From new ships to new itineraries, the cruise industry is gearing up for a restart.
Here’s the latest news from 3 cruise lines used by meeting and incentive groups.
Hurtigruten Expeditions
Starting January 2022, Hurtigruten Expeditions will expand to the Galapagos Islands, the result of a long-term strategic partnership with Ecuador-based Metropolitan Touring.
Guests will explore the Galapagos aboard the upgraded 90-guest MS Santa Cruz II. Starting Jan. 5, 2022, Hurtigruten Expeditions will offer 9-day journeys, as well as pre- and post packages before and after the 6-night cruise. Guests can also add a 4-day pre-program to Machu Picchu in Peru before going on the Galapagos adventure.
Cruise highlights include exploring the Giant Tortoise breeding center, getting close to sea lions and land iguanas, bird watching, kayaking, and snorkeling, as well as daily lectures to better understand the islands, their history, and animal population both above and below the sea.
Windstar Cruises
With vaccinated guests on board, Windstar Cruises was back to sailing as of June 19 when it sailed from Athens. The 148-maximum guest sailing took off on a 7-day roundtrip journey to the Greek Isles.
Windstar is planning for the yacht to sail this itinerary on near-weekly dates through October. The cruise line is returning to operations in a phased process with its fleet of six yachts debuting on various dates through November.
Carnival Cruise Line
Carnival Cruise Line will be adding two additional ships to its fleet by 2023. The line will be taking the delivery position of an Excel-class ship that had been assigned to sister line AIDA Cruises that will arrive in late 2023, and will also be taking ownership of Costa Magica from another of its European sister lines—this ship will be going through a dry dock, renaming, and Carnival-branded conversion, and will be joining the fleet by mid-2022.
These two ships are in addition to Mardi Gras, Carnival’s first Excel-class ship, which starts sailing from Port Canaveral on July 31, and sister ship, Carnival Celebration, which will be delivered and be sailing from Miami in late 2022.
A portion of this article first appeared at Recommend.com
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