Royal Caribbean, in alignment with the guidance provided by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), the suspension of all cruise operations is now extended through September 30, 2020 (excluding China sailings).
Royal Caribbean stated “the well-being of our guests, travel partners, crew and the communities we visit remains our utmost priority here at Royal Caribbean. We are committed to health, safety and doing our part to combat the COVID-19 pandemic”.
Royal Caribbean has extended their 3 compensation options prepared for your consideration listed below, specifically those confirmed on sailings departing September 16-30, 2020 and not previously canceled under our Cruise with Confidence offer.
As we have all been wondering will the new ships that were planned to make their appearance in 2020 be completed on schedule, Royal Caribbean announced today confirming their newest ship Odyssey of the Seas will be delayed. The health crisis has unfortunately also impacted the shipyard operations, as well as their supply chain. As a result, the debut of their newest fleet member, Odyssey of the Seas, will be delayed, resulting in the unfortunate cancellation of all sailings between November 5, 2020 – April 17, 2021.
Royal Caribbean stated “We are saddened to have to share this news. There’s nothing we wanted more than to launch this revolutionary ship this fall, but trust us when we say that Odyssey will be well worth the wait”.
Royal Caribbean understands that this update will impact many guests and they want to be sure they’re taken care of. The compensation options from their global suspensions will also apply to these impacted sailings.
When Odyssey of the Seas does arrive, there will be a couple of updates…. to two onboard activities. The trapeze school will no longer be a feature of the SeaPlex. Also, they are modifying the age restrictions to the Sky Pad. Guests must be at least 7 years old to jump, and at least 13 years old to jump with a virtual reality headset.
So it looks like the Odyssey of the Seas, will now be debuting in 2021. From what they are saying it will be April, although we will have to wait and see if this remains the case as we lead into 2021.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact communities around the globe, and given the travel and port restrictions in various parts of the world, Norwegian Cruise Line has decided to further suspend voyages as follows:
All voyages with embarkation dates from August 1 through August 31, 2020
All voyages with embarkation dates from September 1 through September 30, 2020; except for Seattle-based Alaska sailings on Norwegian Bliss and Norwegian Joy which continue to be scheduled to operate
Note: We are hopeful that through the support of the Alaska delegation and openness of mayors in Alaska port towns, we have the potential to resume voyages in September. For this reason, we have excluded the September voyages aboard Bliss and Joy.
All voyages in October 2020 to Canada/New England and cruises embarking in Vancouver, including:
Norwegian Bliss: October 12, 2020
Norwegian Joy: October 4, 2020
Norwegian Breakaway: October 4, 2020 and October 11, 2020
Norwegian Gem: October 2, 2020 and October 9, 2020
NCL states “We remain optimistic and expect to relaunch cruise operation in the near future. Given the fluid and evolving nature of the circumstances, we are making decisions as quickly and thoughtfully as possible and, as always, we are keeping our guests’ and travel partners’ best interests at heart”.
All guests with current and active bookings during this current suspension period will automatically receive their refund in the form of a future cruise credit (FCC) valued at 125% of the fare paid. These FCC’s will be issued no later than Thursday, June 25, 2020, and can be applied anytime within one year of issue date and toward any Norwegian Cruise Line voyage through December 31, 2022.
A lesser value refund is also available for guests who elect not to retain the bonus FCCs provided. These guests can elect to receive a 100% refund of the fare paid to be reimbursed to the original form of payment 90 days after the request for a refund has been submitted. All refund requests for this current suspension period must be received via the web form, which will be made available starting at 9:00 am EST on July 6, 2020, up until 11:59 pm EST on July 17, 2020.
