In this week’s edition of stories that may have gone under your radar, we see get a healthy dose of optimism mixed with realism and pessimism. So, a pretty average week during the coronavirus pandemic! Let’s take a look at some of the latest cruise news, starting with some humanitarian efforts.
Pullmantur donates 13 tons of food
Pullmantur, a cruise line based out of Madrid, Spain, recently did the right thing by donating around 13 tons of food from their ships to local food banks and shelters. The food came from their ships Sovereign and Monarch, which are not operating right now. The “assortment of cold meats and sausages, canned fish, olive oil, coffee and dairy products” will end up helping out about 1800 people, which is awesome to see. Pullmantur said that they hope to find other ways to keep donating food, and we’re excited to see what they have to offer. Hopefully other cruise lines will follow in their footsteps and help out their local communities!
Princess and Saga delay ship transfers
Two different companies were expecting to transfer ships this summer: Saga and Princess. Sadly, it’s looking like neither will be able to do so. In Saga’s case, they were hoping to send their Saga Sapphire to ANEX Tour. The company isn’t sure when this will be able to happen now, but they are aiming for 2020 still. Princess, on the other hand, was expecting to receive their new ship, Enchanted Princess. Seeing as the ship has been in an Italian shipyard, this will not be possible anytime soon, and it has been postponed to a later date.
Don’t panic, though! These events don’t mean that Saga and Princess are no longer doing these transfers. They are just waiting until it is safe to do so, which is definitely a smart move on their part.
Royal Caribbean forced to lay-off many employees
It was bound to happen, but you hate to see it. 26% percent of Royal’s U.S. employees will experience lay-offs or furloughs, a process which started on April 15. This comes after several of their executives agreed to have adjustments to their salaries to help benefit their companies and employees; the CEO of Royal even forewent his salary. As of now, it’s unclear how many employees will be coming back to the company after the pandemic passes versus how many will not.
While we hate to see Royal hitting some tough times, it’s always nice when the cruise industry reminds of us the good that it can do with efforts like Pullmantur’s. Some day we won’t have to only hear about cruise news that is predicated on the coronavirus; until then, let’s hope it’s more nice news like that!
