Top Cruise Travel Stories From 2021
Top Cruise Travel Stories of 2021
The year 2021 was a big year for the cruise industry. This was the year that cruise lines around the world began test cruises to see if it would be a feasible form of travel during the pandemic. It was, and this year also became one of high demand because of it. Cruise lines began selling out their longest and most demanding world cruises, while travel agents began booking into 2023 and 2024 earlier than ever before due to the high demand.
Between political debates and COVID-19 outbreaks, the cruise industry has remained strong, restarting its itineraries to hard-hit regions of the world like Alaska and the Caribbean islands, with flexibility and high safety standards as the industry’s most important traits of the year.
This past year is also the year that many cruise lines decided to commit to sustainability, with new hybrid ships being built and new sustainability goals being created for a more sustainable future. Read on to check out the year’s top cruise travel stories of the year.
January
The beginning of January came with the hope that 2021 would be better than the year before. For the cruise industry, that meant restarting operations. But on January 6, several cruise lines extended their pause in operations through to later in the year, including MSC, Holland, Princess and Carnival. Royal Caribbean’s cruise lines, NCL’s cruise lines and Disney Cruise Line also extended their pause in operations the next week. Later in January, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings was the first major cruise corporation to consider mandating vaccines for all passengers and crew.
February
The first week of February brought the news the American Queen Steamboat Co. and Victory Cruise Lines, now merged under American Queen Voyages, would be the first U.S. cruise line to mandate the vaccine for all crew and guests. Canada also imposed its ban on cruises through February 2022 in order to combat COVID-19. Meanwhile, a Swiss cruise ship named the MS Thurgau suspended from cruising due to the pandemic, began sailing the Swiss coastline delivering and administering vaccines.
On February 11, MSC announced its newest ship, the MSC Virtuosa, would be home to the world’s first humanoid robotic bartender at sea, named Rob. That same day, Royal Caribbean announced it would require COVID-19 vaccinations for all crew members. Crystal Cruises followed days later with the news that all guests and crew would be required to be fully vaccinated. Later on in February, Disney and Carnival cruise lines extended their cruise suspension, while Holland, Seabourn and Princess canceled the majority of their cruises in Alaska and Canada for 2021.
On February 26, Alaska Congressman Don Young introduced the Alaska Tourism Recovery Act, an amendment to the 1886 Passenger Vessel Services Act that forbids any passenger vessels, including cruise ships, from sailing to Alaska without first stopping at a Canadian port.
March
Royal Caribbean International again extended its suspension of cruising through May 2021, while Princess, Holland and Seabourn canceled cruises through June 2021. In some good news, Oceania recorded its best booking day in its history on March 2, when it opened some of its 2022-2023 itineraries for sale, showing that while cruising was halted in much of the world, demand for it was skyrocketing.
On March 10, Emerald Waterways and Emerald Yacht Cruises merged under the Emerald Cruises banner. Crystal Cruises announced on March 11 that it would begin porting out of The Bahamas for the first time in July, while American Cruise Lines was the first cruise line to set sail in the U.S. on March 13. The trend of cruise lines choosing different Caribbean ports than those in Florida began to grow, with Celebrity Cruises choosing to port out of St. Maarten, and Royal Caribbean choosing to port out of both Bermuda and The Bahamas. On March 30, travel organizations and cruise lines continued advocating for an end to the Conditional Sail Order that grounded all cruising out of America.
April
April 1 came with the news that Venice was banning large cruise ships from the city’s center, a reaction against several dangerous incidents the past several years and from residents complaining about overtourism. While cruising was still halted in much of the world, the demand for it continued to skyrocket, with many cruise lines seeing record booking levels.
On April 6, NCL announced it would restart cruising in July, while that same day Disney extended its suspension through June. Silversea mandated the vaccine for all guests and crew.
On April 8, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis began suing the US government over the cruise industry’s suspension; he was later backed by Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy. On April 12, Alaska Gov. Dunleavy continued to push for the bill that would waive the 1886 maritime law that continued to halt Alaskan cruises.
