Here is the top travel news for this week.
- Carnival Cruises announced their fall lineup with more ships returning to service. Currently, travelers are required to be fully vaccinated as well as provide proof of a negative COVID test taken within 48 hours of embarkation in order to cruise on Carnival.
The Biden administration announced yesterday that starting in November, it will allow fully vaccinated travelers from the United Kingdom and the European Union (EU) entry into the U.S.
Carnival will restart several cruise ships this fall:
- Carnival Valor November 1 from New Orleans
- Carnival Legend November 14 from Baltimore
- Carnival Radiance December 13 from Long Beach
- Carnival Pride November 14 from Tampa
- Carnival Conquest December 13 from Miami
- Carnival Sensation January 2022 from Mobile
Ports will also have mobile COVID-19 rapid testing facilities. More information will be provided in the coming weeks.
- Oceania Cruises set an all-time single day booking record when bookings opened up for the new Oceania Vista cruise ship. Vista is slated to debut in April 2023. In under 2 hours the company had surpassed the number of all time bookings.
- Crystal Cruises 2024 World Cruise is now open for reservations with 2 for 1 fares that can save travelers up to $17K pp. The cruise is 105-night sailing aboard Crystal Serenity exploring the Southern Hemisphere from Miami to Rome, Jan. 5-April 20, 2024. “Celebrated Cultures & Treasured Temples” marks Crystal’s 27th World Cruise and features a near circumnavigation of the globe with 49 ports of call in 22 countries and destinations, including the Panama Canal, Mexico, French Polynesia, the South Pacific, New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, the Red Sea, the Suez Canal, and the Mediterranean islands of Cyprus, Crete and Sicily.
- More cruise ships returning to service. The Regent Seven Seas Splendor set sail from Southampton. This was the first cruise for Regent in 18 mounts. The ship sailed at half capacity with a mix of company executives, travel agents and press. Royal Caribbean International became the first cruise ship to resume sailing from New York/New Jersey. The Oasis of the Seas resumed sailing from Bayonne , New Jersey on September 12 with seven-day cruises from cape Liberty to the Bahamas, visiting Nassau and Royal Caribbean’s private island, Perfect Day at CocoCay. Norwegian Cruise Line has redeployed the Norwegian Epic and Norwegian Getaway in the Mediterranean. This makes six ships out of 17 back in operation. The Epic completed a weeklong cruise to ports in Spain and Italy from Barcelona, with stops in Livorno(Florence), Civitavecchia (Rome), Naples, Cagliari(Sardinia) and Palma (Mallorca). The NCL Getaway sailed on September 13 from Civitavecchia on its first cruise since March 2020. The ship will sail a mix of 10 and 11-day Greek Isle itineraries, calling in Dubrovnik,Croatia; Corfu, Santorini; Mykonos; Naples; and Livorno through October 25. Azamara Cruises completed its first sailing last week as an independent brand with a weeklong Greek Island sailing on the Azamara Quest. The sailing debuted Azamara’s new concept with destination-tailoresd offerings, as well as anew immersive program ashore and onboard.
- New York is the arts & culture capital of the U.S. Three powerhouse Broadway shows reopened in New York. Lion King, Hamilton and Wicked, the spiritual anchors of modern Broadway, revved their engines once again. The return of this trio is an important signal that Broadway’s most valuable shows are back, despite pressure and uncertainty from the spread of the delta variant. Ticketholders must prove they are fully vaccinated and masks must be worn at all times, except when eating or drinking in designated areas.
- Miami International Airport has just announced that it is collaborating with the Global Forensic and Justice Center at Florida International University and American Airlines to install a trial program of COVID-19 detecting dogs at the airport. Two dogs will be available for a 30-day pilot program. The dogs are potentially able to immediately detect and alert to the virus in public spaces. COVID-19 causes metabolic changes in a person that produces compounds excreted by breath and sweat, which the dogs will pick up. They will be stationed at airport security and if they are able to detect a person who may be carrying the virus, security will pull the person aside to get a rapid test. Miami International advised the dogs were able to detect COVID during their training sessions up to a rate of 99%. While Miami will become the first U.S. airport to use the dogs, others internationally have been using them for some time.
- Emirates is increasing the number of flights from US destinations to Dubai this October. There has been a growing interest from US travellers to visit Dubai, a city that offers something for everyone and will be hosting a number of major events including the World Expo this winter.
