Three luxury cruise lines have returned to full-fleet-at-sea status. Returning to sailing the globe with all their ships are:
- Windstar Cruises, which debuted its revitalized Star Plus Class Star Pride;
- Seabourn, which returned to full fleet strength with Seabourn Sojourn; and
- Silversea Cruises, which returned to a full portfolio of ships at sea with Silver Wind.
Certainly, the big news from the “process” side that should help the cruise recovery is the Biden Administration’s and U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention's (CDC) decision to not extend one U.S. entry requirement. Effective September 12, U.S. travelers returning home by air from overseas will no longer need to show a negative COVID-19 test before boarding their flight. Travel Agent spoke to several members of the trade and pulled together industry responses—all of which were very positive.
A recent Global Rescue "Traveler Sentiment and Safety Survey" has found that cruising is making a comeback. In fact, 19 percent of survey takers say they feel safer—or much safer—about taking a cruise compared to last year. Most experienced travelers (70 percent) are not experiencing any re-entry to travel anxiety in general or on cruise ships.
Cruise Developments
Pandaw is building a new vessel, Song Hong,which means "Red River." Within 10 enlarged staterooms (a bit bigger than Pandaw's classic cabins), the ship will launch in mid-2023. The vessel will join Angkor on routing through Vietnam’s Red and Black River network from Halong Bay in northern Vietnam to the mountains beyond.
Princess Cruises announced that Coral Princess has arrived in Brisbane, Australia, to commence its inaugural season. It’s the first ship to be homeported at the new Brisbane International Cruise Terminal (BICT) and the first Medallion-Class vessel based in the region.
In other news, Virgin Voyages delayed the introduction of its third ship, Resilient Lady, to the second quarter of 2023. The ship was initially scheduled to set sail from Athens this August.
In personnel news, Lindblad Expeditions has appointed industry veteran Bertha Espinosa as vice president of expedition sales. She was formerly the vice president of guest services for Crystal Cruises.
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