Twenty Cruise Ship Arrivals Scheduled
mbl.is/Gunnar Kristjánsson
There are 20 cruise ship arrivals scheduled in Reykjavík for July, Morgunblaðið reports. It is, however, not clear whether all these arrivals will be confirmed, states Gyða Guðmundsdóttir, managing director of North Atlantic Agency and spokesperson for Cruise Iceland.
She adds that the likelihood of cruise ships arriving in Iceland has increased since earlier this summer, because plans for the screening of passengers for the novel coronavirus upon arrival have become much clearer. Every week, she states, the situation changes. No cruise ship has arrived in Reykjavík since March 9.
The cruise ships scheduled to arrive carry between 1,000 and 2,400 passengers each, and then there are smaller ships with a capacity for up to 500 passengers.
All passengers who arrive by these ships will be tested for the virus upon arrival, just as those who arrive by air. Gyða believes German tourists are the likeliest to arrive by ship in the coming weeks.
She states that the ISK 15,000 (USD 111; EUR 98) fee for testing will not deter cruise ship passengers from coming to Iceland. The cruise ship operators have always assumed that a fee for testing would be charged.
The companies planning to sail to Iceland in the coming weeks monitor their passengers closely with regard to illness, she states. They know that a case of COVID-19 on board could be a blow to their business, she adds.
Gyða believes there is interest in traveling to Iceland by cruise ship, especially on board smaller ships. People, she states, are fed up with staying at home and view visiting Iceland as an opportunity while the number of tourists in the country is still limited, and they see Iceland as a safe place to visit during the pandemic.
You can see the schedule of arrivals here.
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