October 14, 2020
Freed, who made the comments during her weekly Coffee Chat with travel advisors on Wednesday, indicated that the health and safety protocols developed by Royal Caribbean's Healthy Sail Panel were implemented and ready to go but cautioned that the announcement could be further postponed, "If we don't hear back this week from the CDC."
Currently, the CDC's "No-Sail" order is in effect through October 31. Royal Caribbean has cancelled all U.S. departures through November 30, 2020.Freed did not provide any additional details, and did not speculate which ships, itineraries or homeports would return first, or when that might take place.Other Royal Caribbean executives joining the Coffee Chat did, however, drop hints about some new potential itineraries.Mexican Riviera, Overnight Port Stays in Europe
(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