Another Royal Caribbean cruise ship will be returning to service this summer.
Hong Kong has given Royal Caribbean approval to restart cruises aboard Spectrum of the Seas with short sailings with no port stops.
Spectrum of the Seas would be the first Royal Caribbean cruise ship to resume sailings in China, and there will be a series of cruises between July and November.
Similar to Quantum of the Seas in Singapore, Hong Kong has approved limited sailings with strict protocols onboard.
According to the Hong Kong Cruise Society, here are the sailing dates and itineraries:
- 2-night cruises: July 30 / Sep 05,17
- 3-night cruises: Aug 05,12,19,26 / Sep 02,07,10,23,30 / Oct 07,14,21,28 / Nov 04,11,18,25
- 4-night cruises: Aug 01,08,15,22,29 / Sep 13,19,26 / Oct 03,10,17,24,31 / Nov 07,14,21,28
The new sailings have not yet been released by Royal Caribbean.
Guests looking to book a sailing can only book oceanview or higher categories (no interior rooms).
In addition, guests 16 years or older must be fully vaccinated and have received their second dose at least 14 days ago prior to boarding.
Passengers must also provide a negative PCR test within 48 hours of boarding the ship.
Many of these protocols come from Hong Kong's government, which just approved "cruises to nowhere" on Wednesday.
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau Tang-wah confirmed Royal Caribbean was one of the lines with permission to sail from Hong Kong.
Spectrum of the Seas was one of the first cruise ships to have her cruises cancelled due to the global health crisis, with her season cut short in China and moved to Australia for a short period of time before the cruise industry shutdown completely in March.
With Spectrum of the Seas restarting cruises in July, this adds another ship to the list of Royal Caribbean ships that will be able to resume operations, including Adventure of the Seas from the Bahamas, Anthem of the Seas from Southampton, and Jewel of the Seas from Cyprus.
Royal Caribbean also received permission to start test cruises on Freedom of the Seas in June.
