The wonder of the Seas Royals 5th Oasis Class cruise ship.
Royal Caribbean International’s new Wonder of the Seas has departed on sea trials from Chantiers de l’Atlantique where she is under construction.
The Oasis-class ship will now spend a few days at sea, testing systems and performance with teams from the shipyard, vendors, class society and other stakeholders aboard.
Originally set to debut this year, the Wonder will now enter the cruise market in 2022 and become the biggest cruise ship in the world, and the fifth Oasis-class ship in service after the Oasis, Allure, Harmony and Symphony of the Seas.
The ship is being deployed to China and will be the first Oasis-class ship to sail in Asia. She could arrive in the market as soon as spring 2022 should those plans hold.
“Just let us cruise, CDC,” said Frank Del Rio, president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH), on the company’s Thursday earnings call, expressing his frustration with what he called ridiculous regulations and overreach by the agency.
“But is it not just the CDC (holding the industry back),” Del Rio added. “To be fair, the rest of the world has to open up as well – Europe, Asia and South America.
“How quickly we can return to normal will depend on travel restrictions being lifted and borders being opened.
“There are 50 million people who have not been able to cruise for the last year and a half and now want to cruise. There is pent up demand setting us up for a beautiful scenario to improve pricing.”
Forward bookings and pricing are up compared to 2019 which was a record year, Del Rio said.
Part of Del Rio’s frustration comes from Norwegian submitting an “ironclad proposal” to the CDC on April 5 and has not yet received an answer, which also puts the mid-July return to service in jeopardy.
Among the impractical and onerous requirements, the CDC has released is that passengers must wear face masks onboard all the time, only lifting the mask to take a bite of food or a sip of a drink, according to Del Rio. He said he was hoping these requirements would not be applicable to fully vaccinated ships.
NCLH will require 100 per cent vaccinations of passengers and crew wherever the ships are sailing and do not plan to participate in the simulated sailing program of the CDC, Del Rio noted.
He said he was outraged that the cruise industry is being treated differently than airlines, casinos, etc. and said that cruise ships will be the safest place on earth.
“We will have 100 per cent vaccinated passengers and crew in addition to our SailSAFE program,” he said.
According to the cruise line, the vessel is not going to be delivered next spring as previously planned.
“The coronavirus pandemic has caused an unprecedented impact on the global cruise ship industry and the construction of the new Wonder of the Seas was delayed due to the impact of it in shipyard operations,” said the company, in a statement issued in the Chinese market.
While remaining hopeful to see the 5,448-guest ship in Asia “as soon as possible,” the cruise line didn’t set an alternative timeline for it.
“We look forward to the arrival of Wonder of the Seas after the epidemic has been brought under control,” the company said.
“Royal Caribbean believes that the fundamentals of the Chinese economy have not changed because of the epidemic, and the trend of the cruise ship market will not change. After the public health risks are controlled, people will pursue socialization. The instincts of reunion and leisure will not change and may even be strengthened,” said Dr Zinan Liu, Chairman of the Royal Caribbean Cruises Asia, underlining the company’s commitment to the market.
“We are fully prepared to show the public that Royal Caribbean ships are a safe place,” he said.
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