Cruise News Oct 1, 2020

The most pertinent cruise news came out of the White House and CDC yesterday. The CDC initially wanted to extend the cruise No Sail order until February 15, 2021. Dr. Robert R. Redfield, the director of the C.D.C., had recommended the extension, worried that cruise ships could become viral hot spots, as they did at the beginning of the pandemic. Is that a fair assessment when hotels, casinos, and flights are all seeing increased bookings? Only time will tell, but a few ships have starting cruises successfully in Europe so far. The White House blocked that order, and instead, a compromise was reached to extend the no sail order until October 31, 2020. This was to allow time for the Coronvarius task force to meet with cruise line representatives to implement a plan on how cruises could resume safely in the coming months.

The new Enchanted Princess cruise ship has been delivered to Princess Cruises. The 3660 passenger ship was scheduled to enter service in June, but the delivery of the ship was delayed due to the shipyard’s closure due to the pandemic. The ship offers more dining options, pools, and entertainment venues than any other Princess ship. Enchanted Princess is home to exclusive dining experiences at Crafted by Curtis Stone, using the freshest ingredients at sea. The first few months in service will be quite different from the usual with a new cruise vessel, but the heart and soul of the ship are always its team. The staff will be thoroughly trained for the planned return of cruising in the near future.

Carnival Cruise Lines has decided to cancel all sailings from its US home ports except for Miami and Port Canaveral Florida through the end of the year. The health and safety of guests and crew remain the cornerstone of Carnival’s decision but they are optimistic that cruises could safely resume with a couple of ships in November out of Florida.

Cunard Cruise 2021 is introducing a new series of cruises in the Mediterranean on Queen Elizabeth during a nine-month program. The ship will feature three to 14-night voyages around Europe before making her way through Asia to Australia. With the new program, the Queen Elizabeth cruise ship will sail from Southampton and later in 2021 from Barcelona. Guests will experience captivating journeys from a scenic exploration of the British coast to sailings visiting Norway to Iberia. The Queen Elizabeth will then sail the Mediterranean, departing from Barcelona and calling on the French Riviera, the west coast of Italy and the islands of Majorca and Corsica. The season will end with a transit through the Suez Canal, crossing the Indian Ocean to Singapore before venturing to Australia. The new program will start in Southampton on April 27, 2021 and end on December 19 in Melbourne, Australia. Overnight ports will be featured and late evening departures, as well.

Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection has released the first pictures of its newest super ship, La Venezia. The main structural design adds two grand suites, a private dining room with a demonstration kitchen used for pairing dinners, cooking lessons, and a seating banquet with shade umbrellas on the top deck. The ship was designed to complement and enhance its Venetian itineraries with Fortuny fabrics and Murano glass. La Venezia is one of four new Uniworld ships with plans to sail this year. The Mekong Jewel, sailed briefly beore the pandemic. The Sphinx will sail the Nile and the Sao Gabriel, Portugal’s Douro. Learn more about the S.S. La Venezia river boat.

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