No more COVID-19 tests for passengers into the USA effective 12 June.

• CDC will announce this weekend it will be ending its requirement of a negative COVID-19 test for Americans to re-enter the United States. The change means that U.S. travellers can pursue their love of cruising from homeports elsewhere in the world without concern they could be denied entry to return home. Likewise the news will be welcomed by guests elsewhere in the world wanting to visit the USA for a land or cruise holiday.

Coral Princess Arrives at New Homeport of Brisbane

• The return of cruising in Queensland continued this week with the arrival of Princess Cruises’ Coral Princess into Brisbane (7 June) to commence her inaugural season.  The ship’s arrival marks the first ever ship to be homeported at the new state-of-the-art Brisbane International Cruise Terminal (BICT) and the first of Princess Cruises’ MedallionClass vessels to call Australia home.
• Building on the momentum of sister line, P&O Cruises Australia’s Pacific Explorer’s first sailing from Sydney last week, Coral Princess is set to depart on its first guest cruise on June 16, 2022
• The 2000-guest ship will offer 11 cruises departing Brisbane ranging from 3-12 nights between June and August before returning for another 10 cruises this summer from November. The MedallionClass ship will make 48 calls to the State’s ports this year, including her first visits to Airlie Beach in the Whitsundays, Cairns and Port Douglas.

Virgin Voyages Revises Launch Schedule for Third Ship, Resilient Lady

• A decision rooted in guaranteeing the delivery of brilliant guest and crew experiences, Virgin Voyages will defer the upcoming launch of its third Lady Ship to Q2 2023. Initially scheduled to set sail from Athens mid-August of this year, Resilient Lady will remain in Genoa getting on-board work completed, hitting the high seas next spring. As part of an ambitious launch sequence, Virgin Voyages is now operating two ships, its first, Scarlet Lady in the Caribbean and second, Valiant Lady in the Med. Despite challenges stemming from the pandemic, the new brand introduced two ships in the span of a year, including the launch of its new Terminal V at PortMiami in February.
• As an experience-led brand with strong ties to the Virgin legacy of disrupting industries, Virgin Voyages did not land on this decision lightly, and despite making tremendous strides alongside the cruise industry as a whole, the brand is not immune to the global challenges the world is facing. This includes supply chain obstacles, a level of regional uncertainty for international travellers and crewing challenges.
• While this delay was not anticipated, Virgin Voyages is successfully operating its first two Lady Ships and looks forward to welcoming Resilient Lady to its fleet early next year, with its fourth ship in the fleet, Brilliant Lady, soon thereafter.

Carnival deploys Menu Mate

• Extensive dining options help feed the fun at Carnival Cruise Line, and as anyone with food allergies knows, having a variety of healthy choices is more than just enjoyable – but also important to safety. That’s why Carnival is now introducing the Menu Mate™ food ingredient program fleetwide to accommodate guests with special diets more efficiently than ever.
• Easily operated on touch-screen tablets at food venues across the Carnival fleet , the Menu Mate food ingredient program is powered by award-winning CertiStar software to mitigate the risks of allergic reactions. The new program is the first of its kind among major cruise lines.
• The program eliminates the lengthy process of conferring between guests, wait staff and chefs over the ingredients of menu items and possible substitutions. Now that the process of selecting items with allergen friendly ingredients is simplified, it is also no longer necessary for guests to inform Carnival of food allergies in advance of their cruise.