Another bill was submitted to the Senate calling for a repeal of the CDC’s Conditional Sail Order on April 13, but it was shot down on April 25. Additionally, CLIA’s campaign to lawmakers to repeal the Conditional Sail Order generated 118,000 messages to lawmakers. The day after, MSC extended its suspension of US sailings through June. Royal Caribbean also announced that it would extend its suspension through June.
Holland America celebrated its 148th anniversary on April 18. Seabourn began making plans to have another ship port out of Barbados instead of the U.S. because of the government’s suspension of cruising. The CDC, on April 29, said that there would a push to get cruise lines back sailing safely by midsummer.
May
May began with the announcement that several cruise lines would slowly begin operating out of destinations around the world. Silversea and Celebrity would begin sailing the Galapagos in June and July, Holland from Greece in August, AmaWaterways would return to Europe in July … finally there was some good news, and tentative plans for cruising’s restart. In other good news, on May 11 Hurtigruten announced that all of its Coastal Express ships would cut carbon emissions by 25 percent by 2023.
The CDC also issued guidance for test cruises on May 5, which began the start of the return to operations in the Americas. On May 14, the Senate passed the bill that would once again allow Alaska cruises to operate without stopping in Canada. It was signed into law by President Biden on May 24. Following the announcement, NCLH, Holland, Carnival Corp. and Celebrity announced their Alaska return to sailing.
On May 25, Royal Caribbean became the first cruise line to receive CDC approval to begin conducting test cruises. On May 27, the CDC approved the Celebrity Edge to be the first cruise line to set sail with paid passengers onboard.
The debate over cruise lines’ vaccine mandates continued through May. The Florida governor Ron DeSantis threatened NCL in particular, saying he would fine any cruise ship that ports out of Florida and required proof of vaccination from all guests. Meanwhile, Florida’s lawsuit with the CDC over its influence on the cruise industry was turned over to a mediator to be settled out of court.
June
June 2021 was a big month for the cruise industry. This was the month that many cruise lines began holding test cruises, like Royal Caribbean, which passed its first test on June 21, later earning approval from the CDC to begin revenue sailings, while Celebrity set sail as the first cruise line to get the ‘OK’ from the CDC to hold the first revenue cruise sailing out of mainland USA since before the pandemic.
After the first test cruises, the CDC began allowing more cruise lines to begin making concrete plans for the summer season, with some of the biggest cruise lines announcing a return to sailing in June and July. On June 10 and June 24, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean found that a few of their passengers had tested positive for coronavirus, but they remained in good health, and it did not become an issue for the cruise industry. In fact, on June 17, the CDC lowered the risk level for cruising, recommending that cruise passengers should be fully vaccinated prior to traveling.
Unfortunately, on June 4, it was announced that the governor of Florida and the CDC could not reach an agreement, so the lawsuit was headed back to court. On June 19, the state issued a preliminary injunction against the CDC’s Conditional Sail Order in another backlash against the cruise restrictions. In other Florida news, the governor overrode Key West’s referendum limiting mega-ships from entering the islands, banning local authorities from using referendums that could limit maritime commerce.
In better news, MSC announced that it created a new luxury ship brand, Explora Journeys, set to debut in 2023. NCLH announced on June 23 that it had created its Sail & Sustain program, which works towards carbon neutrality and finding more sustainable solutions to the industry’s greatest problems.
July
July brought the Delta variant, more cruise restarts than ever before, including in Alaska as well as more drama between Florida and the CDC.
In the beginning of July, Costa Cruises unveiled its new Costa Firenze ship, which sailed its inaugural voyage on July 4 along with its sustainable tourism manifesto. Other new ships were announced to debut this year include Atlas’ World Navigator, NCL’s Norwegian Prima and more.
Venice announced on July 14 that it would begin banning large cruise ships from its historic Giudecca Canal beginning on August 1.
Crystal, Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Seabourn all began operating cruises out of various ports in the mainland U.S. in the beginning of July, with cheers around the world at the cruising restart. Disney Cruise Line began its first test cruise on July 19, getting approval a week later to begin revenue cruises beginning in August.
Alaska began welcoming cruises to its ports, with Royal Caribbean leading the way with the first ship. Later in the month, Holland and Princess began cruising out of Seattle to Alaska, too.
