If you’ve been busy enjoying your Thanksgiving and busy taking advantage of all those shopping deals then don’t worry as we’re here with some of the biggest news stories from the week.
Cruise News Update
More cruise news from the week and as usual, it’s been pretty busy across most major cruise lines including some positive news with the Carnival Horizon arriving back in Miami to prepares for resuming cruises, MSC set to restart operations from Japan in 2021, and on a negative note, further suspensions from two cruise lines.
In This Article:
Astonishing Cruise Line Losses
So we start with some astonishing numbers which were released recently on how much cruise lines have lost due to the suspension on operations.
The industry is on track to lose around $20 billion in revenue this year. While $20 billion is an incredibly large number in itself, it doesn’t tell the whole story. Cruise lines worldwide are borrowing billions, refinancing, and selling vessels to be able to sail, hopefully, in the next year.
Related: Astonishing Cruise Line Losses, No End In Sight
The cruise industry has been showing incredible growth since the first ships started sailing; however, in the last few years, the industry’s growth has been exponential. Cruise revenue was at $23.7 billion in 2017, while in 2018, this grew by 8.6% to $25.8 billion.
The projected forecast for 2020 shows the cruise industry would have been set to grow revenues to $27.8 billion. This number has now been adjusted to $7.8 billion; however, this could be viewed as optimistic. The predicted numbers were calculated in September when it was assumed cruise lines would sail in 2020.
Carnival Horizon Arrives Back in Miami
The Carnival Horizon has arrived in Miami, a hopeful sign that Carnival Cruise Line is now getting ready to resume sailings in 2021. The second Vista-class cruise ship is the first in the fleet to arrive back to prepare for sailings, and there is a lot of preparation to be done!
Before she arrived in Miami, the ship spent a lot of time anchored at sea and only being in port to pick up supplies and offload waste.
Carnival Cruise Line is putting the pieces in place ready for resuming cruises in February 2021. Before that happens, the Carnival Horizon needs to prepare, including getting crew members back onboard from their home countries, training them on new health measures, testing new protocols on trial sailings, and much more in-line with the CDC Conditional Sailing Order.
Carnival Breeze will also be arriving in Florida very soon and even more ships in the weeks to come. We’ll make sure we let you know what’s going on over on cruisehive.com
Royal Caribbean Removes Longer Cruises
Royal Caribbean will no longer be offering longer cruises until November 2021 due to the new rules from the CDC on the Conditional Sailing Order that was announced at the end of October 2020.
So this means any cruise that is over seven days longer will not be available to book on departures between January 1, 2021, to November 1, 2021.
Related: Royal Caribbean Puts a Temporary Pause on Longer Cruises
It does only apply to U.S. sailings and cruises that call to the U.S. The removal is only temporary. Hopefully, once the current CDC Conditional Sailing Order comes to an end towards the end of next year, those 8-day cruises and longer can make a comeback.
With the pause on these longer sailings, it will provide Royal Caribbean with time to evaluate options on these sailings. There could be further changes and details released as the cruise line works through the details from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).
MSC to Restart Cruises in Japan
MSC Cruises is well underway to start cruising in Japan in April 2021 after the cruise line received the Japanese health and safety certification from its official maritime classification society ClassNK.
The company is the first cruise line to receive this distinction. The certification of MSC Cruises now paves the way for the line to open sales in December to residents. This will be for cruises homeporting in Japan. It also means the company can start to work with ports in the country to prepare for the forthcoming season.
MSC Bellissima, which was launched in 2019, will be deployed to Japan, homeport in Yokohama to sail six to nine-night cruises in April, May and June 2021. She is also scheduled to operate in the country during October and November 2021.
MSC proves that safe cruising is possible while taking the necessary steps to protect both guests and crew. The cruise line already served more than 30,000 guests over the summer season, calling in Italy, Greece, and Malta.
P&O Suspends Cruises Into Spring 2021
P&O Cruises has joined other cruise lines by extending its suspension for even longer into April 2021. The British cruise line which is owned by the Carnival Corporation will have to remain on hold for even longer and it impacts the entire fleet including the new P&O Iona cruise ship that was recently delivered.
The reasons for the further cancellations is due to uncertainty across European ports. It’s also because of constantly changing guidance and limitations on international travel. It makes cruising very difficult for P&O even if cruises had resumed.
P&O Cruises is notifying all those guests impacted by the suspension. Guests will automatically receive an enhanced 125% Future Cruise Credit or simply a full refund if they no longer wish to take a cruise vacation in the future.
The cruise line is working with the Cruise Lines International Association UK (CLIA) on resuming cruises along with the relevant authorities in the UK. We already know that the British government is working on a new framework for kick-starting the cruise industry in 2021.
Disney Cruise Line Extends Suspension
And finally, it comes as no surprise that Disney Cruise Line has extended the suspension on cruise operations through January 31, 2021. Cruise ships won’t resume until February at the earliest and this follows Carnival-owned cruise lines that have already suspended well into 2021.
Related: Disney Cruise Ships Will Remain on Hold Until February 2021
So this no means all four ships have further cancellations and won’t begin sailing again until February. All Disney Magic, Disney Wonder, and Disney Dream cruises are cancelled through February 1, 2021, and the Disney Fantasy cruises through February 6. 2021.
The cruise line is offering compensation options to affected guests. those who have paid their booking in full can choose a future credit or a full refund. Those who haven’t paid in full will receive the amount they have already paid so far.
Even More Cruise News
Those are just some of the news stories from the week. There’s plenty more breaking news including another cruise ship being beached for scrapping in Turkey, a 35-Day Caribbean cruise departing in December that has already sold out, a new Fincantieri shipyard in Progreso, a cruise line to begin cruises to the Canary Islands, and more. Also, we’ve got all the best Black Friday and Cyber Monday cruise deals from all the major cruise lines
If you would like to back track on last week’s cruise news roundup the head right here.
