When Royal Caribbean Ships May Start Sailing Again

Posted on 21 April, 2020 by Spacejunkie2

Royal Caribbean International has announced an extension of its pause of service through mid-June, also making changes to the Alaska and Canada/New England seasons.

A look at the expected first sailing of each Royal Caribbean ship as the cruise industry gets back into service (all information is subject to change due to the COVID-19 crisis):

Adventure of the Seas
Date: June 13, 2020
Homeport: Cape Liberty
Length: 5 nights
Itinerary: King’s Wharf

Allure of the Seas
Date: June 14, 2020
Homeport: Barcelona
Length: 7 nights
Itinerary: Palma de Mallorca, Marseille, La Spezia, Civitavecchia and Naples

Anthem of the Seas
Date: June 20, 2020
Homeport: Southampton
Length: 8 nights
Itinerary: Lisbon, Vigo, La Coruña and Bilbao

Brilliance of the Seas
Date: June 12, 2020
Homeport: Amsterdam
Length: 10 nights
Itinerary: Dover, Belfast, Greenock, Holyhead, Cork and Le Havre

Empress of the Seas
Date: June 29, 2020
Homeport: Cape Liberty
Length: 7 nights
Itinerary: Hamilton and St. George Island

Enchantment of the Seas
Date: June 12, 2020
Homeport: Galveston
Length: 7 nights
Itinerary: Key West, CocoCay and Nassau

Explorer of the Seas
Date: June 14, 2020
Homeport: Civitavecchia
Length: 7 nights
Itinerary: Santorini, Kusadasi, Mykonos and Naples

Freedom of the Seas
Date: June 14, 2020
Homeport: San Juan
Length: 7 nights
Itinerary: Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire and St. Maarten

Grandeur of the Seas
Date: June 20, 2020
Homeport: Baltimore
Length: 5 nights
Itinerary: King’s Wharf

Harmony of the Seas
Date: June 14, 2020
Homeport: Port Canaveral
Length: 7 nights
Itinerary: CocoCay, San Juan and St. Kitts

Independence of the Seas
Date: June 12, 2020
Homeport: Fort Lauderdale
Length: 3 nights
Itinerary: CocoCay and Nassau

Jewel of the Seas
Date: June 18, 2020
Homeport: Copenhagen to Stockholm
Length: 10 nights
Itinerary: Warnemunde, Tallinn, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Visby and Riga

Liberty of the Seas
Date: June 14, 2020
Homeport: Galveston
Length: 7 nights
Itinerary: Cozumel, Costa Maya and Roatán

Majesty of the Seas
Date: June 13, 2020
Homeport: New Orleans
Length: 7 nights
Itinerary: Key West, Nassau and CocoCay

Mariner of the Seas
Date: June 12, 2020
Homeport: Port Canaveral
Length: 3 nights
Itinerary: Nassau and CocoCay

Navigator of the Seas
Date: June 12, 2020
Homeport: Miami
Length: 3 nights
Itinerary: CocoCay and Nassau

Oasis of the Seas
Date: June 14, 2020
Homeport: Cape Liberty
Length: 7 nights
Itinerary: Port Canaveral, CocoCay and Nassau

Ovation of the Seas
Date: July 3, 2020
Homeport: Seattle
Length: 7 nights
Itinerary: Inside Passage, Juneau, Skagway, Endicott Arm & Dawes Glacier and Victoria

Quantum of the Seas
Date: June 12, 2020
Homeport: Tianjin
Length: 5 nights
Itinerary: Nagasaki and Fukuoka

Radiance of the Seas
Date: July 3, 2020
Homeport: Seward to Vancouver
Length: 7 nights
Itinerary: Hubbard Glacier, Juneau, Skagway, Icy Strait Point, Ketchikan and Inside Passage

Rhapsody of the Seas
Date: June 13, 2020
Homeport: Venice
Length: 7 nights
Itinerary: Kotor, Corfu, Piraeus, Mykonos and Argostoli

