NYCruiseInfo Blog

Bahamas Loosen United States Citizens Restrictions - somewhat Just days after Prime Minister Hubert Minnis announced US travelers would be blocked from the Bahamas during a coronavirus spike, the government changed course. Americans are allowed, but they'll have to undergo a 14-quarantine in a government facility and pass a COVID-19 test at the end of their isolation, both at their own expense. This lightening of the rules, really does not benefit cruise visitors which are still restricted and eliminates anyone visiting the island for under 14 days.  ---------------------------------------   OUR OTHER SITES => NYCruiseInfo.com Website - Cruise Schedule, Ship Reviews, Ports of Call & More. => Nick's Cruise Corner Blog - News On Cruise Ships Sailing World Wide. => Follow Us on Instagram - NYCruiseInfo At Instagram => Subscribe to Our Monthly New York Cruises Newsletter ,

Norwegian Cruise Lines' Norwegian Epic - One of 8 Ships Currently Schedule to Sail From New York in 2021 If 2021 proves to be a good year for cruising, Norwegian Cruise Line plans for a total of 8 ships to make at least one sailing from the Big Apple. The cruises range from a single repositioning cruises to multiple New England / Canada, Florida and Bahamas or Bermuda cruises. At this point, NYCruiseInfo has not published the consolidated 2021 cruise schedule from the Port of New York (pending potential updates due to the impact of the coronavirus). Norwegian Cruise Lines ships expected to sail from New York in 2021 include the Norwegian Joy, Norwegian Jade, Norwegian Getaway, Norwegian Gem, Norwegian Escape, Norwegian Epic, Norwegian Star and the Norwegian Breakaway. Check back in November for 2021 updates as cruise lines alter plans to re-enter service.   RETURN TO NYCRUISEINFO.com   ---------------------------------------   Sister Sites => NYCruiseI...

Beautiful Beaches of the Bahamas Closed to United States Citizens to Contain Coronavirus The Bahamas has temporarily banned all United States Citizens from vacationing at the island nation. The ban, depending on how long it is enforced, could impact cruises from New York and New Jersey. These cruises frequently called at Nassau, Freeport and private islands in the Bahamas  on 7 day winter cruises. Here is the details of the current ban. "Our current situation demands decisive action if we are to avoid being overrun and being defeated by this virus," Minnis said in his address, noting that the Bahamas has confirmed 15 new cases for a total of 153 cases. 49 of the cases had been identified since the Bahamas reopened its borders on July 1.  Sea vessels carrying commercial passengers will also not be permitted to enter. However, private international flights, charters and yachts from all countries will be allowed.  National airline Bahamasair will en...

Future Cruise Predictions - Where will cruises originate from? What will be the preferred ports of Call? and Why? Since cruise lines will be asked to take added measures to ensure that ships are sterilized and kept virus free on a continual basis, the cruise lines are taking actions in order to illuminate any potential bad press as well as media attention.  Cruise lines are working on proactively managing the health of passengers throughout the cruise, requiring the crew to wear protective face gear, reducing the availability of buffets, having crew members place food on passengers plates, sterilization of the public areas, fogging of the cruise passenger cabins, and increased medical staff. In addition many cruise lines are limiting their capacity by 50% allowing for social distancing. This is being done to instill passenger confidence in the cruise industry again. It is expected that the cruise lines will sail from ports which are within driving range ...

Aida Cruises AIDAluna was expected to sail from New York to New England / Canada or the Coastal US and Bahamas - until AIDA cruises decided to cancel all 2020 US based cruises. Aida Cruises, a German based cruise line owned by Carnival Corporation , has made the decision to suspend all cruises to the United States and Canada in 2020 due to travel bans and restrictions in both countries. The cruise line has traditionally sailed from New York to both New England / Canada and East Coast ports like Norfolk, Charleston SC, Port Canaveral and the Bahamas on two ships. Most of their cruises feature overnight stay in New York to offer their German Clientele time to explore New York City. The AIDA ships have limited dining room eateries and were focused more on buffets and cooking stations. Based on the new corona restrictions, the cruise line will have to re-think their dining experiences. For the summer and fall of 2020 AIDA was expecting to sail the AIDAluna and AIDAdiva from New ...

