Travellers' Checks | Website reveals extent of pain in the cruising industry, all at sea because of the coronavirus pandemic
- Hundreds of ships around the world are floating offshore, in quarantine or otherwise indisposed
- Plus, the population of St Helena becomes more isolated than ever after its only air link is suspended
No part of the travel industry has been hit more dramatically in recent months than luxury cruising, with hundreds of ships around the world floating just offshore in quarantine or otherwise indisposed, still filled with crews and, in some cases, passengers. Genting Hong Kong’s World Dream, which was under quarantine at the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in February, is now laid up in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, her schedule as Hong Kong’s most frequent floating visitor for 2020 looking doubtful.
Meanwhile, the gaudily decorated, Venetian-themed Costa Venezia – giving Chinese passengers a questionable taste of la dolce vita and operating out of Shanghai since last year – has been skulking off the south China coast since last month, unlikely to be of much appeal to other markets in her current form.
St Helena’s airport closes, leaving the tiny island isolated once again
