Search alerts

Cruise ships will be allowed back into Canadian waters sooner than expected, with the federal government announcing the ban will be lifted as of Nov. 1, 2021.

The cruise line has announced that it will resume North American sailings from 5 June, with it's ship Celebrity Millennium departing on 5 June from St. Maarten. Bookings for the cruise will open on 25 March to COVID-19-vaccinated adults, and children under the age of 18 with negative COVID-19 test results within 72 hours of embarkation. The ship's crew will also have been vaccinated.

Royal Caribbean International has announced that it will resume cruising in North America from 12 June in the Bahamas; the cruise line will offer seven-day sailings from Nassau on the Adventure of the Seas that will spend two days at its private Bahamian island, Perfect Day at CocoCay, and call at Grand Bahama Island and Cozumel, Mexico. It will only allow fully COVID-19-vaccinated adults to cruise, while passengers under the age of 18 can sail with negative PCR test results. The ship's entire crew will also be vaccinated.

The cruise line has announced that it will resume limited operations in May 2021, with three sailings along the south coast of England, available exclusively to UK residents. Viking will offer the eight-day itinerary, 'England's Scenic Shores', on its newest ocean ship, the Viking Venus, due for delivery in April. The ship will sail a roundtrip from Portsmouth on 22 May, 29 May and 5 June.

The country's government has announced that a suspension on cruise ships carrying more than 100 passengers will now remain in place until at least 28 February 2022. Also extended is an order prohibiting pleasure craft in Canadian Arctic waters, except for those used by residents of the region.

The government of Australia has announced that it will extend a cruise ship suspension for another three months and extend its ban on outbound international travel; the ban was set to expire on 17 December, but is now set to cease on 17 March 2021. A government spokesman said the existing restrictions that sit under the associated emergency declaration will remain in place including limitations on outbound international travel, limitations on the movement of cruise vessels, and restrictions on the operation of retail stores at international airports.

The cruise line announced yesterday, 3 December, that it has cancelled its remaining sailings through to February 2021 due to concerns over COVID-19. The operator is also moving the inaugural U.S. sailing of its Mardi Gras ship to April 24, 2021.

All major cruise lines in the U.S. have cancelled their sailings until at least March 2021, according to reports; statements from major cruise lines including Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Norwegian also confirm this. Royal Caribbean says all sailings, with the exception of those from Singapore and China, have been cancelled until at least that date.

The cruise line's 'Quantum of the Seas' vessel departed Singapore yesterday, 1 December, making it Royal Caribbean International's first sailing since the global cruise shutdown in March. The ship departed at less than 30% capacity with approximately 1,100 guests on a two-day 'ocean getaway', before the cruise line launches planned itineraries of three and four days through to mid-March 2021. The cruises are exclusive to residents of Singapore.

The Norway-based cruise line, which was the first to resume cruise operations in the Caribbean, has now cancelled all remaining 2020 departures following a COVID-19 outbreak on board one of its ships.

The cruise operator has announced the cancellation of its sailings in Australia and New Zealand until 31 May 2021, effectively eliminating its summer season program. Princess had previously canceled all of its cruises worldwide through to 15 December except for its Australia program, which was due to resume by 31 October. However, Australia and New Zealands' borders still remain closed except to their own citizens, residents and their immediate family members.

The government of Canada has announced that it will extend a suspension of cruise ships in its waters through to at least 1 March 2021; the order pertains to passenger vessels – specifically, cruise ships or "pleasure craft" – carrying 100 or more passengers with the capacity to keep those passengers onboard overnight. Under the order, water taxis, ferries and other "essential passenger vessels" can remain in operation.

The cruise operator has announced that it has cancelled the rest of its scheduled 2020 river cruises in Europe, Asia and Africa; this suspension does not though apply to the chartered river cruises being operated on the Rhine in partnership with a German tour operator. Passengers affected will be offered a future cruise credit equal to 115% of the value of their purchase, which will be valid for sailings through to the end of 2022.

The group has announced that all three of its brands - Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises - will now extend the suspension of operations until at least 30 November.

The cruise line has confirmed that it has extended the suspension of all departures until at least 6 December; canceled sailings include those on the Disney Fantasy through to 6 December, the Disney Dream and Disney Wonder through to 11 December and the Disney Magic through to 12 December.

Princess Cruises has announced that it will cancel early 2021 sailings on two ships, citing restrictions on travel, borders and ports relating to COVID-19 as the cause. The ships affected are the Island Princess and Pacific Princess, which were due to sail from North America and Australia respectively.

U.S. managed operator Victoria Cruise Lines has launched its first sailing on China's Yangtze River since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the renovated 'Victoria Katarina' having set sail on 17 August; two further vessels are also set to depart in September on weekly sailings between Chongqing and Yichang. The ships will be sailing at 50% capacity, and included among a number of adaptive measures installed are hospital grade particle filtration units in the air conditioning.

The Swiss-based river, ocean, and expedition cruise operator has announced that it has cancelled all river and ocean sailings through to the end of 2020 due to ongoing uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic; guests with cancelled cruises will be offered 125% future credit.

Holland America Line has confirmed in a press release that it is extending its pause of cruise operations and cancelling departures on all ships through to 15 December, following the continuation of travel and port restrictions due to global COVID-19 health concerns.The pause extension affects sailings from, to and via the Caribbean, Mexico, Panama Canal, Pacific Coastal, South America, Antarctica, Hawaii, South Pacific, Australia and Asia.

The Seattle-based ultra-luxury cruise line has announced the cancellation of sailings on three ships as part of an extension in the pause of global ship operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic; the operator has previously already announced the suspension operations from until 20 November. Sailings on the Encore will be suspended until 25 November, the Ovation until 20 December and the Sojourn until 24 May 2021.