Costa ready to roll

[jimbo5544]

Costa begins cruising this weekend.  
 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/23460-costa-cruises-ready-to-restart-cruise-operations-this-weekend.html

[jetsfan58]

Let's pray for a fantastic voyage. Was sorta surprised that they would start with a week long cruise. We shall see.

[xDisconnections]

Cool!

[shof515]

TUI Cruises, MSC and now Costa..this should much much better to show how safe cruises can be

[drsel]

In the case of Costa, only Italians are allowed to board in September.

I wonder what is the rule is after mid October in UAE, in the case of Costa diadema

 

 

[ighten]

If they follow Aida (now postponed due to Norway closing ports) cruise  rules they may move it to schengen after the first couple of voyages - they are the same sub company and seem to be following the exact same practices - and Costa are the more international brand for Costa Crociere

 

Tui Mein Schiff quickly changed its from German only to any Schengen before they actually had the first departure (with the usual caveat being you had to be allowed in - Its this which may be impactful for Costa in the coming weeks as they do have a high Spain and France presence and both countries are now on the red list for Italy)

 

On the otherhand I believe MSC who always allowed Schengen are having to cancel one due to lack of demand -  this is always going to be an issue thats multiplied if its one country only

 

So fingers crossed.. 

[drsel]

As of now, there are no restrictions for any nationalities boarding Costa diadema in Abu Dhabi and Dubai late October

[SeaHunt]

A big thank you to everyone at Costa who are making this start happen by agreeing to cuts. I hope everything goes smoothly, with many cruises to follow! 

 

"The Italian cruise line Costa Cruises has announced it will temporarily cut the salaries for 15% of the crew members currently onboard the ships. The pay cuts are part of a plan to preserve the jobs of all shoreside and shipboard employees. To reach this objective all Costa employees will have to give their personal contribution as the company prepares to restart cruises is September with the Costa Deliziosa from Trieste and the Costa Diadema from Genoa.

 

In a letter distributed among the crew, the company said that the impact of the global crisis went beyond what anyone could initially predict. Therefore the cruise industry and the company have been severely hit by the long pause in operations. All shoreside Senior Directors have reduced their salary and donated to the company a quota of their paid holidays.

 

Costa Cruises shipboard management and crew, as part of One Team, will be also requested to do their part in the temporary salary reduction to this end:

1. Hotel personnel entitled to bonus and sale commissions during the restart phase the overall compensation package, salary plus bonus commission, will be revised around -15%. This impact will be applied to the variable party only.

2. Side Activities: furthermore, around -15% revision will be applied to the following

- Baggage handling

- Goods Handling

- Support by Theater Lighting setup

- Tender service

 

Costa Cruises is confident that the crew will understand and embrace this decision for the benefit of all colleagues, adding that there are many challenges ahead, but if all join forces and work as one team the company will be back stronger than before".

 

http://crew-center.com/costa-cruises-cut-crew-salaries-15

[ighten]

looking at the webcam and all her (Deliziosa) signal flags are out in the dressed position... Envious 🙂

[logan25]

Do tell.  I have not located a good view of Trieste port.

[itchintocruise]

3 hours ago, logan25 said:

Do tell.  I have not located a good view of Trieste port.

Try this link to all the Costa ships.

https://www.costacruises.eu/fleet/webcam.html

[logan25]

That helped.  Thanks.

[Lunenburg]

On 9/5/2020 at 7:26 AM, drsel said:

As of now, there are no restrictions for any nationalities boarding Costa diadema in Abu Dhabi and Dubai late October

 

“Starting Saturday, September 5th, residents and visitors can enter the emirate of Abu Dhabi within 48 hours of receiving a negative PCR or DPI test result. DPI test results no longer require a prior PCR test,” the Abu Dhabi government media office tweeted. Not sure about Qatar and Oman or what happens at the end of the cruise  as the test will be out of date to re enter Abu Dhabi. Anyone know?

[drsel]

  “Starting Saturday, September 5th, residents and visitors can enter the emirate of Abu Dhabi within 48 hours of receiving a negative PCR or DPI test result. DPI test results no longer require a prior PCR test,” the Abu Dhabi government media office tweeted. Not sure about Qatar and Oman or what happens at the end of the cruise  as the test will be out of date to re enter Abu Dhabi. Anyone know?

They can do a rapid test PCR on disembarkation at Abu Dhabi.

Not sure about the cost.

 

For Qatar and Oman, the passengers can stay on-board, if required by the authorities.

 

[ighten]

are the ports open to cruise ships though in UAE - or is the suspension still in place

[ighten]

Leaving Trieste from yesterday evening

 

 

[Lunenburg]

8 hours ago, drsel said:

They can do a rapid test PCR on disembarkation at Abu Dhabi.

Not sure about the cost.

 

For Qatar and Oman, the passengers can stay on-board, if required by the authorities.

 

This was posted by Anne who lives in Dubai on the Africa Middle East thread on Wednesday 2nd.

 

"That may be the plan but I can assure you that at the present time nobody can move freely between Dubai and Abu Dhabi and nobody other than UAE Nationals or UAE residence visa holders can fly into Abu Dhabi..  I live in Dubai and haven't been able to travel to Abu Dhabi since Covid-19 travel restrictions were put in place... As of today's date there has been no announcement as to when those restrictions will be lifted... I don't know what other ports are on those itineraries but Oman (Muscat) and Qatar (Doha) are also still both closed to visitors..."

