Royal Caribbean Blog

The first test cruises could be coming sooner rather than later.

After securing port agreements, Royal Caribbean has confirmed it has submitted the first plan for a test cruise to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley confirmed that the first such plan has been sent to the CDC for approval, so that the cruise line can begin simulated voyages.

Posting on Facebook, Mr. Bayley jumped on a wave of optimism sweeping through the cruise industry as of late, by announcing Royal Caribbean taking its next major step.

"Yesterday Royal Caribbean submitted the first of several port/health plans to the CDC which are required to receive approval for the simulated voyages which are required to precede approval for regular cruises."

Mr. Bayley did not specify which port or ship was part of the application.

The cruise line announced new sailings to Alaska in summer 2021 on the same day this application to the CDC was announced.

The simulated voyages are the test sailings mandated by the CDC in order to receive permission for a cruise ship to sail from the United States.

Under the CDC's Framework for Framework for Conditional Sailing Order (CSO), cruise lines must first get an agreement with each port for the health and safety of crew, passengers and port personnel.

So far, Royal Caribbean has secured port agreements with at least two ports: Port Canaveral and Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale). Others port agreements may be in place as well, but it has not been publicly divulged.

With the application sent, the CDC says it will respond to submissions within 5 business days. According to the CDC, it expects to quickly approve applications that are both complete and accurate.

CDC may deny the request to conduct a simulated voyage if the cruise ship operator is not in compliance with any of CDC’s requirements for the mitigation of COVID-19 onboard cruise ships, technical instructions, or orders, or if in CDC’s determination the simulated voyage does not provide adequate safeguards to minimize the risk of COVID-19 for all participants. CDC may also oversee and inspect any aspect of the simulated voyage, including through in-person or remote means allowing for visual observation.

In the meantime, Mr. Bayley has promised more news is coming soon, "In the coming days and weeks we will announce more exciting news for all our crew and all our loyal guests."

What is a test cruise?

This announcement by Mr. Bayley is the closest step in Royal Caribbean restarting cruises from the United States.

Test cruises are when cruise lines can operate ships with volunteer passengers in order to prove their new protocols work.

Read more: Here's how to sign up to be a volunteer for a Royal Caribbean test cruise

Simulated sailings will need to meet CDC expectations for certification, which includes a variety of protocols, drills, and simulations all aimed at ensuring the ships can be operated safely and respond to any health need onboard.

These volunteers will help test out Royal Caribbean's new health protocols and ensure the new rules are working as intended.

So far, at least 200,000 people have signed up to be a volunteer on a test cruise.

Royal Caribbean has also been hard at work getting crew members vaccinated by bringing its ships into American ports to get inoculated.

It looks like Royal Caribbean will be requiring a Covid-19 vaccine for passengers on its cruises.

Royal Caribbean updated its vaccine requirements page with new information that not only requires the Covid-19 vaccine, but also changed the minimum age for guest to be vaccinated in order to sail.

On Royal Caribbean's website, there are now rules for cruises departing from the United States or Bahamas, and rules for cruises sailing from other international ports.

Vaccine requirements for U.S. or Bahamas cruises

On U.S. or Bahamas sailings departing on or before August 1, Royal Caribbean will require all guests guests age 16 and older must complete all doses of their Covid-19 vaccine at least 14 days before their sailing. 

On U.S. or Bahamas sailings departing after August 1, the age requirement for vaccination will change from 16 to 12 years of age. 

This means Royal Caribbean has dropped the minimum age for guests to be fully vaccinated on the Adventure of the Seas sailings from Nassau, Bahamas from 18 to 16, and eventually 12.

Guests booked on Adventure of the Seas this summer received an email from the cruise line confirming the change.

For anyone booked on a U.S. or Bahamas sailing that are younger than the minimum age to be vaccinated (i.e. children), will receive a SARS-Cov-2 test before boarding. If a guest younger than the age requirement happens to be fully vaccinated, they should bring their original vaccination record card to board, will not require a test, and should follow all vaccinated guest protocols throughout their vacation.

