Dream Cruises announced the start of vaccination for all crew members on board the cruise ship Explorer Dream as well as the staff in the company’s office in Taiwan.  Starting from May 7, crew members and the land-based employees will receive their first dose of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine at the Keelung Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. It is expected that the first dose of the vaccine will be completed in three batches.

Odyssey of the Seas has departed the port of Limassol, Cyprus today and is heading back to its homeport Haifa, Israel where the crew will receive the first dose of the vaccine against Covid-19. According to our source, the captain made an announcement on the ship’s PA system that the port agent confirmed the crew vaccination for tomorrow May, 7. Odyssey of the Seas crew will receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, our source said.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings is temporarily suspending all assignments for its crew from India, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and South Africa amid a surge of Covid-19 cases in these countries. According to a letter by NCLH Vice President, Shipboard HR Operations the company has made a hard decision to suspend incoming crew movement based on reviewing crewing pools by country considering three factors: Prevalence, Number of mutations, and general availability of vaccines to seafarers in the listed

Following the popularity of the Carnival’s latest stunning red, white and blue livery adorning Mardi Gras hull, another ship in the fleet will soon receive the fresh hull design that will become a trademark feature for all Carnival Cruise Line ships as the company prepares to celebrate its 50th birthday in 2022.

Viking ocean-going cruise ships are in the final stage of preparations for the upcoming cruise season, starting with the Viking Venus which will set sail on her first voyage on May 22, with round-trip cruises in the U.K. from the port of Portsmouth. The crew onboard Viking Venus have already received the first dose of the vaccine against Covid-19 ahead of the ship’s maiden voyage.

Following the recent announcement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that cruises could resume from the US ports by mid-July, cruise lines are moving forward with the restart plans and already started with the necessary preparations for the upcoming season. Yesterday three major cruise lines announced the start of crew vaccination including MSC Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean International.

MSC Cruises has announced a fleet-wide COVID-19 vaccination program for all crew members. The program has already started on Friday on the cruise ship MSC Bellissima with Captain Giuseppe Maresca and all crew members on the ship completing their vaccination, reports Cruise Industry News.

Today, May 1st Costa resumes cruise operations, with its LNG-powered flagship Costa Smeralda. as the first vessel in the fleet to start cruising with guests. The start of cruise operations was celebrated this morning in the presence of the Costa Cruises General Manager Mario Zanetti, and the local authorities, including the mayor of Savona Ilaria Caprioglio.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings announced today the next phase of return to cruising which includes restart of its two brands Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises outside the U.S.

The cruise ship Viking Sun is officially the first vessel of the joint venture between China Merchants Shekou and Viking Cruises. The ship will sail under the Chinese flag with its new name “Zhao Shang Yi Dun”. China Merchants Shekou and Viking Cruises agreed on the joint venture in April 2019 and formally concluded it at the end of November 2020.