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Added on the 11/11/2020 22:06:31 - Copyright : Wochit
In March the cruise industry came to an abrupt halt. The World Health Organization declared coronavirus a global pandemic. Cruise lines are legally mandated to run test cruises before they are allowed to officially set sail again. The company's president said Royal Caribbean has already signed up 100,000 willing volunteers. Last week, the first cruise to sail the Caribbean in months was forced to return to port amid a coronavirus outbreak among passengers.
Royal Caribbean has announced they are selling its Azamara cruise line brand. According to Business Insider, the company will sell the line to Sycamore Partners for $201 million. The Azamara deal is the latest in a series of cruise industry disruptions amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Azamara sale is a cash transaction between Royal Caribbean and Sycamore Partners, a private equity firm. Sycamore will then own the cruising brand and its fleet of three ships.
The first major cruise in the Caribbean set sail this week. SeaDream Yacht Club's SeaDream 1 set sail despite many warnings against doing so. They used strict pre-departure coronavirus testing guidelines. Even still, five passengers aboard the ship have now tested positive for coronavirus. Since the first passenger tested positive, the ship has docked in Barbados and is on lockdown. This is the first major cruise to embark in the Caribbean since March, says Business Insider.
The stock market took a dive on Friday on news that US President Donald Trump has tested positive for COVID-19. According to Business Insider, industry experts think the cruise industry could take a hit from the news. Macquarie analyst Paul Golding says an event raising the visibility of the virus could 'potentially alter the timeline for full resumption for the cruise lines.' Golding added that anything that increases the likelihood of a new administration in January could negatively impact cruise supply and demand. He explained that a new administration would likely be less sympathetic toward cruise lines reopening without a vaccine. Furthermore, a Biden administration would likely be 'more keen to follow doctor, scientist, and expert recommendations.'
"General Motors has unveiled the Cruise AV, its first production-ready, fully autonomous car to be used for its driverless ride-hailing fleet in 2019. Based on the Chevrolet Bolt EV, it is a dedicated self-driving, pure electric sedan with no steering wheel or pedals. That means every seat is a passenger seat, and that the car relies on artificial intelligence and related technology to be the driver. This is the fourth-generation autonomous vehicle in 18 months that GM has developed with Cruise Automation, the company it bought in 2016. And it won’t be the last, said GM President Dan Ammann. The work started by retrofitting vehicles with lidar, sensors, and other equipment to read the surroundings and make drive decisions but the end goal was always a bespoke self-driving car."