Disney Cruise Line has announced its plans to return to sailings from the United States on Aug. 9.

Disney Dream is scheduled to usher in the cruise line’s long-awaited return to cruising from the U.S. with tropical voyages to the Bahamas departing from Port Canaveral, Florida, on three- or four-night cruises featuring a stop at DCL’s private island, Castaway Cay.

Disney Cruise Line officials said the company is working hard to get ready for the return of passengers by incorporating enhanced health and safety measures to promote wellness for guests and crew members. Disney is in a different position from other cruise lines in that children 12 and under — a prime target of the family-oriented cruise line — cannot receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

Viking Ocean Cruises today marked its first “Welcome Back” sailings in the Mediterranean — the latest milestone in the company’s return to service. Last week, guests embarked on the award-winning Viking Sea and the new Viking Venus in Valletta, Malta — a cultural UNESCO World Heritage Site — where the ships are homeporting this summer. 

Offered as part of Viking’s “Welcome Back” collection, exclusively available for vaccinated guests, both ships are sailing three new itineraries round trip from Valletta. The new voyages include the 11-day Malta & the Adriatic Jewels, the 11-day Malta & Greek Isles Discovery and the 21-day Malta, the Adriatic & Greece itineraries. 

Viking has also partnered with Lufthansa to offer non-stop flights from Newark Liberty International Airport to Malta exclusively for Viking guests, making the transatlantic journey to Europe easier. See Cruiseable's Malta travel guide for a first-hand introduction to the storied island nation.

Big-ship cruising is back in Alaska. Royal Caribbean International’s Serenade of the Seas departed Monday from Seattle on its first Alaska cruise since September 2019. Ninety-seven percent of the people on board are fully vaccinated, the cruise line announced. 

The sailing marks a celebratory moment for the cruise industry, local workforce, regional suppliers and Alaska’s communities that were significantly impacted by the absence of most cruise tourism. Cruising normally represents more than 60 percent of the state’s visitors and generates upward of $3 billion for its economy each year.

Serenade of the Seas visits Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan and Icy Strait Point, Alaska, as well as Endicott Arm fjord and Dawes Glacier. The ship will be joined by Ovation of the Seas in Seattle starting Aug. 13.

“Cruising in Alaska is finally back, and we are excited to be the first to return. Alaska is one of the most popular destinations among our guests, especially families with young kids – children who are ineligible for the vaccine today,” said Michael Bayley, president and CEO, Royal Caribbean International. “This is a return that is significantly felt by many, including those whose communities rely on cruise tourism.”

Carnival Cruise Line has announced that three more of its ships will resume service in September, with an additional four scheduled to reenter service in October.

By October, 15 ships, representing about half of the line’s fleet, will have resumed service.

Carnival Glory will resume service from New Orleans, Carnival Pride from Baltimore on Sept. 12 and Carnival Dream from Galveston on Sept. 19.

Carnival Conquest resumes service from Miami on Oct. 8, Carnival Freedom from Miami on Oct. 9, Carnival Elation from Port Canaveral on Oct. 11 and Carnival Sensation from Mobile, Ala., on Oct. 21.

Cunard has announced it's offering a range of “Grand Escape Voyages” starting in October through May 22, 2022.

The 40 new cruises range from two to 40 nights, visiting 49 destinations by flagship Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria. Sales open July 21.

“We are thrilled to announce our new ‘Grand Escape Voyages,’ as we celebrate Cunard’s full return to sailing,” said Jamie Paiko, vice president of sales for Cunard North America.

The Queen Mary 2’s “Grand Escape Voyages” will operate 29 new itineraries that call at 15 ports in 14 countries. The transatlantic crossings will be complemented with brief cruises in Western Europe, and the liner also will spend time in the Caribbean, sailing roundtrip from New York, Fort Lauderdale, Hamburg or Southampton.

Stralsund, Germany, July 12, 2021 – Crystal Endeavor, the first “Made in Germany” Polar Class 6 (PC6) luxury expedition yacht, cruised out of MV WERFTEN shipyard in Stralsund this past weekend where she was designed and built. The yacht is now bound for Iceland and her inaugural voyages in the Land of Fire and Ice.

A pier-side sail away celebration was held Saturday at MV WERFTEN for employees and family members who offered a heartfelt sendoff of waving and wishes of “gute reise” and “bon voyage” to the intrepid new expedition yacht. Crystal Endeavor sailed from Stralsund with a full vaccinated crew and is scheduled to arrive in Reykjavík, Iceland, on Thursday.

The ship will depart Reykjavík on its inaugural voyage Saturday after an overnight in the city on the first in a series of five 10-night voyages circumnavigating Iceland.

Jack Anderson, president of Crystal, described the new state-of-the-art expedition yacht as “the most spacious, most powerful and most luxurious expedition ship in the industry.” He said Crystal Endeavor would offer guests “incredible adventures to the far reaches of the globe, with the highest standards of safety and sustainable features that demonstrate extreme care for our guests and the world’s oceans and the destinations we visit.”

Lindblad Expeditions has announced that its new polar expedition ship, National Geographic Endurance, will depart on its maiden voyage on July 21, 2021, from Reykjavik, Iceland.

