the 14-day Caribbean voyage of Mein Schiff 2, which was scheduled to depart from Bridgetown - Barbados on January 17th, that the crusie was canceled. The reason for this short notice cancellation is that several COVID cases were identified onboard the cruise ship affecting important service operations. 

Costa Cruises has signed an exclusive partnership and has become the Official Cruise Line of the Ryder Cup 2023, the most important team golf turnement, which will take place for the first time at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome, Italy from 29 September to 1 October 2023.

The current voyage on Norwegian Gem was cancelled mid-cruise and the ship will return to New York ahead of the schedule due to COVID-related circumstances. Guests sailing on the current 10-day voyage received a letter that their Norwegian Gem voyage was cancelled.

Norwegian Cruise Line is pulling out the cast members from the Norwegian Pearl, and it seems that Creative Studios shows onboard will be temporarily pausing performances for the next three months. In a letter sent out by the Senior Director of Entertainment Production for NCLH Robert Dean Hertenstein, cast/ band members were informed about the canceled shows which are expected to return on April 15. The cast members are expected to disembark the Norwegian Pearl today in PortMiami.

Brazilan cruise season could be canceled for the five cruise ships currently anchored off the coast of Santos, after the Health Regulatory Agency – Anvisa, recommended suspension of the 2021/2022 season due to the rapid rise of COVID cases aboard the ships and in the country. Several media outlets in Brazil report that Anvisa sent a document to the Ministry of Health which will have the final word about the faith of the season.