Some Northern European ports are taking up their activities

The Cruise companies already see the light at the end of the tunnel. There is no doubt that the Tourism Sector is one of the hardest hit sectors in this pandemic that has almost completely paralysed the world economy.

But Little by Little there are signs thar indicate the return to a new normality, adapted and conditioned to avoid an increase or a second wave of COVID-19 infections.

For their part, the shipping companies are taking preventive safety measures and action protocols, while adapting their spaces to offer their passenger equal confort, enjoyment and safety.

In addition, most companies have readjusted their cancellation policies to make them more flexible, with some companies allowing Royal Caribbean to cancel free of charge up to 48 hours before sailing.

Company Presindent and CEO wants to convey a message of reassurance to future passengers:

 

We want our passengers to feel that they can safety keep their existing cruise reservations or Schedule new departures.

This policy gives them more freedom and flexibility – Richard Fain

For the time being, cruise ships remain out of service, eager to sail again and tour the coast of the world. The different shipping companies are updating the dates of their return and some are optimistic that they will return between the end of June or the beginning of July.

Another sign of good news came a few days ago with pans to reopen some European cruise ports. In a survey launched by the associations Cruise Britain and Cruise Europe, 113 cruise ports were taken into account to give an overview of the current state of cruise ports in Northern Europe. Among the open ones we find ports as popular fot the cruisers as those of Edinburgh, Stokholm, Southampton,Oslo and St. Pertersburg. However, large ports such as Amsterdam remain Closed

LIST OF OPEN CRUISE PORTS IN NORTHERN EUROPE.

According to the survey carried out by Cruise Europe and Cruise Britain on 27 April, the following ports are open:

Aalborg, Aberdeen, Akureyri, Ayr and Troon, Barrow-in-Furness, Bergen, Bristol, Bronnoysund, Cardiff, Invergordon, Dover, Edinburgh, Eskifjordur, Falmouth, Cornwall, Fowey, Gdansk, Gothenburg, Greenock, Hamburg, Harlingen, Harstad, Harwich, Helsingborg, Holy Loch, Holyhead, Hull, Inverness, Kalundborg, Kristiansand, Kristiansund; Nordmore, Lerwick, Liverpool, Longyearbyen, Mukran, Newport, Oban, Orkney, Plymouth; Teignmouth, Portland, Portsmouth, Runavik, Santander, Saudarkrokur, Siglufjordur. Skagen, Southampton, St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Swansea, Tilbury, Torquay, Torshavn, Tromso, Tyne, Ventspils

REOPENING OF CRUISE PORTS PLANNED FOR MAY AND JUNE.

The positive and successful evolution of Northern European countries in the recovery from the pandemic has helped make them the first in the world to announce their plans to reopen regular cruise operations. Most of

the ports could start receiving cruises this very May if there were ships in

service.

Some ports have set their opening in these first weeks of May:

  • Arendal and Flam: 05/01/2020
  • Port Ellen: 05/07/2020
  • Bordeaux, LE havre, Nantes Saint-Nazaire and
    Rouen: 05/11/2020
  • Riga and Turku: 05/13/2020
  • Helsinki: 05/14/2020

And a few others that are scheduled to open in the coming weeks if all goes according to plan:

  • Rotterdam: 05/26/2020
  • Malmö (Copenhagen): 06/01/2020
  • Ísafjörður (Iceland): 07/01/2020

The survey will be repeated in the coming weeks, to update the information obtained on April 27. Even so, it remains to be seen when the shipping companies will be ready to resume operations of their fleets and have the guarantees of the institutions so that passengers can visit the port cities.

Our extensive experience as technical suppliers in the cruise sector, the high capacity of response and adaptability, have led us to design some measures adapted to the new situation. From Abaft Marine we have developed and gathered series of products to help slowing the global advance of the Covid-19 and adapt facilities to the new safety needs.

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