The first new polar ship built in the line’s history, the 126-guest ship was named in honor of legendary explorer Ernest Shackleton. Originally set to launch in April 2020, National Geographic Endurance sat out the pandemic in Norway.

The 19-day inaugural voyage will begin and end in Reykjavik and will explore Iceland and then sail off the east coast of Greenland, home to polar bears, walruses, and whales. If Greenland’s border opens for visitors, the ship will make landings and explore ashore.

Rates begin at $22,190 per person, based on double occupancy in a category 1 cabin.

Over the past week, four major cruise lines returned to the high seas — two of them sailing from U.S. ports — for the first time in more than a year.

Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Crystal and Seabourn resumed sailings after the pandemic shut down the industry for more than a year. 

Carnival President Christine Duffy, Carnival Vista Captain Andrea Catalani and local officials led a “Back to Fun” ribbon-cutting ceremony in Galveston, Texas, last weekend to celebrate Carnival Cruise Line’s resumption of guest cruises from the U.S.

“Seeing our guests board the ship for the first time in over 15 months was a welcome and emotional sight,” Duffy said in a statement. “The excitement our guests have for Carnival cruising knows no bounds and it’s great to be able to have them enjoy our unique vacation experience and of course see our amazing crew once again.”

Silversea Cruises shared details this week about the conversion of Silver Wind into a luxury ice-class ship that will be the company’s fourth expedition vessel.

Silver Wind is undergoing refurbishments at a shipyard in Gdansk, Poland. The redesign includes an ice-strengthened hull for cruising in polar waters and state-of-the-art technology upgrades. Silver Wind will be outfitted with a new advanced wastewater treatment plant, new food waste treatment facilities and new fuel-saving boilers.

The upgraded Silver Wind will embark on its maiden voyage Nov. 20, 2021, a 22-day journey to Antarctica, in time for a prime viewing position on the White Continent for a solar eclipse on Dec. 4, 2021.

Windstar Cruises, the U.S-based small ship cruise line, has resumed voyages with vaccinated crew members and guests in the Caribbean and Mediterranean.

The first voyage left in late June from Athens aboard Wind Star, a sailing yacht carrying a maximum of 148 guests. It sailed to Nafplio, Monemvasia, Patmos, Mykonos and Santorini on the Treasures of the Greek Isles itinerary. The ship will sail the same itinerary through October 2021. (See our Wind Star review.)

Wind Star will then begin its Mediterranean Island Mosaic itinerary, sailing from Rome to Portoferraio, Calvi, Mahon and Palma de Mallorca before ending in Barcelona.

Star Breeze quickly followed suit, with sailings from St. Maarten that began in late June on its Beach, Fun & Sun: A Remote Caribbean Getaway itinerary. Ports include Anguilla, Tortola, Noman Island, Virgin Gorda and more. (See our Star Breeze review.)

The cruise line's smaller ships are able to stop at smaller ports, giving its guests the benefit of enjoying these off-the-beaten-track destinations without crowds of tourists that have become common at larger ports in the Mediterranean.

The cruise line is resuming operations with a phased approach. Its six yachts will resume operating in this manner through November. 

— from Cruiseable news services

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River cruise line AmaWaterways announced it is partnering with genealogy site Ancestry to provide guests with a way in which to learn about their family history through Ancestry Experience packages. The special voyages include pre-cruise private consultations, onboard presentations, genealogist-led excursions and more.

The first cruise in the Ancestry series, “Heritage on the River: Your Personalized Ancestry Experience,” is scheduled to depart July 30, 2022, aboard AmaStella on a Rhine River itinerary calling at ports in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, France and Switzerland.

Guests who sign up for Ancestry Experience packages “will be matched with an expert from AncestryProGenealogists, Ancestry’s professional research division, who will conduct a one-hour welcome call to discuss aspects of their family that are of particular interest,” a spokesman for AmaWaterways announced.

During the cruise, a genealogist will provide presentations that offer perspective on guests’ ancestors and focus on available records to gather information that enables them to delve more deeply into their family histories.

Guests will also be privy to a private onboard consultation with a genealogist to review their family tree and ancestry-themed excursions.

As part of the program, AmaWaterways said it will invite travel advisors on an “Ancestry Heritage River Cruise” familiarization trip from Basel to Amsterdam aboard AmaMora, which departs Aug. 12, 2021.

The cruise will be hosted by AmaWaterways Vice President of Operations Jon Burrows and include onboard sessions led by Ancestry's Kyle Betit, senior genealogist and travel program operations manager, and Angie Bush, a genetic genealogists and genealogist educator.

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Traveling to Europe in the coming months? You'll want to prepare for the vaccination requirements before you go.

Our travel agency partner, Pleasant Holidays, has put together a simple one-page flyer that lays out the entry requirements for U.S. travelers established by the governments of France, Spain, Italy and Greece.

In the guidelines, travelers can see the differing requirements for vaccinated and unvaccinated visitors, including the kind of tests needed, additional requirements and what kind of documentation you should bring. 

When entering France, for instance, unvaccinated travelers need to take a COVID-19 test within 72 hours of departing the U.S. and to be able to show the negative test results upon entry. A sworn declaration form is also required.