Coronavirus: will a Hong Kong cruise to nowhere sink or swim? Launch of sea packages draws mixed response
Operators such as Royal Caribbean Cruises and Genting Cruise Lines have started cooperating with travel agents on a string of offerings
High seas voyages without port visits are set to begin in late July
/ Posted on 27 May, 2021 9:31
After a 15-month freeze, cruises out of Hong Kong will likely restart end of July – at the earliest – with strictly regulated cruise-to-nowhere itineraries for vaccinated residents.
In announcing its decision on May 26, the Hong Kong government said that participating cruises must adhere to a set of health precautionary measures specifically designed for cruise travel. These measures include sailing with a fully vaccinated crew that must undergo a Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) nucleic acid test shoreside and obtain a negative result every 14 days; having all passengers to obtain a negative PCR test result within 48 hours prior to boarding; and reducing passenger capacity to no more than 50 per cent.
27 May 2021 3:13 GMT Updated 27 May 2021 10:15 GMT in Singapore
Hong Kong authorities have joined a growing list of Asian countries that are allowing the resumption of cruising provided the voyages remain domestic in nature.
The decision was announced on Wednesday.
Genting Cruise Lines’ Dream Cruises and Royal Caribbean International immediately announced they would each deploy one ship in Hong Kong.
The Royal Caribbean Group subsidiary will use its 169,000-gt Spectrum of the Seas (built 2019), while Dream is sending its 151,000-gt Genting Dream (built 2016).
Both ships will begin operating short high-seas cruises, advertised as seacations, from the end of July. The cruises will range between two and four nights, similar to both company’s ships operating out of Singapore.
The Spectrum of the Seas in Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong government is targeting end-July to restart its cruise sector, giving the green light to two cruise lines to resume short sailings from the city.
Genting Cruise Lines will be offering 2- and 3-night Super Summer Seacations on the Genting Dream, the flagship of Dream Cruises fleet that features accommodation in the Balcony Staterooms and the all-inclusive, all-suite The Palace. The crucial experience gained as the first cruise line to resume in Asia with Explorer Dream and World Dream in Taiwan and Singapore, respectively, provides invaluable first-hand knowledge on how to operate cruises in the safest possible environment and it is our goal to also be the first to resume in Hong Kong, said Kent Zhu, president of Genting Cruise Lines.