Extra precautions being taken on first cruise ship to set sail since COVID-19 shutdown
24 July 2020, Hamburg: The Tui cruise ship "Mein Schiff 2" leaves the port in the evening for a three-day round trip on the North Sea in the direction of Norway. (Photo by Daniel Bockwoldt/picture alliance via Getty Images)
BERLIN - A German cruise ship has set sail for the first time since the industry was shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, with strict precautions to keep passengers and crew as safe as possible.
The TUI cruise ship "Mein Schiff 2" set sail for the weekend cruise in the North Sea late Friday.
Occupancy was limited to 60 percent so that passengers would be better to keep their distance from one another, but even that level was not reached with 1,200 people on board compared the ship's normal 2,900 capacity.
Passengers will spend the weekend at sea with no land stops before returning to Germany on Monday.
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