Bahamas Port of Nassau To Undergo a Major Renovation and Expansion A popular port on cruises departing from New York and New Jersey, Nassau in the Bahamas is making a massive investment to improve the cruise port. The Project which will be completed in 3 phases, the project has begun. Nassau Cruise Port Ltd. (Nassau Cruise Port) is pleased to announce that it has successfully raised over $130 million through its private bond offering. The bond offering was launched on May 4 and closed on Friday, May 15, 2020. Colina Financial Advisors Ltd. (CFAL), the lead placement agent for the bond issue, has confirmed that the offering was oversubscribed. Mike Maura, Jr., CEO of Nassau Cruise Port, shared his appreciation for the support and confidence of so many investors and stakeholders during these difficult times. “We wish to thank the many investors who recognize the national importance of this project and have given us their backing. We are also very grateful for the assist...

Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas sailing between Med ports to bring crew members home. Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas is sailing between Mediterranean ports to bring  crew members home. The ship called at Gibraltar on May 24th and is now heading toward Piraeus where she is expected to arrive on May 28th 2020. The Anthem of the Seas loaded crew members in Coco Cay, Bahamas from various ships and Royal Caribbean brands. It is unclear what the next port of call will be after Piraeus. The Anthem of the Seas was scheduled to sail Northern European cruises departing from Southampton, England.  It is unclear whether she will proceed to England for wait for orders elsewhere. RETURN TO NYCRUISEINFO.com   ---------------------------------------   Sister Sites => NYCruiseInfo.com Website - Cruise Schedule, Ship Reviews, Ports of Call & More. => Nick's Cruise Corner Blog - News On Cruise Ships Sailing World Wide. => Follow Us on Instag...

Unlike any private island the world has ever seen, Royal Caribbean International's highly anticipated Perfect Day at CocoCay - the first in the cruise line's new Perfect Day Island Collection of next-level private destinations around the world - is now open. The $250 million transformation of the line's private island in The Bahamas debuts a combination of first-of-their-kind thrills and one-of-a-kind ways to chill that forever changes what is possible in a vacation destination. From plunging down the tallest water-slide in North America and traveling up to 450 feet in the air in the Up, Up and Away helium balloon, to conquering the Caribbean's largest wave pool, thrill seekers can find plenty of ways to put their courage to the test. For those looking to relax, Perfect Day features the Caribbean's largest freshwater pool, Oasis Lagoon; and pristine, white sand beaches with crystal-clear tropical water, so gu...

  Carnival to Sail Crew Home, Transfer Between Ship Expected Off of the Bahamas Eighteen Carnival Cruise Line ships will rendezvous in the Bahamas over the next several days as the final plans are put in place to sail nine of the ships to repatriate more than 10,000 healthy crew members who remain on board due to restrictions limiting air travel to Asia, Africa, Europe, India and Latin America.    The ships have been at various US homeports provisioning and bunkering for their journeys. Certain crew will join ships using water shuttles off the coast of the Bahamas.  Once this is completed, nine ships will sail to their destinations with crew from North American-based ships on board. Nine ships to remain at Bahamas, Panama The remaining nine ships will spend most of their time in anchorage positions in the Bahamas or Panama and eventually all ships will reduce their crew numbers to safe operational manning levels. Carnival President Ch...

Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas New York New Jersey 2020 Debut Delayed. If the world was back in order, yesterday would have been the maiden voyage of the totally renovated Oasis of the Seas from Cape Liberty, Bayonne, New Jersey. Although the Oasis class ships have been around for a while (some 12 years), yesterday would have marked the first time an Oasis Class ship visited New York. The 1,186 foot long, 213 foot long ship would have sailed a 7 day cruise to Cape Canaveral, Fla; Nassau, Bahamas ; and Coco Cay, Bahamas . Coco Cay is Royal Caribbean's Private Island - Branded as the Perfect Day at Coco Cay . Instead the Oasis of the Seas sits some 100 Nautical Miles Southeast of Freeport in the Bahamas awaiting a decision on the future. Oasis of the Seas carried 6,296 passengers at full capacity and a crew of 2,165 crew, The Oasis was expected to sail a series of these Florida and Bahamas cruises until October of 2020 along with a single cruise to Canada....

