Cruises are being left out of the recovery of activity, with governments considering them a frivolous activity while the industry is scrambling to get its new health and hygiene protocols validated.
All entries related to the pandemic timeline are accessible here.
Article from CruisesNews magazine no. 53 – July 2020
Part two of the article of the same name published in CruisesNews magazine, 52 , June 2020. Read part one
During the lockdown in Europe, between March and May, it seemed possible to resume cruises in July or August, but the worsening pandemic in the Americas and the lack of interest from European governments in lifting restrictions have led us to a point where there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Meanwhile, the weakest companies have begun to collapse, older ships are being scrapped or sold, and executives who lost their jobs are finding positions at new companies.
At the end of May, shipping companies announced the suspension of operations until the end of July, but as June progressed, hopes of salvaging anything from the summer faded and new suspensions began to be announced.
Act One. Pullmantur Bankrupts and the Pandemic Runs Wild in the Americas.
The first major blow came on June 10, when Pullmantur announced a pause in its operations until November 15, a move that only foreshadowed what would happen a week later when they announced the company was entering bankruptcy proceedings. Word quickly spread that the Sovereign and the Monarch were being gutted in Naples, and that their final destination was the scrapyard in the Turkish shipyards of Aliaga. This was confirmed a month later when images surfaced of both ships beached there, about to begin their dismantling.
Cruises are still banned in Europe and the US.
It's important to remember that Pullmantur Cruises is 51% owned by Cruises Investment Holding, a subsidiary of the investment fund Springwater Capital, while the remaining 49%, along with ownership of the ships, belongs to Royal Caribbean Group. Richard Vogel, the company's CEO, maintains that it's still possible to turn the company around, obviously with other ships, as the Horizon is expected to follow the same path as its fleetmates. We'll see if Vogel, who led the company to a strong performance in 2019, can pull off this miracle.
On June 19, CLIA announced a suspension of cruises from the US until September 15, with some companies, such as those in the NCL group, even aiming for September 30. The coronavirus pandemic in the US had been showing a slight downward trend between mid-April and early June, but as soon as containment measures began to be relaxed, the pandemic spiraled out of control, rising rapidly from 22,000 new daily cases in early June to 75,000 on July 17—more than triple the previous figure.
Celestyal Cruises will not sail until 2021 but has bought the Costa Neoromantica.
In Europe, however, the feeling was that the worst was over and we were ready to face the summer with exceptional measures, but with a sense of calm. Thus, on June 26, Neil Palomba, CEO of Costa Cruises, stated in a MedCruise webinar that the cruise line was ready to set sail on August 1 with the Costa Deliziosa and only Italian passengers, if the authorities allowed it.
A glimmer of hope appeared, spurred by the publication in the Official State Gazette (BOE) of the new ban on cruise ships, which replaces the previous one, enacted alongside the state of emergency. This new ban, however, stipulates that the Director General of the Merchant Marine may lift it, at the request of State Ports and in agreement with the Ministry of Health, for the entry of specific vessels or for a group of vessels as part of an itinerary that includes one or more ports.
These were optimistic days, during which the MSC World Europa coin ceremony was even held at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard, marking the beginning of the assembly of the ship's sections. On July 1st, the EU Healthy Gateways (a European Public Health Alliance co-financed by the European Union's health program) published its guidelines for restarting cruise operations, and CLIA shipping companies celebrated and celebrated. It seemed the foundations were in place.
But the first half of July would dampen all expectations. First, Celestyal Cruises, aware that the summer was practically lost, announced the cancellation of its cruises until March 2021, and Costa Cruises, with time running out, backtracked and extended the pause until August 15.
Pullmantur enters bankruptcy proceedings and its ships are being scrapped.
Despite progress in protocols, governments remain hesitant to fully trust and loosen restrictions, and cruise lines are seeking the involvement of many more experts to ensure they have science on their side. MSC Cruises has presented a group of experts, while Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and Royal Caribbean Group are joining forces around another group.
