Step by step, synchronized with the established procedures considering the pandemic, the cruising has won many battles and got to the place where it stands right now. There’s no doubt the industry has made significant progress by the number of ships on the trackers these days, which has reached 100 ships, compared to the 65 at the beginning of August. Not all of the vessels are with guests, only 76 of them resumed cruise operations, the rest are with crew only waiting for their official return.

The naming ceremony of the MSC Virtuosa took place in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates on 27th of November. The famous actress and Hollywood icon Sophia Loren did the official naming of the ship at Port Rashid, which has made a partnership with Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism and DP World. Captain Francesco Veneiro, the Master and many local important guests were present on the celebration of the long-established maritime tradition.

The cruise ship Mein Schiff 1 responded to a mayday call and rescued two men from the French sailboat “Agecanonix” during the ship’s return from the Caribbean to the German port of Bremerhaven. Unfortunately, the third sailor died on the sailboat before the cruise ship reached to rescue the survivors.

Princess Cruises marked the return to service of the Caribbean Princess, the eighth ship in the fleet to resume cruises from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Guests sailing onboard the Caribbean Princess received warm welcome onboard by the crew, senior officers and Princess Cruises President John Padget, before the ship set sail on a 7 Night cruise to the Eastern Caribbean.

Lifeguards onboard the cruise ship Liberty of the Seas sprang to the rescue of a guest after he lost consciousness in one of the ships' pools. What started as another workday by the Solarium Pool became a day Royal Caribbean lifeguards saved a guest's life.

Royal Caribbean International started the “Crew free flow pilot program” allowing independent shore leave for employees on five cruise ships sailing to U.S. ports. The pilot program started last week with 50 crewmembers, from each ship, being granted shore leave on the Anthem of the Seas in Cape Liberty - Bayonne, Liberty of the Seas in Galveston, Allure of the Seas in Fort Lauderdale, Independence of the Seas in Port Canaveral, and Oasis of the Seas in Miami.

Singapore Tourism Board will allow international travelers from countries in the Vaccinated Travel Lane to board cruise ships currently homeported in Singapore, reports Singapore Cruise Society. This announcement refers to 21 countries that the Singapore government established the Vaccinated Travel Lanes with.

MSC Cruises announced the company will accept only fully vaccinated guests for the winter sailings across the entire fleet, with obligation of an additional COVID-19 test before the embarkation date. These measures were in use for all of the line’s winter voyages in other regions, just the Mediterranean sailings have been added to the list with the new requirements, and from that moment on, all the guests booked on both MSC Grandiosa and MSC Fantasia. 

The Cayman Islands Department of Tourism and Transport announced on Wednesday the long-awaited arrival of the first cruise ship to George Town, signaling the return of cruise ships to the Grand Cayman. Holland America Lines’ ms Nieuw Statendam will arrive on 28 December, making it the first cruise ship to visit the Cayman Islands in almost 20 months.

Barcelona City Council and Costa Cruises have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that promotes a sustainable economy of the city and puts key values such as sustainability and inclusive tourism at the forefront. Costa has made the first steps, acting immediately by establishing a new multilingual center -the Costa Customer Hub-placed in the symbolic Torre Mapfre, planning to improve the customer services, while it contributes to the local community with new employments and trainings.