In positive news for many cruise lines, Canada approved cruise operations from Canadian ports, effective April 1, 2022. That means that the summer 2022 Alaska season, the summer Great Lakes season and the fall New England/Canada cruise season are all a “go.”
Last year, no cruises sailed from Canadian ports but passage of U.S. Congressional legislation then signed by President Joe Biden temporarily allowed foreign-flagged ships to depart from Seattle, WA, without the normal required foreign port call. That saved part of last year’s Alaska season. But now, for the first time since 2019, many cruise lines including Holland America Line and Princess Cruises, both big players in the Alaska market (with both cruises and lodges), anticipate a full Alaska cruise season. Voyages will depart from Vancouver, BC, as well as Seattle. Holland America announced plans for its full 2023 cruise season.
In addition, the decision clears the way for lines to also sail to/from or make port calls at Quebec City and Montreal in Quebec; Toronto, ON; and other destinations in the Canadian Maritime provinces or along the Great Lakes. Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) said that its member cruise lines will be sailing with “COVID-19 protocols that provide some of the highest levels of prevention, detection and mitigation compared to virtually any other tourism setting.”
Other Cruise Developments
In other positive news, MSC Cruises announced plans for year-round cruises from New York City. Starting in April 2023, MSC Meraviglia will sail from the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal to the Caribbean/Bahamas, Bermuda and New England/Canada.
In an event at PortMiami, Carnival Cruise Line celebrated the start of its 50th anniversary year. The late Ted Arison, father of Micky Arison, Carnival Corporation's current chairman, founded the line, which sailed its first cruise in March 1972. Micky Arison, Christine Duffy, Carnival Cruise Line's president, and Arnold Donald, president and CEO, Carnival Corporation, as well as employees, crew members, port/government officials, media and VIP guests, attended the PortMiami festivities on Friday.
On the river side, Viking floated out its new Viking Mississippi in a Louisiana shipyard. This new river vessel will sail on the Mississippi River starting this summer.
American Cruise Lines launched new National Parks Post-Cruise Packages for its U.S. river voyages on the Columbia and Snake Rivers.
Royal Caribbean International's new 5,700-passenger Wonder of the Seas set sail on its inaugural cruise from Port Everglades, FL, to the Bahamas and Caribbean. Travel Agent was aboard and today we've published a new article with many photos about the ship's new Suite Neighborhood, the ship's eighth neighborhood and the first such neighborhood for an Oasis-class ship. In a previous story last week, we also provided a look at Wonder of the Seas' new restaurant, The Mason Jar Southern Restaurant & Bar.
Lindblad Expeditions is bringing the 126-passenger National Geographic Resolution to Svalbard, Norway, for two newly added departures. The expedition line is venturing to the Arctic earlier in the season than ever before.
On the product side, SeaDream Yacht Club unveiled new imagery of its $10 million yacht renovations. The project is complete for SeaDream II, and later this month, SeaDream I enters drydock in Lisbon, Portugal, to undergo identical renovations.
Many lines are adjusting their sailing requirements. Holland America Line told Travel Agent late Friday that children under five years of age are now permitted to sail on all Holland America Line cruises.
Sister publication Luxury Travel Advisor covered the new ship design for Cunard Line's new ship,Queen Anne, as well the delay in the launch of Evrima, the first luxury yacht of Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, until August 2022.
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