We have lots of news from all of the major cruise lines.
Including one cruise line actually paying people not to cancel.
We have an update on those test cruises.
As well as a cruise ship captain, was he given jail time because of an accident last year?
We have this as well as more cancellations.
Well ahoy there cruises.
Welcome to this cruise news roundup.
We hope you are safe and well.
To stay on top of everything going on in the cruise industry,
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So first up we have some news about those test sailings.
Well, Nassau's cruise port in the Bahamas says ships from both Carnival cruise line
and Royal Caribbean could be doing test sailings there in just a few months.
Nassau port CEO Mike Maura said; they have been in discussions with cruise lines and with the
ministry of tourism around the possibility of including Nassau in a simulated call.
He added that these ceilings could begin within just two months.
We're not sure about that optimism as
most cruise lines have actually cancelled all the way into May.
But if you're wondering why cruise ships must carry out simulated test sailings.
Well, it's because it's a requirement as part of the new conditional sale order.
This has been issued by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
Basically, any cruise ship must first take part in simulated sailings which are going to test
all of the new health and safety procedures.
Cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean asked people to register their interest
to take part in one of these free test sailings late into last year.
But so far we've not heard anything so this is good news.
We expect the cruise lines to choose their most loyal customers to take part.
Maura also added that it's really beneficial for the port and country as well.
It allows them to test their procedures and protocols.
Basically, it'll allow them to tweak things that didn't
work or add new protocols that were missing before cruising fully resumes.
He also added that over the last six weeks communication
between the CDC and the cruise lines has improved.
This is great to hear as the previous resistance from the CDC was really slowing things down.
This is really fantastic news.
As you know cruise lines had a problem keeping in touch with the CDC.
Everything had just come to a halt.
But it's fantastic that they're finally talking and communicating.
It might mean we can finally see this new conditional sale order
become a thing with the test sailings.
Absolutely this finally seems to be a glimmer of light at the end of this tunnel.
But we will keep you updated with these test cruisers as soon as we hear anything new.
So next Royal Caribbean has announced that their crew will be required to have a vaccination.
This also includes sister brand Celebrity Cruises and Silversea Cruises.
A few weeks ago we brought you the news that Norwegian Cruise Line announced that all crew
members would have to be vaccinated before its ships begin to sail again.
Yeah, vaccines are really becoming vital for the cruise to restart.
Some cruise lines including UK-based Saga cruise lines also announced that
vaccines would be required for passengers but not the crew.
So far major cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean and Norwegian have not announced
any need for passengers to be vaccinated yet.
They are basically looking into the legal aspects involved with this.
Whether or not it's actually illegal to require people to have a vaccine.
Royal Caribbean said in a statement; so far several vaccines have shown to be effective
at preventing both mild and severe symptoms.
And we intend to make them a key component of our healthy return to service.
Therefore expect vaccinations will be required for our crew as part of our ship plan.
We really applaud cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean and Norwegian
who are putting crew first by requiring them to have vaccinations.
Not such not just the passengers.
That's a bad move.
The company are working out details on
how and when each crew member will receive the vaccination.
They said; the process may be different depending on where you live.
The timing of your next contract or whether you're already on board or travelling.
We appreciate your patience as we work through these details.
So in other Royal Caribbean news, we were given a sneak peek
of the new aqua theatre which will be on board the brand new wonder of the seas.
She's going to be the biggest cruise ship in the world.
Being in an oasis class cruise ship.
Royal Caribbean has said they are not just
copying and pasting their older designs from the other ships.
And you can really see the design changes in this image.
The aqua theatre is located at the after the ship.
It's basically a huge water theatre.
It features the deepest pool at sea.
Which is flanked by two huge nine-meter diving platforms
that set the scene for spectacular dive shows.
Nine meters that must be so scary.
The ship is due to sale sometime in 2022.
They've not released any details of the itineraries yet.
But she still is expected to be based in China.
Oh, exciting.
Next Carnival cruise lines are offering guests a bonus if they don't cancel their cruise.
