Following months of global travel restrictions, the first cruise ships are attempting to get back to normal. The German cruise ship Mein Schiff 2 of the travel giant TUI marked the beginning, as it set sail on Friday night from Hamburg for a three-day round trip in the North Sea.
According to DW reports, the vessel is carrying around 1,200 passengers, compared to its usual capacity of 2,900.
Guests will spend the weekend at sea with no stops on land, until returning to Hamburg on Monday morning.
Strict physical distancing and hygiene measures will take place onboard, while passengers will not be able to serve themselves food at the buffet.
On Sunday, 26 July, Hong Kong-based operator Dream Cruises also joined the handful of cruise operators to have restarted voyages. Its cruise ship Explorer Dream departed Sunday from Taiwan’s northern Keelung port on a four-day cruise with only one-third of its maximum passenger limit onboard. The ship will call at popular ports as Peng Hu, Matsu Island, Kinmen and Hualien. Except from social distancing onboard, the buffet, spa and casino services are also off.
Meanwhile, German line AIDA Cruises, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation, recently announced that three of its ships would resume operations in August. On 5 August, AIDAperla will become AIDA’s first ship to hit the high seas again.
On 12 August, AIDAmar will sail from the Baltic port of Warnemünde near Rostock and on 16 August, AIDAblu will follow, sailing from Kiel.
