TUI announces cancellation of restart date

[sandebeach]

From MSC

[Sunshine3601]

I saw the other day that costa cruiseline is setting further restrictions on where the passengers can travel from to board their ships sailing in europe.    I suspect the spikes in europe will cause other ships to stop sailing soon as travel restrictions will probably be implemented soon.  

Noone wants to see cruiselines have a breakout that would devastating. 

[steamboats]

15 hours ago, sandebeach said:

From MSC

 

Fake news... MSC sent out a press release saying this is fake news and the ships are running as planned.

 

steamboats

[sandebeach]

34 minutes ago, steamboats said:

 

Fake news... MSC sent out a press release saying this is fake news and the ships are running as planned.

 

steamboats

I agree. 

##### OFFICIAL STATEMENT #####

“In response to recent misleading posts on social media, #MSCCruises wishes to make it clear that any suggestions of a halt to its Mediterranean operations are completely false and have no basis in fact. MSC Cruises continues to operate successfully in the Mediterranean thanks to a protocol that has evolved and strengthened since the August restart in response to the evolution of the pandemic ashore. As a result guests, crew and the communities they visit are better protected by ever more stringent measures.”

[cruiseboy89130]

MSC is running just fine - no problems what so ever!

[SeaHunt]

OK I've decided the problem is .......yodeling! No more yodeling! 🙃😁

 

"About 60 former passengers from a themed cruise aboard the river cruise ship Swiss Crystal have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the voyage's organizers. 

 

92 passengers were on board for the trip, and the majority have returned a positive test result. Organizer Hanspeter Balsiger - who was among those who caught the disease - told local outlet Blick that standard precautions were taken before and during the voyage. 

 

The itinerary in question was a folk-music themed cruise, and it featured hours of singing in enclosed spaces - including yodelling. Passenger Daniel Kissling told Blick that while social distancing was maintained, mask wearing was not uniformly observed during the music-making. 

 

Public health experts have previously identified group singing events (like church choirs) as high-risk activity due to the potential for droplet and aerosol spread. In one superspreader event which CDC researchers published as a case study, as many as 52 out of 61 attendees at a choir practice likely contracted COVID-19 from one asymptomatic participant". 

 

https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/60-german-river-cruise-passengers-contract-covid-19

[SeaHunt]

TUI vows to keep sailing:

 

"TUI Cruises has swiftly responded to the news of Germany's emergency lockdown and underlined that its cruise operation will not be brought to a stop. 

 

The company currently has three ships in service.

 

Two ships are sailing from German homeports on cruises composed of just sea days, while another ship is operating in Greece.

 

"The measures announced by the federal and state governments will not bring our ships to a standstill again," TUI said, in a statement.

 

"Because staying onboard our ships does not count as domestic tourism, the arrival and departure in the respective departure port is still permitted as a transit. With us onboard you can continue to feel as safe as at home."

 

TUI said than 30,000 satisfied guests have traveled with the company since July and "are proof that safe and healthy travel onboard the Mein Schiff fleet is possible even in times of coronavirus.

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/23774-tui-cruises-will-go-ahead-despite-german-lockdown.html

[Germancruiser]

1 hour ago, SeaHunt said:

 

TUI said than 30,000 satisfied guests have traveled with the company since July and "are proof that safe and healthy travel onboard the Mein Schiff fleet is possible even in times of coronavirus.

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/23774-tui-cruises-will-go-ahead-despite-german-lockdown.html

Amen to that- I was on two of those blue voyages- and can not agree more- in fact could I do so workwise I would just board one the Mein Schiffs and stay there until things turn for the better in Germany/Europe!

[Biker19]

^ I mentioned this in the MSC thread - compared to some places on land, you are likely to be SAFER on a cruise.

[steamboats]

@SeaHunt the Swiss Crystal is a river cruise ship. It was a full charter with guests from Switzerland. While all other river cruise lines do not have any more entertainment than a piano player who is not allowed to sing this cruise was a folk music themed cruise with singers and choirs. Usually guests do not wear masks when sitting in a lounge and having a drink. So I highly assume that there were no masks worn during the musical events. This is a perfect set up for super spreaders! And they should have known that. Switzerland had super spreader events (a Jodel event) and we had them too with church choirs singing. I don´t know why they did this.

