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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 Hong Kong authorities announced that Dream Cruises Genting Dream will sail with increased capacity. Starting from the first of December, the vessel will welcome 25% more of the current guest capacity. The “Super Seacation” cruises can carry up to 2500 passengers, according to the latest health ruling allowance.
Norwegian Cruise Line announced cancelations of five South Africa sailings on the Norwegian Jade with embarkation dates from December 3, 2021, through January 26, 2022. An NCL spokesperson said that the reason for the latest cancelation is the safety of the guests, crew and communities they visit, as the company’s highest priority.
