Regaining confidence
By Virginia López Valiente
Managing Director of Cruises News Media Group and Editor of CruisesNews magazine
Editorial from CruisesNews magazine no. 58 – September 2021
I'm writing another editorial for the magazine aboard one of the ships already sailing around Europe, brand new, recently launched, and with an atmosphere similar to any other year at this time. Of course, this year we see masks and seats blocked by a large cross that forces us to maintain social distancing.
The feeling is that it's over, it's behind us, and the truth is, yes, everything indicates that there won't be another devastating wave because we're already approaching 80% vaccination and almost all of us have accepted that this disease will stay with us, like others. Now we must be able to lift government restrictions and also the self-imposed ones, without letting our guard down but returning to the life we had planned.
This summer we've witnessed an unbridled desire to travel, but close by, at home, or at least trying to avoid flying. And it's understandable; the idea of having to quarantine yourself and your family in some country in the world isn't pleasant, even if the expenses are covered by insurance. This situation has meant that cruise lines haven't seen many Spaniards on their ships unless they were departing from a Spanish port, because it's well known that Spaniards aren't generally very adventurous. And that's the part we hope to normalize soon: leaving home, flying, traveling, and embarking.
In another chapter of this return to normalcy, I'm thrilled to be able to organize not one, but two major events in the last quarter of the year: the International Cruise Summit and a very special edition of the Cruise Excellence Awards. The first will be in Madrid, as always, and the second in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The ICS, if everything continues as it has been, will be entirely in-person, becoming the first in-person international cruise event in Europe in 2021. We'll debate with masks on, but we'll debate and see each other face-to-face without screens at a time when the most important thing is knowing how to awaken the bright future that was frozen in March 2020 and bring it ever closer.
We couldn't end the year without congratulating ourselves on the hard work done and for demonstrating that we are a strong, organized, efficient, and innovative industry that has managed to rebuild and forge a path where progress seemed impossible. We will meet in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria for a very special gala, the 14th annual Excellence Cruise Awards ceremony.