Manhattan Cruise Terminal With Many Cruise Ships Along Side. Although at this time it is probably just a projection of the future, I went out to the cruise line's websites about a week ago looking for ships expected to sail from the Port of New York / New Jersey in 2021.  Granted with the state of the world and the coronavirus outbreak, everything is subject to change or revision. As of 4/18/2020 - Here are some of the ships expected sail to/from New York and New Jersey. Carnival Cruises Carnival Magic Cunard Line  Queen Mary 2  Celebrity Cruises Celebrity Summit  Disney Cruise Line No 2021 cruises listed.  MSC Cruises  MSC Divina Norwegian Cruise Line Norwegian Breakaway Norwegian Escape Norwegian Jade Norwegian Joy Norwegian Gem Norwegian Getaway Norwegian Star Oceania Cruises Insignia Princess Cruises Sky Princess Caribbean Princess Sea Princess   Regent Seven Seas Cruises Seven Seas ...

Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas Spending Lay Up at Private Island and At Sea. Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas has been alternating her days between an anchorage off the coast of the Bahamas and pulling along side at Coco Cay Royal Caribbean's Private island. It is suspected that she will pull into a Floridian or Bahamian port shortly for fuel and stores. RETURN TO NYCRUISEINFO.com   ---------------------------------------   Sister Sites => NYCruiseInfo.com Website - Cruise Schedule, Ship Reviews, Ports of Call & More. => Nick's Cruise Corner Blog - News On Cruise Ships Sailing World Wide. => Follow Us on Instagram - NYCruiseInfo At Instagram => Subscribe to Our Monthly New York Cruises Newsletter .

Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Gem - Currently idle in Nassau, Bahamas. 3/22/20 - Although originally reported to be laid up temporarily in Jacksonville, Florida, the Norwegian Gem headed from New York directly to Nassau. As of Sunday, the Norwegian Gem remains dockside with other Norwegian Cruise Line , Seven Seas Cruise Line and Oceania Cruises ships. (all of the Norwegian Cruise Lines Family). Located in Nassau with the Norwegian Gem is the Norwegian Breakaway (another New York favorite) and Norwegian Encore (coming to New York in the summer). The Norwegian Gem was expected to sail 10 and 11 day cruises from New York before heading to Boston for Boston to Bermuda cruises in May/June. The current plan has the cruises from Boston operating as planned. Berthed together is the Seven Seas Explorer and the Riviera of Seven Seas Cruises. RETURN TO NYCRUISEINFO.com   ---------------------------------------   Sister Sites => NYCruiseInfo.com Website - Cruis...

Marella Cruises Marella Discovery to Call in New York as Port of Call on Cruises from Cape Canaveral UK based Marella Cruises' has announced a series of 7-day cruises from Cape Canaveral, Florida sailing to Charleston, South Carolina, with an overnight stay in New York , a day visit to Freeport in the Bahamas and back to Cape Canaveral Florida (where the cruise ends). The itinerary is sure the attract her British Clientele offering a taste of the Big Apple and Americana. Marella Cruises will utilize the Marella Discovery which previously operated as Royal Caribbean's Splendour of the Seas (a Royal Caribbean Vision Class ship), the Thompson Discovery and now the Marella Discovery. Cruises will sail to New York on select dates in May, June and July 2021. RETURN TO NYCRUISEINFO.com   ---------------------------------------   Sister Sites => NYCruiseInfo.com Website - Cruise Schedule, Ship Reviews, Ports of Call & More. => Nick's Cruise Corner B...

Grand Lucaya Resort Today Will Be Transformed into a Resort and Shore Excursion for Cruises Calling at Freeport in the Bahamas. Royal Caribbean's new joint venture, Holistica Destinations, announced on 3/2/2020 a $300 million investment in Freeport, Grand Bahama that will redevelop the Freeport cruise ship terminal to bring a new world-class destination with a one-of-a-kind hotel, convention center, water adventure park and more. The new project will span two locations including the enhancement and expansion of the port terminal, to be called Harbour Village, and the Lucaya Property, which will be situated at the current Grand Lucayan resort. The first phase of the Lucaya Property will be a world-class beachfront destination with a 526-room hotel, shopping village, spa and wellness center, water-based family entertainment including a massive water and adventure theme park, a 40,000-square-foot convention center, adventure activities such as zip lines and off-roa...