What a bonus?
So they're actually going to pay people to stay on their cruise?
Yeah, a bit of a bonus.
A Brucie bonus.
People booked on sailings longer than a week up till October the 31st
currently have the ability to cancel their reservation without penalty.
But if they choose to wait and their cruise does go ahead
they'll receive a hundred dollar per cabin onboard credit.
That's good, isn't it?
But if the cruise is cancelled they will still be entitled to future cruise credit,
onboard credit or be given a full refund.
But that's really good to see.
So they're really wanting people to stay on their cruises.
Remember this is just for cruises seven days and longer.
But if you stay on your cruise and it goes ahead you get an extra hundred dollars.
That's nice for some drinks as well.
A nice speciality meal for uh for two or something yeah.
Nice.
Next up news from MSC.
MSC have released images of their new robotic bartender which can be
found onboard its brand new ship the MSC virtuosa.
Shall we do the robot David?
Come on let's do the robot dance.
Robot dance.
Oh, that looks- that looks rude.
What was that?
You shaking your cocktail?
Let's move on.
The robotic bartender, lovingly called rob, will be part of an immersive bar
and entertainment experience called the MSC starship club.
So MSC is taking things further than Royal Caribbean's robotic bartenders.
Rob will have emotions including face movements and human-like expressions.
I don't know why I find that really funny.
I just I still found that really funny.
I can't wait to see it.
Guests will use specifically designed
vertical digital cockpits within the area to place their order.
Now, what's a vertical digital cockpit.
I reckon it's going to be an iPad.
It's a fancy word for an iPad.
So after you order rob will then get to work pouring spirits,
juices, syrups, shaking, building and stirring the concoctions.
They do non-alcoholic cocktails as well.
He can also speak eight languages.
Including English, Italian, Spanish, French, German,
Brazilian, Portuguese, Chinese and Japanese.
Very good.
The experience will also include 3d holograms,
an immersive digital art wall and a 12-seater infinity digital interactive table.
Wow, that's a lot of words there.
I'm really excited about that.
I'm really looking forward to seeing you aren't yo.
U I wonder if Rob and Zoe will talk to each other and have banter between them.
We already Zoe does not work in the cabins at all.
She's worse than Siri.
She's worse than bloody Alexa.
Alexa's awful isn't she.
I mean Zoe just turns on your tv and that's it.
So fingers crossed he works and he understands you because technology can go wrong.
Right now in other MSC news.
If you go back to 2019 you may remember when the MSC Opera cruise ship was involved in an accident.
When it hit a river cruise ship in Venice.
Well, the court case has come to a close and a verdict given.
The captain of the MSC opera was sentenced to serve five months in
prison and the chief engineer and the chief electrician given two months in prison.
So they've obviously done something wrong there.
But those charges have now been turned into monetary fines.
Who says money doesn't speak.
Very luckily there were only a few injuries and no fatalities in the instant.
It could have been much worse.
And in some breaking news, Norwegian Cruise Line has cancelled all May 2021 cruises.
Meaning they're planning to start in June now.
This also includes Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
The company will continue to work in tandem with global government
and public health authorities and its healthy sale panel expert advisories with Royal Caribbean
to take all necessary measures to protect its guests, crew and communities visited.
And finally, the British cruise line Marella Cruises has extended
its cancellations until May, unfortunately.
No surprise here though.
The company says the decision comes due to ongoing uncertainty around travel restrictions
and that the affected passengers will be offered a number of options
including rebooking with a free incentive or cancelling and receiving a refund.
The company has previously paused all European cruises until April.
So that's it for this episode we hope you enjoyed our quick
round-up of all of the cruise news this week guys.
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We've got so much more great videos coming especially when we get cruising again.
We want to bring you along on all of our ships and ship tours and vlogs we can't wait.
Absolutely or as MSC say it on our spaceships.
Oh yeah, we'll be bringing you that spaceship footage as soon as we can.
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That's it till next time happy cruising.