LIVES OF THE LINERS: CRUISING, CRUISE SHIPS & THE COVID PANDEMIC

LIVES OF THE LINERS:
CRUISING, CRUISE SHIPS & THE COVID
            PANDEMIC

From Bill Miller
                            May 2021

Wed Apr 28th Norwegian Cruise Line today announced a further
restart of operations in Europe from the homeports of Barcelona and
Rome with previously scheduled port-intensive itineraries to the
Mediterranean and Greek Isles beginning Sep 5th. Currently scheduled
to sail from Barcelona, the Norwegian Epic will cruise seven-night
Western Mediterranean itineraries from Sep 5th through Oct 24th, with
the Norwegian Getaway sailing a mix of 10 to 11-day Greek Isles
voyages from Rome (Civitavecchia) from Sep 13th to Oct 25th.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises today announced its return to sailing with
Seven Seas Splendor cruising from the UK beginning Sep 2021.The
voyage will mark the cruise line’s return to service, as well as Seven
Seas Splendor’s inaugural season, with the ship having only completed
two cruises with guests after being christened in Feb 2020.

Oceania Cruises announced that it will resume cruise operations with
the 1,250-guest Marina (below) in Aug, beginning with sailings to
Scandinavia and Western Europe. The Marina will resume her originally
published voyage schedule, commencing on Aug 29th in Copenhagen.

Thu Apr 29th Holland-America reports it is now planning schedules
and itineraries through 2024 and noted: “Certainly of note is our
historic 150th Anniversary trans-Atlantic voyage. The original voyage
departed on Oct 15th 1872, aboard the Rotterdam I, the first Holland
America Line ship. Her maiden voyage sailed from Rotterdam to New
York. Exactly 150 years later on Oct. 15th 2022, the Rotterdam VII (set
to debut later this year) will depart Rotterdam once again with calls at
Plymouth and Le Havre, an overnight in New York and then continuing
onto Fort Lauderdale.”
Before that historic crossing, the new Rotterdam debuts in Europe this
summer and then repositions to Port Everglades for winter 2021-2022.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) may be
warming to the idea of the cruise industry restarting in July from the

United States. The CDC said: We acknowledge that cruising will never
be a zero-risk activity and that the goal of the CSO's (Framework for
Conditional Sailing Order) phased approach is to resume passenger
operations in a way that mitigates the risk of COVID-19 transmission
onboard cruise ships and across port communities.

Sun May 2nd Miami: On Saturday, Miami-Dade County and Nomi
Health started to provide cruise crew members with COVID-19
vaccination at PortMiami and will continue throughout the week,
according to a statement. Some crew aboard Royal Caribbean
International's Explorer of the Seas received their COVID-19
vaccinations on Saturday.
“Vaccinating crew members is key to getting passenger cruises safely
sailing again, putting hundreds of thousands of Americans back to work
– including tens of thousands here in our community,” said Mayor

Daniella Levine Cava. “Miami-Dade County is committed to getting
shots in arms and to making vaccination as accessible as possible for
all, particularly the workers who power our economy.”
Australia: As cruise lines schedule future sailings, Princess Cruises’
Coral Princess is now scheduled to set sail Mar 31st 2023 on a 28 night
voyage from Brisbane and it is all Australia. Ports will include: Sydney
(Australia), Hobart (Tasmania), Burnie (Australia), Kangaroo Island
(Australia), Adelaide (Australia), Albany (Australia), Margaret River
(Australia), Fremantle (Australia), Geraldton (Australia), Broome
(Australia), Kuri Bay (Australia), Darwin (Australia), Cairns (Australia)
and Willis Island (Australia)
This month-long cruise sails around the entirety of Australia, visiting
several regions of the country. Based in Brisbane, the Coral Princess
visits 14 different ports during the trip, including Hobart in Tasmania.
The highlight of the itinerary is the Kimberly region, which is visited
twice during the cruise.
Wed May 5th India: The industry impact on crewing following Royal
Caribbean Group’s temporary suspension of hiring Indian crew due to
the COVID-19 situation in the country depends on whether other cruise
lines follow suit and when India is deemed “safe.” India is an important
source country for crew recruitment, and many Indians hold key
positions in food and beverage and housekeeping, according to the
Norwegian Seafarers Union (NSU).
Royal Caribbean International's crew vaccination program is in full
swing thanks to PortMiami, as COVID-19 vaccinations continued on
Tuesday. Crew from the Navigator & Freedom of the Seas received
COVID-19 vaccines this morning in a terminal building at the port. This
effort follows the pop-up vaccination clinic hosted last week serving
PortMiami employees and all members of the community.

