When will cruise lines return to service? Here are all the latest updates

When will cruise lines return to service? Here are all the latest updates

TORONTO — The CDC has let its No Sail Order expire and has replaced it with a framework for a Conditional Sailing Order.

Here’s a list of the latest cruise line updates. This list is updated as we receive new information from each company. The latest information can always be found at the company’s website.

LATEST UPDATES: Sept. 21, 2021 – Avalon Waterways and Carnival; Sept. 13, 2021 – Seabourn


AMAWATERWAYS

AmaWaterways has resumed operations. Information is at https://www.amawaterways.ca/travel-updates.


AVALON WATERWAYS

UPDATED SEPT. 21, 2021: Avalon resumed sailings in July 2021 and its ships are now sailing on all of Europe’s major rivers through the 2021 season and beyond. All of Avalon’s 2021 sailings can be found via this link: 2021 Cruises in Operation

Proof of a full COVID-19 vaccination is currently required for all Avalon Waterways cruises. Globus family of brands has extended its vaccination requirement for all guests through 2022.

For more information see https://www.avalonwaterways.ca/travel-update/. For more information about Avalon’s Peace of Mind Travel Plan and Avalon Assurance program see https://www.avalonwaterways.ca/avalon-assurance/.


AZAMARA

Azamara resumed operations with a series of Greece voyages in August 2021 for fully vaccinated guests. More details are at https://www.azamara.com/en-ca/cruising-suspension.


BAHAMAS PARADISE CRUISE LINE

Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line has relaunched its website and is once again offering cruises. The company’s website is bahamasparadisecruise.com.


CARNIVAL CRUISE LINE

UPDATED SEPT. 21, 2021: With 11 ships now in operation, half of Carnival’s U.S. fleet is sailing again following the cruise industry’s lengthy pause due to the pandemic. These cruises are available to guests who have received their final dose of a CDC-approved COVID-19 vaccine at least 14 days prior to the start of the cruise and have proof of vaccination, in accordance with CDC guidelines.

Carnival’s latest updates are here.


CELEBRITY CRUISES

UPDATED JUNE 29, 2021: Celebrity Cruises was the first cruise line to deploy a ship from U.S. waters in more than a year. Celebrity Edge, which has met all CDC requirements and standards, departed Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale on June 26 on a seven-night Caribbean cruise.

Celebrity Millennium is homeporting in St. Maarten, effective June 5, 2021. New seven-night Caribbean itineraries will depart through August 2021. Adult guests will also need to be vaccinated while children under the age of 18 will need to provide a negative COVID-19 test result within 72 hours of embarkation.

For further details see https://www.celebritycruises.com/travel-alert/voluntary-suspension-of-cruising.


CELESTYAL CRUISES

Celestyal Cruises restarted operations in May 2021. For more details click here.


COSTA CRUISES

Costa Cruises’ restarted sailings in May 2021. More information is at https://www.costacruises.com/cruising-soon.html.


CROISIEUROPE

CroisiEurope has flexible terms and conditions for cancelled 2021 cruises. For details see here.


CRYSTAL CRUISES

UPDATED AUG. 31, 2021: Details about cancellations for Crystal Cruises, Crystal River Cruises and Crystal Yacht Cruises are available at https://www.crystalcruises.com/advisory-alerts/voyage-cancellations. Crystal announced in Feb. 2021 that it will now require all guests to be fully inoculated with a COVID-19 vaccine at least 14 days prior to their Crystal cruise. Guests will need to provide proof of vaccination before embarkation and must have received both doses of the vaccine if recommended by the manufacturer by that timeline. Crystal will also be the first ocean-going cruise line to restart cruises in the Americas, with new all-Bahamian 7-night cruise itineraries onboard Crystal Serenity, starting July 3, 2021. Meanwhile Crystal River Cruises resumed Europe operations on Aug. 29, 2021.


CUNARD

UPDATED AUG. 16, 2021Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth resumed sailings on Aug. 13, 2021 with a series of ‘Summer at Sea’ voyages out of the UK, for UK passengers. For the latest updates on all of Cunard’s ships (Queen Elizabeth,  Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria) see https://www.cunard.com/en-us/contact-us/travel-health-advisories.


DISNEY CRUISE LINE

UPDATED AUG. 27, 2021: For Disney Cruise Line sailings to The Bahamas beginning Sept. 3, 2021 until Nov. 1, 2021, the destination will require that all passengers ages 12 and older be fully vaccinated in order for a ship to be allowed entry into any of its cruise ports, including private islands like Disney Castaway Cay. Disney Fantasy sailings will begin Sept. 11, 2021 with four-night cruises from Port Canaveral. For questions about all DCL sailings, passengers who booked their reservation through a travel agent are asked to contact their agent directly with any questions. Passengers who booked directly with Disney Cruise Line can call (866) 325-6685 or (407) 566-7797. More details are at https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/guest-services/advisory/.


