Cruise industry unshackled by Covid-19

Strong revival ahead for ocean & river cruises
2022-04-03
/
/ New Delhi
Cruise industry unshackled by Covid-19

Cruise operators begin to report exciting news about full bookings for the coming high season and even better bookings later in the year or in 2023

Decision by the United States government last week to cancel the health warning attached to cruises is yet one more bit of good news for the global cruise industry, which had seen its fortunes drown in the tsunami that the Covid-19 pandemic brought with it. At last, cruise operators from around the world are reporting exciting bookings and busy season once again.
Rate this post

The impact of Covid-19 pandemic has been one of the worst for the global cruise industry which has spent most of the last two years almost entirely in the docks due to frequent reports of outbreaks of the pandemic aboard numerous ships, leading to billions of dollars in losses for most of the large players in the segment.

Now, after well over two years of turbulent seas, calm weather seems to be settling on the horizon as the cruise operators begin to report exciting news about full bookings for the coming high season and even better bookings later in the year or in 2023. The good news seems to be all-pervasive, from ocean, sea and river cruises.

Another boost in the fortunes of the industry has come from the decision taken last week by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (USCDC) to remove the health warnings it had attached to cruises as this will raise the confidence of a large majority of travellers to book their next cruise.

The decision has been welcomed by players in the cruise industry and beyond. “The decision by the CDC to remove the Travel Health Notice for cruising is well-deserved recognition that the industry has been sailing millions of travelers for many months with highly effective protocols that make cruising among the world’s safest forms of socialising and travel,’’ says Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO.

“The cruise industry has gained strong momentum in recent months, with many travellers anxious to again begin enjoying holidays with family and friends, and the CDC’s decision begins to help level the playing field between cruise and land-based vacation options. This is also welcome news to the extensive network of suppliers, many of whom are small businesses, that depend on cruise for their success, which will continue to help provide significant positive impacts for economies and employment in countries and regions around the world,” adds Simpson.

Cruise industry mounts capacity rapidly

For the past few months as the number of new Covid-19 cases have been falling and with the cruise operators reporting steady increase in demand, they have been increasing capacity deployed on the seas. Some of the operators have already returned to their full service schedules for most of their ships, though deployment of the capacity back to the levels prevailing in 2019 may yet take some time.

Reports of return of capacity keeps trickling. For instance, on Sunday, as cruise liner Arcadia sailed to the Canary Islands, it marked P&O Cruises’ first full return to service since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic two years ago. Obviously, the news was cheered by the company. “We’re back sailing, and this is certainly cause for celebration. Sunday is an important milestone as we have all six ships back in operation and doing what we do best. We are delighted to be welcoming Arcadia back to the fleet. This ship is hugely popular with our loyal cruisers, and I know the captain and team on board cannot wait to sail the fantastic itineraries we have planned for this year,” says Paul Ludlow, P&O Cruises president.

Meanwhile, Arvia will join P&O Cruises in December as the seventh ship in the fleet. Its maiden voyage will be to the Canary Islands followed by a winter season of fly/cruise holidays in the Caribbean from Barbados. Arvia, which, similar to its sister ship Iona, will be powered by liquefied natural gas, will have many sustainable and environmentally-friendly innovations and technology on board.

Similarly, another large operator, Princess Cruises has reported unprecedented demand for Enchanted Princess’ new 2022 ex-UK season since the voyages went on sale earlier. The line recently announced that its new ship Enchanted Princess will sail roundtrips from Southampton from May to September. She will be offering 13 voyages ranging from four to 14-nights to destinations including the Mediterranean, Canary Islands, Scandinavia and Norway. “Since the new voyages for Enchanted Princess went on sale, demand has exceeded expectations. Trading in the first four hours has been even stronger than for our ‘Seacations’ launch this time last year, which was one of our strongest trading days in history for the UK market,’’ says Tony Roberts, vice president Princess Cruises.

“Our phone lines and agent chat has been full this morning and our travel agent partners are reporting a significant uptick in bookings, with many guests having registered interest before the new cruises went on sale. This illustrates that there is still a strong demand from guests for a cruise holiday from Southampton with Princess, and it’s fantastic to see that guests are excited as we are to have our new ship Enchanted Princess sailing from the UK this summer,” adds Roberts.

River cruises back in fashion

The cheer is not limited to the operators of large cruise liners that run in the seas or oceans, even river cruises are back in demand. River cruise operator Saga announces a significant expansion, with four new ships to be added on four new rivers, capitalising on the growing popularity of river cruising. The news comes as the over-50s cruise and insurance business confirmed it narrowed its losses last year as easing Covid-19 restrictions allowed the company to take more passengers on trips.

The company said pre-tax losses were GBP 24 million in the 12 months to the end of January, compared with GBP 61 million a year earlier. Revenues were up from GBP 338 million to 377 million.

The four new ships will join two existing river ships and be operated as part of the wider cruise business under chief executive, Nigel Blanks. It will enable Saga to deliver its luxury boutique cruising experience across both oceans and rivers. “We are so excited about the opportunity to expand our fleet of river ships to keep up with the ever-growing demand for luxury boutique river cruising. Today’s announcement of four new ships is the exciting next step in expanding our wider cruise offer,’’ says Blanks.

The cheer is bound to continue and despite the odd interruption due to other factors such as the current Russia-Ukraine War and in many ways the industry does need a strong and long-lasting revival in order to stay afloat and eventually sail full steam ahead.

You may also like
Mexico targets over 9.3 million cruise tourists in 2024
Mexico targets over 9.3 million cruise tourists in 2024
Resort World Cruises
Resorts World Cruises launches RW CruiseBuddy in India
Royal Caribbean CEO Jason Liberty named CLIA Chairman
Royal Caribbean CEO Jason Liberty named CLIA Chairman
Washington DC
Washington DC is first LEED-Platinum city in world: Elliott L Ferguson, II

Leave a Reply

Get Magazine