MSC Magnifica becomes second ship of company to resume cruises

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: More News More News

Published: 20 October 2020 20 October 2020

MSC Magnifica has become the second MSC Cruises ship to set sail following a pause in operations earlier this year. “The ship departed Genoa on a 10-night voyage to the West and East Mediterranean with planned calls at the ports of Livorno for visits to Florence and Pisa, Messina in Sicily, Piraeus for Athens, Katakolon for Olympia, Valletta in Malta, and Civitavecchia for Rome, before returning to Genoa,’ Geneva based MSC Cruises said in a statement.

MSC Magnifica will follow MSC Grandiosa, which is currently on its ninth voyage, as the second ship to implement MSC Cruises’ comprehensive health and safety protocol, which has been endorsed by external medical experts and formally approved by the relevant national and regional authorities.

“The comprehensive safety-first measures designed to protect the wellbeing of guests, crew and communities visited were first implemented in August when MSC Grandiosa became the world’s first major cruise vessel to return to service and the Company’s flagship has now completed nine 7-night voyages and positively demonstrated the protocol’s effectiveness. The measures include protected “social bubble” ashore visits for guests to allow them to also enjoy destinations at each port of call,” MSC Cruises said.

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines updates booking policy

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: More News More News

Published: 20 October 2020 20 October 2020

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, the UK based destination focused cruise operator, said it has unveiled an updated Plain Sailing Guarantee to give guests more flexibility around their bookings for 2021.

“The updated Plain Sailing Guarantee allows guests making a new booking for 2021 to move their deposit to any other cruise already on sale without any additional fees before they pay their final balance. Guests can also have their deposit refunded.

In addition, any guest who is unable to travel due to a positive Covid-19 test can move to any other cruise without any administration fees or penalties, right up to the day of departure, with up to 12 months to choose their new cruise,” the company said in a statement

Clare Ward, Director of Product and Customer Service at Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, said: “We know that so many of our guests are looking forward to cruising again just as much as we are, and we can’t wait to get back in the water and welcome guests, both old and new, on board our new look fleet from February.”

“But we also know that we are all still adjusting to this ‘new normal’ that we have found ourselves in, and as a result we want to make our booking process as flexible as possible. We want people to look ahead to their cruise holidays and get excited about them, without the worry of their circumstances changing.”

“Our updated Plain Sailing Guarantee allows guests to book a sailing for next year, knowing that they have the flexibility to change to another cruise – or even have their deposit refunded – before they make their final payment.  With opportunities for travel limited in 2020, we have been working hard to make 2021 an incredibly exciting year, with a host of new itineraries as well as our two new ships, Bolette and Borealis. Creating flexibility and reassurance for our guests is a big part of that, too.”

 

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines launched the original Plain Sailing Guarantee in April in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In late August, the company confirmed their ‘Back in the Water’ plans, with Balmoral to set sail in February, followed by Braemar and the two recently acquired ships, Bolette and Borealis, in March and April.

Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line plans to resume sailings on December 18, 2020

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 16 October 2020 16 October 2020

Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line today announced a voluntary extension to the resumption of its sailing operations. The official statement, delivered by Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line CEO Oneil Khosa, is as follows:

“We’re very pleased with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) decision to lift its No Sail Order on October 31st, 2020. The past few months have been an incredible challenge for the cruise industry at large, and we’re thrilled to welcome our guests aboard for what we know is a much-needed getaway to Grand Bahama Island.

While we are eager to return to sea, the overall health and safety of our guests and crew remain our top priority. Instead of returning to Grand Bahama Island onboard Grand Celebration, we’ve decided to return onboard Grand Classica, which features larger deck space and nearly 100 fewer staterooms. The guest-to-space ratio onboard the Grand Classica is one of the highest in its class and rivals many of our contemporary peers. This change, coupled with a capped capacity of 60 percent, will further ensure that our guests and crew members can easily maintain required social distancing onboard. We will resume cruise operations to Grand Bahama Island on December 18, 2020 onboard Grand Classica. We will announce details on our return to Nassau at a later date.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, we have remained one of the few cruise lines to report no cases of the virus onboard our ships. We have also followed all required guidelines, including adhering to strict requirements for our onboard crew members, and installed the best safety protocols in the industry across our fleet to protect our guests and crew, who are always our top priority.

