Itineraries cancelled as COVID-19 outbreaks affect German cruising

Phoenix Reisen's Amera returned to Bremerhaven on January 4, cutting short its Canary Islands cruise, AIDA Cruises’ AIDAnova is currently headed for Barcelona after its passengers were disembarked early in Lisbon and TUI Cruises’ Mein Schiff 6 will remain out of service until mid-January.

Amera

Amera's Canary Islands itinerary – which was supposed to run until January 9 – has been cut short five days as a consequence of several COVID-19 cases, and a date for when the vessel will resume operations is yet to be revealed. It impacts Amera’s Mediterranean itinerary, which had been scheduled to take place from January 9 to March 10.

AIDAnova

AIDAnova’s New Year's cruise was called off early with passengers disembarking in Lisbon. A port official was quoted last Friday evening by a Portuguese news outlet, alleging 52 out of 1,353 crew members had tested positive and are being quarantined in hotels within the Portuguese capital. The ship was intended to sail first to Funchal and on to the Canaries, concluding January 5. 

Immediate ambitions to sail directly to the Canaries on January 2 were later dismissed, with the cruise instead suspended on Sunday when passengers were disembarked and flown back to Germany.

AIDAnova left Lisbon on January 3, heading for Barcelona, where the ship will arrive early on January 7. Its subsequent Canaries itineraries, running until January 12, have been cancelled with no date set for when the vessel will recommence operations.

Mein Schiff 6

TUI Cruises' Mein Schiff 6 will not restart until January 17, after COVID-19 cases on board led to the disembarkation of passengers in Dubai on Monday during sailings of the Arabian Gulf.

No reports of serious symptoms 

Seatrade Cruise News understands the majority of those testing positive were asymptomatic, with others reporting mild symptoms.

Germany’s federal state government and the states’ prime ministers are scheduled to meet Friday for a summit to discuss the pandemic and announce further COVID-19 measures. No travel ban is expected.