Rising COVID cases threaten budding restart of cruising in Europe
The budding comeback of cruising that began in Europe over the summer may have hit a high-water mark for now.
New lockdown measures in Germany and France this week in the wake of soaring COVID-19 cases have forced at least a half-dozen ocean and river cruise lines to cancel sailings across the continent since Wednesday.
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Perhaps most notably, German line AIDA Cruises on Thursday said it would cancel all voyages through the end of November. The sister brand to Carnival Cruise Line had just resumed sailings around Italy out of Civitavecchia (the port for Rome) on Oct. 17.
Also canceling a number of upcoming cruises was Costa Cruises, which had resumed voyages in Europe on Sept. 6. The line on Wednesday announced it would drop plans for sailings out of Italy to ports in Italy, France and Spain that were scheduled to begin on Nov. 14. The ship that was to operate the trips, Costa Smeralda, instead will continue with Italy-only voyages.
Related: How to plan a cruise with points and miles
Costa also canceled a world cruise scheduled to begin soon on another ship, Costa Deliziosa, and said the vessel would skip calls in Montenegro and Croatia on current sailings out of Italy.
Costa also canceled plans for upcoming sailings on three more ships: Costa Diadema, Costa Firenze and Costa Favolosa.
In addition, on Thursday, a wave of river cruise lines began canceling voyages across Europe, including:
- A-Rosa. The Germany-based cruise line canceled all sailings on the Danube and Rhine rivers through the end of November. A-Rosa also has canceled all remaining sailings for the year in Portugal and France.
- Viva Cruises. The Germany-based river cruise seller canceled all sailings through the end of November.
- Plantours. The Germany-based tour company canceled Thursday's sailing of its 173-passenger river ship Lady Diletta on the Rhine River. It was the only river cruise the company had planned to operate in November.
France-based river line CroisiEurope this week also has canceled a wide range of sailings.
Many of the lines specifically cited the far-reaching lockdown measures announced by the German government on Wednesday as the main reason for the cancellations.
Scheduled to take effect on Monday and aimed at slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus, the new measures include the closure of restaurants and bars, and a ban on hotel stays for leisure travel. The German government also is discouraging all "unnecessary travel."
Related: The best credit cards for booking cruises
Europe has been one of the few places around the world where limited cruising has resumed since the summer. In addition to AIDA Cruises and Costa Cruises, major lines that have restarted operations in the Mediterranean or the waters of northern Europe in recent months include international brand MSC Cruises and TUI Cruises -- the latter a Germany-based line that caters to German speakers.
Both brands said they would go ahead with sailings for now.
MSC Cruises has restarted operations with two ships out of Italy, which is not yet in a major lockdown of the sort announced Wednesday by Germany. But TUI Cruises' restart has included two ships that sail directly out of German ports in the north of the country.
Related: Has MSC Cruises cracked the code for a safe return of cruising?
In a statement, TUI suggested that Germany's new restrictions on restaurants, bars and other venues where people congregate would not apply to its ships since they do not remain in German ports for long. The company appears to be ignoring the government's call for Germans to avoid unnecessary travel.
"The measures announced by the federal and state governments (of Germany) will not bring our ships to a standstill again," TUI Cruises said in its statement. "Because staying onboard our ships does not count as domestic tourism, the arrival and departure in the respective departure port is still permitted as a transit."
TUI's stance on the new German restrictions was notably different than the stance of its German rival AIDA, which cited the restrictions as the reason it was shutting down operations.
In a statement on its cancellations sent to The Points Guy, AIDA said "this follows the Federal Government of Germany's Oct. 28 decision to impose further restrictions on public life and travel to limit the spread of COVID-19, which AIDA Cruises fully supports."
AIDA noted in its statement that its top priority was "compliance, environmental protection and the health, safety and well-being of its guests, crew, shoreside employees, and the people and communities its ships visit – and that commitment is reflected in the line's temporary pause in cruise operations."
TUI Cruises is partly owned by Royal Caribbean Group, the parent company of Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, Azamara and Silversea.
Two small-ship operators, France-based Ponant and Germany-based Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, also have resumed sailings out of some European ports. Neither line had canceled upcoming sailings as of the publishing of this story.
Additional resources for cruisers during the coronavirus outbreak:
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- Packed with credits foodies will enjoy
- Solid welcome bonus
Cons
- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
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- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
- Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.