Other good news was announced by MSC in July, including the announcement of its cruise ship terminal in Miami and its development of the world’s first hydrogen-powered ocean cruise ship. Other good news includes Regent Seven Seas breaking its booking record for selling out its latest world cruise in two and a half hours of the itinerary opening for sale.
The drama between Florida and the CDC seemed to reach a fever pitch in July. The CDC appealed the preliminary injunction the state had put on the agency on July 6; the injunction was repealed by the courts on July 18. Two days later, Gov. Ron DeSantis threatened to take the matter to the Supreme Court. On July 25, the state appealed to the Supreme Court, as promised, while the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the CDC’s restrictions in Florida the same day. On July 27, CLIA cruise line members backed the CDC, vowing to continue upholding safety protocols.
This was also the month that the Delta variant gained worldwide attention and countries, states, cities and other organizations changed their protocols to try to stop what would become the dominant strain of the coronavirus in the world. Royal Caribbean changed its boarding rules in response, requiring a negative COVID-19 test prior to boarding.
August
August was a great month for the cruise industry! Most of the news we covered here at TravelPulse was good news, like several cruise lines restarting ships, celebrating inaugural voyages and more.
The first day of August was the day Venice’s large cruise ship ban set in, which altered some cruise lines’ itineraries. Hurtigruten announced it would be offering African itineraries for the first time beginning in 2022, to destinations like The Gambia, Senegal and other destinations that cruise ships rarely visit. Regent Seven Seas broke a booking record two years in a row when it opened its 2023-2024 itineraries for sale on August 18, achieving its largest booking day in the company’s 29-year history, proving once more that the demand for cruising only grew throughout the pandemic.
August 9 brought some drama with Florida once more: a federal judge had ruled in favor of NCLH’s vaccine mandate the weekend before, which the Florida governor immediately threatened to appeal (again).
Cruise ships’ protocols were proven effective, with vaccination requirements and other important protocols, though there was one outlier in August: Carnival’s Vista ship found 27 people had tested positive for COVID-19 on one cruise, with the majority being crew members. All were vaccinated and showed very minor symptoms.
Several new ships set sail on their inaugural voyages in August, including Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady, AmaWaterways’ AmaSiena and Carnival’s Mardi Gras and MSC’s Seashore. Other ships and cruise lines restarted from key ports around the globe, too. MSC and NCL returned sailing out of Miami, with NCL also beginning its Alaska cruises out of Seattle. Caribbean ports began welcoming the first cruise tourists in a year and a half, to much celebration. Oceania began its cruises at the end of the month in Copenhagen after nearly 530 days without sailing.
As a response to the Delta variant, NCL extended its vaccination mandate for guests through December as the CDC issued new guidance warning those with serious health issues to avoid cruising.
September
September was overall another great month for the cruise industry. MSC received CDC approval to begin sailing its MSC Divina out of Port Canaveral, AmaWaterways’ new AmaDahlia set sail on the Nile, and American Cruise Lines has launched its new American Melody ship. Regent Seven Seas Cruises celebrated its return to service on September 11, while Royal Caribbean announced it would build a new Italian cruise port out of Ravenna on September 22.
There was still some trepidation, however, as Holland halted the restart of three of its ships and Seabourn canceled its Quest ship’s 2021 Antarctica season. Carnival had to delay one of its ships porting out of New Orleans because of Hurricane Ida; it set sail later in the month. Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line actually sent a ship to the port to help house temporary workers.
September was also the month in which cruise lines either announced the creation of or published reports on their sustainability goals. MSC Group pledged to become carbon neutral by 2050; Royal Caribbean published its 13th annual sustainability report, meeting or exceeding almost all of its 2020 goals and committing to reduce emissions by 25 percent by 2025; and Carnival Corp. published its 11th annual sustainability report, announcing its goals for both 2030 and 2050 in categories that include sustainability, health and wellbeing, diversity, equity and inclusion and more.
American Queen Steamboat Company and Victory Cruise Lines announced their merger into American Queen Voyages, also announcing the redesign and renaming of several of its ships. Oceania also set a new booking record in September, breaking its last single-day booking record by 60 percent for itineraries on its newest ship, the Vista.