NCLH Steps up commitment to Sail Sustainably

• Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings has released its 2021 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, as part of its Sail & Sustain program,
• Highlights from the report include:
  • Committing to pursue net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 across the operations and value chain
  • Developing short and near-term greenhouse gas reductions to support the path to net zero
  • Investigating the feasibility of retrofitting existing engines to operate with both diesel and methanol fuels
  • Aiming to test the use of methanol fuel by 2025
  • Setting a target for approximately 70% of the fleet to be equipped with shore power capabilities by 2025
  • Offsetting three million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent from 2021-2023 to help bridge the gap in decarbonisation efforts whilst exploring long-term alternative fuel solutions

Seabourn is celebrating the return of its entire fleet

• Seabourn Sojourn return to service on June 6, 2022, from Athens, Greece for a sun-soaked European summer.
• The ultra-luxury cruise line now has all five of its ships in operation for the first time since March 2020. This summer, Seabourn Sojourn will join Seabourn Encore and Seabourn Quest in the Mediterranean, while Seabourn Ovation will visit Northern Europe and Seabourn Odyssey will explore Alaska. The excitement will continue for the line when Seabourn Venture, the first of the line’s two ultra-luxury, purpose-built expedition ships, embarks on its inaugural expedition this summer

Holland America Line’s Holds Naming Ceremony for Rotterdam

• Holland America Line’s flagship Rotterdam received the royal treatment in a ceremony rich with Dutch heritage May 30, 2022, in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet of the Netherlands served as godmother and officially named the ship in front of invited dignitaries and guests.
• Upon arrival, Princess Margriet was welcomed at the gangway with a traditional floral bouquet presented by seven-year-old Nora van Dijk, daughter of Nathalie van Dijk, who has been with Holland America Line for 15 years, most recently as a business development representative in sales in the Rotterdam office. During the daytime naming celebration, Carnival Corporation President and CEO Arnold Donald, Holland America Group President Jan Swartz, Rotterdam Captain Werner Timmers, Lord Mayor of Rotterdam Ahmed Aboutaleb and Mariner Ambassadors David and Gisela Gere joined Princess Margriet to officially welcome Rotterdam to the fleet.
• Holland America Line’s connection to The House of Orange goes back nearly a century to Prince Hendrik launching Statendam III in 1929. Since then, members of the Dutch Royal Family have launched 11 more Holland America Line vessels throughout the years, including Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet who named Prinsendam (1972), Nieuw Amsterdam II (1983), Rotterdam VI (1997) and Oosterdam (2003).
• Additional members of the Dutch Royal Family who are godmothers include Queen Máxima, who named Koningsdam in 2016 and Nieuw Amsterdam in 2010. Then-Queen Beatrix served as Eurodam’s godmother in 2008. Rotterdam V was launched in 1958 by Queen Juliana. Then-Princess Beatrix named Statendam IV in 1957 and Prinses Margriet in 1960. Nieuw Amsterdam II was launched by Queen Wilhelmina in 1937.
• The third vessel in the Pinnacle Class series and the seventh ship to bear the name for Holland America Line, Rotterdam carries 2,668 guests and features highly successful amenities and innovations introduced with her sister ships.

Windstar Cruises’ Reimagined Star Pride Makes Debut in Greece

• Windstar Cruises announces the debut of its all-suite Star Plus Class Star Pride yacht today, sailing from Athens on a sold-out, eight-day voyage to Barcelona, stopping at ports including Gythion, Corfu, Argostoli, Messina (Taormina), Trapani, and Cagliari. Star Pride is the third and final of Windstar’s Star Plus Class yachts to emerge from Italy’s Fincantieri shipyard following a complex lengthening and transformation project. 
• Now, all six of the line’s all-suite and sailing yachts are back in the water cruising while requiring vaccines of all passengers and crew amongst a host of health and safety precautions including testing and high-tech air filtration.
• The line’s three all-suite Star Plus Class yachts (Star Breeze, Star Legend, and Star Pride) underwent major transformations, with an investment of more than $250 million. Star Breeze was the first to launch in June of 2021, with Star Legend as the second in September of 2021, showcasing new suites and expanded outdoor and indoor public spaces. The yachts are also more environmentally friendly with new efficient engines, generators, and advanced wastewater treatment systems.
• All three yachts increased in maximum capacity from 212 guests to 312 and provide more of what Windstar’s customers want, like additional dining experiences (one is an outdoor barbecue concept with grilling guru Steven Raichlen and the other a Spanish small plates restaurant from Anthony Sasso, one of the youngest chefs to be recognized by the Michelin Guide), a true spa and fitness center, an elegant infinity pool, and more outdoor deck areas.