Approximately 900 crew members will be getting vaccinated this week,
according to a port statement.

Thu May 6th Dutch News! Working in close coordination with the
government of Greece, Holland America Line has received approval to
restart cruising from Piraeus (Athens) in August with four departures
aboard Eurodam.

Sat May 8th Norwegian Cruise Lines is threatening to keep its ships
out of Florida due to a new state law that bans businesses from
requiring that customers show proof of COVID-19 vaccinations. The
company says the law is at odds with federal guidelines.
Viking Ocean announced yesterday that it will restart operations in the
Mediterranean with new ocean voyages for vaccinated guests
beginning this summer.            The Viking Venus and Viking Sea will
homeport in Valletta and sail two different 11-day roundtrip itineraries in
the Mediterranean.
AIDA Cruises is set to cruise from Germany later this month, according
to a company statement, announcing short voyages from Kiel starting
on May 22nd. The AIDAsol is currently positioned in Northern
Germany and ready for the restart. TUI Cruises, also German, are
gearing up for a restart.
Sun May 9th Norwegian Cruise Lines in reporting a first quarter loss
and undershooting Wall Street's revenue forecast, Norwegian Cruise
Line Holdings said advance bookings are strong, with first half 2022
'meaningfully ahead' of 2019 record levels.
Restart: Rumors are building that trial cruises may begin in Jul & Aug
– and general cruising might resume in fall, possibly Oct or Nov. But all
just rumors at this point as it is a constantly “moving target” with Covid.

Mon May 10th Buffets & Beyond: For cruise lines wanting to operate
from a U.S. port, they will need to adhere to a number of new
regulations released on Wednesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) for ships to sail under the Framework for
Conditional Sailing Order (CSO).

While many cruise lines have already confirmed their buffets are on
hold for the time being, the CDC has made it official by now requiring
them to eliminate any self-serve food or drink options, such as buffets,
salad bars, and drink stations.
The CDC will also require social distancing in all venues onboard and is
recommending cruise lines provide alternative meal services options,
such as prepackaged grab-and-go meals, for consumption on open
decks or in individual cabins to minimize risks associated with
congregate indoor dining.
Outdoor lounge seating around the pool will also have a different look,
as loungers and chairs will need to be six feet apart, severely limiting
outdoor seating space. These items can be grouped together for
families and traveling companions, according to the CDC.
The CDC has also said cruise lines must "prohibit self-guided or
independent exploration by passengers during port stops. Ensure all
shore excursion tour companies facilitate social distancing to allow for
at least 6 feet (2 meters) between individuals who are not traveling
companions or part of the same family, mask wearing, cleaning and
disinfection, and other COVID-19 public health measures throughout
the tour."
This would require passengers to buy organized tours through the
cruise line ahead of time.
Of note, the CDC also said cruise lines should limit shore excursions in
foreign ports of call to countries listed as Level 1: COVID-19 Low in
CDC’s COVID-19 Travel Recommendations by Destination, which
would take a number of Caribbean destinations out of itineraries.

Mon May 10th Royal Caribbean: Having put a pause on hiring Indian
crew due to COVID-19, Royal Caribbean International will start
recruiting Indian crew again later this month.
Cordelia Cruises has announced that it will not be able to sail its first
voyage in May, as previously planned. According to the Indian-based
company, the decision is related to the country’s current coronavirus
situation. This new, niche cruise line owns the Empress, the former
Empress of the Seas of Royal Caribbean.
Tue May 11th Burning Cash! The three major cruise companies
continue to burn through cash with most ships still out of service.
Following their first quarter earnings reports, the combined cash burn
rate for Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian
Cruise Line holdings is approximately $990 million per month.
Carnival Corporation originally predicted its cash burn rate for the first
quarter of 2021 to be $600 million, but reported it was $500 million,
beating estimates.

Royal Caribbean Group on the other hand, had predicted a range
of $250 million to $290 million per month, but ultimately came in above
that, at $300 million, citing fleetwide restart expenses and timing.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings held steady at its estimated $190
million burn rate per month,

        Out of the old shoebox: Above: Departure for the Leviathan
                        Below: The classic Oceanic

Thank you to all our readers, correspondents, those “agents” in
                        faraway places!