The Latest Royal Caribbean Group Restart Plans

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.

Royal Caribbean Shares Soar As Bookings Rise On Vaccination News

Port of the Bahamas

by Praveen Paramasivam  (Reuters) – Royal Caribbean Group said on Monday it was seeing an uptick in future bookings, following a disastrous year for the cruise operator, as travel enthusiasts look to sail again at a time governments globally have started mass vaccinations.

The company’s shares, down 44% last year, soared 9% in morning trading (and is up 24% in the past five trading days), as Royal Caribbean said it recorded a 30% increase in new bookings since the beginning of the year when compared to November and December.

Analysts have also tipped Royal Caribbean and its peers Carnival Corp and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd to resume voyages gradually in the back half of this year, after the pandemic-triggered months-long halt.

“Now after 11 months of the pandemic, I think we all know that COVID fatigue is real. People are clamouring for the opportunity to have experience outside their homes,” Chief Executive Officer Richard Fain said on an earnings call.

Royal Caribbean said bookings for the first half of 2022 were within historical ranges and at higher prices, with some on Reddit and Twitter saying they were itching to go on cruises again.

However, the operator of “Symphony of the Seas” cruise posted a net attributable loss of $1.37 billion for the quarter ended Dec. 31, taking its annual loss to $5.8 billion.

Royal Caribbean’s total revenue for the quarter was $34.1 million, compared with analysts’ estimates of $35.6 million, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

On an adjusted basis, the company lost $5.02 per share. Analysts had expected a loss of $5.20.

Miami-based Royal Caribbean forecast a net loss for its first quarter and the 2021 fiscal year.

When Royal Caribbean Ships May Start Sailing Again

Harmony of the Seas

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