Tag Archives: Port Everglades

Royal Caribbean’s Wonder of the Seas Arrives in the U.S.

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The new Wonder of the Seas from Royal Caribbean Internationals which, according to a press release, is the largest cruise ship in the world, is marking its debut reaching Port Everglades, where it arrived on Feb. 20.

The ship will spend her first few months in Florida offering five- to seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries which also includes CocoCay, Royal Caribbean’s private island.

In May, the ship will head back to Europe, sailing seven-night Western Mediterranean voyages with passengers able to embark either at Barcelona, Spain or Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy.

In November, the ship will return to the U.S., to Port Canaveral, to offer six- and seven-night Caribbean itineraries.

“The Wonder of the Seas will energize cruising in a bolder and bigger way. Adding this ship to our already best-in-class fleet elevates the company is continuing to lead the industry with new features and innovation,” said Jason Liberty, president and CEO of the Royal Caribbean Group.

The Wonder of the Seas was escorted by fireboats and welcomed with ship horn greetings.

Third Princess Ship Resumes Service as Sky Princess to Sail From Southampton

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The Sky Princess is the third Princess Cruises ship to resume revenue service.

Based in the United Kingdom, the vessel is departing Southampton today, starting its “Summer Seacation” program.

The Sky Princess is offering a four-night cruise the first in a series of domestic UK cruises, which will run through late September. Along with the Regal Princess, the Sky Princess is now offering scenic voyages and regular cruises around the country, ranging from three to seven nights.

The itineraries include stops in ports such as Liverpool, in England; Belfast, in Northern Ireland; Greenock, in Scotland; and more.

After the UK program, the vessel is set to return to Port Everglades. Starting in November, the ship is sailing three-, five-, seven- and 14-day cruises to the Eastern and Western Caribbean.

A Royal-class ship, the Sky Princess entered service in 2019 and was said to be an evolution to the platform used for previous Royal-class ships, the Royal, Regal and Majestic Princess.

The new and enhanced features include a digitally enhanced escape room called the Phantom Bridge and the Wakeview pool located on the ship’s aft decks. Other changes are a new café, redesigned lounges, additional Jacuzzis, and the new Sky Suites.

Featuring the largest continuous private balconies at sea ever offered by any cruise line, the two Sky Suites have a sleeping capacity for five guests and are located on one of the ship’s highest decks.

The 143,700 ton, 3,660-guest ship was also the first in the fleet to be built from the ground up with the Ocean Guest Experience Platform, powered by Princess’s MedallionClass technology. 

With the Sky Princess now in service, three Princess Cruises vessels have resumed guest operations. The first ship to welcome passengers back was the Majestic Princess, which launched a series of Alaska cruises on July 25.

A few days later, on July 31, the Regal Princess started to offer domestic sailings in the UK.

Princess is now preparing its return to the Caribbean, Panama Canal, Mexican Riviera, Hawaii the California Coast. By November 28, a total of eight ships will be sailing to those destinations from Port Everglades, Los Angeles and San Francisco.  

Port Everglades Ready For Double Ship Day For Royal Caribbean and Celebrity

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For the first time in more than 15 months, two cruise ships with passengers will be sailing from Port Everglades on the same day, Saturday, July 31 at 6PM, according to a press release.

Royal Caribbean International’s Odyssey of the Seas will sail on her inaugural cruise.

At the same time, Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Edge will depart on her sixth voyage since kicking off the industry’s restart on June 26 from Port Everglades, according to the port. 

Broward County visitors and residents are invited to watch the ships sail from the south end of Fort Lauderdale Beach or from Dr Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park in Hollywood, or join the sail-away from the water on Facebook Live @port.everglades.

In addition, Celebrity’s Celebrity Equinox is scheduled to sail on its second voyage on Sunday, August 1, for a total of three ships sailing during the off-season summer months.

“It’s starting to look a lot like a cruise port here again,” said Port Everglades Chief Executive and Port Director Jonathan Daniels. “After no passengers or revenue for at least 15 months, and significant job loss, it is a greatly welcome re-start. The cruise lines and the port are doing all they can to enforce safe protocols to continue sailing.”

“The vaccine is a game-changer that will inject tourism dollars into our community,” said Broward County Mayor Steve Geller. “Approximately 6,000 local workers have been directly impacted by the cruise shutdown and another 84,000 residents were employed in the local hospitality and tourism industry. Those jobs have been severely impacted by the virus and the pause in cruise travel.”