International Cruise Companies Begin to Return to the Seas

As United States based cruise companies await further developments relating to the coronavirus pandemic to definitively announce their return to cruising, some international cruise companies are taking the lead.

Maritime-executive.com reports that several European cruise companies have announced, and even begun, a return to cruising, including Norwegian cruise company Hurtigruten and German cruise company TUI.

The report says that Hurtigruten set sail on Tuesday on a voyage carrying mostly Norwegian passengers from Bergen to the Arctic Circle. TUI has announced that it will return this summer with three and four-day voyages to the North Sea.

Paul Gauguin Cruises is also planning to return to the seas with a July 29 voyage in which passengers will embark on a 10-night itinerary from Papeete, Tahiti.

Despite the companies’ eagerness to return to the seas, cruising is not currently at all similar to how it was just a few short months ago. For example, the Hurtigruten cruise is carrying mostly Norwegian passengers due to international travel restrictions. And TUI’s itineraries will be limited by continuing European port restrictions as well. Additionally, no international ship may call on the United States while a U.S. Centers for Disease Control no-sail order is underway until July 24.