News

The New Zealand government has announced that the maritime borders of the country will reopen at the end of July on July 31, 2022.

The reopening of the maritime borders is a positive sign for the upcoming cruise season. The reopening of their maritime borders comes at an excellent time, ahead of the fall and winter cruise season that will begin in October for New Zealand.

The return of cruising to New Zealand will bring a boost to their tourism operations that they have been without for the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cruise Lines International Association shared new findings that point to evidence of the cruise industry’s resilience, while attending Seatrade Cruise Global in Miami, Florida.

In Cruise Lines International Association’s (CLIA) latest press release, they stated that “our science backed protocols facilitated the resumption of cruise operations, with over 7.5 million passengers having sailed in nearly 90 markets, all while committing to pursuing ever more ambitious carbon reduction goals.”

On Monday April 18, a federal judge in Florida overturned the federal mask mandate that would  require travelers to continue wearing face coverings while in and onboard places of public transportation until May. Prior to this, the CDC had extended its face covering mandate for another 15 days nationwide.

This morning, April 18th 2022, was the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic that a cruise line has returned to Australian waters and ports.

Australia is one of the most recent countries to restart its cruise industry after closing down during the pandemic. Prime Minister Scott Morrison closed all ports within Australia to passenger cruise ships on March 15th 2020.

P&O Cruises Australia Pacific Explorer, the flagship of P&O Cruises Australia, is the first international ship to return to Australia in over two years.

Currently three of the major cruise lines, Royal Caribbean International, Carnival Cruise Line, and Norwegian Cruise Line require that guests older than five years of age be fully vaccinated in order to cruise. However, as more amenities return to, and reopen, on cruise ships, there are more and more talks on when cruise lines might end their requirement for proof of vaccination.

Due to shipping delays and supply chain issues, the launch of Margaritaville’s cruise line has been delayed.

The first of the company’s cruise ships, Margaritaville at Sea Paradise, was scheduled to debut on April 30th 2022. In a statement from The Chief Marketing Officer of Margaritaville, Tamara Baldanza-Dekker said, “as a result of shipping delays, and in an effort to ensure the very best possible onboard experience, we are moving our first official passenger sailing to May 14th.”

Disney Cruise Line’s newest ship, Disney Wish, is one step closer to its highly anticipated inaugural sailing.

Disney Wish has started her conveyance journey on the Ems River from the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. During this journey, the newest cruise ship for Disney Cruise Line will transition to its final outfitting location before beginning sea trials.

For the first time in two years, the U.S Centers for Disease and Control (CDC) has removed its warning against traveling on a cruise ship. 

The news was a very welcomed change for the cruise industry, which has put in place effective health protocols to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 onboard cruise ships since the onset of the pandemic. 

Princess Cruise Line launched its newest ship, Discovery Princess, from the Port of Los Angeles today. On her maiden voyage, Discovery Princess will be sailing to beautiful ports in the Mexican Riviera. 

Through the end of April, Discovery Princess will continue to sail from Los Angeles to ports in California and Mexico. She will then make her way up the Pacific region to begin offering 7-day sailings to Alaska from Seattle. Discovery Princess will be the newest ship sailing to Alaska this season.