Cruise Operations Restarts In Germany, Hopes To Revive The Industry By Short Trips

Even though cruise operations remain suspended in the USA till September end, operations elsewhere are slowly opening up.

TUI cruises, a German Company, will be the first cruise line to sail after lockdowns around the world forced cruise companies to shut down operations. The ship, named “Mein Schiff 2”, will be sailing with 1,200 passengers on board.

The ship has already sailed for a weekend cruise on Friday, setting course for the North Sea.

Image Credits: @marcusputtich – Twitter

The cruise liner had previously announced that occupancy would be curbed to 60% to fight off any chances of community transfer of the virus. But the company managed to get only 1,200 passengers, even though the total passenger capacity is a staggering 2,900.

The cruise departed to Norway from the German port city of Hamburg. Passengers onboard would get the spirit of vacation for the weekend at sea, which includes no land stops. The ship is expected to return to Germany on Monday.

TUI on it’s Instagram handle wrote an ecstatic post, “Today it finally starts again.”

“Mein Schiff 2 is ready and so are we.” said the post in German.

As per WHO directives, passengers onboard and crew will be required to stay at least 1.5m away, while wearing protective masks. The ship’s buffet would also not allow passengers serving themselves.

The company required every passenger to fill out a health questionnaire during boarding operations, followed by temperature checks.

I‘m currently on #MeinSchiff2 cruising towards Norway every morninh we have to undergo a temperature check I really like how @tuicruises has got the safest hygiene standards at sea to make our stay on board very comfortable #MeinSchiff #TUICruises pic.twitter.com/3P8i9bQh9l

— cruiseExperience (@CremonaDario) July 25, 2020

Many German companies hope that after months of being shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, the industry could be revived by shorter, as well as precisely regulated trips.

Reference: usatoday.com

Source: Maritime Shipping News