The Diamond Princess, the 15th and final Princess Cruises ship to
resume service since the pandemic, began sailing passengers out of San
Diego last week.
The refurbished Diamond was one of four ships the cruise line decided
to redeploy to the US earlier this year due to port closures in Asia.
It was supposed to begin on 1 September with sailings along the
California Coast, Mexican Riviera and Hawaiian, but Princess Cruises
delayed its restart due to labour shortages.
The ship is perhaps best remembered for having one of the first major
international Covid outbreaks, in Japan in February 2020. The entire
ship was quarantined in port in Yokohama, putting a major spotlight on
the industry and the then-new illness.
But the Diamond is fresh from a refurbishment and primed for a new start.
Now that the ship is back, it will sail a series of new cruise
itineraries until February 2023. Cruises range from five- to 16-day
voyages calling at ports along the Mexican Riviera, California Coast and
the Hawaiian Islands. The ship will also sail a round-trip 20-day
cruise to Central America.
While the pandemic seems to be in the rearview mirror, it's not gone
yet: Another ship in the fleet, the Majestic Princess, experienced an
800-person outbreak last week before it docked in Sydney, Australia.
Since then, parent company Carnival Corp. has reinstated a mask mandate
on its brands' ships sailing in the region.
Source: Travel Weekly