HOLLAND AMERICA LINE

UPDATED MAY 25, 2021: Bookings are open for 10 Saturday departures that will operate from July 24 through Oct. 2, to Alaska on Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam. The seven-day ‘Alaskan Explorer’ itinerary calls at Juneau, Icy Strait Point, Sitka and Ketchikan. More information about Holland America line sailings and cancellations is available here.


HURTIGRUTEN

UPDATED MARCH 5, 2021: Hurtigruten has updated its list of cancelled sailings. For a full list click here.


MSC CRUISES

MSC Cruises has updated its itineraries for 2021. For further information on specific itineraries please visit here.


NCL

UPDATED AUG. 20, 2021: NCL resumed cruise operations from the U.S. on Aug. 6, 2021 with week-long voyages from Seattle to Alaska aboard Norwegian Encore. In other NCL updates, Norwegian Epic will cruise seven-night Western Med itineraries out of  Barcelona Sept. 5, 2021 – Oct. 24, 2021. Norwegian Getaway will sail a mix of 10 to 11-day Greek Isles voyages from Rome (Civitavecchia) Sept. 13, 2021 – Oct. 25, 2021. Norwegian Jade’s  seven-day cruises to the Greek Isles will sail out of Athens (Piraeus) starting July 25, 2021. And week-long Caribbean itineraries will operate from Montego Bay starting Aug. 7, 2021 on Norwegian Joy, and from La Romana, D.R. starting Aug. 15, 2021 on Norwegian Gem. NCL has also extended its mandatory vaccination policy for guests and crew to Dec. 31, 2021. See https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/suspended-sailings.


OCEANIA CRUISES

UPDATED SEPT. 2, 2021: Oceania Cruises’ Marina set sail from Copenhagen on Aug. 29, 2021, marking the cruise line’s return to operations. Marina will spend the remainder of summer and fall 2021 cruising Western Europe, the Med and the Greek Isles prior to setting sail for Miami where it will arrive on Dec. 1. Riviera will resume sailing in the Greek Isles on Oct. 18, 2021. Sirena meanwhile will resume sailing in the Caribbean on Jan. 21, 2022 and Regatta will start sailing on Feb. 5, 2022 in Polynesia followed by Nautica in the Med on April 1, 2022. Details about Oceania’s Travelers Assurance Program can be found at https://www.oceaniacruises.com/assurance.


PAUL GAUGUIN CRUISES

More information about Paul Gauguin Cruises is here.


PRINCESS

Princess is offering roundtrip Seattle, seven-day cruises to Alaska, onboard Majestic Princess through Sept. 26, 2021. Ports of call include Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan, as well as Glacier Bay National Park. For information about cancellations and FCCs go to https://www.princess.com/plan/impacted-and-cancelled-cruises/.


REGENT SEVEN SEAS CRUISES

UPDATED JUNE 2, 2021: All five ships in the Regent Seven Seas Cruises fleet are on their way back. The cruise line says it intends to preserve already published itineraries as much as possible, beginning with Seven Seas Explorer on October 16, 2021, from Venice, as the ship takes over five of Seven Seas Mariner’s published cruises, with Mariner going into a technical dry-dock. Seven Seas Mariner will resume sailing December 18, 2021, from Miami, as will Seven Seas Navigator  on January 6, 2022. Finally, Seven Seas Voyager will return on February 15, 2022 from Barcelona.

As part of the return to sail plan, 17 new sailings in Europe and the Caribbean have been created for Seven Seas Explorer and Seven Seas Voyager, which can be viewed at RSSC.com/Regent-returns.


RIVIERA RIVER CRUISES

Riviera River Cruises has restarted its European river cruises with departures on Portugal’s Douro River. All passengers boarding Riviera ships will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or present a negative test prior to travel.


ROYAL CARIBBEAN

Six of Royal Caribbean’s ships were sailing from major U.S. cruise ports in Florida and Texas in summer 2021. By the end of August, a dozen Royal Caribbean ships were once again cruising across The Bahamas, Caribbean, Alaska and Europe.

Royal Caribbean also launched its Alaska season with seven-night cruises roundtrip from Seattle on the Serenade and Ovation of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean also announced the following:

• Quantum of the Seas’ Alaska sailings departing April 5 to October 14, 2021: In order to allow additional time for preparation, Quantum of the Seas will remain in the Asia-Pacific region.