 

But actually in the last two weeks a couple of infections had been located on river cruise ships - mainly amongst crew. 

 

River cruise ships do not have the capability to do tests prior to the cruise. The crew is tested but not all passengers. Nicko cruises did an antibody test. During the last two weeks more and more river cruise lines did ask for a PCR tests when the passenger is living in a high risk area in Germany. But still not all passengers got tested.

 

All ocean cruise lines do tests - AIDA and TUI Cruises do require a PCR test not older than 72 hours. MSC and Costa do an antigen test in port prior to boarding.

 

steamboats

[cruiseboy89130]

14 hours ago, steamboats said:

All ocean cruise lines do tests - AIDA and TUI Cruises do require a PCR test not older than 72 hours. MSC and Costa do an antigen test in port prior to boarding.

 

steamboats

MSC will do also an antigen test after certain excursions and at the end of the cruise on request.

Edited October 29, 2020 by cruiseboy89130

[Biker19]

On 10/28/2020 at 6:42 PM, steamboats said:

Fake news

This doesn't seem to be:

 

As a result of Germany implementing far-reaching measures to contain COVID-19, AIDA Cruises canceled voyages between Oct. 31 and Nov. 30.

 

This follows the German government's Oct. 28 decision to impose further restrictions on public life and travel to limit the spread of COVID-19 — which AIDA said it 'fully supports.'

 

AIDA restarted cruises on a phased-in basis in mid-October, using health and safety protocols developed in coordination with national and international authorities and medical experts.

[Biker19]

For now, Tui ain't buyin.....

 

 

TUI Cruises has swiftly responded to the news of Germany's emergency lockdown and underlined that its cruise operation will not be brought to a stop. 

 

The company currently has three ships in service.

 

Two ships are sailing from German homeports on cruises composed of just sea days, while another ship is operating in Greece.

"The measures announced by the federal and state governments will not bring our ships to a standstill again," TUI said, in a statement.

 

"Because staying onboard our ships does not count as domestic tourism, the arrival and departure in the respective departure port is still permitted as a transit. With us onboard you can continue to feel as safe as at home."

 

TUI said than 30,000 satisfied guests have traveled with the company since July and "are proof that safe and healthy travel onboard the Mein Schiff fleet is possible even in times of coronavirus."

[steamboats]

15 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

This doesn't seem to be:

 

"Fake News" did refer to MSC halting operations. MSC and Costa are going on. They have nothing to do with the lockdown in Germany! Their passengers are mainly Italians. And BTW the "Fake News" appeared on a Dutch website and referred to the Dutch restrictions. Not to the German lockdown which was announced later.

 

AIDA did halt operations due to the lockdown in Germany. But AIDA has mainly German passengers. Why TUI Cruises doesn´t stop... I don´t know.

 

steamboats

[Biker19]

5 minutes ago, steamboats said:

Why TUI Cruises doesn´t stop... I don´t know.

As CEO Fain said, you are safer on a cruise than on Main St.

[Biker19]

MS2 is on her repo to the Canaries.

 

Biker, who wonders if Tui will keep cruising after the lockdown in Germany starts on 11/2.

[steamboats]

On 10/30/2020 at 7:58 AM, Biker19 said:

As CEO Fain said, you are safer on a cruise than on Main St.

 

Actually I just returned from MS6 / Greece last Sunday so I know exactly that you´re much safer on a ship than at home in a grocery store or on public transportation.

 

It´s mainly a political thing... it simply doesn´t sound good going on a cruise while the whole country is in a lockdown. All river cruises had to stop as they are only operating within Germany. AIDA has stopped their cruises out of Italy (o.k., Italy is regarded as a high risk country anyway since this week). AIDA doesn´t start out of the Canary Islands next week... TUI Cruises stays on and sends the MS2 to the Canaries while the AIDAperla has turned around to go back to Skagen. Hapag-Lloyds Canary Island cruises on Europa 2 are not bookable anymore... (and Hapag-Lloyd belongs to TUI Cruises now).

