Saga Cruises has confirmed plans to resume international cruise holidays from the UK for the first time since March 2020.
The cruise line has revealed it will resume sailings in October onboard Spirit of Adventure, which will mark the first time in 19 months that the brand will offer cruise holidays abroad.
Spirit of Adventure will sail on October 5 on a five-day cruise around Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Zeebrugge, with prices from £1,156 per person. ( You can find out more here ).
This will be followed by Spirit of Discovery sailing on October 24 on a bumper 22-night trip which includes the likes of Hvar, Split, Venice, Valetta, Kotor and Minorca, with prices from £6,299 per person. ( You can find out more here ).
Currently, Saga is offering a number of sailings around the UK onboard Spirit of Adventure and Spirit of Discovery, with itineraries throughout August.
It's worth noting that in order to board any of Saga's cruises, guests will need to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
The company says that guests whose Saga Cruises were cancelled due to Covid were proactively offered the option to rebook on to other cruises before these went on general sale.
The news of Saga's planned international restart comes as the Foreign Office has lifted its ban on cruises abroad for the first time since March 2020.
From today (August 2) it no longer advises against cruise ship travel abroad from England, although the Foreign Office advice does explain the risks involved when booking a cruise holiday during the pandemic.
The news came as a relief to both the industry and holidaymakers.
Earlier this year, restrictions were lifted to allow for domestic cruises from England. This has seen a number of cruise lines offering UK sailings this summer, including the likes of Disney Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean and P&O Cruises.
The restart of domestic cruises was also a key factor in determining whether international cruises would be able to resume.
The Department of Transport said that the decision to allow international cruises to resume came "following the close monitoring of epidemiological evidence, gained through the restart of the domestic cruise industry earlier this year".
Andy Harmer, Managing Director at Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) for UK & Ireland, said in a statement at the time of the announcement: "The decision to allow the restart of international cruise is very good news for the industry. This success of this summer's round Britain cruises has led the way.
"The cruise industry has worked intensively during the last 18 months in collaboration with the Government, health authorities, ports and other industry bodies to develop enhanced protocols that protect guests, crew, and the destinations we visit.
"The industry looks forward to welcoming guests back onboard to visit international destinations".
Of course there are still other restrictions in place depending on whether you're visiting green or amber destinations - check the Foreign Office advice for a destination and speak to your cruise line for more information.
