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Carnival Corporation's North American brands extend pause in cruise operations

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 03 November 2020 03 November 2020

Carnival Corporation & plc, the world's largest cruise company, today announced that its North American cruise line brands will extend their existing pause in operations, suspending cruise voyages between Dec. 1 and Dec. 31, 2020.

"Our highest responsibility and top priorities are always compliance, protecting the environment, and the health, safety and well-being of our guests, the people in communities we touch, our crew and shoreside employees," said Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corporation. "We continue to work with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and global government and public health authorities, as well as top medical and science experts around the globe, on a comprehensive plan for the eventual restart of cruising in North America. With their collective guidance, we have developed and continue to update our enhanced health and safety protocols that are in the best interest of our guests, crew and overall public health. Whenever we restart our cruise operations in the U.S., we certainly look forward to welcoming our guests on board."

Individually, each brand has been communicating and will continue to communicate with guests to provide updates and direction regarding affected cruise vacations.

The date for restarting cruise operations will be communicated by each respective brand and available on their websites.

The company and its brands are also notifying crew members, travel professionals and other stakeholders.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings extends suspension of voyages

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 02 November 2020 02 November 2020

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., a leading global cruise company which operates the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands, today announced a next extension of its previously announced suspension of global cruise voyages to include all voyages embarking between December 1 through December 31, 2020 for its three cruise brands. The Company will continue to work in tandem with global government and public health authorities and its Healthy Sail Panel expert advisors to take all necessary measures to protect its guests, crew and the communities visited.

CDC issues framework for resuming safe and responsible cruise operations

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 30 October 2020 30 October 2020

Today the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Framework for Conditional Sailing Order that introduces a phased approach for the safe and responsible resumption of passenger cruises. The Order establishes a framework of actionable items for the cruise line industry to follow so they can resume passenger operations with an emphasis on preventing the further spread of Covid-19 on cruise ships and from cruise ships into communities, and to protect public health and safety. The Order applies to passenger operations on cruise ships with the capacity to carry at least 250 passengers in waters subject to U.S. jurisdiction.

Recent outbreaks on cruise ships overseas provide current evidence that cruise ship travel facilitates and amplifies transmission of Covid-19 – even when ships sail at reduced passenger capacities – and would likely spread the disease into U.S. communities if passenger operations were to resume in the United States without public health oversight.

“This framework provides a pathway to resume safe and responsible sailing. It will mitigate the risk of Covid-19 outbreaks on ships and prevent passengers and crew from seeding outbreaks at ports and in the communities where they live,” says CDC Director Robert R. Redfield, M.D. “CDC and the cruise industry have a shared goal to protect crew, passengers, and communities and will continue to work together to ensure that all necessary public health procedures are in place before cruise ships begin sailing with passengers.”

Cruising safely and responsibly during a global pandemic is very challenging. The Framework for Conditional Sailing Order requires a phased approach to resuming passenger operations. A phased approach is necessary because of the continued spread of the Covid-19 pandemic worldwide, risk of resurgence in countries that have suppressed transmission, ongoing concerns related to restarting of cruising internationally, and need for additional time for the cruise industry to test the effectiveness of measures to control potential Covid-19 transmission on board cruise ships with passengers without burdening public health.

“CDC and the cruise industry have the same goal: A return to passenger sailing, but only when its safe. Under the CDC’s Framework for Conditional Sailing Order, cruise lines have been given a pathway to systematically demonstrate their ability to sail while keeping passengers, crew and their destination ports safe and healthy,” said former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt, co-chair of the Healthy Sail Panel.

During the initial phases, cruise ship operators must demonstrate adherence to testing, quarantine and isolation, and social distancing requirements to protect crew members while they build the laboratory capacity needed to test crew and future passengers. Subsequent phases will include simulated (mock) voyages with volunteers playing the role of passengers to test cruise ship operators’ ability to mitigate Covid-19 risk, certification for ships that meet specific requirements, and return to passenger voyages in a manner that mitigates Covid-19 risk among passengers, crew members, and communities.

“Our member lines are 100 percent committed to helping to protect the health of our guests, our crew and the communities we serve, and are prepared to implement multiple layers of protocols informed by the latest scientific and medical knowledge,” said Kelly Craighead, president and CEO of Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). “We look forward to reviewing the new Order and are optimistic that it is an important step toward returning our ships to service from U.S. ports.”

CDC will help ships prepare and protect crew members during the initial phases by:

– establishing a laboratory team dedicated to cruise ships to provide information and oversight for COVID-19 testing,
– updating its color-coding system to indicate ship status,
– updating its technical instructions, as needed, and
– updating the “Enhanced Data Collection (EDC) During COVID-19 Pandemic Form” to prepare for surveillance for COVID-19 among passengers.

CDC will continue to update its guidance and recommendations to specify basic safety standards and public health interventions based on the best scientific evidence available. For more information about COVID-19 and cruise ships, please visit www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/cruise-ship/what-cdc-is-doing.html and www.cdc.gov/quarantine/cruise.

AIDA Cruises suspends operations for one month

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 29 October 2020 29 October 2020

AIDA Cruises, the Germany focused contemporary market unit of Carnival Corporation & plc, has decided to suspend operations from 31 October to 30 November.

This follows the decision of the German Federal government to introduce restrictions on travel, together with other measures, to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

The company said in a statement that it supports the government’s decision and added that the cruises operated so far by AIDAblu this autumn show that safe travel is possible even in these extraordinary times.

Swan Hellenic appoints Hans Heger VP of Hotel Operations

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 28 October 2020 28 October 2020

Swan Hellenic, the resurgent expedition cruise line, said it has appointed Hans Heger as Vice President of Hotel Operations.

As a luxury cruise hospitality expert, he brings historic insight and track record as innovator to cultural expedition cruise pioneers, the company said.

“Hans’ operational experience reads like a roster of cruise leaders and innovators - from Abercrombie & Kent, Club Med, Harmony, Pearl, Phoenix Reisen and Seven Seas to Scenic, Silversea and Royal Viking Line - unquestionably making him a safe pair of hands. But he’s also much more,” the company said in a statement.

Heger also worked for Swan Hellenic in the 1990s, when it introduced its first purpose built ship, the 12,500 gross ton Minerva that entered service in 1996 and which is no longer used as a cruise vessel.

“We are over the moon to welcome Hans on board. He brings outstanding high-end hospitality expertise and creative flair to our vision for an entirely unique guest experience,” explained Swan Hellenic CEO Andrea Zito.

Heger commented: “I am delighted to join the dynamic team bringing the Swan Hellenic vision of five-star cultural expedition cruising to life across a truly exciting new fleet. It’s a pleasure to return to this iconic pioneer with such a tremendous opportunity to create a one-of-a-kind lifestyle on board.”

Swan Hellenic was acquired by investors from the Canada based Gap Adventures group earlier this year. It has three expedition vessels on order at the Helsinki Shipyard in Finland.It had no operations during the time Gap Adventurs owned the company.