The TUI Cruises' ship Mein Schiff 1 kicked off the cruise season departing from Kiel Germany on a 7-day "Blue Baltic" voyage.
Captain Omar Caruana and his crew sailed from Kiel Fjord for the first “Blue Voyage” this year to the Baltic Sea with ~1,100 passengers, exploring the archipelago landscapes off Turku Finland and Stockholm Sweden.
The first cruise ship to visit Port Stockholm, Schiff 1 arrived at a centre quay escorted by tugboats spraying water jets and celebrating her arrival. The first call of a passenger cruise ship in Stockholm was on May 25.
The blue voyages are scenic cruises without disembarkation in ports and guests remain on the liner for the entire length of the cruise. TUI has scheduled weekly repeat sailings of the same voyage with Mein Schiff 1 until the midsummer season.
The company follows the strict protocols issued by the WHO-World Health Organization and CLIA-Cruise Lines International Association. TUI has also implemented its own additional protocols for how its sailings are carried out. Guests must complete a health declaration form as well as provide proof of a negative PCR test before boarding the ship. Mein Schiff 1 is operating with a reduced number of passengers to enable social distancing and compliance with other measures.