Royal Caribbean Cruises Pushes Sailing Suspension Until May 12
by Daniel McCarthy
Due to circumstances caused by the spread of COVID-19, Royal Caribbean is suspending sailings until at least May 12. Photo: Shutterstock.com.
Royal Caribbean Cruises said on Tuesday that its four brands—Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Azamara, and Silversea—will continue their suspensions through at least May 11 because of “global public health circumstance.”
“At Royal Caribbean International, the safety and well-being of our guests and crew are always our top priorities. On March 13th, we made the decision to voluntarily suspend our sailings departing from US ports, and later on March 14th we decided to also suspend operations for the remainder of our sailings worldwide,” Royal’s statement said.
“Today, March 24th, we have decided to extend our voluntary suspension until May 11th, 2020. Our goal is to resume operations for most of our ships on May 12th, 2020.”
That date is for most itineraries, as some will not be able to restart until later in the summer.
Royal itineraries in Singapore and Canada will not be able to start on May 12th due to port closures in those countries—Canadian ports will remain closed until July 1 and Port of Singapore will remain closed through May.
Celebrity sailings in Canada/New England and on Celebrity Millennium and Celebrity Solstice will all be suspended through July, as well.
Royal is offering those impacted a 125% future cruise credit, available to use through Dec. 31, 2021.
