As we eagerly await a safe return to cruising out of North America, the world’s largest cruise company, Carnival Corporation, recently published new policies that give us a clearer picture of what cruising will be like.  Only a few days later however, they pulled these policies from their website.  We’ve reviewed the COVID-19 Policies and Procedures the company posted (removed as of early Feb 7 2020), which should give us some idea of what to expect on all of their lines, including Holland America Line, Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Cunard Line, and others.  Below we’ve called out some of the highlights, and summarized what this means for your cruise experience...

Princess Cruises' Ocean Medallion program allows for a range of high-tech enhancements to the guest experience, including contactless payments, high-speed internet, easy entry, and now even sports betting at sea.  Of course those who like to put their money where their jersey is will enjoy this new option, but we think there is also good reason for those who don't partake to be happy about the news....

As cruise lines stay nimble and plan for a return to cruising from North America, Celebrity has made significant changes and announcements over the past months - including a shift to all sailings including tips, drinks, and WiFi (Always Included).  On a call with travel agents this week, the line announced some details around capacity, vaccines, inaugural voyages, and new itineraries...

Today in near Singapore, a case of COVID-19 was reported on Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas, the first ship in the fleet to return to cruising since March.  The presence of this case though isn't necessarily indicative of a failure.  With advanced contact tracing and transmission measures in place, the coming days will demonstrate whether or not this exercise was actually a success in preventing spread, or an opportunity to update protocols...

Celebrity Cruises has for several years has given guests the option of building drinks and other add-ons into cruise fares - most recently with Sail Your Way.  Now every sailing will include WiFi, drinks, gratuities, and potentially more...

On October 30th the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced they’d allow the “No Sail Order”, in place since March 2020, to expire.  This means that under certain conditions, cruise ships may again be permitted to sail from the United States, so we've dug into the documents to find what type of restrictions will be in place and what the next steps are...

The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC), which has for months been extending its No Sail Order, preventing cruising from returning the US, is allowing that order to expire at the end of October, meaning they'll allow a phased approach to the resumption of cruising - but don't pack your bags yet..

Right now there are scores of cruise ships docked and out to sea, without any guests, and just a skeleton crew to keep things in safe and working order.  That doesn't mean those aboard aren't working hard, as was demonstrated Saturday off the Florida coast when the crew of Carnival Sensation sprang to action to ensure the safety of other mariners...

Cruise lines continue to pump out more ships to 'wow' future cruisers.  This year though, with few cruises sailing, many of them have been pushed into 2021.  Combined with new builds already scheduled for next year, it means that there could be a total of 44 new cruise ships ready to carry guests in the next 14 months.  From new cruise lines, to vessels powered by natural gas, let’s briefly go over just some of these new ships...

While most cruise lines have continued their suspensions of service since mid-March this year, there are some lines that have started sailing again.  These sailings have taken place primarily in Europe and the challenges and ways lines have dealt with them have varied.  We’ll look at what some major lines are doing to return to service...