The cruise industry is looking elsewhere

Some exciting headlines yesterday as Royal Caribbean announced new home ports in June for two of its cruise lines. In two separate announcements, Celebrity Cruises will begin sailing from the Dutch Caribbean island of Saint Martin, while Royal Caribbean will depart from the Bahamas.

The news came after Crystal Cruises announced that start operations from the Bahamas.

It seems then that the cruise lines believe that we can indeed sail safely and securely. The decision to advertise home ports away from the United States will be seen as a power play, as the cruise industry has always been a massive contributor to the US economy, and Florida in particular.

As Cruise Hive already reported yesterday, the mayor of Miami-Dade is really trying to push and reopen the industry.

Why is this happening?

The cruise industry has been taken after the fact for the past 12 months. Cruise lines first adopted a voluntary cruise stop last year as a sign of goodwill.

However, despite the massive contributions that the cruise industry has always made to the United States economy, it appears the CDC has little incentive to get cruising off to a quick start.

This is in stark contrast to many other countries which have actively pursued a reboot of crossing within their borders, recognizing the financial implications of not doing so.

United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Israel, Singapore, Bahamas and Saint-Martin all eagerly accepted ships within their borders. With heavy health restrictions, we should add. Vessels should have at least PCR testing done and in some cases they require guests to be fully vaccinated.

Also read: MSC Cruises to Start Line of UK Cruises From May

But, countries accept ships to sail and recognize that the results of the past few months on ships from Royal Caribbean, Dream Cruises, MSC, Costa, TUI, etc., speak to the safety of cruising at this time. Something the CDC seems to reject.

Is it a permanent thing?

The remoteness of the American home ports will not be a permanent thing. The ships can be expected to return to the United States as soon as the opportunities present themselves. The infrastructure in place in the United States cannot be replicated anywhere else, at least not in a matter of months.

However, it looks like the CDC missed a chance to set the tone for the cruise. As it stands, they are behind the facts. The CDC could and should have played an active and leading role in bringing the cruise back after COVID.

This would have ensured that cruise lines were sailing under the policies imposed by the United States. Whereas now the cruise lines all have their own policies. The CDC therefore missed a great opportunity.

So where can we navigate?

Several cruise lines have announced various home ports in the Caribbean and elsewhere, including Europe, the UK and Singapore. In the last few days, things are going well for those in the United States who want to go on a cruise this summer:

Celebrity cruises

Celebrity Cruises is to restart operations with the Celebrity Millennium cruise ship. The ship will be home port in the popular eastern Caribbean port of St. Maarten. There will be two different routes in the Caribbean Celebrity Millennium will offer.

A weeklong itinerary will include calls to Aruba, Curacaoand Barbados. The other itinerary will include visits to Tortola, Saint Lucia and Barbados. Look here for more information on Celebrity Cruises from Saint-Martin.

Royal Caribbean

Royal Caribbean is back with Caribbean cruises starting in June! Sea adventure will be based in Nassau, Bahamas and will offer 7-night cruises.

From June 5, the Royal Caribbean cruise ship will have two consecutive days at Private Perfect Day Island from Cruise Line at CocoCay, a chance to explore the island of Grand Bahama and a visit to Cozumel, Mexico. More info here!

Crystal cruises

Crystal Cruises’ Bahamas Escapes will be offered on the Crystal-clear serenity luxury cruise ship from July to October.

The seven-night cruises will have two ports of embarkation, Nassau and Bimini, providing additional choice for those in the United States who wish to fly over. The line even offers special packages for flights. More information can be found here.

We could see more cruise lines doing the same thing to operate from different Caribbean ports. MSC and Royal Caribbean have been linked with Cozumel in recent weeks, while Barbados has always been a popular home port for many smaller cruise lines. The wait may well be over if this trend continues!

Main photo credit: Ruth Peterkin / Shutterstock.com