 

steamboats

[steamboats]

TUI Cruises had to cancel all cruises out of Kiel on Mein Schiff 1 due to new local state laws. Mein Schiff 6 is still running out of Greece. Mein Schiff 2 is on its way to the Canary Islands to go on with cruises there.

 

Italy just published a new law... The first version included a ban of all cruises. The final version does still allow cruises with new regulations. So Costa and MSC can go on.

 

steamboats

[Biker19]

40 minutes ago, steamboats said:

TUI Cruises had to cancel all cruises out of Kiel on Mein Schiff 1 due to new local state laws.

The government may have done Tui a favor  - the popularity of those sailings must be waning by now.

[Sunshine3601]

1 hour ago, steamboats said:

TUI Cruises had to cancel all cruises out of Kiel on Mein Schiff 1 due to new local state laws. Mein Schiff 6 is still running out of Greece. Mein Schiff 2 is on its way to the Canary Islands to go on with cruises there.

 

Italy just published a new law... The first version included a ban of all cruises. The final version does still allow cruises with new regulations. So Costa and MSC can go on.

 

steamboats

Any idea what the new regulations italy set for their cruises?

[steamboats]

2 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Any idea what the new regulations italy set for their cruises?

 

Here´s the Italian regulation:

 

"Art. 10
Disposizioni in materia di navi da crociera e navi di bandiera estera
1. I servizi di crociera da parte delle navi passeggeri di bandiera italiana possono essere svolti solo nel rispetto delle specifiche linee guida di cui all'allegato 17 del presente decreto, validate dal Comitato tecnico-scientifico di cui all'articolo 2 dell'ordinanza 3 febbraio 2020, n. 630, del Capo del Dipartimento della protezione civile, a decorrere dalla data del 15 agosto 2020.
2. I servizi di crociera possono essere fruiti da coloro che non siano sottoposti ovvero obbligati al rispetto di misure di sorveglianza sanitaria e/o isolamento fiduciario e che non abbiano soggiornato o transitato nei quattordici giorni anteriori all'imbarco in Stati o territori di cui agli elenchi C, D, E ed F dell'allegato 20. In caso di soggiorno o transito in Stati o territori di cui all'elenco C, si applica l'articolo 8, comma 6.
3. Ai fini dell'autorizzazione allo svolgimento della crociera, prima della partenza della nave, il Comandante presenta all'Autorità marittima una specifica dichiarazione da cui si evincano:
a) l'avvenuta predisposizione di tutte le misure necessarie al rispetto delle linee guida di cui al comma 1;
b) i successivi porti di scalo ed il porto di fine crociera, con le relative date di arrivo/partenza;
c) la nazionalità e la provenienza dei passeggeri imbarcati nel rispetto delle previsioni di cui al precedente comma.
4. Fermo restando quanto previsto dal comma 2, secondo periodo, è consentito alle navi di bandiera estera impiegate in servizi di crociera l'ingresso nei porti italiani nel caso in cui queste ultime provengano da porti di scalo situati in Stati o territori di cui agli elenchi A, B e C dell'allegato 20 e tutti i passeggeri imbarcati non abbiano soggiornato o transitato nei quattordici giorni anteriori all'ingresso nel porto italiano in Stati o territori di cui agli elenchi D, E ed F dell'allegato 20, nonché previa attestazione circa il rispetto, a bordo della nave, delle linee guida di cui al comma 1. Il Comandante della nave presenta all'autorità marittima, almeno ventiquattro ore prima dell'approdo della nave, una specifica dichiarazione contenente le indicazioni di cui al comma 3.
5. Gli scali sono consentiti solo negli Stati e territori di cui agli elenchi A, B e C dell'allegato 20 e sono vietate le escursioni libere, per le quali i servizi della crociera non possono adottare specifiche misure di prevenzione dal contagio."