A new build for Pandaw

• Launching in mid-2023 the RV Song Hong, which means Red River, will join the company’s highly successful RV Angkor on its routing through North Vietnam’s Red and Black River network from Halong Bay to the mountains beyond. The Angkor is so popular it books out months in advance so there is a real need for a second ship on this routing.
• With just ten enlarged staterooms, going a bit bigger than the classic much-loved Pandaw cabin, this expedition vessel will like all Pandaw ships have an ultra-shallow draft to enable it to cope with such tricky waterways.
• Pandaw first opened on the Red River in 2015 and it has been one of the company’s most successful small ship routings offering a real insight into the life and culture of North Vietnam with its amazing scenery and time spent in and around the capital Hanoi.
• The new ship will be built in the region at Hai-phong, and fitted out in hardwood from sustainable forestry. It will have the usual Pandaw promenades running around the ship that are conducive to so convivial and atmosphere on board and a choice of indoor or outdoor dining, in the spacious saloon or aft deck.

Proof of vaccination or recovery is no longer required on A-ROSA cruises

• From 4 June 2022 participating in cruises of A-ROSA Flussschiff GmbH will again be possible without proof of vaccination, recovery or a certified negative test result. The cruise line has adapted its hygiene protocol to the relaxed European entry regulations. After the removal of the mask mandate on board as well as the rapid antigen test upon boarding, this is the next major relaxation step.
• An exception is the A-ROSA ALVA in Portugal. Here, due to regional regulations, guests over 12 years of age continue to require proof of complete vaccination or recovery from COVID-19 in order to participate in Douro cruises. In addition, the requirement to wear a mask and the need for a rapid antigen test prior to boarding remain in place.
• The additional hygiene measures such as the strengthened cleaning and disinfection protocols are maintained everywhere onboard. The A-ROSA Care Team continues to closely monitor the very dynamic developments and will adapt the protection and hygiene protocol to changing circumstances if necessary.
• Since the start of the season in March 2022, the A-ROSA ships have once again been sailing on the Rhine, Danube, Douro, Rhône and Seine. Guests can enjoy high-quality drinks all day as well as breakfast, lunch, coffee and dinner as a buffet in the premium all-inclusive tariff. The SPA-ROSA with sauna, fitness room, massages and wellness treatments as well as the pool are open without restrictions. Individual shore excursions are just as possible as organized tours.

Carol is tuned in to the music of cruising 

• Professional musician, Carol Johns, fine tuning one of P&O Cruises Australia’s flagship Pacific Explorer’s pianos.
• ​The fine tuning of P&O Cruises Australia’s flagship Pacific Explorer extends to also fine tuning the ship’s five beautiful pianos.
• After more than two years of not sounding a note, the onboard pianos needed some special tender loving care from piano tuner Carol Johns.
• A professional musician, Carol has a good ear for the music of cruising and so it was for her a labour of love to strike the right note with Pacific Explorer’s pianos.
• According to Carol, it takes about two hours to tune a piano properly and she also acknowledged that two years of no playing had taken a toll on Pacific Explorer’s five.
• “After nearly two and a half years, they’ve got themselves to under concert pitch so you have to lift them back up to get them in tune,” Carol said.
• “That happens with any piano but it’s exaggerated because of the time and being on a ship is a tough time for a piano.
• “It takes about two hours to tune a piano if you want to make it really beautiful because there are about 88 notes but there are more than 220 strings and they’ve all got to be tuned, some of them more than once.”
• During normal operations, piano tuners made regular “ship calls” to P&O Cruises ships but that was impossible during the pause when the fleet was far from their Australian home.
• After being carefully tuned by Carol, the pianos will be glad to be home as well.