Cruise companies hope for smoother sailing this travel season

Paris

WITH tests, vaccinations and isolation areas, cruise ship companies are hoping for smoother sailing this travel season, after fears over Covid-stricken ships rocked the industry last year.

Cruise companies have lost tens of billions, and hundreds of thousands of people have lost jobs as countries banned ships from their ports.

The industry's woes started in February last year, when the Diamond Princess and its 4,000 passengers spent weeks in quarantine in port in Japan as coronavirus infections on board climbed, reaching 700.

While cruises may have to wait until July to use ports in Florida, ships have been gingerly returning to sea in other markets, with strict health protocols to avoid a repeat of last year's misfortunes.

Italian cruise line Costa Cruises set sail on Saturday for the first time in more than four months, with its flagship vessel setting sail from Savona in north-western Italy. The Italian government had banned cruises in December. The vessel, Costa Smeralda, was only a quarter full with 1,500 passengers.

All passengers and crew were first tested for coronavirus; mask-wearing was mandatory for the trip. The 1,300 crew were quarantined for 14 days before reporting for duty.

Other ships were setting sail from Barcelona and the southern French city of Marseille.

Costa's rival MSC returned to sea much earlier, in August, Since then, Patrick Pourbaix, director-general of MSC France, said the company has carried "more than 60,000 passengers on around 30 cruises, worry-free".

The cruise industry has been hit by the Covid crisis, suffering a shortfall of US$77 billion and shedding 518,000 jobs between mid-March and September 2020, said Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA).

Before the pandemic, cruises companies had enjoyed a decade of strong growth, peaking in 2019 with 29.7 million passengers, more than half from North America, said CLIA.

Didier Arino, director-general of French consultancy Protourisme, said: "It's a sector which will not return to normal activity until 2025."

For now, the new normal is vaccines, tests and masks.

US operator Norwegian Cruise Line will run three of its 17 vessels from Greece and in the Caribbean this summer, with passengers who are "fully vaccinated" at least two weeks before departure.

"It's not one or the other. It's vaccines plus the safety protocols," said its chief executive Harry Sommer. Guests will be tested before boarding and before disembarking; sanitation protocols on board will include medical-grade air filtration and enhanced medical resources, he said.

In Britain, the Ministry of Transport has given the green light for cruises - but only in domestic waters - to resume from May 17.

But capacity has been restricted to 50 per cent, or a maximum of 1,000 passengers, all of whom must be UK-based.

On-board gatherings will also be restricted to groups of up to six people.

P&O Cruises president Paul Ludlow said: "While there is still uncertainty about holidays abroad this summer, we are delighted to be able to offer our guests the ultimate escape here in the UK, with the reassurance that we will take care of everything."

P&O will accept only fully vaccinated passengers.

In the United States, cruise ships may be able to resume sailing from ports in Florida in mid-July following a year-long shutdown, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced.

At least 98 per cent of the crew and 95 per cent of passengers will need to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 for ships to set sail.

While Costa and MSC do not insist on passengers being vaccinated, they have to take a Covid test before embarking, and observe strict social-distancing while aboard.

The two firms will only offer only excursions within a "health bubble", keeping contact with local people to a bare minimum. If suspected cases appear, MSC has an isolation area and medical teams on board its ships, Mr Pourbaix said; sick passengers would be taken to the first port.

Although to date few vessels and itineraries have emerged as available for the European summer season, there is no shortage of demand.

Mr Sommer said that Norwegian Cruise Line's first 35 cruises put on sale are already fully booked. AFP