Cruise Lines Reveal New Itineraries, Sailing Schedules as Restrictions Loosen

As the cruise industry received welcome news from two government bodies, cruise lines are revealing updated itineraries and sailing schedules, whether it be cruises that can now depart from the U.S. or European sailings Americans can now board.

Last week, the CDC lowered the warning level for cruises from Level 4, which recommends avoiding all travel, to Level 3, which encourages travelers to get fully vaccinated before traveling. The agency also eased travel recommendations for 110 countries and territories. Complementing the CDC’s new recommendations, 27 European Union countries reached an agreement to again allow travelers from the United States.

Holland America Line
Holland America Line is gearing up to restart cruising out of Port of San Diego in California beginning with cruises to Mexico, Hawaii and along the California coast aboard Koningsdam and Zuiderdam. The cruise line has expanded the season with the addition of six new cruise departures for Zuiderdam and two new cruises on Koningsdam, offering a total of 40 cruises from San Diego from September 2021 through April 2022.

Zuiderdam will sail 17 cruises from San Diego from Sept. 18, 2021, to April 22, 2022, eight Mexico, four California coast, three Hawaii, and two Panama Canal. Koningsdam’s San Diego sailings include 15 Mexico, six California coast, and two Hawaii cruises.

With the resumption of service on the West Coast, Holland America Line will cruise the Caribbean with four ships. Sailing roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, departures will begin Oct. 23, 2021, with Nieuw Amsterdam. The ship will be joined by the new Rotterdam Nov. 3, Eurodam Nov. 14 and Nieuw Statendam Nov. 21. Caribbean cruises range in length from four to 14 days, span the entire region, and include a call at Half Moon Cay, its private Bahamian island.

PONANT
PONANT resumed operations on June 16, 2021, with more than 50 departures setting sail to Iceland, the Mediterranean, and France this summer.

The luxury expedition cruise line will offer over 30 sailings in the Mediterranean between June and November 2021. A new partnership with the Louvre will bring Paris to the sea with a sailing to discover the ancient sites of Greece and Istanbul during “The Cyclades and Ancient Treasures” sailing, July 13-20, 2021. Onboard programming will be carefully designed with curators and department directors from the Louvre for guests to discover the ancient lands that have inspired the museum’s collections. Meanwhile, a new 13-day sailing, ‘Iconic Treasures of the Adriatic,’ will also depart from Athens on Aug. 21 exploring the coasts of Greece, Montenegro, Croatia, and Italy.

In Iceland, EXPLORER ships Le Dumont-D’Urville and Le Champlain will explore the country’s diverse landscapes through September 2021.

Among the 15 sailings along the French coastline this summer, Le Bellot, the fifth installment in the PONANT EXPLORER series, will sail roundtrip from Saint-Malo on eight-day itineraries exploring the Breton Coast. Other sailings include circumnavigating the island of Corsica with stops in the seaside resort of Saint-Laurent as well as Roccapina Beach with its granite lion, a rocky outcrop of pink granite naturally shaped into the form of a crouching lion through erosion.

Cunard
Cunard will resume operations on July 19, 2021, when Queen Elizabeth welcomes guests on board for a series of UK voyages from Southampton, England. Beginning Oct. 13, 2021, the vessel will sail internationally with new voyages including to the Iberian coast and the Canary Islands. Queen Elizabeth will then leave the UK in mid-February to resume the previously scheduled season in Japan from April 13, 2022.

Queen Mary 2 will resume sailing with a Transatlantic Crossing on Nov. 14, 2021, now sailing a series of voyages around the Caribbean between January and April 2022, with embarkation options from Southampton, New York, and Hamburg before resuming the existing published schedule on April 24, 2022.

Queen Victoria will embark on three new voyages departing from Southampton from April 22, 2022, which includes Western Europe, the Baltics, and the Iberian Coast before resuming the existing published schedule on May 20, 2022.

Viking
After sailing exclusively since May 22, Viking has been able to welcome Americans onboard its fleet thanks to the updated guidance from the EU and CDC. On June 15, the company welcomed its first American guests back on board in Bermuda for the first of eight sailings of Bermuda Escape. Over the next month, Viking will launch Welcome Back sailings around Iceland and in the Mediterranean. Beginning in July, it will restart its European river operations with select itineraries in Portugal, France, and along the Rhine.

Princess
Princess has announced its return to service in the United States sailing from Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Ft. Lauderdale this fall. Starting between Sept. 25 and Nov. 28, 2021, eight Princess MedallionClass ships will take guests to the Caribbean, Panama Canal, Mexico, Hawaii, and the California Coast.

MSC Cruises
During Summer 2022, the line will add Tunisia to its Mediterranean itineraries, with MSC Opera making weekly calls to La Goulette. The ship will add to its current scheduled itinerary the port of La Goulette for a total of 27 calls from April to October 2022. The Western Mediterranean itinerary will visit UNESCO World Heritage site of ancient archaeological marvels at Carthage, the charming and picturesque village of Sidi Bou Said and the Medina of Tunis with its hundreds of monuments, palaces, mosques and fountains.