TUI announces cancellation of restart date

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A little bit exaggerating... You need two things (besides the regular cruise documents)... the PCR-test and you need to sign up on the website of the Spanish health authorities. TUI Cruises provides step-by-step explanations for both. And both comes with your documents plus it´s on their website.

 

If you do the test at the clinic he´s mentioning (more than 80 all over Germany) you don´t need to do anything more. TUI Cruises sends you the result and you print it out. If you prefer the airport you need to upload your result and get a "ready to fly" paper from TUI Cruises for the check-in at the airport.

 

So the only thing he missed out is signing up on the website of the Spanish health authorities. You receive a QR code which is scanned at the arrival airport. Back in December there were many people without it and you were still able to fill in the forms by hand at arrival in Spain. This might have changed.

 

BTW for flying back home to Germany you have to sign up with the German authorities as well (online). Now you don´t need a test prior to the flight. But you still have to quarantine and get a test within 48 hours after returning.

 

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[Biker19]

 

[steamboats]

So he´s complaining now that he couldn´t get a paid upgrade??? TUI Cruises does not have too many suites and they sell out fast. So last time we obviously was pretty lucky to get the upgrade.

 

And yes, smoking is allowed on the balconies (that´s why TUI Cruises is not really one of my favorites).

 

And yes, you can´t prebook the bike tours because they check whether you are able to make it. And the guides are pretty experienced. He might not have seen them but there are guests on each cruise who do extreme bike tours and have professional clothing and equipment which they bring onboard. I´m more of "I bike once a year" type but I have a general fitness and I definitely trust those guides when they say I might not make it. German sounds pretty rude but he must be used to this living in Germany.

 

Yes, activities are limited but he should have added that this is due to Covid-19. They skipped all big shows and only have guest entertainers onboard. But usually they do have bigger shows.

 

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[Biker19]

Getting on CDC's case seems to be spreading:

 

Hey CDC - We're Cruising in Europe! (March 2021) - YouTube

[Biker19]

TUI Cruises has carried more than 84,000 passengers since resuming last summer with just four COVID-19 cases that were handled without disruption, CEO Wybcke Meier said.

 

Protocols have proven effective, operations have gone smoothly, demand is strong and net promoter scores have been higher during the pandemic, Meier said Monday during her opening keynote for Seatrade Cruise Virtual: Health & Safety.

Strong dialogue with officials in Europe

'Some passengers have said they feel safer on board our ships than at home,' Meier noted, adding there's strong dialogue with government and port officials in Europe and there haven't been issues with cruising not being considered a safe form of travel.

 

A pair of TUI ships are currently operating from Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, and in May TUI hopes to add departures from German ports like Hamburg, Kiel and Bremerhaven — even if just cruises to nowhere initially, and from Greece (Crete), then gradually resuming elsewhere.

'We hope we will have all our ships in operation this year, sooner or later,' Meier said, adding that occupancy will be held to 60% and protocols including testing and masks are expected to remain in place as vaccination is still not widespread in Germany.

Information sharing with Royal Caribbean Group 

After more than 115 cruises, a lot of lessons have been learned, and these will help inform other brands in the Royal Caribbean Group as they prepare to resume. Royal Caribbean Group has also been instrumental in helping TUI Cruises as it developed its healthy safety protocols in conjunction with medical experts last summer and throughout the pandemic.

How the COVID cases were handled

Concerning the COVID cases, Meier said everyone had presented a negative PCR test as required for entry to the Canary Islands, but TUI detected a positive during its own antigen testing. The passenger was immediately isolated and contact tracing initiated while a second antigen test and a rapid PCR test conducted on board confirmed the positive. Four people were isolated and when the ship returned to Las Palmas, they were put into a designated shoreside facility, all arranged by TUI's medical partner as per established procedures.

 

'There was no outbreak. After detection of the passenger, we were able to go back to our routine,' Meier said, adding that Canary Islands officials saw no need to issue a stop-sail order.

Testing required for re-entry to Germany

Since Germany a few weeks ago mandated a testing requirement for returning travelers, TUI has made pre-disembarkation tests available on board, conducted by the medical staff and at a nominal charge.

Vaccination

With COVID vaccination rates still low in Germany, vaccination isn't part of current protocols but Meier said TUI will follow the guidance of health officials and it may be in future that vaccinated passengers don't have to be tested at embarkation. Regardless, mask-wearing and other on-board protocols will continue.

She has 'high hopes' TUI will be able to start getting crew vaccinated in the coming weeks and months.

Bubble excursions continue

TUI still operates bubble excursions and those have worked well for the most part, though during winter cruises in the Canary Islands, at times not every traveler has been able to get all the tours they wanted because the sailings have been so well-booked and the excursions are kept at limited numbers to maintain distancing.

 

When TUI operated in Greece for a few weeks last summer, excursion availability wasn't an issue, Meier said.

 

TUI Cruises restarted July 24 with Mein Schiff 2 on 'blue cruises' (to nowhere) from Hamburg, which were fully booked (at 60% capacity), then added departures from Kiel. Next, the company started a bubble program from Heraklion, Crete, using its exclusive chartered flights and operating one-week cruises with three shore excursions. And then the Canary Islands program began. Currently those two ships from Las Palmas are the only ones in operation as TUI looks to a May restart in Germany and Crete.

 

'We hope from summer on, we will be able to return to service more and more,' Meier said, adding there's certainly no lack of demand; it's only a matter of gaining permission to resume from various destination authorities.

 

How TUI Cruises has safely managed operations during the pandemic (seatrade-cruise.com)

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She misses out the other 3 cases... The 4 were detected on Feb 5th and the 3 on Feb 24th. So it´s a total of 7. Each time a total of 24 people were quarantined.

 

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[Biker19]

TUI Cruises is marking its return to the eastern Mediterranean on May 13 with the Mein Schiff 5, which will offer two different one-week itineraries sailing from Crete to either Rhodes, Piraeus (Athens) and Souda (Chania) or Corfu, Katakolon and Piraeus. 

 

Six cruises are open for booking as of Friday. The seven-day trip starts at 1,399 euros per person for a balcony cabin and from 1,849 euros per person for a junior suite.

 

Pricing includes flights on chartered aircraft, as TUI operates the entire trip in a bubble. Passengers wishing to disembark in ports of call must purchase a TUI-organized shore excursion. 

 

Mein Schiff 5 to Cruise in Greece for TUI, Starting in May - Cruise Industry News | Cruise News

 

MS5 has been in the region already for some time.

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AIDA follows about 10 days later.

 

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[steamboats]

Next restart... The state of Schleswig-Holstein announced the opening of hotels and for tourism on May 17th. Today was confirmed that the port of Kiel is allowed to open for cruise ships too.

 

AIDA starts May 22nd with AIDAsol and TUI Cruises May 23rd (no ship mentioned).

 

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