Royal Caribbean Says 48 ‘Symphony of the Seas’ Passengers Test Positive for COVID-19

Posted on 21 December, 2021 by Spacejunkie2

Symphony of the Seas in San Juan Photo credit Spacejunkie2

Royal Caribbean Group said on Monday 48 people on its Symphony of the Seas cruise ship tested positive for COVID-19, fueling concerns that the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus could put a damper on a recovery in the cruise industry.

The cruise operator said it had 6,091 guests and crew members on board the ship, which ended a week-long cruise in Miami on Saturday after setting sail on Dec. 11.

The passengers who tested positive were asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic, Royal Caribbean said in a statement, adding that six guests were disembarked earlier in the cruise and transported home.

Royal Caribbean said 95% of the community on board were fully vaccinated, while 98% of those who tested positive were also fully vaccinated.

Symphony’s future itineraries are not impacted, it added.

Carnival Horizon to Drydock, Liberty and Sunshine to Take Her Place

Posted on 4 December, 2021 by Spacejunkie2

The Carnival Horizon will be out of service longer than anticipated to fix a propulsion problem with the ship now set for a drydocking in Palermo for repairs.

This means sailings on the Horizon are cancelled until January 22 and Carnival is responding quickly, with the Liberty and Sunshine re-entering service to pick up the Horizon’s guests and itineraries from Miami.

Both those ships will sail from Miami in place of the Horizon for the Dec. 19, Dec. 26 and Dec. 31 departures. The Sunshine will then move north to Charleston for a Jan. 13 restart, while the Liberty will pick up the Horizon’s Miami-based Caribbean itineraries that sail on Jan. 8 and Jan. 22.

MSC Cruises Reveals MSC Seascape Will Debut in Miami in 2022

Posted on 2 December, 2021 by Spacejunkie2

Thank you to https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/ for the report.

During a media briefing Thursday aboard the soon-to-be-christened MSC Seashore, Ruben Rodriguez, MSC Cruises North America president, revealed the line’s next EVO-class ship will now be officially deployed to the U.S. upon completion in 2022.

“MSC Seascape is the sister ship to MSC Seashore. It’s currently under construction in Italy, to be launched at the end of next year,” revealed Rodriguez. “And we will be deploying Seascape in Miami as its homeport come winter 2022-2023.” He added that the ship will bring “new experiences, new amenities and new features”.

MSC Seascape is scheduled to be delivered from Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri in November 2022. The 5,877-passenger ship will offer 11 dining venues, 19 bars and lounges, and will feature six swimming pools. Rodriguez’s announcement coincided with the float-out of MSC Seascape at Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri on Thursday.

MSC’s decision to deploy its newest vessel Stateside isn’t exactly a surprise. The Swiss-based, Italy-owned cruise line has been making big investments in the U.S. to stake a place in the highly competitive U.S. cruise market. These initiatives also include its three-year Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve project, which saw the line completely renovating and restoring an industrial island in the Bahamas into a thriving marine reserve with over 75,000 individually-planted plants, over 80 different species of marine life, and a coral restoration project.

MSC Cruises will also begin ground-breaking on their own dedicated terminal at PortMiami, designed by Miami-based Arquitectonica, the global architecture firm responsible for several buildings found in the Miami skyline as well as across the world.