Cruise Destinations

With swine flu panic receding, and the Foreign Office and the US Centre for Disease Control lifting their recommendations to avoid Mexico, cruise lines have begin to announce that their ships will soon be returning to the area. Carnival, which includes the Princess and Holland America brands, kept their ships at sea or diverted to completely different itineraries up the west coast of America rather than call at Mexican ports. They will be back to their original schedules, visiting destinations such as Cozumel and Ensenada from the middle of June. Royal Caribbean International will resume calls to Cozumel with sailings [...]

If you thought swine flu was moving quickly, then it has nothing on the ability of a cruise line executive to change his mind. Yesterday the bosses at Carnival Corporation were adamant that their ships would not be cancelling calls at Mexican ports. Today, the 10,000 or so passengers on those ships found themselves still at sea instead of going ashore, as health officials in America and Europe advised against all non-essential travel to Mexico Carnival Elation stayed out in the Pacific instead of visiting Ensenada on the Mexican Riviera. Carnival Inspiration and Holiday remained in the Caribbean Sea instead [...]

The $50-a-head levy on cruise passengers imposed by Alaska has led to another ship being pulled out of the region next year. Norwegian Cruise Lines have joined the exodus led by Princess and Royal Caribbean. Instead of sailing from Vancouver to Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway, the Norwegian Sun will be sailing from Dover to the Baltic, including one of the world's finest destinations, St Petersburg. But interestingly, at a time when cruise lines like P&O and Royal Caribbean are adding more cruises sailing from the UK, the 1,936-passenger Sun's arrival will mean NCL have less capacity. It replaces the 2,376-capacity [...]

Cruise lines with ships sailing to ports in Mexico have announced they have no plans to cancel voyages or change itineraries, despite growing concern over the outbreak of swine flu affecting the country. Carnival Corporation say they are "consulting closely" with US public health officials, the World Health Organisation, and the Department of Homeland Security to monitor the situation. "There are currently no reported cases on Carnival ships or in any of the ports we visit in Mexico," said a spokesman. "We do not anticipate that our guests' cruise experience will be impacted by this type of illness and will [...]

Tighter restrictions on cruise ships visiting Antarctica have been agreed, although no means of enforcing them are yet in place. Vessels carrying more than 500 passengers will be prohibited from landing passengers on the Polar ice. No more than 100 passengers will be allowed ashore at any one time, in an attempt to prevent damage to the ecosystem. Agreement was reached at the 32nd meeting of the Antarctic treaty organization in Baltimore, USA following concern at the growing number of visitors - up from 6,700 to 45,000 in the past 16 years. There have also been worries about the number [...]

The threat of pirate attacks is forcing MSC Melody to make a 400-mile diversion on its three-week voyage from South Africa to Italy which departs today.. The 1,080-passenger ship, the oldest in MSC's fleet, is returning from Durban to the Mediterranean for a season of summer cruises. Somali pirates have captured a number of merchant vessels recently, most notably the container ship Maersk Alabama, whose captain was held hostage for five days before being rescued by US Navy SEALS. The Melody, sailing to Reunion, Mauritius and the Seychelles, will stay well clear of the Somalian coast and miss out a [...]