Tag Archives: Odyssey of the Seas

The Latest Royal Caribbean Group Restart Plans

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With all of its five brands now back in service, the Royal Caribbean Group is building up its restart plans. Over the next few months, 16 additional ships are set to welcome passengers back, sailing in different parts of the world.  

Here’s the latest, brand by brand:

Royal Caribbean International
First sailing: Five ships in service; nine more to follow starting on July 19
Ships: Quantum of the Seas, Adventure of the Seas, Freedom of the Seas, Anthem of the Seas and Jewel of the Seas in service; Serenade of the Seas, Odyssey of the Seas, Allure of the Seas, Ovation of the Seas, Symphony of the Seas, Independence of the Seas, Harmony of the Seas, Mariner of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas set to follow
Regions: Presently sailing in Asia, Caribbean, Mediterranean and the United Kingdom with cruises to Alaska planned

Royal Caribbean International is quickly adding ships back into service. With five vessels currently in action, the operator plans to activate nine more before August.

Most of the restart fleet is poised to sail from the U.S. ports to the Caribbean and Bahamas but plans also call for service resumptions in the Mediterranean, United Kingdom and Alaska.

In Asia, Quantum’s Singapore program was recently extended, adding departures through February 2022.

Celebrity Cruises
First sailing: Five ships in service; four more to follow starting on July 24
Ships: Celebrity Apex, Celebrity Edge, Celebrity Silhouette, Celebrity Flora and Celebrity Summit in service; Celebrity Millennium, Celebrity Xpedition, Celebrity Equinox and Celebrity Xploration set to follow
Regions: Presently sailing in the Mediterranean, Caribbean, United Kingdom and the Galapagos with cruises to Alaska planned

After marking the return of the large cruise ships to the United States, Celebrity Cruises is now sailing in the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Galapagos and United Kingdom.

Continuing its phased restart plan, the premium brand will also resume operations in Alaska while adding more ships in the Caribbean and Galapagos.

TUI Cruises
First sailing: Five ships in service
Ships: Mein Schiff 1, Mein Schiff 2, Mein Schiff 4, Mein Schiff 5 and Mein Schiff 6
Regions: Mediterranean, Northern Europe, Greece and Italy

TUI intends to have its entire seven-ship fleet in service this summer. The German brand is currently operating five vessels in different parts of Europe.

After several months of sailing only in the Canaries archipelago, TUI recently expanded operations to Germany and Greece. A return to the Mediterranean was also carried out recently, with cruises in Spain and Italy. 

Silversea Cruises
First sailing: Two ships in service; two more to follow starting on July 29
Ships: Silver Origin and Silver Moon in service; Silver Muse and Silver Shadow set to follow
Region: Presently sailing in Galapagos and Mediterranean, with cruises to Alaska and Iceland planned

Silversea Cruises welcomed its passengers back in June, with the inaugural cruises of two newbuilds, the Silver Moon and the Silver Origin.

Continuing its restart plan, the luxury brand is planning to relaunch service in Alaska and in Iceland, with two additional vessels.

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises
First sailing: Four ships in service; one more to follow starting on August 26
Ships: Europa 2, Europa, Hanseatic Nature and Hanseatic Inspiration in service; Hanseatic Spirit set to follow
Region: Eastern Mediterranean, Northern Europe and Norwegian Fjords

With four ships in service, Hapag-Lloyd is currently offering several itineraries in Northern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean.

The recently delivered Hanseatic Spirit, meanwhile, is set to start service in August with a series of cruises in Northern Europe.

No Delays to Royal Caribbean’s Odyssey Despite COVID-19 Issue Aboard

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“We anticipate that there will be no delay to Odyssey’s arrival into Israel,” said Royal Caribbean International in a statement on Monday following the news that workers aboard the ship had tested positive for COVID-19.

The new ship is due to sail a summer program from Haifa, with fully vaccinated Israeli guests aboard.

“The shipyard workers and crew onboard Odyssey of the Seas are currently preparing the ship for sea trials. They are being tested daily and at this time there are no positive cases onboard the ship,” the company said.

It was reported last week there were positive COVID-19 cases aboard the new Odyssey of the Seas with the ship docked in Bremerhaven for her final touches ahead of sea trials.

German news outlets now report that five employees on the ship tested positive for COVID-19 and have since been disembarked and put into quarantine. 

Royal Caribbean Status Update

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Thanks to https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/ 

Royal Caribbean International has seen a number of company adjustments, fleet changes and deployment moves since COVID-19 began, plus the resumption of cruising aboard the Quantum of the Seas from Singapore.

Here are the main moves that took place for the cruise line since the pandemic started:

Newbuilds Odyssey of the Seas and Wonder of the Seas Delayed

In July, Royal Caribbean confirmed that the Odyssey of the Seas was not going to be delivered as initially planned.

Under construction in Germany, the Quantum-Class ship was delayed six months and is now scheduled to join the fleet in April. 

A few weeks later, the company revealed that the Wonder of the Seas was also delayed. The China-bound Oasis-Class ship was previously scheduled for a mid-2021 delivery and is now expected in 2022.

In both cases, Royal Caribbean cited the coronavirus pandemic and its impacts as the main reason for the changes.

Royal Amplified Postponed Until Further Notice

When the pandemic started, Royal Caribbean was in the middle of a program of fleet modernization called Royal Amplified.

Two ships were scheduled to go trough the work in the second quarter of 2021, including the Allure of the Seas. The Oasis-Class vessel was set to undergo a 58-day, $165 million drydock, starting in March.

Now, all the work is suspended until further notice. While mandatory shipyard work was actually performed on some of the vessels, the major modifications were suspended.

Empress of the Seas and Majesty of the Seas Sold

In December, Royal Caribbean confirmed that the Majesty of the Seas and the Empress of the Seas were going to leave the fleet.

While the Empress was bought by a new Indian cruise line, the Majesty seems to have been acquired by Seajets, a Greek ferry operator.

Grandeur of the Seas Stays and Debuts a New Homeport

A few weeks after confirming the Majesty and Empress departures, Royal Caribbean announced that the Grandeur of the Seas will operate a new program from Barbados, starting in December.

Built in 1996, the ship was in limbo after the Spanish brand Pullmantur Cruceros filed for insolvency last June. The sister company was set to receive the Grandeur early this year, which was announced back in 2019.

Healthy Sail Panel Launched in Partnership with Norwegian

In an effort to develop what it called “enhanced cruise health and safety standards in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic”, the Royal Caribbean Group partnered with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings in July.

Putting together a group of experts, the companies formed the “Healthy Sail Panel”, which, in September, revealed a 65-plus-page report detailing 74 best practices to protect the public health and safety of guests, crew and the communities where cruise ships call. 

The new protocol is expected to be adopted by Royal Caribbean International when sailings are resumed globally.

Cruises Resumed in Singapore and Global Resumption Plans

With the approval from local authorities, Royal Caribbean started sailing from Singapore in early December. Sailing a program of short cruises to nowhere, the Quantum of the Seas became the first ship to resume service in the company’s fleet. 

Globally, company cruises are cancelled until May 1, when the company may restart operations in some areas of the world. Some destinations, however, have different timelines. 

By the numbers:

Ships:

  • Ships shed: 2
  • Ships added: 0

Result: – 2 ships

Berths:

  • Berths shed: – 3,961
  • Berths added: 0

Result: – 3,961 berths