24TH YEAR OF PUBLICATION ESTABLISHED 1998 FEBRUARY 2021 ISSUE 129 PRICE $10.60 (INCL GST) PACIFIC ENCOUNTER in Singapore after transformation to become a member of the P&O Australia Family – page 5 MSC Cruises taking delivery of MSC Virtuosa at Saint Nazaire, France – page 6 Featuring a comprehensive coverage of Global Cruising www.cruisingnews.com 1 for Cruise Passengers, the Trade and the Industry www.cruisingnews.com Cruise with confidence_Ad_Cruising News_PRINT.pdf 1 4/2/21 3:46 pm cruise with confidence ese programs make booking your next cruise more flexible and worry-free 1 Book with 2 Confidence Booking travel is now more flexible. Cancel up to 30 days before you sail ,and get a e goal is simple: If you’re not satisfied with your Future Cruise Credit.is applies to bookings made by March 2, 2021, on onboard experience, we promise to make it right or sailings departing up to December 31, 2021 on Australian and New Zealand refund you the value of that experience or service.^ homeport cruises and up to October 31, 2021 on all other cruises. You can use Our talented crew members will make sure your your Future Cruise Credit on any sailing a year from that date or May 1, 2022 holiday is just as you dreamed. whichever is later.* For more information visit princess.com/cruisewithconfidence *Guests may change their holiday plans up to 30 days before departure date on bookings made on or before March 2, 2021 on sailings departing up to December 31, 2021 on Australian and New Zealand homeport cruises and up to October 31, 2021 on all other cruises, and receive 100% Future Cruise Credit for a sailing one year from original sailing date or May 1, 2022 whichever is later. See details and terms at www.princess.com/cruisewithconfidence. ^e Princess Promise (“Princess Promise”) reflects our commitment to provide an enjoyable holiday to our guests. If a guest is not satisfied with a service provided on board the ship (for example, a spa treatment) and brings a complaint to our attention on the ship during the Holiday (“Holiday” defined below), we will work with the guest to make it right as quickly as possible. Resolutions shall be commensurate with the value of the service that caused the dissatisfaction. Potential resolution options may include, but are not limited to, replacement of the service, an onboard credit, a Future Cruise Credit (FCC), or a refund. e Princess Promise is currently valid on sailings departing up to December 31, 2021 on Australian and New Zealand homeport cruises and up to October 31, 2021 on all other cruises, and only applies to onboard services from the time the guest boards the vessel at the beginning for their cruise and ends when the guest disembarks the vessel at the end of their cruise (the “Holiday”). We retain sole discretion in the administration of this policy to avoid abuse. While the Princess Promise applies to our failure to meet onboard service expectations, it does not apply to: products, experiences, or medical services; delays, interruptions or deviations, and the like; other issues due to reasons beyond our control including, without limitation, actions of the guest, requirements of health, safety, weather, emergency debarkations and governmental rules or actions. e Holiday itself shall not be considered an onboard service. To the extent permitted by applicable law, the Princess Promise does not extend to any consequential costs, including medical treatment or expenses. e terms of this Promise do not alter any protection or remedies available to guests under applicable consumer laws, including those of Australia. 2 February 2021 Cruise with confidence_Ad_Cruising News_PRINT.pdf 1 4/2/21 3:46 pm 24TH YEAR OF PUBLICATION ESTABLISHED 1998 FEBRUARY 2021 ISSUE 129 PRICE $10.60 (INCL GST) With the New Year underway high hopes have been PACIFIC ENCOUNTER in Singapore after transformation held for the resumption of worldwide cruising. Cruise to become a member of the companies and trade associations have worked P&O Australia Family – page 5 tirelessly to plan for the future. Here in Australia Coral Expeditions have successfully cruised out of Cairns and around Tasmania. As we go to print another one of their ships Coral Adventurer is set to cruise the Great Australian Bight and finally arrive in Broome for Kimberly cruises. MSC and Costa have been successful with cruising out of Italy and Dream Cruises in Asia. Now we have two major developments that have muddied the waters! In New MSC Cruises taking delivery of MSC Virtuosa at Saint Nazaire, France – page 6 Zealand where Ponant had been given the ok to commence a cruise program Featuring a comprehensive coverage of Global Cruising www.cruisingnews.com 1 for Cruise Passengers, the Trade and the Industry www.cruisingnews.com the approval was withdrawn much to the surprise of the industry. Also The Canadian Government has issued a new order which will prohibit cruise Front Cover – Photos from P&O Cruises Australia and MSC/Ivan Sarfatti vessels in all Canadian waters until 28 February 2022. This order effectively kills the Alaska cruise season for foreign-flagged ships as well as other cruise New Partnership . 