When Will Europe Cruises Resume?

This article was last updated on May 17, 2021.

As cruise lines push hard to resume operations in the U.S., several have already returned to sailing in Europe -- successfully. But what does that mean for Americans? When might we expect to be able to visit the Baltic or the Mediterranean or the Greek Isles again?

We've broken down which lines are currently offering voyages in Europe, what they're doing to keep their passengers and crew safe, and who, exactly, is allowed to sail. (Spoiler: It isn't North Americans just yet.)

Which European Countries Are Allowing Americans to Enter?

Cruises have started again in Europe, but it doesn't mean U.S. citizens can simply fly over there and hop on a sailing. Many cruise lines are limiting their voyages to residents from their own bubbles. For example, Mediterranean sailings are generally limited to residents of the Schengen region, while Norwegian sailings have been restricted to passenger who reside in Norway.

According to CNN, European countries allowing Americans to visit without restrictions include Albania, Belarus and North Macedonia, while Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Ireland, the Maldives, Malta, Montenegro, Serbia and the United Kingdom allow U.S. residents, but with restrictions that include everything from mandatory vaccinations and testing negative for SARS-CoV-2 to self-isolating or quarantining for a set period of time after arrival.

Which Cruise Lines Are Sailing in Europe?

MSC: MSC returned to sailing in August with one ship, MSC Grandiosa. Voyages were limited to passengers who hail from the 26 countries in the Schengen region, and cruisers were required to pass pre-embarkation health screenings, submit to daily temperature checks and book ship-sponsored shore excursions in order to leave the ship in port.

The line has made it clear that it's taking the protocols seriously, limiting ship capacity, employing more stringent cleaning and sanitation procedures, and even denying boarding to members of one family who deviated from their designated tour during Grandiosa's first sailing back.

A second ship, MSC Magnifica, also briefly resumed sailings. Both ships again voluntarily suspended service due to a spike in coronavirus cases throughout Europe, but Grandiosa resumed as of January 24, 2021.

Norwegian Cruise Line: Norwegian plans to restart sailings in July 2021, offering weeklong Greek Isles voyages from Athens on Norwegian Jade. All passengers will have to be vaccinated in order to sail.

Disney Cruise Line: Disney will offer sailings from select UK ports on Disney Magic, beginning in the summer of 2021. Adults will need proof of full vaccination before boarding, and children (17 and younger) will need to present a negative PCR test result.

Holland America: Holland America will restart Europe cruises in August 2021. Eurodam will sail Greek Isles cruises from Athens. All passengers will have to be vaccinated in order to sail.

Celebrity: Celebrity will debut new ship Celebrity Apex in Athens, with a season of Greek Isles cruises beginning in June 2021. Vaccinated passengers only.

Royal Caribbean: Royal Caribbean returns to Europe cruising with Americans with a series of Greek Isles voyages on Jewel of the Seas out of Limassol, Cyprus.

Costa: In October, Costa Diadema began weeklong Mediterranean cruises from Italy on two of its ships -- Costa Deliziosa and Costa Diadema -- for Italian passengers only.

Currently, the line has banned North American passengers.

Like MSC, Costa only allows passengers to go ashore in port if they book shore excursions through the cruise line. Cruisers are also be required to have their temperatures checked daily and wear masks in public areas and other places onboard where social distancing was not possible. New air filtration has also been set up for the ships' HVAC systems.

TUI: TUI began cruising again over the summer with short sailings that welcomed Germans only and had no port calls. In October, on a sailing in the Greek Isles, 12 crew members returned positive tests, which were later confirmed to be false positives, following three additional rounds of testing, all of which came back negative.

AIDA: Like Costa, Carnival Corp.-owned German cruise line AIDA was slated to resume sailings in early September, but 10 crew members tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. The line instead began sailing again in mid-October under new protocols that included pre-cruise virus testing and temperature checks.

Hurtigruten: Hurtigruten resumed sailings in June but had to temporarily cease operations again in August after the virus spread to more than 60 passengers and crew on one of its ships.

A few other lines currently sailing include Amawaterways, Paul Gauguin, Hapag-Lloyd, SeaDream, Ponant and CroisiEurope.

What Is the Current State of U.S. Cruises?

On October 31, 2020, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention allowed its no-sail order, which previously had been extended three times, to expire. The agency replaced it with a new conditional sail order, with a framework outlining precautions each ship must take before it's allowed to return to sailing.

The phased-in approach required by the CDC includes increased sanitation, improved HVAC filtration, pre-cruise testing and health screenings with temperature checks, mask wearing in public areas and non-revenue "volunteer" voyages, which will allow each ship to test its cleaning, social distancing, isolation, quarantine and evacuation protocols. 

After test sailings are completed, cruise lines must submit a request for the CDC's permission to sail for each ship that has completed the required protocol.

Currently, major oceangoing cruise lines have suspended North American sailings through the following dates:

• Carnival: June 30, 2021
• Celebrity: June 30, 2021 (select sailings and ships into October)
• Disney: June 30, 2021 (Disney Fantasy through July 31, 2021)
• Holland America: June 30, 2021 (select sailings and ships as far out as August)
• MSC: May 31, 2021 (some into June 2021)
• Norwegian: July 31, 2021 (select ships into August, September and November)
• Princess: June 30, 2021 (select ships into August)
• Royal Caribbean: June 30, 2021

Cruise line cancellations specific to Europe include:

• Holland America: through June 30, 2021 (Rotterdam) and August 31, 2021 (Volendam, Westerdam, and Nieuw Statendam)
• Princess: through June 30, 2021 (from Rome) and September 25, 2021 (from Southampton)