Let’s get ON BOARD!

It’s been a long haul, with many twists and turns since the global cruise industry effectively shut down in March 2020. Cruise ships normally filled with the sound of laughter and the popping of champagne corks have lain idle, anchored off the Dorset coast, or bobbing around in a forlorn flotilla off the Bahamas. Crew, after a massive repatriation effort to fly tens of thousands home during the height of the pandemic, have had to find other jobs. Loyal passengers, ever hopeful of a revival of travel, have had to face one disappointment after another, credits for future cruises building up.

There was a brief flurry of hope last summer, with a handful of cruise lines returning to service in Greece and Italy. But there were false starts, too, scuppered by COVID cases sneaking on board, or borders and ports suddenly closing.

Ships may have been lying