October
October was a relatively quiet month in the cruise industry, which is a good thing! More cruise ships restarted service, like the Princess’ Majestic Princess and the Emerald Princess, both out of Los Angeles. Holland America Line’s Rotterdam began sailing out of Amsterdam this month, too.
Carnival laid out its plan moving into winter of 2021 and into 2022, with plans to have 90 percent of its ships fully operational. The Celebrity Beyond, expected to take its first voyage in 2022, is going to have the first American female captain at the helm, Captain Kate McCue.
Royal Caribbean announced on October 28 that it is expanding its sustainability initiatives, creating a plan to become completely carbon neutral by 2050, called “Destination Net Zero.” The cruise line also revealed the largest world cruise yet, and the cruise line’s first world cruise ever: the “Ultimate World Cruise,” which will visit all the continents, 150 ports and 65 countries in 274 nights in 2023 on the Serenade of the Seas.
Florida governor Ron DeSantis has made another headline in October, filing another appeal against the ruling that allowed Norwegian Cruise Lines to follow CDC guidelines and require proof of vaccination for every cruise guest. Later in the month, the CDC announced the extension of the Conditional Sail Order through January 15, 2022, due to its success in keeping COVID-19 transmission low aboard cruise ships.
November
November was the month that brought us the Omicron variant, but the cruise industry remained largely unaffected by its arrival until late in the month, continuing its restart in regions like the Caribbean. Several new ships were accepted by cruise lines this month, including Royal Caribbean’s Wonder of the Seas and MSC’s Seashore, while other ships continued restarting operations under pandemic protocols, like two of Celebrity’s ships.
November was also the month when the CDC published a report on the number of positive coronavirus cases onboard cruise ships since the industry restart began: out of the 600,000 Americans who cruised, only 1,359 positive cases were recorded between June 26 and October 21. Another report by CLIA detailed the cruise members’ sustainability and environmental impact, the members of the organization pledging to become carbon neutral by 2050.
On November 10, Royal Caribbean CEO Richard Fain announced he was stepping down from his position after 33 years of service to the industry.
On November 14, cruise lines around the world were recognized during the 2021 Travvys in a variety of different categories. AmaWaterways, Royal Caribbean and NCLH, as well as other beloved brands, earned top marks in this year’s awards.
Later in November, the first real impact of climbing coronavirus rates and the Omicron variant began impacting European river cruises first, with Christmas markets being canceled due to high rates in Europe. On November 30, NCL canceled its South Africa sailings through January due to the Omicron variant.
December
December was all about Omicron for the cruise industry. Royal Caribbean began debating about vaccine mandates for children, while MSC mandated all guests, even children, to be fully vaxxed for all winter sailings. Carnival, Royal and Norwegian tightened their masking requirements for guests due to the new variant, as well as several new outbreaks on board some of their ships, like the Symphony of the Seas, in which 44 people tested positive on one sailing.
Later in the month, the Odyssey of the Seas was rejected from porting in several Caribbean destinations because of a breakout that left 55 people testing positive. The CDC began investigating these and other breakouts onboard cruise ships on December 26.
In other news not related to the pandemic, Princess’ Enchanted Princess has been given three intrepid women explorers to be its godmothers. Remember when the Florida governor overturned Key West’s referendum disallowing large cruise ship traffic? The first large cruise ship arrived in Key West on December 9, welcomed by two hundred protestors. Carnival opened a terminal in Dubai on December 17, opening up the Middle East for greater cruise tourism.
Lastly, a woman on board the Carnival Miracle fell overboard off the coast of Ensenada, Mexico on December 11. While both the U.S. Coast Guard and the Mexican Navy searched for over 31 hours to find her, they could not recover her body. She has been presumed dead.
Goodbye 2021, Hello 2022
This year has certainly been a rollercoaster for the cruise industry, as it has also for many other industries, businesses and families. As we close the year with perhaps more uncertainty than earlier months, we should take the time to reflect on where we’ve been, how far we’ve come and the little steps we’ve made to improve our own and others’ lives.
Here’s to a brighter 2022. Happy holidays and happy New Year.