September 29, 2020
Ocean Cruises
Aranui
Ships: Aranui 5Itineraries: French PolynesiaWho can go: Visitors must prove their visit is for work/family reasons and take a COVID-19 test 72 hours before departure.Health requirement: COVID-19 test the day before departure.Costa Cruises
Ships: Costa Deliziosa, Costa Diadema; Costa Smerelda (October); Costa Firenze (December).Itineraries: Costa Deliziosa operates from Trieste, offering week-long cruises around Italy. After October 10, it will sail to Greece.Costa Diadema offers week-long trips round Italy, departing from Genoa.Costa Smerelda will offer Western Med cruises from October 10.New flagship Costa Firenze will offer Western Mediterranean cruises from the end of December.Who can go: Italians only, opening up to more European nationalities toward the end of the month.Health requirement: COVID-19 testing as standard; only ship-organized shore excursions.Coral Expeditions
Ship: Coral DiscovererItineraries: 7-night Great Barrier Reef from Cairns (from October 14, 2020)Who can go: Australians and Queenslanders CroisiEurope
Ship: MV Belle des Océans Itineraries: MediterraneanWho can go: Open to allDream Cruises
Ship: Explorer DreamItineraries: From Taipei, offering four-day cruises to Taiwanese islandsWho can go: Taiwanese onlyHapag-Lloyd
Ship: Europa 2, Hanseatic InspirationItineraries: Cruise to nowhere from Hamburg to the North and Baltic seasWho can go: Germans, Austrians, SwissMaine Windjammers
Ships: Schooners Stephen Taber, LadonaItineraries: Operating three- to six-night cruises along the coast of MaineWho can go: AnyoneHealth Requirement: COVID test required to board, no port stopsThe Majestic Line
Ships: Glen Shiel, Glen EntiveItineraries: From Scottish ports to Scottish islands.Who can go: U.K. citizensMetropolitan Touring
Ships: La PintaItineraries: Galapagos Islands expeditionsWho can go:Anyone eligible to travel to EcuadorHealth Requirement: COVID negative test required to enter Galapagos Islands; masks must be worn.MSC Cruises
Paul Gauguin
Ship: Paul GauguinItineraries: 7- to 14-night Tahiti, French Polynesia, and South Pacific sailings.Who can go: Open to all.Health requirement: Proof of a negative COVID-19 testPonant
Ships: Le Jacques Cartier, L'Austral, Le Lyrial, Le ChamplainItineraries: Le Jacques Cartier is sailing French coastal itineraries in Brittany. L'Austral is sailing in the Mediterranean from Marsailles. Le Lyrial is sailing to Corscia from Nice. Le Champlain is sailing in Croatia.Who can go: French, Belgians, DutchHealth requirement: Proof of a negative COVID-19 testSeaDream*
Ships: SeaDream 1 (possibly SeaDream 2)Itineraries: Transatlantic from Norway (where it has been operating successfully) on October 15 via the U.K. and Madeira to Barbados, where it will be based. On November 7, SeaDream 1 will start round-trip cruises from Bridgetown to St. Vincent and several islands in the Grenadines such as Union Island and Bequia, as well as Grenada. If demand is there the line will add SeaDream 2.Who can go: Passengers from Barbados' "safe list", which includes US and Canadian citizens.*from October 15
Health requirement: At least two negative COVID-19 test resultsTUI
Ships: Mein Schiff 1, Mein Schiff 6Itineraries: Mein Schiff 1 is offering Hamburg "blue cruises" (cruises to nowhere).Mein Schiff 6 is offering week-long cruises from Heraklion, calling at Piraeus and Corfu, with scenic sailing of Santorini.Who can go: GermansVariety
Ship: GalileoItineraries: Week-long, round trip from Piraeus to the Cyclades, which includes Paros, Poros, Santorini and MykonosWho can go: Open to allRiver
Amadeus
Ships: Amadeus Imperial and five other ships.Itineraries: Danube, Rhine, Main and the Dutch and Belgian waterwaysWho can go: Open to all
AmaWaterways
Ship: AmaKristinaItineraries: There are two different five-night itineraries running on the Rhine River, both round-trip from Cologne. One sails north to Amsterdam and Antwerp, while the other runs south to Strasbourg. The cruises run through November 2.Who can go: Germans, Dutch on charter cruises onlyA-ROSA
Ships: A-ROSA Flora, A-ROSA Aqua, A-ROSA Alva, A-ROSA Donna, A-ROSA Mia, A-ROSA Riva, A-ROSA Brava, A-ROSA SilvaItineraries: Rhine, Danube, DouroWho can go: Open to allCroisiEurope
Ships: MS Gerard Schmitter, MS Modigliani, MS Lafayette, MS Douce France, MS Monalisa, MS Renoir, MS Van Gogh, MS Camargue, MS Mistral, MS Loire Princesse, MS Cyrano de Bergerac, MS Amalia Rodrigues, MS Miguel Torga, MS Gil Eanes, MS Fernao de Magalhaes, Barge Anne Marie, barge Madeleine, barge JeanineItineraries: French rivers and canals; DouroWho can go: Open to all.English Holiday Cruises
Ships: Edward ElgarItineraries: Offering two-, three-, four- and five-night cruises along the U.K.'s longest river, the Severn.Who can go: Any citizen on the U.K.'s "safe list" of countries.Nicko
Ship: NickoVisionItineraries: Danube and Rhine.Who can go: Open to all.Viva
Ships: MS Inspire, MS TreasuresItineraries: Four-night cruises along the Main and the Rhine.Who can go: Germans only.(5:50 p.m. EDT) -- A report issued by U.S. Federal Maritime Commissioner Louis E. Sola concluded that, "when considered on a per capita basis, there may not be another state in the Nation paying as high a cost from passenger ships not sailing than Alaska."