• Odyssey of the Seas’ May 9 to October 28, 2021 sailings departing from Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy. Instead, Odyssey will begin its inaugural season out of a new homeport, Haifa, Israel from June to October 2021. These new sailings are available for residents of Israel only.

More information is at https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-ships/itinerary-updates.


SEABOURN

UPDATED SEPT. 13, 2021: New 7- and 14-day Greek Isles voyages onboard Seabourn Ovation are scheduled to set sail through Oct. 16, 2021. These voyages are only available for guests who have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19. Guests must complete their pre-boarding health questionnaire and their required PCR COVID-19 test no more than 72 hours prior to departure.

Seabourn’s other dates for potential resumption of sailings are:

  • Seabourn Sojourn, with its next scheduled departure now set for July 3, 2021.
  • Seabourn Encore, with its next scheduled departure now set for July 3, 2021.
  • Seabourn Quest, with its next scheduled departure now set for May 10, 2022 (previously Nov. 7, 2021.

For more details click here.


SCENIC GROUP

Scenic Group’s Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours and Emerald Cruises returned to Europe’s rivers in July 2021. Both brands resumed sailing in late July on the Douro, followed by the Rhine in August. Also in August, Emerald Cruises added the Danube while Scenic will resume services on France’s Garonne, Gironde and Dordogne rivers in Bordeaux. Scenic will also resume sailings on the Danube in September. Both brands are offering added peace of mind with their Flexible Booking Policy that allows guests to defer their travel plans or cancel up to 60 days prior to departure with no additional booking fees (third party fees may apply). For more details on booking policies and health and safety protocols go to emeraldcruises.ca and scenic.ca.


SILVERSEA

Silversea has joined the growing list of cruise lines to require all guests and crew to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 prior to boarding. For the latest list of potential return-to-operations dates for Silversea’s ships, and details about refunds and FTCs, see: https://www.silversea.com/information-on-itinerary-changes.html.


ST. LAWRENCE CRUISE LINES

Overnight cruises on the St. Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers with St. Lawrence Cruise Lines are available through Oct. 24, 2021. The small-ship operator safely and successfully completed its 2020 fall cruise schedule. COVID-19 safety measures were present in all aspects of St. Lawrence Cruise Lines’ cruising experience, including passenger screening, reduced passenger loads, physical distancing and mask protocols, as well as a hospital-grade electrostatic disinfectant regime. The line’s M/V Canadian Empress has 32 staterooms with twin fixed beds, private bathrooms, and access to fresh air and views of the river. Travel agents can call 1-800-267-7868 for booking availability. Information on the cruise schedule, itineraries, and safety measures and itineraries is available at stlawrencecruiselines.com.


UNIWORLD

Uniworld restarted cruises in Italy on June 20, 2021 with its recently transformed Super Ship, S.S. La Venezia. Cruises resumed in France shortly thereafter, with first departures for S.S. Bon Voyage on June 27. Sailings are also scheduled for the S.S. Joie de Vivre on July 4, and S.S. Catherine on July 11.

Agents can email or call Uniworld with changes and/or cancellations. Agents with individual bookings for clients can email Reservations@Uniworld.com or call 1-800-733-7820. Agents with group bookings can email GroupInfo@Uniworld.com or call 1-800-425-0043. Uniworld says its office is open from 7 a.m  – 5 p.m., Pacific Time, Monday through Friday. Additional details can be found here.


VICTORY CRUISE LINE

For more information on Victory Cruise Line go to https://www.victorycruiselines.com/alerts/.


VIKING RIVER CRUISES

For details see https://www.vikingrivercruisescanada.com/. Information about cancellations is at https://www.vikingcruisescanada.com/oceans/my-trip/current-sailings/index.html.


WINDSTAR

UPDATED JUNE 29, 2021: Windstar Cruises has officially resumed operations, with its first voyage since the start of the pandemic setting sail on June 19 from Athens. Carrying fully vaccinated guests and crew onboard, the 148-maximum guest, four-masted sailing yacht, Wind Star, embarked on a seven-day roundtrip voyage to the Greek Isles, visiting Nafplio, Monemvasia, Patmos, Santorini and Mykonos. Windstar plans for the yacht to sail the itinerary on near-weekly dates through October. Windstar is returning to operations in a phased manner, with its fleet of six yachts debuting on various dates through November. Windstar is requiring proof of a current COVID-19 vaccination for all guests sailing aboard its yachts, until further notice.


SUPPLIER UPDATE LISTS:

For the latest list of Airline updates, click here

For the latest list of Hotel & Resort updates, click here

For the latest list of Tour Operator updates, click here

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