4 seasons in the Great Lakes and Canada/New England for ships under a foreign Celebrity Eclipse Returns . 5 flag. Cunard’s World Voyage . 8 Coral Expeditions Return to Tasmania . 10 Locally a Government minister predicted overseas travel may not recommence Scenic Eclipse Worldwide Voyages . 12 before February 2022, but also noted the important role that cruise can play in cruise with New Viking Nile River Cruise Ship . 14 the tourism recovery. Avalon Waterways As Covid-19 continues to rage in the USA, UK and Europe all countries around Rhine River Cruises . 15 Q&A with MSC Cruises . 16 the world are relying on a successful introduction of the various vaccines. It This Edition This Princess Cruises World Cruise . 18 may take many months to see if authorities have the confidence to open for confidence Seabourn’s Adventures in Wellness . 25 travel bubbles and staged cruising. New Ships . 31 Let’s hope by our next issue in April we have some positive news. Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman of MSC Cruises, has been appointed to a two-year term as Global Chairman of Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). ese programs make booking your next cruise more “On behalf of the entire CLIA community, including both our staff and our members, I would like to welcome Mr. Vago and congratulate him on his appointment as CLIA Global flexible and worry-free Chairman,” said CLIA president and CEO Kelly Craighead. “Mr. Vago is a visionary leader within the global cruise community. We will benefit tremendously from his ideas, insights, and direction as we look to overcome the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and support Report by Tim Ryan the restart of the cruise industry internationally and in the United States in 1 2 on Ivan Franco class liners 20 particular.” Book with Mr. Vago will be the first European to serve in the role of CLIA Global Chairman. He previously served as Chairman of CLIA Europe in 2014. “This is a highly critical juncture for our industry globally. I am honoured and grateful Confidence for the support and trust of my peers as we work to resume the business of creating unforgettable experiences for our treasured guests, as well as Booking travel is now more flexible. Cancel up to 30 days before you sail ,and get a e goal is simple: If you’re not satisfied with your generating economic impact and job opportunities benefitting millions of people Future Cruise Credit.is applies to bookings made by March 2, 2021, on worldwide who are touched in so many ways by our industry,” said Mr. Vago. onboard experience, we promise to make it right or “With over 200 sailings that have taken place since last summer in various sailings departing up to December 31, 2021 on Australian and New Zealand refund you the value of that experience or service.^ markets around the world, all with strict measures in place to promote public homeport cruises and up to October 31, 2021 on all other cruises. You can use Our talented crew members will make sure your health, we have proven that a return to cruising is possible. I look forward to your Future Cruise Credit on any sailing a year from that date or May 1, 2022 working with CLIA leadership and our partners in the industry to continue holiday is just as you dreamed. Report by Chris Frame down this path and help secure a vibrant future for all who depend on it.” whichever is later.* on Cunard in Australia 22 Also on Page 24 there is a story about a movie, Let Them All Talk, which is streaming in Australia on Foxtel Now from 7 February. Meryl Streep leads a star-studded cast in Director Steven Soderbergh’s new movie, filmed aboard an For more information visit princess.com/cruisewithconfidence iconic Transatlantic Crossing on Queen Mary 2. It may be an opportunity to dream cruising. Please keep safe and dream cruising! *Guests may change their holiday plans up to 30 days before departure date on bookings made on or before March 2, 2021 on sailings departing up to December 31, 2021 on Australian and New Zealand homeport cruises and up to October 31, 2021 on all other cruises, and receive 100% Future Cruise Credit for a sailing one year from original sailing date or May 1, 2022 whichever is later. See details and terms at www.princess.com/cruisewithconfidence. Kerry & John Treacy ^e Princess Promise (“Princess Promise”) reflects our commitment to provide an enjoyable holiday to our guests.