 

This is currently on the Emirates airlines website  

All passengers traveling to or connecting through Dubai must have a negative COVID-19 PCR test certificate TO BE ACCEPTED ON THE FLIGHT. The certificate must be for a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) swab test taken a maximum of 96 hours before departure. Other test certificates including antibody tests and home testing kits are not accepted in Dubai. Bring an official, printed certificate – SMS and digital certificates are not accepted.

 

(Emirates have changed my flight from Sao Paulo to two days later as they have reduced the number of flights per week.)

 

 

• All passengers traveling FROM Dubai to UK or Europe (and other mandated destinations) will be required to take a COVID-19 PCR test no more than 96 hours before departure and present the printed test result certificate at check-in. Children under the age of 12 and passengers who have a moderate or severe disability are exempt from this test.
• Before you travel, please check the requirements of the country you are traveling to. You may need to take a COVID-19 PCR test before you depart.

ABU DHABI  This is still on the Etihad website  You will only be permitted to enter the UAE if you are a UAE national or resident with a valid visa. All other visa types, including tourist visas, are unable to enter. Seamen are permitted entry. 14 days quarantine is required on arrival in Abu Dhabi

 

COVID-19 test required to fly to Abu Dhabi and must be presented at check in.
If you are travelling from another emirate to reach Abu Dhabi airport, you must present a negative COVID-19 test before you will be permitted to enter Abu Dhabi. The test must be valid within 48 hours.
When you arrive in Abu Dhabi, you are required to self-isolate for 14 days.

 

I hope things change in the next few weeks.

[Jayayeff]

15 hours ago, Lunenburg said:

 

“Starting Saturday, September 5th, residents and visitors can enter the emirate of Abu Dhabi within 48 hours of receiving a negative PCR or DPI test result. DPI test results no longer require a prior PCR test,” the Abu Dhabi government media office tweeted. Not sure about Qatar and Oman or what happens at the end of the cruise  as the test will be out of date to re enter Abu Dhabi. Anyone know?

That announcement applies to UAE residents or citizens travelling from Dubai to Abu Dhabi only.  Entry to Abu Dhabi is still closed to anyone other than nationals or valid residence visa holders... 

 

Anne...

[Jayayeff]

4 hours ago, ighten said:

are the ports open to cruise ships though in UAE - or is the suspension still in place

The suspension is still in place.... There have been reports of them reopening for the ‘season’ but as of now no start dates have been announced...

 

Anne...

[Lunenburg]

2 hours ago, Jayayeff said:

The suspension is still in place.... There have been reports of them reopening for the ‘season’ but as of now no start dates have been announced...

 

Anne...

Thanks for the current details, Anne, it would be very surprising for cruiselines to leave Europe for the Middle East if they have no way of boarding passengers there. They must have been given some hope of things opening up to make the trip. What happens to all the folk who are due to leave the ships in Abu Dhabi and Dubai on arrival from Italy?

 

[drsel]

Thanks for the current details, Anne, it would be very surprising for cruiselines to leave Europe for the Middle East if they have no way of boarding passengers there. They must have been given some hope of things opening up to make the trip. What happens to all the folk who are due to leave the ships in Abu Dhabi and Dubai on arrival from Italy?
 

Costa Diadema is the first Cruise ship scheduled to arrive in Abu Dhabi on 19th October and in Dubai on 20th october 2020.

[ighten]

14 hours ago, drsel said:

16 hours ago, Lunenburg said:

Thanks for the current details, Anne, it would be very surprising for cruiselines to leave Europe for the Middle East if they have no way of boarding passengers there. They must have been given some hope of things opening up to make the trip. What happens to all the folk who are due to leave the ships in Abu Dhabi and Dubai on arrival from Italy?
 

Costa Diadema is the first Cruise ship scheduled to arrive in Abu Dhabi on 19th October and in Dubai on 20th october 2020.

 

I suspect those will be cancelled and Diadema will stay performing more of the current style of  runs in the Med from Italian ports (but perhaps opened up for all Schengen pax..

 

Other than Germany and perhaps the Canary islands + some Northern European zones I cant see much happening this year (though Blue cruises may be possible)

[drsel]

My Costa itinerary is still showing that I have to board on the 19th of October in Abu Dhabi.

if they cancel how much advance notice do they have to give us, because I have to buy the air ticket

[Lunenburg]

4 hours ago, drsel said:

My Costa itinerary is still showing that I have to board on the 19th of October in Abu Dhabi.

if they cancel how much advance notice do they have to give us, because I have to buy the air ticket

 

 It is supposed to leave Rome on September 27th for Abu Dhabi.  They are still accepting bookings. hard to believe if they plan to cancel it. 

 

I was in touch with a tour company in Dubai and he said '

"As per the current situation you need only a negative test result to move to Abu Dhabi from Dubai and we are expecting that in November things will back to normal."    I wish I was as optimistic.

[drsel]

I was planning to fly directly to Abu Dhabi with an upto 48 hour negative test report.

 

Since I am boarding in Abu Dhabi, I don't need to go to Dubai.

Although Dubai has already opened up for tourists who have upto 96 hour negative test report