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.
The Italian News Website Corriere della Sera reports that the crew onboard Pacific World (former Sun Princess) are facing dire conditions.
A crew member from the cruise ship MS Zaandam, anchored off the coast of Torbay, was medically evacuated on January 8, to shore for medical treatment. Torbay Coastguard Rescue Team was tasked by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to assist with the medical evacuation of the crew member who had to be treated in a hospital. Torbay coastguard reports that the crew member was transferred onshore by tender boat which arrived at the harbor at around 7:30 pm. When the tender boat arrived
Several people have informed Crew Center that the cruise ship Norwegian Escape struck a pier in the port of Civitavecchia. According to our source, the allision happened on December 17, when the Norwegian Escape was maneuvering toward a dock when it made contact with the pier. The reasons for the accident and how the vessel deviated from its course are still unknown. Fortunately, there are no injured crew members and the damage to the ship’s hull was relatively minor.
MSC Cruises announced that MSC Grandiosa will resume the weekly voyages in the Western Mediterranean starting January 24, 2021. The company plans to return at sea with a second ship, the MSC Magnifica which will resume her scheduled 11-nights cruises in Italy, Greece, and Malta from February 14.
