Hapag-Lloyd shuts down cruises for November

Hapag-Lloyd, one of the two German brands jointly owned by Royal Caribbean Group, has canceled its November cruises.

However, sister brand TUI Cruises said it will continue sailing.

Hapag-Lloyd said that “the current situation remains an enormous challenge for us. Due to the current development and increasing number of cases in Germany, the federal government has decided on far-reaching measures to curb the infection. We strongly support the additional measures to contain the pandemic. This has included significant restrictions on public life, gastronomy, hotels and travel. Therefore, the Hapag-Lloyd Cruises fleet will have to pause until the end of November, to our great regret.”

Hapag relaunched two ships, the Europa 2 and the Hanseatic Inspiration, on cruises out of Hamburg, Germany, this summer with additional safety protocols.

Tui Cruises, meanwhile, said it will continue to sail with enhanced protocols.

“The measures announced by the German government will not bring the three ships of the Mein Schiff fleet to a standstill, as our cruises do not count as domestic tourism,” the line said. “The trip to and from the respective port of departure is still permitted as transit.”

Tui offers short cruises to and from Kiel, Germany, with sea days only and no port calls, on the Mein Schiff 1 and in Greece on seven-day itineraries to and from Crete with stops in Piraeus, Corfu and Rhodes on the Mein Schiff 6. On that ship, guests can only disembark on ship-controlled shore excursions.

Tui said it has been using a “cruise in a bubble” concept that encompasses the entire journey and sold as a complete package, including transport to the ship on chartered aircraft only for Mein Schiff guests. Tui will launch Canary Islands cruises on Nov. 6 on the Mein Schiff 2 using the same policies.

Aida Cruises, Carnival’s German brand, last week canceled its November cruises.