We will continue to work closely with the CDC, the World Health Organization, and the Bahamian government as we prepare to return to Grand Bahama Island. We appreciate the unwavering support and patience of our partners and crew during this challenging time, and we look forward to welcoming guests back onboard soon.”

Dream Cruises to recruit Singaporeans to work on World Dream

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: More News More News

Published: 15 October 2020 15 October 2020

With the recently announced debut homeport deployment and resumption of cruise operations of Dream Cruises’ World Dream, Genting Cruise Lines is also utilizing this occasion to reinforce its commitment to reviving sea-faring opportunities in Singapore and cultivating local cruise talent through new employment prospects and educational partnerships to provide more jobs for Singaporeans, during this difficult pandemic period.

On October 8, Genting Cruise Lines announced that Dream Cruises will be the first cruise brand to restart service in Singapore with World Dream, as it makes her homeport debut from 6 November 2020 onwards. World Dream will be the newest built cruise ship to homeport in Singapore, offering a series of brand new 2 and 3-night “Super Seacation” experiences for Singapore residents during the school and year-end holidays.

“Dream Cruises is looking forward to providing cruise travel options to the citizens of Singapore after the many months of coping with the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Michael Goh, President, Dream Cruises. “To provide our guests with the highest level of service and hospitality, we are looking within the Singapore talent pool to fill many different positions available on board World Dream. In the past, it was also difficult to recruit Singaporeans, who have many opportunities in the leisure and hospitality industry and cruise lines traditionally tended to use international crew. However, to help alleviate the severe job losses in the domestic economy due to COVID-19, Genting Cruise Lines is committed to hiring as many Singaporeans as possible to support the local economy.”

Continued Goh: “Historically, international crew on cruise ships have to work for eleven months with a one-month vacation. As World Dream operates short 2- and 3-nights cruises, Singaporeans joining as crew can work on the ship with shorter work arrangements that could allow them to see their families frequently. This will make it very attractive for Singaporeans who have lost their jobs in the travel industry during this pandemic.”

In the lead up to the inaugural cruise of World Dream, Genting Cruise Lines will be searching for talent to fill in excess of 100 jobs covering all aspects of cruise ship operations from Marine Officers to Cruise Operations and Galley Chefs, Media Technicians, various hotel and hospitality staff and special Cruise Ambassadors to ensure the best guest relations. The search for talent will encompass a broad local footprint ranging from ex-naval or maritime officers and crew to the hard hit food and beverage sector and the hotel and hospitality industry.

When World Dream begins her “Super Seacation” routes, short 2- and 3-night domestic cruises mean that the ship is never far from home. As Dream Cruises explores expanded itineraries when travel restrictions begin to ease in the future, regional itineraries will still provide ample shore time for Singaporeans at home versus sea days for crew members.

In conjunction with World Dream’s homeport deployment in Singapore and the immediate job opportunities provided by the resumption of cruises, Genting Cruise Lines also remains deeply invested in the long-range nurturing of talent for Singaporeans through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Nanyang Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic, Temasek Polytechnic, Republic Polytechnic and the Institute of Technical Education. Under this collaborative effort, a series of joint activities, learning projects and internship programs will be made available to students and graduates who are keen to explore a career in the cruise and tourism related sector.

“World Dream’s debut in Singapore and her new itineraries will be a win-win situation for the local workforce and for Genting Cruise Lines as we are providing new career opportunities during these challenging times and for the future,” added Mr. Goh. “In addition to providing employment opportunities for Singaporeans, the restart of World Dream will also benefit all the associated businesses that support cruise operations and the trickle-down effect will no doubt be an important part of the revitalization of the Singaporean economy. Genting Cruise Lines is proud to play a part in helping Singapore on its road to recovery.”