Most cruise ports remain closed and few are re-opening
NewsSpain is opening its borders to overseas tourists this month – but is maintaining its ban on cruise ships calling at any Spanish port.
One of the most popular destinations for Mediterranean cruise itineraries, Spain banned cruise ships three months ago to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Spain played host to more than 10 million cruise passengers last year.
This year numbers are expected to shrink drastically because of the ban on cruise ships due to the pandemic.
Cruise ports across the world have been hard hit by COVID-19, closing their doors to international cruise ships as global lockdown forced travellers to stay home.
In Australia, all cruise ports will remain closed to overseas cruise lines until September 17.
Northern European ports were the first to re-open according to a survey by Cruise Europe and Cruise Britain.
Ports which have recently reopened include Bergen, Hamburg, Dover, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Southampton, Stockholm, St Petersburg, Stockholm and Tromso.
Amsterdam and many ports in The Netherlands have barred cruise passenger arrivals by river and ocean. Enforced since March this year, Amsterdam will not allow any vessel to enter its port until further notice. Other Dutch ports of Haarlem, Lelystad and Zaanstad are turning away vessels with 100 or more passengers on board.
Monte Carlo has also prohibited all cruise ships from calling at the port until further notice.
Portugal is not allowing cruise ships to disembark at its ports except for residents of Portugal returning home.
All Canadian ports are closed to cruise ships with more than 500 passengers until July 1 and all Arctic ports are closed.
The Alaska cruise season is relatively short, running from May to September. Alaskan ports will accept cruise ships carrying fewer than 500 passengers from July 2.
In Asia, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan are closed to all cruise ships until further notice.
In South Pacific, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Fiji are not allowing any cruise ship to call in their ports.
In New Zealand, ports will reopen to cruise ships on July 1 but foreign travellers are still prohibited from entering the country.
