Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – Royal Caribbean International announced, on Friday, the cancellation of tourist trips on board 4 of its ships, due to the “continuing repercussions of the Corona virus around the world.”
A statement from the company said that “in the interests of extreme caution, Royal Caribbean International has suspended operations” of some ships.
The company stated that it had canceled flights, despite its own health and safety measures, including the requirement to receive a full vaccine, and to show passengers the results of Corona tests, and ship crews.
Credit: Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images
The company indicated that guests who booked on canceled flights will be offered compensation options, including a full refund.
Damaged ships
Royal Caribbean said the following four ships were affected:
• Vision of the Seas: Her return to sea has been postponed until March 7.
• Serenade of the Seas: Its cruises have been canceled from January 8 to March 5 and will resume, following being placed in the Dry Dock, on April 26.
Jewel of the Seas: Flights canceled from January 9 to February 12, and will resume on February 20.
• Symphony of the Seas: Its cruises have been canceled from January 8 to January 22, and it will cruise the seas once more on January 29.
“We regret the necessity of canceling our guests’ long-awaited vacations, and we appreciate their loyalty and understanding,” the statement affirmed, adding that “our highest priority has always been the well-being of our guests, staff, and the communities we visit.”
Tough week for cruises
Credit: Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images
The latest wave of COVID-19 cases, buoyed by the rapidly spreading ‘Omicron’ mutation, has affected cruise companies once once more.
This week’s highlights:
More than 3,000 passengers and crew on the Royal Caribbean’s Spectrum of the Seas were detained in Hong Kong on Wednesday, following coronavirus concerns prompted authorities to order the ship to return to port.
A representative of the company told CNN that passengers and employees were allowed to leave the ship on Wednesday evening, following undergoing tests to detect “Covid-19”.
Also Wednesday, Norwegian Cruise Line announced the cancellation of trips on 8 ships, citing “ongoing travel restrictions”. And one of its ships returned to the port on Wednesday, one day following it set sail, ending the journey that was supposed to last until January 14.
On Monday, 45 passengers infected with the Corona virus left MSC Cruises’ Grandiosa ship in the Italian port of Genoa.
This number equals less than 1% of those on board.
What does the US Centers for Disease Control and Control say regarding sailing now?
On December 30, the US Centers for Disease Control and Control (CDC) moved cruise ships to the fourth “high risk” level in reference to the very rapid outbreak of the Corona virus, and advised to avoid this type of trip regardless of vaccination status.
The agency’s website stated that the move “reflects the increase recorded in the number of cases on cruise ships since the detection of the omicron mutant.”
The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), a trade association, expressed its disappointment with the CDC’s classification, and said in a statement that the decision was “particularly baffling, especially since the cases recorded on cruise ships constitute a very small percentage of the total number of cases. Travelers, which are much less than those observed by land, and most infected people do not show symptoms, or their symptoms are mild in nature, and constitute a little or negligible burden on the medical resources on board the ship or on land.
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