Royal Caribbean International announced Friday that it will pause operations on multiple ships due to Covid. The cruise line will cancel some sailings and push back one ship’s return to sailing.
Royal Caribbean Cancels Cruises
Royal Caribbean is now the second major cruise line to suspend cruise ships due to the ongoing COVID pandemic. Earlier Friday, the cruise line informed travel agents that sailings on Vision of the Seas, Serenade of the Seas, Jewel of the Seas, and Symphony of the Seas will be temporarily suspended.
The pause has impacted four ships:
- Vision of the Seas, has had its return to cruising postponed until March 7, 2022.
- Serenade of the Seas sailings between January 8, 2022 and March 5, 2022 have been canceled. The ship will return to service on April 26 after dry dock.
- Jewel of the Seas sailings will be canceled between Jan. 9 and Feb. 12 and it will return to service on Feb. 20.
- Symphony of the Seas sailings between Jan. 8 and Jan. 22 have been canceled, the ship will return to service on Jan. 29.
In the notice sent to travel agents, Royal Caribbean said, “We regret having to cancel your clients’ long-awaited vacations and appreciate their loyalty and understanding. Our top priority is always the well-being of our guests, our crew and the communities we visit. “
“Despite stringent health and safety measures, including vaccination and testing requirements for guests and crew, and extensive contingency planning, we have had to move forward with this decision.”
The decision made by Royal Caribbean comes as the cruise industry copes with the impact of the Omicron variant. As a result of positive cases aboard cruise ships, some Caribbean ports have denied vessels to dock, resulting in missed ports of calls and last-minute itinerary changes.
Royal Caribbean International is the second major cruise line to pause operations on select cruise ships, following Norwegian Cruise Line’s similar announcement earlier in the week.
Passenger Compensation Offered
The cruise line is notifying guests affected by the cancellations with details and options for compensation. Passengers booked on Serenade of the Seas and Symphony of the Seas departing January 8, 2022, and Jewel of the Seas departing January 9, 2022, will receive a full refund and the addition of a 100% Future Cruise Credit (FCC).
For all other sailings, guests have the option of a 125% Future Cruise Credit or a full refund. The FCC will be automatically applied to passengers’ accounts on or before February 4, 2022. Guests can redeem by May 31, 2022, on a sailing departing on or before December 31, 2022. Passengers may also request a full refund through the cruise line or travel agent.
