With the release of the vaccine for COVID for essential workers such as medical professionals and positive thus far response from people who have taken both doses of the vaccine, the cruise industry is starting to review options related to how they can implement policies related to vaccination in order to be able to return the crew to work and the guests to enjoy cruises. However, the views of each cruise line appear to be different, at least for now.

Royal Caribbean Group sold two more cruise ships sailing under the Silversea Cruises and Celebrity Cruises brands reports Tradewinds.com. These are small expedition cruise ships sailing exclusively to the Galapagos Islands that were put on sale last January. According to the source, the two ships, Silver Galapagos (built in 1990) and Celebrity Xperience (built in 1998) have found a buyer.

Norwegian Cruise Line will return all crew members that joined recently and isn't part of the skeleton crew back home. The difficult decision was announced in a meeting yesterday and the crew on board received a letter with all the details regarding the latest repatriation process. 

Azamara has announced today that they have bought another R-class ship and the cruise line now has a fleet of 4 vessels. Azamara’s new owner Sycamore Partners has confirmed the cruise line has bought the cruise ship Pacific Princess, just days after Princess Cruises confirmed the sale. The latest addition to the fleet will undergo full renovation, and the ship, which will be renamed, will sail its inaugural season in Europe in 2022.

Carnival Cruise Line announced plans for additional ship deployments as the company continues to refine its phased in approach to a return to guest cruise operations this year, resulting in some ship-specific cruise cancellations and movements.  

Carnival latest plans include:

The cruise ship Viking Sun, operated by Viking Cruises departed the Danish port of Skagen on January 23, and is currently sailing to the port of Valetta, Malta. Viking Sun finial destination is China where the company set up a joint venture with China Merchants Shekou. Viking Sun is chosen as the first ship in the new joint venture to offer exclusive itineraries focused on the Chinese source market starting from 2021, and the vessel will sail under the flag of China.

MSC Cruises’ flagship MSC Grandiosa resumed her weekly cruise operations with passengers on Sunday 24 January. MSC Grandiosa departed last night from the port of Genoa in Italy to resume its regular 7-night cruises in the Mediterranean after a short pause of operations during the holiday period.

Crystal Cruises announced an extension of suspension in operations until the end of May 2021. Crystal’s latest polar-class expedition ship, Crystal Endeavor, is now rescheduled to make its debut in August 2021. According to the company, the latest cancelations will affect 14 itineraries for Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony in Europe.

An accident happen this morning in the port of Savona during a docking maneuver of the cruise ship Costa Smeralda. The vessel hit and damaged a cargo crane, and one of the ship's lifeboats on the port side detached and crashed into the sea. The port authorities are investigating the accident and damages to the pier and the vessel.

The British cruise line Saga Cruises, division of the Saga Group, specialized to meet the needs of passengers aged 50 and up, is the first cruise line to introduce the requirement for all guests to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 before sailing.