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. 

Royal Caribbean Group announced today the selling of its luxury cruise line Azamara for $201 million to the private-equity firm Sycamore Partners. The three-ship Azamara brand established 13 years ago has created a tremendous group of loyal followers of cruisers over the years. Azamara raise the bar in the cruise industry under the guidance of Larry Pimentel, President & CEO of Azamara with longer stays and more overnights in ports worldwide.

The global cruise company Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. which operates the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, announced today an extension of its previous suspension of global cruises. Suspension of global voyages on all three brands now includes all sailings with embarkation dates through April 30, 2021

Disney Cruise Line announced the extension of their cruise suspension for sailings, further canceling all departures through March 2021.

The cruise company said sailings are canceled aboard the Disney Wonder through March 28, Disney Fantasy through March 27, the Disney Magic and the Disney Dream through March 29.

Today is a sad day. Today marks the 9th anniversary of the Costa Concordia tragedy, which killed 32 people and injured 157. On January 13 2012 the cruise ship Costa Concordia with 4,232 passengers and crew on board ran aground off Isola Del Giglio kicking off the largest maritime salvage rescue operation. This year a ceremony in honor of the victims, with the same emotions as then, will take place on Giglio Island following the strict Covid-19 protocols.

Royal Caribbean International announced further cancelations of global sailings through April 30th, 2021. In a press release, Royal Caribbean said that exceptions will be the China sailings on Spectrum of the Seas, which at this moment, are suspended for February 16-28, 2021. Singapore cruises on Quantum of the Seas, with only residents of Singapore, will not be affected and continue as scheduled.