LIVES OF THE LINERS: CRUISING, CRUISE SHIPS & THE COVID PANDEMIC - From Bill Miller May 2021

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

           From Bill Miller
              May 2021

Mon May 17th P&O Cruises The new 5,200 guest Iona sailed into
Southampton on Sunday ahead of her naming ceremony. The $1
billion ship was completed a year ago, but has yet to see any
commercial service.

Costa: The Costa Luminosa is back in service as the ship sailed on
Sunday from Trieste, becoming the company's second ship to resume
operations in 2021 after the Costa Smeralda re-entered service earlier
this month from Savona. The 2,800-bed Luminosa will offer Adriatic
Sea itineraries and also call in Greece as part of Costa's four-ship
sailing plan for summer 2021, all operating under the company's Costa
Safety Protocol.

Above: Crystal Symphony & Oosterdam at Turks & Caicos

Fresh Face! When Carnival Cruise Line’s newest ship, the Mardi
Gras, arrives to her new home in Port Canaveral, Fla. on Jun 4th, she
will be flying the Bahamian flag to designate the new ship registry for
the first Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) ship to operate in North America.
The Mardi Gras has been the most highly anticipated new ship in the
cruise industry for more than a year, with her arrival and inaugural
impacted by the extended pause in cruise operations from U.S. ports.
But with more and more hopeful signs of a return to guest operations
and constructive discussions between the industry and the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Carnival is moving
the ship to Port Canaveral to get her ready for sailing. The ship will

depart from Barcelona on May 21st to start her transatlantic voyage
and eventual arrival.
Crystal Cruises announced yesterday: “This is a bittersweet moment
as we say goodbye to Crystal@Home, our virtual connection for the
last year, and say hello to our return to cruising this July. Indeed, from
our early-on yoga sessions to our weekly Wednesday travel stories and
Thirsty Thursday concoctions, we learned to balance our wellness and
our wanderlust during an extraordinary time.”

                     Above: P&O’s Iberia at Fiji (1966)

Another Naming Ceremony: Viking Cruises’ newest ship, the Viking
Venus, will set sail from Portsmouth today (Mon) on its maiden voyage
and naming ceremony. The ship will be christened by journalist and
broadcaster Anne Diamond as godmother. The first passenger sailings

will start on May 22 as Portsmouth becomes the homeport for Viking
Venus’ initial five UK sailings.
Resumptions! Seven cruise line brands from Carnival Corporation,
the world’s largest cruise company, have announced plans to resume
guest cruise operations this summer, with AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises,
Cunard, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn and P&O
Cruises (UK) sailing from global ports in Europe and the Caribbean

Tue May 18th Alaska! The U.S. Senate unanimously passed a bill last
Thursday that could allow cruise ships to return to Alaska ports this
summer. The Alaska Tourism Recovery Act would temporarily suspend
the requirement for cruise ships stop in Canada. Canada is closed to
cruise traffic through Feb 2022, making a stop there impossible.
Pulling Up the Anchor! All far too long to list here, almost all cruise
lines are now posting re-start dates – from Southampton to Singapore,
from Antigua to Auckland.
Carnival Cruise Line intends to restart service in the United States
without requiring passengers to have the COVID-19 vaccine, according
to President Christine Duffy, in an interview on NBC Nightly News on
Monday. "There is no mandate for any other business to have that
requirement. We wouldn't be able to have kids under 12 onboard," said
Duffy, standing at Port Canaveral near the Carnival Liberty. Duffy said

they are working to restarting in July as the brand is currently
continuing its discussions with the CDC.

            Above: The Carmania at Port Everglades (Jan 1966)

Thu May 20th Princess Cruises, Holland America Line & Carnival
Cruise Line expect to resume US cruising in July with Alaska sailings
from Seattle. The news immediately follows Congress's passage of a
cruise ship cabotage temporary waiver for Alaska operations which is
on its way to President Biden to sign into law. Plans for the lines'
itineraries to fulfill obligations under the Passenger Vessel Services Act
waiver are expected to be approved.

