The global cruise suspension has seemingly put all plans in flux, but Vice President EMEA at Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Ben Bouldin expects Anthem of the Seas to follow through with her 2020 visit to the UK.
Cruise Trade News quoted Mr. Bouldin from a webinar saying that he expects Anthem of the Seas to come to the UK in 2020 and to have her refurbishment once shipyards are open.
"This is the focus of a lot of my time right now trying to work out when Anthem of the Seas will come back. Nothing’s guaranteed but I do use the word when rather than if because I do expect Anthem to come to the UK."
"I do expect it to have a marine dry dock in Europe although we are of course at mercy of when they open up currently. When that’s done, we can evaluate what’s left in the season and the opportunities we have in terms of sailings."
The refurbishment work scheduled for Anthem of the Seas is not part of the Royal Amplified program. Instead, it is related to the continuous maintenance all Royal Caribbean ships undergo about every five years.
Anthem of the Seas was scheduled to sail from Southampton beginning in May 2020, and offer cruises to destinations in Europe through October 2020.
In addition, Anthem of the Seas is scheduled to sail from Southampton again in the summer of 2021.
Mr. Bouldin also touched on the fact he thinks Odyssey of the Seas and Wonder of the Seas are both still on schedule for delivery.
"Odyssey will happen for sure. We are still seeing what her delivery date will be with the slow down in the shipyards, but she’s on her way for sure and we look forward to her being in Rome next summer."
"The same is true for Wonder of the Seas, which has plans to go to China and significant work is underway on that. Projects are in various degrees of process, but we hope to stay on course for the huge and exciting pre-development that we had."
Mr. Bouldin's comments echo comments made by Royal Caribbean earlier this week that also indicated Odyssey is on target.
