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Holland America Rotterdam cruise ship launched

A new Holland America Line cruise ship has been launched from the shipyard.

The HAL Rotterdam was launched by Fincantieri at a shipyard in Italy today.

Rotterdam will next have her drydock filled with water and floated out on October 7 to begin the next stage of construction at an outfitting pier.

Coinciding with the launch is the traditional and well-wishing “coin ceremony" which sees the yard welding a silver dollar on the last deck of the ship.

Carnival Cancels More Cruises, Focuses Return on Miami and Port Canaveral

Following an eleventh-hour extension of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's no-sail order, which now runs through October 31, 2020, Carnival has canceled sailings from most ports through December 2020.

The line said in a statement that, when the time comes, it will take a phased approach to its restart, focusing first on sailings from Port Miami and Port Canaveral in Florida. The line has not yet canceled November or December sailings from those two ports.

No Sail Order extended through end of October 2020

The U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) has extended its cruise ship prohibition by adding an additional 30 days to the No Sail Order.

Late on Wednesday night, the CDC updated its website with a notice that the No Sail Order is now in effect through October 31, 2020.

Carnival Sunshine at sea aerial

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?

CDC and White House reportedly clash over when cruise ship ban should expire

A new report claims the White House overruled the U.S. Centers for Disease Control over how much longer to extend the No Sail order that prohibits cruise ships from sailing.

Axios reported that according to two different sources, the CDC Director wanted to extend the No Sail order until February 2021, but White House officials would only allow them to go until the end of October 2020.

COVID-19 tests on TUI Cruises crew turn out negative

After 12 TUI Cruise crew members tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday, follow-up tests show that those same crew have now tested negative.

The cruise line reported that repeat checks by Greek health authorities turned out to be negative.

After docking in Piraeus, Greece, the Mein Shiff 6 conducted two additional PCR tests and all came back negative.

Carnival's next mega ship begins sea trials

Carnival Cruise Line's next giant cruise ship has begun her first set of sailings aimed at testing the ship's seaworthiness.

The Mardi Gras departed the Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku, Finland on Monday morning to spend the next 10 days at sea.

Once her sea trials are complete, she will return to the dock for final preparations for its departure for the U.S.

Mardi Gras will be the first ship powered by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in North America.

12 crew members on German cruise ship test positive for COVID-19

Tests of 12 crew members aboard the TUI Cruises Mein Schiff 6 cruise ship have come back positive.

The ship, carrying 920 passengers, is on its way to the Greek island of Piraeus after the positive results were announced by Greece's Civil Protection agency and reported by Reuters.

10 cruise ship tips from a former cruise director

You can find a lot of great cruise tips out there, but tips from a former cruise ship employee come from a lot of experience onboard.

Kabir Rathaur-Bageria is a former Cruise Director for Carnival, P&O Australia and Marella Cruises on Celebrity Cruises, and has been working on ships for 5 years. He now runs his own podcast, Keeping Afloat.

Cruise directors have pretty much seen it all on a cruise, having had many years of experience in so many areas of a ship.

Will There Be a Second Wave of COVID-19 After Cruises Resume? What We Know So Far

It's been at least half a year since most of us have seen the inside of a cruise ship, and many of us are itching to be back onboard. With the CDC's closure of public comment on the resumption of sailings and the Healthy Sail Panel's recommendations submitted, it's looking like that could happen before the end of 2020.

As an avid cruiser, you might be wondering whether the reward is worth the potential risk. Could there be a second wave of illness in the U.S., and could cruise ship travel contribute to it? None of us has a crystal ball, but here, we examine what we know so far.

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