TORONTO — While the Canadian travel industry waits for travel restrictions to lift and the border to reopen, more U.S.-based cruise lines have announced 2021 sailings out of the U.S. and beyond.
Here’s a roundup of the latest cruise news, starting with Silversea, which today announced its plans to set sail from Alaska starting July 29, and Iceland too.
And to read Travelweek’s exclusive interview with CLIA’s Laziza Lambert on cruising’s restart, click here.
SILVERSEA CRUISES
Silversea, which was the first cruise line to return to global ultra-luxury cruising with voyages in Greece and the Galápagos starting June 2021, has announced new summer voyages in Alaska and Iceland, starting in July 2021.
Silver Muse will resume roundtrip sailings from Seattle on July 29. The Alaska sailings will be added to Silversea’s website effective June 7.
Meanwhile Silver Shadow will circumnavigate Iceland with the launch of new all-Icelandic itineraries, returning to Northern Europe with three 10-day voyages from Reykjavik, beginning July 30.
“We proudly continue to lead the ultra-luxury cruise industry’s healthy return to service and commend the leadership of Alaska and Iceland for taking steps to advance the safe resumption of global travel,” says Roberto Martinoli, Silversea’s President and CEO. “The return to service is fast gaining momentum, and we’ve seen exceptional demand for travel in Alaska and Iceland. We’re eager to welcome back our guests to unlock unforgettable experiences aboard Silver Muse and Silver Shadow while contributing to the local economies of the incredible communities we visit.”
Passengers who book before August 31, 2021, will be able to cancel their cruise up to 30 days prior to departure for all voyages (except World Cruises) until April 30, 2022, without penalties when selecting an FCC.
All guests and crew will be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before embarking Silver Muse in Alaska and Silver Shadow in Iceland.
A number of cruise lines including Princess, Holland America, NCL and Royal Caribbean have also announced Alaska sailings for summer 2021 following the adoption of the Alaska Tourism Restoration Act last month.
REGENT SEVEN SEAS CRUISES
All five ships in the Regent Seven Seas Cruises fleet are on their way back.
The cruise line says it intends to preserve already published itineraries as much as possible, beginning with Seven Seas Explorer on October 16, 2021, from Venice, as the ship takes over five of Seven Seas Mariner’s published cruises, with Mariner going into a technical dry-dock. Seven Seas Mariner will resume sailing December 18, 2021, from Miami, as will Seven Seas Navigator on January 6, 2022. Finally, Seven Seas Voyager will return on February 15, 2022from Barcelona.
As part of the return to sail plan, 17 new sailings in Europe and the Caribbean have been created for Seven Seas Explorer and Seven Seas Voyager, which can be viewed at RSSC.com/Regent-returns, and are scheduled to go on sale in earlyJune 2021.
“We thought carefully about how, when, and where reuniting the entire Regent family would enable us to consistently deliver an unrivaled experience with every luxury included, as well as provide exceptional destination explorations,” said Jason Montague, president and chief executive officer, Regent Seven Seas Cruises. “We are incredibly excited that all five of our ships will be back on the ocean by early 2022, the year of our 30th anniversary. The World’s Most Luxurious Fleet is ready to return, and our crew will be there eagerly waiting to welcome all our guests back onboard once again.”
Meanwhile the cruise line has canceled all sailings up to each ship’s respective restart date.
HOLLAND AMERICA LINE
Following a series of four cruises to Greece in summer 2021, Holland America Line’s Eurodam will assume the previously scheduled cruises of Westerdam that span the Mediterranean. From Sept. 12 through its Oct. 30 transatlantic departure, Eurodam will offer five 12-day itineraries roundtrip from Venice; between Venice and Piraeus (Athens); Venice and Barcelona; or from Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale. Bookings are now open.
Guests who were booked on Westerdam cruises automatically will be rebooked on the same departure date aboard Eurodam in a comparable stateroom. As a Signature Class vessel, Eurodam has a slightly larger capacity and will be able to accommodate all Westerdam guests (Eurodam 2,104; Westerdam 1,964).
Holland America Line previously announced Eurodam would restart cruising in the Mediterranean Aug. 15, 2021, and offer three seven-day departures roundtrip from Piraeus and one seven-day cruise from Piraeus to Venice.
RIVIERA RIVER CRUISES
Riviera River Cruises plans to restart its European river cruises in July 2021 with departures on Portugal’s Douro River. Riviera’s first departure of its eight-day Douro, Porto and Salamanca river cruise will be on July 2 aboard the MS Douro Elegance. A four-day Lisbon extension is also available on select departure dates. All passengers boarding Riviera ships will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or present a negative test prior to travel.
Riviera says it will continue to evaluate travel guidelines throughout Europe and restart operations on additional rivers when possible.
Included in Riviera’s flexible customer care policies are COVID-19 cancellation and curtailment protection, and Riviera’s happiness guarantee. If a passenger isn’t able to travel specifically due to COVID-19, the booking can be transferred to another departure date for free with as little as 24 hours’ notice. If a guest has to cut their holiday short specifically due to COVID-19 and a travel insurer doesn’t cover it, Riviera will provide compensation for the missed portion of the cruise. And if a guest isn’t happy by the second day of their cruise, Riviera will assist in bringing them home with a full refund.
