P&O Cruises, Cunard extend suspension to 31 July

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 23 April 2020 23 April 2020

P&O Cruises and Cunard Line, both units of Carnival Corporation & plc, have decided to end the suspension of cruises until 31 July.

"These are extraordinary times and this global outbreak continues to challenge Cunard and the travel industry as a whole," said Simon Palethorpe, President of Cunard Line, said in a statement.

"We would love nothing more than to bring our fleet back in to service, and give our guests the holidays they deserve and long for, but with the lockdowns and travel restrictions in place around the world, this is simply not possible at this time."

Paul Ludlow, President of P&O Cruises that is the UK focused  contemporary market unit of the Carnival group, made a similar announcement on Twitter.

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines extends standstill

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 22 April 2020 22 April 2020

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, the UK base destinational cruise operator, has confirmed that it will be extending its pause in sailings beyond 23 May 2020 in the wake of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but added it is unable to state a date when operations would resume.

Peter Deer, Managing Director at Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, said: “At this stage I am not able to confirm a date when we can expect to resume normal operations, as what I don’t want to do is set an expectation and not be able to deliver what we promise. What I can say is that we are keeping a very close eye on the latest guidance from the relevant authorities, including the UK Government and Public Health England, as well as overseas policies.”

“We are very clear on our position that we will not resume cruising until we know that it is safe for us to do so. The safety of our guests and crew is always our utmost priority, and this is especially true now. All guests on affected cruises will be notified with at least 30 days’ notice before their cruise was due to depart,” Deer said in a statement.

“It is regrettable that we won’t be welcoming guests back on board at the end of May as we had initially hoped, but we can’t wait to start sailing again as soon as the world is ready for us to do so.”

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines' ocean fleet - Balmoral, Braemar, Boudicca and Black Watch - will remain in Scotland’s Firth of Forth, just outside the Port of Rosyth, during the company’s pause in cruise operations.

Singapore reported to consider using two cruise ships as accommodation vessels

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 22 April 2020 22 April 2020

The Singapore government is reported to considering using two ships of Star cruises, which is part of the Genting Hong Kong group, as accommodation vessels for migrant workers, Straits Times reports on its website.

“Cruise ships are being assessed for their feasibility as temporary housing for foreign workers who have recovered from Covid-19 and tested negative for the virus,” the report said.

“SuperStar Gemini and SuperStar Aquarius, mid-sized cruise ships operated by Genting Cruise Lines, will be checked for consideration by the Government for factors such as ventilation systems, security protocols and infection control measures,’ Straits Times continued.

SupersStar Geming is of 50,764 gross tons and SuperStar Aquarius of 51,309 gross tons. The sister ships were built in France in the early 1990s for Norwegian cruise Linea nd leter lengthened to their present 229.8 metre length from 190 metres as built.

“If deemed feasible, the two cruise ships may be used to complement other interim facilities such as Singapore Armed Forces military camps and vacant Housing Board blocks that have been refurbished to house healthy workers,” Strains Times said.

Carnival Cruise Line announces enhanced ‘Onboard With You’ pledge to help travel advisors navigate current times

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 21 April 2020 21 April 2020

Underscoring its longstanding support of the travel advisor community, especially in challenging times such as these, Carnival Cruise Line has announced a variety of enhancements to its Onboard with You pledge to travel partners designed to support and sustain them during this unprecedented pause in operations.

The enhancements include an additional 1% bonus commission on new retail bookings made through GoCCL.com or other online booking tools through June 30, 2020. The line will also maintain agencies’ current 2020 commission rates for 2021, regardless of whether they meet the necessary criteria for this year.

Coinciding with the expansion of the Onboard with You pledge, Carnival’s President Christine Duffy, Chief Commercial Officer Ken Tate and Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Trade Marketing Adolfo Perez were joined by a very special guest, the line’s Chief Fun Officer Shaquille O’Neal, to record a video message to travel partners thanking them for their support and echoing their commitment to the agency community. The video can be viewed here.

“Now more than ever is the message of ‘Onboard with You’ so important, as we all continue to navigate these unprecedented times. We want our travel partners to know how much we value and appreciate them and that they are not in this alone,” said Perez. “Travel advisors have always played a key role in Carnival’s success and we want to ensure that we are taking care of them and helping them to continue to grow and succeed now and in the future.”

The new Onboard with You pledge further builds upon the company’s commitment to protecting travel advisors’ commission on all fully paid bookings cancelled due to the voluntary pause in operations. Carnival was also the first cruise line to offer full commission on the value of the future cruise credits (FCC), providing agents the opportunity to earn commission on their original booking and compensating them for working to rebook their clients using their FCC.

Perez added, “We understand how hard agents’ worked for the first booking and re-booking their clients using the FCC involves additional work. We want to recognize this effort and ensure that agents get commission on both bookings.”

Carnival has also made significant investments to enhance GoCCL Navigator, the line’s online booking and service tool that has become a valuable, industry-leading resource with so many agents now working from home.

As part of the Onboard with You pledge, the line remains focused on its Why Use a Travel Advisor program, the industry’s first consumer-focused program to reinforce the value of using travel advisors, providing additional support to attract new customers.