Serenade of the Seas
Date: July 5, 2020
Homeport: Vancouver
Length: 7 nights
Itinerary: Inside Passage, Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway and Tracy Arm Fjord

Spectrum of the Seas
Date: June 14, 2020
Homeport: Shanghai
Length: 7 nights
Itinerary: Osaka, Kobe and Yokohama

Symphony of the Seas
Date: June 13, 2020
Homeport: Miami
Length: 7 nights
Itinerary: St. Maarten, St. Thomas and CocoCay

Vision of the Seas
Date: June 13, 2020
Homeport: Barcelona
Length: 12 nights
Itinerary: Santorini, Kusadasi, Mykonos, Piraeus, Civitavecchia, La Spezia and Marseilles

Voyager of the Seas
Date: June 12, 2020
Homeport: Singapore
Length: 3 nights
Itinerary: Penang

Ruby Princess: Australian police to survey 5,000 passengers

Posted on 20 April, 2020 by Spacejunkie2

Ruby Princess Cruise - Ship Review - Photos & Departure Ports on ...

Australian police are to survey more than 5,000 people via an online survey as part of the investigation into the coronavirus-hit Ruby Princess cruise ship.

New South Wales Police will be sending online questionnaires to thousands of passengers as part of the probe into the outbreak on the Princess Cruises vessel.

The 2,647 passengers who disembarked Ruby Princess in Sydney on March 19, as well as 2,995 passengers on the ship’s previous voyage that docked on March 8, will receive the survey.

It will ask them about what they saw and heard during the cruises, who they travelled with, medical treatment and cleaning on board, offshore tours and dining arrangements on board.

Police will then conduct interviews with those who give noteworthy responses by a team of 30 detectives, according to Australian newspaper The New Daily.

The ship is connected to 20 coronavirus deaths in Australia and hundreds of cases across the country. Authorities are investigating if criminal negligence took place, and last week seized the ship’s black box and interviewed crew.

NSW police minister David Elliott told reporters in Australian that the force would work alongside overseas counterparts in an investigation “like no other”.

He said: “There’s no rule book when it comes to these sorts of inquiries. It’s very unusual for something this large, across so many jurisdictions, to be put into the lap of one person.”

Announcement of £4 billion industry ‘lifeline’ expected this week

Posted on 20 April, 2020 by Spacejunkie2

A £4 billion travel industry ‘lifeline’ that would underwrite customer refund credit notes could be announced this week, according to reports.

The challenge of providing refunds for holidays that have been cancelled or delayed has become the most divisive issue in the sector during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Trade body Abta has been lobbying under its #SaveFutureTravel campaign for a change in the Package Travel Regulations (PTRs) to allow firms more time to refund and to make sure Refund Credit Notes carry the same weight of protection as the original package holidays.

But consumer anger has been mounting over firms refusing refunds or delaying processing refunds and the sector fears a wave of credit card chargebacks will lead to widespread company failures and job losses within weeks.

A counter #ItsRightToRefund campaign led by former Travel Republic managing director and VIVID Travel founder Kane Pirie supporting a limited grace period for refunds to July 31 but not a change in the law is gaining traction among consumers and some industry bosses.

Following reports of a stalemate in government after different departments disagreed about how to protect firms from failure while maintaining consumer rights, The Sunday Telegraph reports today that an announcement could be imminent.

The newspaper reported that proposals were being finalised over the weekend by transport secretary Grant Shapps, business secretary Alok Sharma and head of Atol Andy Cohen who, it was reported, has given the £4 billion lifeline “his blessing”.

The proposal would see credit notes being officially backed by government guarantee so that should companies that have issued them fail the consumer would get their money back.

The Sunday Telegraph said pleas from other sectors of business for special treatment could prove to be a sticking point, but an announcement is expected as early as this week.

Although the £4 billion scheme would not satisfy those who are demanding all customers receive a cash refund as stipulated under the PTRs, The Sunday Telegraph said it was hoped it would help enough consumers be persuaded to accept credit notes to take the pressure off the industry.