Millions plan to travel over Labor Day weekend despite COVID-19 concerns
Most people expected to travel short distances and by car; Charles Watson reports.
The world’s oldest cruise line set sail again after suspending business globally in March due to COVID-19.
Italy’s Costa Cruises, a subsidiary of Carnival Cruises, resumed its luxury cruise ship Costa Deliziosa Sunday, departing from Trieste in the country’s Northeast region with a ship full of Italian guests, the first passengers on board since the pandemic began, the company announced.
The cruise line has implemented a number of health and safety protocols, like staggered check-ins upon arrival at the terminal in Trieste, temperature checks, a health questionnaire and, for anyone with suspected cases or symptoms, a COVID-19 antigen rapid swab test, according to a report from CruiseHive.com. Travelers would not be able to board unless they tested negative for the virus. Crew members onboard the ship also underwent a health screening and were quarantined for 14 days before departure.
The weeklong voyage with only Italian guests will visit Bari, Brindisi, Corigliano-Rossano, Siracusa and Catania.
Costa Deliziosa is the cruise line’s first ship to set sail for destinations primarily in Europe. It’s the first in the company’s fleet of four cruise ships to resume travel since COVID-19 became widespread in March. The company’s Costa Diadema will leave Genoa on Sept. 19.
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It has been anything but smooth sailing for the travel industry during COVID-19, and particularly for the cruise sector, with a number of liners delaying scheduled departures until 2021. Cunard Line, a British cruise line also part of Carnival Corporation, last week announced it would postpone operations until March 25, 2021 after previously announcing its return date for November 2020.
CUNARD CRUISE LINE CANCELS EVERY SAILING THROUGH MARCH, OTHER TRIPS THROUGH 2021
The cruise line also announced in a statement that sailings scheduled for Queen Elizabeth in and around Australia, Japan and Alaska between March 26, 2021, and Dec. 13, 2021, will all be canceled, with guests eligible for a full refund or credit for 125% of the original cost.
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