Tourism officials in Dubai, the primary homeport for cruise ships in the Arabian Gulf and wider Middle East, expect a full recovery of the regional cruise sector by next year.
Dubai cruise tourism officials expect full recovery by 2023
Has cruising turned corner on COVID?
With Cunard Line reporting its strongest bookings in more than a decade, and Royal Caribbean reporting low COVID infections numbers at sea and imminent profitability, the future looks increasingly bright for the […]
MSC announced COVID-19 safety protocols for 2021/22 Dubai season
MSC Cruises has announced its COVID-19 health and safety protocols for its current Red Sea cruise season out of Saudi Arabia, and its upcoming Arabian Gulf cruise season out of Dubai.
Carnival tightens mask and COVID testing rules fleetwide after outbreak
Carnival Cruise Line has brought in stricter mask mandates and testing requirements across the fleet following the discovery of COVID-19 infections aboard Carnival Vista.
How many passengers have caught COVID since cruises resumed?
As cruise resumption plans continue to ramp up globally, many will be keeping an eye on the number of passengers that catch coronavirus on cruise ships in the months ahead.
Who covers the medical and quarantine costs if you catch COVID-19 on a cruise?
While taking a cruise in the post-COVID era is largely as safe as other forms of travel and tourism, according to statistics, its still important for passengers to plan for the worst […]
Carnival says vaccines offer a safe path to cruise resumption as bookings soar
Carnival Cruise Line has seen strong growth in cruise bookings for the latter half of 2021 and 2022, driven by optimism that vaccines will provide a safe environment for cruises to resume […]
Norwegian Cruise Line needs restart permission by June to fully resume cruises by 2022
Norwegian Cruise Line needs to get permission from the CDC to resume cruising in the United States by June or July, in order to have its full fleet back in service by […]
MSC cancels 2020/21 South African cruise season after failing to secure approval
MSC Cruises SA, the local subsidiary of MSC Cruises in South Africa, has cancelled the current 2020/21 cruise season, after government officials failed to allow a resumption of voyages from Durban.
Carnival warns passengers to expect mask mandates when cruising resumes
Carnival Cruise Line has issued a statement confirming that mask-wearing will be required, along with a number of other anti-coronavirus measures, when it resumes cruising from the United States.
MSC restarts cruises for second time in Mediterranean following short pause
MSC Grandiosa departed Genoa, Italy on Sunday evening, resuming her previously announced 7-night roundtrip itineraries in the Mediterranean and marking MSC Cruises’ second return to cruising since the pandemic began last year.
Royal Caribbean sheds 62,000 annual capacity with sale of Azamara brand
Royal Caribbean Cruises, the world’s second-largest cruise company, has confirmed the sale of its luxury brand Azamara to the private equity firm Sycamore Partners.
Carnival Corp to sell more ships and delay all but one newbuild delivery in 2021
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 […]
AIDA Cruises suspends operations until March, cancelling Dubai cruise season
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.
Costa and MSC only major cruise lines to announce January return to service
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 […]
MSC pushes South African cruise season back to February amid new COVID strain
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 […]
Current 2020/21 South African cruise season looking increasingly unlikely
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 […]
Full quarantine may be ordered by CDC if US cruise ships see a single COVID-19 case
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 […]
CDC issues travel advisory against US cruises after cancelling No Sail Order
In an apparent attempt to reach a compromise with US lawmakers, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued an advisory warning Americans against cruise travel, just days after rescinding […]
Disney Cruise Line delays delivery of two new cruise ships by two years
Disney Cruise Line’s new LNG-powered cruise ships, originally due for delivery in 2022 and 2023, will be delivered two years later than planned due to shipyard bottlenecks caused by the COVID-19 lockdown […]