Sept. 8 update: Cruises back at Le Havre, HAL restarts, Seabourn cancels S. America/Antarctica, Tauck expands vaccine mandate

Cruises restarted at Le Havre today with Marella Explorer 2's maiden call. The Cruise Club Team welcomed Capt. Richard Watkins and Hotel Director Nic Spanoudes for a plaque exchange.

Further confirmed calls include Mein Schiff 6 (Sept. 13), Mein Schiff 8 (Sept. 18), Artania (Sept. 19, Oct. 20), Le Commandant Charcot (Sept. 20, Oct. 2), Le Champlain (Sept. 26, Oct. 2), Marina (Sept. 23), Amera (Oct. 15 maiden call), Amadea (Oct. 21) and Ryndam (Oct. 22).

The tourist office teams in charge of cruise terminal management have established protocols to comply with sanitary regulations.

Westerdam is to resume sailing May 8 in Alaska

HAL sets spring return for last three ships

Holland America Line plans to have its complete fleet sailing by late spring 2022 with the restart of operations for Noordam, Oosterdam and Westerdam.

Noordam will resume with a March 14 cruise in Japan, Oosterdam May 1 in the Mediterranean and Westerdam May 8 in Alaska. With these dates, cruises in Asia, Australia/New Zealand and South America and Antarctica from January 2022 through the return-to-service departures are canceled.

The ships will join Eurodam, Koningsdam, Nieuw Amsterdam, Nieuw Statendam, Rotterdam  and Zuiderdam, which have returned to service or are scheduled to be cruising by December. Volendam and Zaandam will return in May.

Three 14-day Japan cruises are planned for Noordam, sailing round-trip Yokohama, with one- or two-day visits to South Korea, Taiwan or Russia. Journeys can be combined into a 28-day 'Collectors' Voyage.' In April, Noordam will cross the Pacific for Alaska with a season with cruises between Vancouver, BC, and Whittier.

In the Mediterranean, Oosterdam will sail between Civitavecchia (Rome) and Venice, Barcelona and Venice or round-trip Venice on seven- and 12-day itineraries. Calls are planned in Italy, Greece, Turkey, Montenegro, Croatia, Albania, France, Malta and Israel.

Following a trans-Atlantic crossing in November 2022, the ship will transit the Panama Canal and head south for a series of South America and Antarctica expeditions between Buenos Aires and Chile's San Antonio.

Westerdam will embark on a season of seven-day Alaska cruises round-trip Seattle followed, in September, by a Far East season offering a variety of 14-day itineraries from Singapore, Hong Kong and Yokohama.

Seabourn Quest will return to service in the Mediterranean

Seabourn cancels Antarctica/S. America

Seabourn canceled its 2021/22 Antarctica and South America season on Seabourn Quest, which includes the Amazon region.

Instead, Seabourn Quest is planned to return to service May  10 in time for the Mediterranean summer season. It will homeport at Venice, offering cruises to the Adriatic and Ionian seas through mid-July before heading west and north to explore destinations destinations in Spain, Portugal, France and the UK.

Seabourn is currently operating two its five ships, Seabourn Odyssey and Seabourn Ovation.

Tauck vaccination mandate goes worldwide

Expanding a policy implemented earlier this year for its European tours and cruises, Tauck will now require all travelers 12 and over to present proof of full vaccination. Effective immediately, this applies to all of Tauck’s tours and cruises worldwide.

According to Jeremy Palmer, SVP worldwide operations, the move comes as entry requirements have been evolving rapidly around the world. 'We’re seeing a steady increase in restaurants, museums and attractions requiring proof of vaccination,' Palmer said, 'to the point where unvaccinated travelers won’t be able to fully participate in their Tauck journeys.'

Palmer added that over the past few months Tauck has hosted thousands of travelers on more than 80 itineraries around the globe and earned high guest-satisfaction scores. He also anticipated the company’s customers — 97% of whom are reported vaccinated — would appreciate the new policy.