“If you want to give God a good laugh, tell him your plans”. That was a phrase used by Captain Mike McCarthy, the chairman of Cruise Europe when writing to member ports of the organisation on the way forward for the cruise industry during and after the worldwide pandemic.

Falmouth has lost hundreds of thousands of pounds in revenue due to the Coronavirus with cruise ships not visiting the port in 2020. Only The World residential vessel for laid up here for a three month period during last summer.

This year may paint a similar picture in terms of calls and revenue as the port is unlikely to see cruise ships until June or July at the earliest if the stringent international regulations hamper these vessels and their passengers.

Captain McCarthy said: “The gap between the hope of the cruise ships returning and reality, with still rampant coronavirus and slower than expected roll out of vaccines, is a grave concern to the whole industry. The cruise companies and many organisations and people have shown great resilience even though, through no fault of their own, their lives and livelihoods have been totally upended. Covid-19 is truly an unprecedented event.”

Falmouth Packet:

The World residential cruise ship leaving Falmouth last September. Photo: David Barnicoat

He added: “The importance of the world’s aviation industry, particularly to the cruise industry, has never been more evident in the last nine months when it comes to the economic movement of passengers and crew, travel connectivity and supply chains.

"A September 2020 report from Accenture, entitled Defining the Future of Travel, states: 'Travel as we know it is not coming back'. The study notes that a 60-80 per cent decline in tourist footfall is expected initially – according to the World Trade Organisation – due to lack of confidence in booking, concerns about health, finances and safety, with people cautious to resume normal activities.

"The cancellation of 30-40 per cent of all global air routes will not be reversed quickly while some may not return at all. Consolidation will be a big component of the resurgence of the industry.

"There will be a latent demand for international tourism and cruise tourism. However, options for cruise travellers to make their own way to a departure or return port may be a problem, due to the unavailability of connections and potential increased flight costs.”

The pandemic has forced cruise companies to make radical economic decisions on staff employment and numbers, whilst examining ship operating costs and efficiency in the current market. We have seen elderly tonnage sent prematurely to the scrapyards of eastern Europe and the Indian sub continent, where ships with a history have met an ignominious end to their careers.

Month by month the world’s leading cruise ship companies have been revising their start up dates by continually putting back dates to resume operations again. Many of them are looking to resume cruising in late May/June but events surrounding the pandemic changes by the hour.

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Cruising as we know it will not be the same for years to come as strict health protocols are introduced around the world along with new regulations relating to passenger and crew safety.

Saga Cruises for example are asking all passengers to be vaccinated, pre-departure Covid-19 tests at home and in the terminal for guests and crew, along with temperature checks and full medical screening. Passenger numbers on their ships will be reduced by a fifth to a maximum of 800 guests per ship. Social distancing measures will be in place and face coverings to be worn in all public areas. Saga is currently the only cruise line awarded the Shield + accreditation by Lloyd’s Register which means they are operating safely using only the strictest health and hygiene measures, protecting guests at all times. Saga which caters for the over 50s has reported a surge in bookings since their announcement.

In the aftermath of a failed dredging campaign Falmouth is suffering at the hands of other European ports that have invested in dredging schemes, new berths and important infrastructure projects to woo the cruise lines. But all is not lost. Some industry pundits see expedition ships and smaller cruise ships making a niche market for some ports. Falmouth lends itself to these ships.

German owned and managed ships from Phoenix Reisen, Hapag Lloyd and AIDA have scheduled calls planned for Falmouth highly dependent on international health regulations but it will be a game of wait and see if these come to fruition.

Amera, Deutschland, Europa 2, Amadea, Artania and AIDAaura make up some of the German market cruise ships which appear to favour West Country ports particularly Falmouth.

Falmouth Packet:

The ultra luxurious Europa 2. Picture: David Barnicoat Collection

This year already there are more casualties as far as this port is concerned with cancellations of cruise ship calls.

The mega cruise ship Island Princess will not be calling here in June as she makes her way from the United States to Southampton on a trans-Atlantic repositioning cruise according to the current itineraries being promulgated by the company.

How ever she is scheduled to call here in 2022 on a similar cruise when she will once again be home ported at Southampton for the European cruise season. The 2010 built Panamax vessel carries 2,200 passengers.

The 115,000 tons Crown Princess is home porting in Southampton for the 2021 season from where she will hopefully make 25 British Isles cruises with Portland port being the a firm favourite on each cruise. As we know tendering passengers ashore at Falmouth stops the mega cruise ships from calling here.

The Norwegian company Hurtigruten have favoured Portland, Fowey, Dartmouth and the Isles of Scilly for their itineraries both this year and next.

The “Delights of Devon and Cornwall” cruises from Fred Olsen on the Braemar are cancelled for July and August when the ship was making overnight stops in Falmouth. Fred Olsen Cruises said: “ Braemar, which typically operates our Mediterranean and Caribbean fly-cruise programme in the winter, will remain in lay-up for next year (2021). Apart from these calls the new ships in the fleet Bolette and Borealis, acquired from Holland America, are engaged on other European cruises.

As to the future: “ What man appoints God disappoints.”