Fri May 21st Alaska: Following passage of the Alaska Tourism
Restoration Act, work with Alaska government officials, and recent
guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), Holland America Line is announcing plans to restart cruising to
Alaska in July roundtrip from Seattle, Washington, aboard Nieuw
Amsterdam. Bookings are open for the 11 Saturday departures that will
operate from July 24 through Oct. 2. The seven-day “Alaskan Explorer”
itinerary calls at Juneau, Icy Strait Point, Sitka and Ketchikan. Scenic
cruising in Alaska’s iconic locales includes Glacier Bay and Stephens
Passage.
MSC Cruises: Cruising from the UK is back after a 14-month hiatus as
the MSC Virtuosa is set to cast off from the port of Southampton for a
four-night sailing on Thursday. Gianni Onorato, CEO, MSC Cruises,
said: “We are very proud that MSC Virtuosa’s first ever sailing marks
the resumption of cruising from British ports after an enforced break of
more than a year and effectively heralds the next phase of restart for
our industry.
Southampton: Dave Smith reported: “Yesterday (Thursday) we had
Ventura docked at QE2 Terminal 38th berth & around 5pm yesterday
we had the first cruise ship sailing from Southampton for over 14
months. The ship was the MSC Virtuosa. She is 1,087 feet long,
launched in 2019, has a capacity of 4,842 (double occupancy) or 6,334
maximum capacity, and her gross tonnage is 181,541. The ship is only
carrying 1,000 guests, however, and is on a 4-night cruise along the
South Coast of England, then more 3 & 4 day cruises to follow.
Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth & the P & O Iona will shortly set sail on

cruises around the coast of the British Isles, getting back to normal we
hope!”
More News from the UK: Alan Moorhouse reports: “In Southampton
yesterday, it was a new day, a new page and a new start of the post
pandemic era. Hopefully! The new Iona had just been named. The new
MSC Virtuosa left on the first ‘seacation’ out of the UK. Britannia led a
P&O ‘hornfest’ as she passed Iona and Ventura. Meanwhile, the new,
recently named Viking Venus was nearby in Portsmouth and which will
soon host the almost new Scarlet Lady.”

Sun May 23rd Turkey: Justin Zizes has shared a recent view (below) of
4 large cruise liners being scrapped at Aliaga.

Tue May 25th Update from California: Long Beach bought the Queen
Mary in 1967 for $3.45 million, and for decades the city has leased the
ship to a string of operators who have failed to make a profit. The ship’s
latest operator, Eagle Hospitality Trust, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
in January and the city is now battling with the leaseholder in
bankruptcy court over the Queen Mary’s future. A city-commissioned
inspection report released in court documents last week says the

historic vessel is in worse condition than previously thought and will
need an additional $23 million in urgent safety repairs to keep it viable
in the next two years. The ship could be in danger of flooding or even
capsizing if the repairs aren’t addressed, according to court documents.
The Queen Mary in the meantime remains closed until further notice.

Barbados & Beyond: The Caribbean may be the cruise market
coming back in the strongest and quickest manner, backed up by the
North American source market wanting to stay close to home. The
Caribbean commanded an average of 38.9 percent of the global
deployment of the cruise industry prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and
that number is expected to grow in the future as the industry returns to
sailing. Cruise guests from North America will want to stay closer to
home, with homeports in Florida, Texas and Louisiana driving the
majority of deployment to the Caribbean on big ships.

Above: Carnival Splendor at Cabo San Lucas

Wed May 25th Viking will expand its Mediterranean presence this
summer by adding a third ship for round-trip cruises from Malta. The
Viking Star will now join sister ships Viking Venus and Viking Sea there
and will sail a new 11-day itinerary, Malta & the Western Mediterranean.

Another One Gone! Formerly with the Fred Olsen Line, the 48-year-
old Boudicca (below) was last serving as an accommodation vessel at
Pendik, near the Tuzla Shipyard in Turkey. She was built in 1973 by
Wärtsilä Helsinki Shipyard, Finland as Royal Viking Sky. But earlier
this month, the 21,500-ton the ship was beached for scrapping at
nearby Aliağa.

The ship certainly had a diverse history. In 1991–1992, she began
sailing for Norwegian Cruise Lines as the Sunward – and then
alternating, in summers, as the Baltic-based Birka Queen. Between
1993 and 1997, she sailed for Princess Cruises as their Golden
Princess. Then, it was to Hong Kong-based Star Cruises in 1997–
1998 as the SuperStar Capricorn followed by a charter 1998–2001 as
the South Korean-operated Hyundai Keumgang. She went back to Star
Cruises in 2001–2004, again as the SuperStar Capricorn, before going
on charter in 2004–2005 as Grand Latino for Spain’s Ibero Cruises.
She joined Fred Olsen in 2005, becoming the Boudicca.

Above: Victoria & United States at New York (1965)

                         Out of the old shoebox:
Above: The classic Michelangelo seen at Genoa – with Lauro Lines’ Roma &
                 the Rumanian Transylvania also in port.
            Below: A splendid painting of the outbound Aquitania

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