Tag Archives: royal caribbean cruise

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

Cabezas: ‘Azamara Sale is a Win-Win-Win’

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The Chief Operating Officer of Azamara, Carol Cabezas, has explained the sale of Azamara to a private equity firm, Sycamore Partners, with increasing the value of the cruise line’s product and driving the brand forward.

“Sycamore Partners, which has invested in many upscale consumer brands, is known for identifying great brands that need flexible funding to grow and succeed,” Cabezas said in a video address published on the brand’s official website.

“Sycamore’s strategy is to partner with existing management to nurture companies for growth and invest in upscale companies. The priority is to increase the value of our product. So, it’s a win-win-win,” she added.

This comes a couple of hours since Royal Caribbean Group announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Azamara brand to Sycamore Partners in an all-cash carve-out transaction for $201 million, “subject to certain adjustments and closing conditions.”

The sale is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021, Cabezas said, after the cruise line receives all the normal regulatory approvals.

The transition will take a couple of months with the help of the Royal Caribbean Group.

According to Cabezas, nothing is currently expected to change for Azamara’s customers.

“There is no impact on your current bookings, future cruise credits, refunds or the availability of your travel advisor. Also, our website and care centre agents remain open for business, and I encourage you to start planning your next cruise with us,” she said, before adding that that the entire team will stay with Azamara, including customer care staff and crew.

“We commit to keeping the brand elements that make us Azamara, your brand of choice with immersive experiences that elevate vacation to lifestyle and superior service throughout the journey. With Sycamore, we intend to rapidly expand these to offer more destinations and portfolio choices at every step along the way. We’re only going to get better,” Cabezas stated.

Azamara will adopt the same health and safety protocols as the Royal Caribbean Group, Cabezas said in a statement. These were developed by a group of public health experts at the Healthy Sail Panel.

Swift Response to ‘COVID-19’ Onboard Quantum of the Seas

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

The Dec. 9 announcement of a positive COVID-19 case onboard the Quantum of the Seas came as a shock to Singapore, where the Royal Caribbean International ship was sailing, and the world. The 1,680 guests on board, along with 1,148 crew, made a beeline back to port and arrived in Singapore within six hours after the guest tested positive.

The Singapore Cruise Society breaks down what happened and how the situation was handled:

Background

The Quantum of the Seas set sail on her third cruise back in service on Dec. 6. The sailing was a four-day itinerary from Singapore’s Marina Bay terminal to nowhere, with no port calls, for Singapore residents only. The ship, which can normally carry 4,100 passengers, was capped at 50 per cent capacity and had 1,608 guests onboard.

Royal Caribbean has put in place many new measures to limit the risk of COVID-19 onboard its ships, such as obligatory mask wearing, restrictions on gatherings of more than five, online check-ins, regular disinfection, the use of updated HVAC systems and tracing technology, and the functioning of an upgraded onboard medical center.

Additionally, all guests underwent PCR tests before embarkation and Antigen Rapid Tests after the sailing (before leaving the terminal).

What Happened?

An 82-yead-old male passenger was reported to the onboard medical centre. He underwent a PCR test, which came back positive on the third day of the sailing.

The passengers on board the Quantum of the Seas were immediately notified of the incident and asked to stay inside their staterooms. For that purpose, meals were brought directly to cabins, and guests were allowed to smoke in their en-suites.

Response

A swift return (taking less than six hours) of the vessel was organized, and the guest was evacuated to a local hospital, where his three subsequent swab tests came back negative.

The Singapore Cruise Society believes that this incident might have been a case of what the health professionals call ‘false-positive.’

However, the situation showed that the system implemented by the Royal Caribbean Group and the Singapore Tourism Board works well.

As much as the Quantum of the Seas guests were disappointed to have their holidays cut short, none that were interviewed by the media mentioned any mishandling of the situation, and said they had “no regrets,” and “will come back again.”

Refunds for a day that the guests missed at sea will be processed accordingly.