Second act. The reorganization of the sector begins.
With the summer lost, the ships empty with the crew repatriated, and the whole long autumn and winter ahead, a new mentality is definitely taking hold in the shipping companies, which are determined to "clean house" and prepare for a different future.
British brand CMV went bankrupt, but the Swan Hellenic brand is making a comeback.
On July 9th, we learned of the sale of P&O Cruises' Oceana to Seajets, a Greek ferry operator. Their plans for the 77,499-ton vessel are unknown, except that it will be renamed Queen of the Oceans. While some argue that this is a speculative purchase for chartering or resale, others believe it could begin to compete with Celestyal Cruises.
On July 13, it was announced that Neil Palomba, Managing Director of Costa Cruises, was leaving his position to become COO of Carnival Cruise Line, with Michael Thamm, CEO of Costa Group, assuming his responsibilities. At the same time, the French luxury cruise line Ponant took delivery of its new ship, Le Jacques-Cartier, a 94-cabin expedition cruise vessel, which launched its service along the French coast from July to September. These itineraries include stops at uninhabited islands or locations where private excursions are offered, avoiding contact with the local population and promoting contact with nature and water activities such as kayaking or Zodiac excursions, far from the crowds. Ponant was one of the most active cruise lines in July thanks to its small boutique ships departing from various French ports, including Le Havre, Bordeaux, Saint-Malo, Marseille, and Nice. It also offers sailings to Iceland.
In mid-June, Holland America Line sold its four smallest and oldest ships, with Fred Olsen Cruises keeping two of them, while Celestyal Cruises acquired the Costa neoRomantica, a small, 57,150 GRT ship, excellently renovated, which had never been a good fit for the current Costa fleet, and with which it is powerfully strengthened for the future.
Shipping companies turn to experts to develop protocols that the authorities can accept.
Throughout July, without much media fanfare, river cruise lines restarted operations with a few ships. Croisieurope launched the MS Botticelli on the Seine on July 13th with 110 German tourists. A full restart schedule followed on all European rivers: July 20th on the Douro, July 27th on the Rhine, July 31st on the Danube, August 6th on the Guadalquivir, and so on. Even their newest ocean-going vessel, La Belle des Océans, with a capacity of only 128 passengers, departed from Nice on July 26th for its inaugural cruise to Corsica, and plans to sail to the Canary Islands in the autumn.
On July 17, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention extended its ban on cruises from US soil until September 30, but since the CLIA cruise lines had already done so until the 15th, the surprise and impact was less.
Neil Palomba leaves his position as CEO of Costa Cruises to become COO of Carnival Cruise Line.
On July 20, the British company Cruise & Maritime Voyages went bankrupt, leaving six ships idle and thousands of passengers stranded. Paradoxically, two days later, the British brand Swan Hellenic announced its relaunch, now led by several experienced industry professionals, including CEO Andrea Zito, Alfredo Spadon (formerly of MSC and Silversea), and Mario Bounas (formerly of Royal Caribbean). The company is currently building two expedition cruise ships in Finland, each with a capacity of 152 passengers, with its first season planned for Antarctica in November 2021.
Act Three. TUI Cruises ventures back to sailing with a large ship.
The joint venture between the TUI AG tourism group and Royal Caribbean Group, TUI Cruises, is leading the restart of large cruise operations with the Mein Schiff 2, its largest and most modern ship at 111,500 tons, and its sister ship, the Mein Schiff 1. Initially, these are short, non-stop cruises departing from Germany (Hamburg and Kiel), transitioning in August to week-long cruises through the Norwegian Fjords, also without the option of disembarking. TUI Cruises has also begun marketing cruises from Malta at the end of August on the Mein Schiff 6, at 35% capacity and exclusively for Malta residents.
TUI Cruises begins operating cruises with large ships, but without stops.
At the end of July, we were still agonizing over when the pandemic would subside in the Americas and when European governments would allow their shipping companies to resume voyages with stopovers. There will be a third part.
