In an apparent effort to demonstrate its confidence in the future strength of the cruise industry, Virgin Voyages on Tuesday ‘broke ground’ on its new Miami cruise terminal, the construction of which is already well underway. Virgin Voyages executives dug into the ground on the construction site of the cruise line’s planned Miami cruise terminal, marking the official ground-breaking, several … [Read more...]

Amid a US $2.2-billion loss for the fourth quarter of 2020, and a flood of new cruise ships due for delivery this year, Carnival Corporation has said it plans to sell off more tonnage and delay deliveries in 2021. Carnival Corp’s plans to sell at least four ships and delay all its scheduled new cruise ship deliveries in 2021 comes despite strong signs of demand for cruises in future, with 2022 … [Read more...]

AIDA Cruises has cancelled its planned 2020/21 Dubai cruise season, further suspending all cruises globally until March due to new anti-coronavirus measures introduced in Germany and across much of Europe. With new lockdowns in Europe and ongoing travel restrictions, AIDA Cruises was forced to cancel its planned Dubai cruise season for the winter, 2021, as it relies on fly-cruise tourists to fill … [Read more...]

While the rest of the cruise industry has largely hunkered down for another several months of suspended operations amid two new strains of the coronavirus, Costa and MSC Cruises have announced they will resume cruises once more at the end of January. MSC and Costa have announced they will resume cruise operations in Italy on January 24th and 31st, 2021, while Carnival, Holland America, Princess, … [Read more...]

The cruise industry, beleaguered by the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, will face a dilemma in 2021 as several dozen cruise ships ordered during the boom years of 2017 and 2018 are readied for delivery. A record several dozen cruise ships will be delivered in 2021 as a result of shipyard delays and deferred handovers during the coronavirus pandemic, even as cruise lines actively sell off older tonnage … [Read more...]

The emergence of two new strains of COVID-19, one originating in South Africa and the other in the UK, has prompted MSC Cruises to further postpone its 2020/21 cruise season out of Durban and Cape Town. MSC Cruises’ decision to push back the start date of the new South African cruise season followed the announcement of tighter anti-COVID-19 restrictions by the SA government as the country fights … [Read more...]

Royal Caribbean International has reportedly sold its venerable cruise liner Empress of the Seas to an Indian cruise start-up run by the same CEO as the now defunct Jalesh Cruises. The Indian cruise start-up has reportedly purchased the Empress of the Seas and intends to use her on Indian cruise itineraries, possibly even as far afield as Dubai and the wider Middle East. Jalesh Cruises operated … [Read more...]

Costa Cruises has taken delivery of its new cruise ship Costa Firenze, the fourth of its Vista-class, with three more on order from the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy. Fincantieri handed over Costa Firenze to the Italian cruise line on Wednesday, with the 135,500-gross ton, 5,200-passenger cruise ship due to cruise in the Mediterranean initially before repositioning to China via Dubai. Costa … [Read more...]

There are now three cruise lines scheduled to cruise roundtrip from Dubai for the 2020/21 Middle East cruise season, which has been postponed due to the ongoing pandemic. MSC Cruises, AIDA Cruises and TUI will all homeport in Dubai for the coming cruise season, but instead of sailing roundtrip from the city between November and March as usual, they will instead begin the season in January. AIDA … [Read more...]

Holland America Line has provided a construction update on its new cruise ship Rotterdam, complete with pictures of the ship in the midst of the build process at the Fincantieri Shipyard in Marghera, Italy. Rotterdam is making good progress, according to Holland America Line, which provided pictures from the shipyard of its new cruise ship as Fincantieri got back to work after the disruption … [Read more...]

Carnival Cruise Line took delivery of its new mega cruise ship Mardi Gras on Friday, completing a years-long build process that was twice delayed due to shipyard constraints and the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Carnival took delivery of its new ship from the Meyer Turku Shipyard in Turku, Finland in a virtual handover ceremony that included Christine Duffy, President … [Read more...]

In a widely expected move, Royal Caribbean International has confirmed the sale of its two oldest cruise ships, Empress of the Seas and Majesty of the Seas. The two ships will leave the Royal Caribbean fleet at the end of the month, according to the cruise line, but appear due to remain in cruise service with the new owner. Majesty of the Seas was the final Sovereign-class cruise ship still in … [Read more...]

The tightening of anti-COVID-19 restrictions in South Africa has all but cancelled the 2020/21 cruise season out of Cape Town and Durban, with President Ramaphosa warning against travelling over Christmas and New Year. While South African cruise officials, and the country’s principle cruise operator MSC Cruises SA, have not confirmed it, the 2020/21 South African cruise season is most likely not … [Read more...]

The new LNG-powered mega ship from P&O Cruises, Iona, will feature a new theatre production called Festival when she is introduced in 2021. Festival is described by the cruise line as an uplifting show about two groups of friends who meet at a Festival. It will be interactive and filled with iconic anthems and “arresting choreography”. P&O Cruises’ Iona RELATED: Watch: 30 months of … [Read more...]

The debut of Mardi Gras in the United States has been delayed until April 24th, 2021, while Carnival Cruise Line has also announced further cancellations until March, 2021 of departures from Miami, Port Canaveral, and Galveston. The delay to Mardi Gras’ debut, and cancellations of further cruises come as Carnival works on implementing new health protocols and adapting to the new Conditional … [Read more...]

A passenger that tested positive for COVID-19 aboard Quantum of the Seas on her third cruise from Singapore after returning to service has now tested negative twice, according to the Singapore Health Ministry. An 83-year-old passenger tested positive aboard the cruise ship while she was cruising roundtrip from Singapore, forcing the cruise line to cancel the voyage and return to port, with the … [Read more...]

Italy’s two major cruise lines MSC and Costa Cruises have been forced to suspend their cruise programs from the country due to a request from the Italian goverment as it battles a resurgence in COVID-19 cases. Both cruise lines have said that the temporary pause over the Christmas period is not due to the risk posed by cruise ship travel, but rather due to travel restrictions that will make it … [Read more...]

Virgin Voyages will not be cruising with Scarlet Lady in the United States until May, 2021, while the European debut of Valiant Lady has been pushed back to 2022. Instead of resuming cruises in March aboard Scarlet Lady, and launching Valiant Lady in Europe in late 2021, Scarlet Lady will instead begin sailing from Miami in May, while Valiant Lady will sail her first season in November, 2021, in … [Read more...]

While German and Italian cruise lines have leveraged their home markets in Europe to stage a limited return to service with a handful of ships, Royal Caribbean has now commenced cruises once more from Singapore with Quantum of the Seas. The first departure of Quantum of the Seas from Singapore since the COVID-19 pandemic brought the industry to a standstill is also the first cruise of any Royal … [Read more...]

The CDC’s stringent new guidelines to ensure cruise lines are operating with strict health and safety protocols when sailing from US ports may require a full ship-wide quarantine if a single positive COVID-19 case is discovered. The CDC’s Framework for Conditional Sailing Order, which replaced its previous No Sail Order that was in place for much of the year, states that all passengers and … [Read more...]