The latest in a series of in-depth assessments into the impact of the cruise industry's shutdown on the U.S economy, the report notes that the cancellation of the entire Alaskan cruise season because of the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected Alaskans, as many state towns are heavily dependent on cruise tourism.
"While tourism benefits all our Northwestern states, it is one of three pillars of t
(8:55 EDT) -- Small ship expedition line Swan Hellenic has ordered a third Vega-class expedition cruise vessel.
Larger than its two sister ships, the 12.000-GRT Vega 3 will be a hybrid-powered vessel with an ice-strengthened hull and a capacity of 192 passengers in 96 cabins and suites, the majority with large balconies.
The ship will be built at the Helsinki shipyard and is due for launch at the end of 2022.
The news follows the keel-laying ceremony of the line's first ship, Minerva, at the Helsinki Shipyard in September.
"We see the increase in demand for experiences that are truly out of the ordinary and are confident in the b
(3:10 p.m. EDT) -- Cruise lines in Europe are continuing to bar passengers who violate their health and safety regulations when it comes to shore excursions and staying within the ship-sponsored "bubble" in port.
Tuesday, a guest on AIDAblu left his travel group during a ship-sponsored shore excursion in Catania, Italy. "As a result, the guest was unable to continue sailing on AIDAblu, and AIDA supported the guest in organizing his trip home," the line said in a statement.
AIDAblu is the first ship to resume cruising in the COVID-19 era from the German line AIDA, which is owned by Carnival Corporation. The current cruise is the first one back, sailing a seven-day itinera
(11:05 a.m. EDT) -- MSC Cruises will install a new and advanced technology sanitation system to improve the quality and cleanliness of the onboard air for its passengers and crew.
Known as 'Safe Air', the new system will be fitted on MSC Seashore, the line's newest ship, which is due to launch in July 2021 and will be the first of two "Seaside Evo"-class ships.
MSC claims that the technology -- which uses ultraviolet rays to blast organic particles and so prevents the circulation of air pollutants -- will be a world first for a cruise line.
However, other lines are trialling similar technologies, including Norwegian Cruise Line, which [announced new health a
(7 p.m. EDT) -- Princess Cruises announced Wednesday it would accelerate the transfer of two Grand-class ships – Golden Princess and Star Princess -- to sister-brand P&O Cruises Australia.
In 2018, the line announced it would transition the 2001-built Golden Princess and its 2002-built sister, Star Princess, to its P&O Australia brand. Golden Princess was slated to enter service down under this October, while Star Princess had been scheduled to sail its last voyage under the Princess banner at the end of 2021.
While Golden Princess had already been removed from Princess Cruises' active fleet, Star Princess was scheduled to continue
(12:25 p.m. EDT) -- Royal Caribbean International has filed a trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for a new device to be called "Tracelet."
The application, which describes the service mark registration for Tracelet as "Rubber or silicone wristbands in the nature of a bracelet," was filed on October 15, 2020 under the subcategory of "cruise ship services."
Given the name, it is not unreasonable to expect Royal Caribbean's new Tracelet to function as a wearable RFID contact tracing device that could be used to mitigate any potential spread of COVID-19 that might occur onboard.
Contact tracing is essential in the fight against COVID-19, allowing po