 

And this is what Google translates:

 

"Art. 10 Provisions relating to cruise ships and foreign flag ships 1. Cruise services by passenger ships of the Italian flag can only be carried out in compliance with the specific guidelines referred to in Annex 17 of this decree, validated by the Technical-Scientific Committee referred to in Article 2 of Ordinance 3 February 2020, n. 630, of the Head of the Civil Protection Department, starting from the date of August 15, 2020. 2. Cruise services can be used by those who are not subjected or obliged to comply with health surveillance measures and / or fiduciary isolation and who have not stayed or transited in the fourteen days prior to boarding in States or territories referred to in lists C, D, E and F of annex 20. In case of stay or transit in States or territories referred to in list C, article 8, paragraph 6 is applied. 3. For the purposes of authorizing the cruise, before the departure of the ship, the Captain submits to the Maritime Authority a specific declaration which shows: a) the preparation of all the necessary measures to comply with the guidelines referred to in paragraph 1; b) the subsequent ports of call and the port of end of the cruise, with the relative dates of arrival / departure; c) the nationality and origin of the passengers embarked in compliance with the provisions referred to in the previous paragraph. 4. Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 2, second sentence, foreign-flagged ships employed in cruise services are allowed to enter Italian ports if they come from ports of call located in states or territories referred to in lists A, B and C of annex 20 and all passengers embarked have not stayed or transited in the fourteen days prior to entry into the Italian port in States or territories listed in lists D, E and F of annex 20, as well as prior certification on compliance, on board the ship, with the guidelines referred to in paragraph 1. The Captain of the ship shall submit to the maritime authority, at least twenty-four hours before the ship's landing, a specific declaration containing the information referred to in paragraph 3 . 5. Stopovers are permitted only in the states and territories listed in lists A, B and C of Annex 20 and free excursions are prohibited, for which the cruise services cannot adopt specific measures to prevent contagion."

 

steamboats

[steamboats]

3 hours ago, Biker19 said:

The government may have done Tui a favor  - the popularity of those sailings must be waning by now.

 

Not really, those cruises sold better than the ones in Greece.

 

steamboats

[steamboats]

So MSC has cancelled the MSC Magnifica til Dec 18th. The MSC Grandiosa will go on.

 

Greece has announced a lock down today. This might pretty likely affect cruises too. MSC Magnifica had Greek ports on the itinerary. So does Costa with the Costa Deliziosa. TUI Cruises has only Greek ports on the itinerary of Mein Schiff 6. Still waiting for news from Costa and TUI Cruises.

 

steamboats

[SeaHunt]

Another river cruise, 10 positive crew. Google translate:

 

Another outbreak aboard a river cruise ship in Germany

04 NOVEMBER 2020

 

"Potsdam - Once again a river cruise ship becomes a Covid-19 outbreak. This is MS Thurgau Chopin - formerly MS Frederic Chopin. As specified in a note from Stuttgart tour operator Nicko Cruises , the ship has long been operated by Thurgau Travel. Nicko Cruises instead deals with the sale of cruises.

 

The outbreak erupted last Saturday, October 31st. Tourists were allowed to leave the cruise ship in Potsdam at noon, as the health department only classified them as "contact level 2"; one of the crew members had tested positive without symptoms in the previous days. Meanwhile, the number of infected has risen to ten .

 

"On Saturday morning we were informed by our partner shipping company that a crew member of the MS Thurgau Chopin - without symptoms - had tested positive - the note reads - The Health Department was informed and assigned all 28 guests the “ contact level 2 ”. Guests were able to leave the ship at noon and were asked to contact the responsible Health Department at their home. Together with the shipping company, we have implemented infection protection measures, including rapid boarding tests, daily fever measurements, mandatory walking masks and spacing rules, which have been successfully adopted since June. At the moment they have10 positive crew members , all symptom-free and isolated on the ship. We are deeply sorry for these circumstances ”.

 

https://www.shipmag.it/un-altro-focolaio-a-bordo-di-una-nave-da-crociera-fluviale-in-germania/?fbclid=IwAR0hCeevP1ul6ngoB-dTzkB1L6u7dTVnAFe1wQ7ipoAbdTPPkKKonTMMYdg

[livingonthebeach]

Mein Schiff 6 sailings to Greece have been cancelled. 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/23827-tui-cancels-mein-schiff-6-program-in-greece.html