Carnival Cruises' Carnival Victory Is On Her Way to Spain for a 38-Day Renovation to Re-merge as the Carnival Radiance Let the transformation begin! Carnival Victory departed PortMiami yesterday (Sunday 3/1/2020)  bound for Cadiz, Spain, where she will undergo a $200 million dry dock and emerge as Carnival Radiance this spring. Following a trans-Atlantic crossing, the dry dock will take place over 38 days with the ship’s team members and contractors working around the clock to totally transform the 102,000-ton vessel adding a variety of exciting new spaces and experiences. Carnival Radiance will mark the seagoing debut of Big Chicken created by Carnival’s Chief Fun Officer Shaquille O’Neal, as well as many of the line’s most popular dining, bar, entertainment and attraction options. New offerings added to Carnival Radiance during its bow-to-stern makeover will include Guy’s Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que Smokehouse created by Food Network star and longtime par...

Manhattan Cruise Terminal on a busy day. - NY Economic Development Organization New York Harbor looked sad this Saturday. The temperature in New York City peaked out at 53 degrees and Sunny on Saturday 2/22/2020. People were outside enjoying the warmer weather and as I walked along the river - no cruise ships were in port. None of the busy port traffic was chris-crossing the Hudson River. Only the occasional ferry was sailing between New Jersey and New York. Missing were the excursion boats, tug traffic, yachts, pleasure craft and most of all - the cruise ships. The marine traffic was noticeably missing as the cruise ship piers remained empty. Sunday saw the arrival of the Norwegian Bliss and Anthem of the Seas. The Norwegian Bliss docked alongside pier 88 in Manhattan. The Anthem of the Seas docked in Cape Liberty, Bayonne, NJ. Both ships - surprisingly sailed on time which has been infrequent for the Norwegian Bliss. The Norwegian Bliss and Anthem of the Seas were sailing o...

Victory Cruises Small Ship Victory I Added to the New York Small Ship Cruises Line Up For a Single Sailing. Due to the late add of Victory Cruise Line's repositioning cruise to our 2020 cruise schedule, we have updated our Small Ship Cruise Page and itineraries to include this Bahamas registered small ship. As stated here earlier, the New York Sailing of the 207 passenger Victory I to New England and Canada is part of a repositioning cruise to the Great Lakes. Check out the Victory I cruise and all the other small ship cruises departing from New York , View All 2020 Cruises From New York & New Jersey .  RETURN TO NYCRUISEINFO.com   ---------------------------------------   Sister Sites => NYCruiseInfo.com Website - Cruise Schedule, Ship Reviews, Ports of Call & More. => Nick's Cruise Corner Blog - News On Cruise Ships Sailing World Wide. => Follow Us on Instagram - NYCruiseInfo At Instagram => Subscribe to Our Monthly New York...

Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas Passengers Checked for Coronavirus UPDATE So far the results for passengers, thought to possibly have the Coronavirus, have come back negative. Although some additional tests are outstanding, results look promising that the passengers may have had the common flu and NOT the Coronavirus. Royal Caribbean has decided to take caution and wait for all passenger test results to come in. Royal Caribbean has opted to take the additional time to further sterilize the ship and surfaces. With this said the Anthem of the Seas sits tonight (Friday) empty at Cape Liberty Bayonne, while the crew vigourously wipes down and sterilizes all parts of the ship. The Anthem of the Seas is now scheduled to sail from Cape Liberty Bayonne on a 7 day cruise (no longer an 8 day cruise) on Saturday (2/8) at around 5 PM. An added day at sea has been eliminated and the cruise will still visit the anticipated ports in the Bahamas and Florida. Stay tuned to track...

Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Gem A Favorite Among New York Cruisers NYCruiseInfo.com has just  published the cruise profile for Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Gem. The Norwegian Gem is a favorite of New York cruisers and for years has served New York on the New York to Bermuda ; New York to Florida and The Bahamas , New York to New England / Canada , the Panama Canal and the Caribbean . During the Summer the Norwegian Gem has been sailing from Boston to Bermuda and Canada, but during the off season continues to sail from the Big Apple. The learn about the Norwegian Gem's  public rooms, staterooms, dining options, statistics and more - check out NYCruiseInfo's Norwegian Gem Review .  RETURN TO NYCRUISEINFO.com   ---------------------------------------   Sister Sites => NYCruiseInfo.com Website - Cruise Schedule, Ship Reviews, Ports of Call & More. => Nick's Cruise Corner Blog - News On Cruise Ships Sailing World Wide. =...