Royal Caribbean will also require proof of vaccination in addition to the usual travel documents to board the ship.

Acceptable proof of vaccination must be in the form of the original vaccination record document issued by the country’s health authority or healthcare provider that administered the vaccination (e.g., U.S. CDC's Vaccination Record Card).

The vaccination record submitted must show that the guest is fully vaccinated. This means that the guest has completed the full cycle of required doses for the vaccine administered (e.g., received the second dose in a two-dose series) and that the guest has received the final dose at least 14 days before arriving in The Bahamas or at their cruise departure terminal in the U.S.

International Cruises

Royal Caribbean will also require the Covid-19 vaccine of guests age 18 and older sailing from any other port, and they must have received all doses of the vaccine at least 14 days before the sailing.

Like the U.S. sailings, proof of being vaccinated must be provided in one of two forms:

1. the country's health authority that administered the vaccination (e.g., U.S. CDC's Vaccination Record Card) 
2. the guest's medical provider that administered the vaccination

Electronic vaccination records will only be accepted for residents of those countries where electronic documentation is the standard issued form (e.g., a unique QR code). 

Crew members

Royal Caribbean will continue its policy of requiring all of its crew members to be fully vaccinated.

In February 2021, Royal Caribbean announced it would pursue a policy of requiring its crew members to be vaccinated.

Meanwhile, Royal Caribbean has been bringing its ships systematically into ports in Texas and Florida to get crew members vaccinated.

Other cruise lines requiring the vaccine

Royal Caribbean is the latest cruise line to move towards requiring its passengers to be vaccinated in order to cruise.

Norwegian Cruise Line made the decision to require 100% of its guests and crew to be vaccinated back in April 2021. Carnival just announced for its cruises to Alaska this year, guests will need to be fully vaccinated.

Many other lines have announced similar policies, including Virgin Voyages, Celebrity Cruises, Princess Cruises and more.

Royal Caribbean announced it will restart cruises this summer to Alaska.

A day after Congress passed new legislation to send to the President to get around Canada's cruise ban, Royal Caribbean Group confirmed plans to restart cruises to Alaska beginning in July 2021.

Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises ships will sail from Seattle to destinations in Alaska, such as Juneau, Sitka, Skagway, Ketchikan and Icy Strait Point, Alaska, as well as the imposing Endicott Arm & Dawes Glacier. 

UPDATE: Royal Caribbean will base two ships from Seattle, with Serenade of the Seas and Ovation of the Seas.

Serenade of the Seas will begin sailing on July 19, 2021, and Ovation of the Seas will begin sailing on August 13, 2021.

Serenade of the Seas will sail 7-night cruises beginning in July, with stops in popular ports of call, including Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan and Icy Strait Point, Alaska, as well as the jaw-dropping Endicott Arm fjord and Dawes Glacier.

Booked guests confirmed on Serenade of the Seas’ redeployed Vancouver itineraries departing July 18 – September 19, 2021 will be automatically moved to the new Seattle itinerary departing one day later than their original sail date and within the same stateroom accommodations.

Ovation of the Seas will also sail from Seattle, beginning in Auigust, and offer sailings to Glacier National Park, the Inside Passage, Juneau and Skagway, Alaska.

Read more: Comparing the Royal Caribbean ships sailing in Alaska 2021

Royal Caribbean's announcement comes on the heels of the U.S. House of Representatives passed a Bill to allow cruise ships to sail to Alaska without stopping in Canada.

The bill is waiting to be signed by President Joe Biden, but it is expected he will sign it into law.

Canada banned cruise ships from its waters due to the global health crisis, which made cruises sailing from the United States illegal under U.S. cabotage law.

A temporary waiver is part of the new bill, known as the Alaska Tourism Restoration Act, that will grant cruise lines permission to skip a stop in Canada.

Royal Caribbean Group chairman and CEO thanked Alaska's congressional delegation for its hard work in making this possible, "We are so pleased that Congress unanimously voted to pass legislation enabling cruise ships to sail to Alaska this season."

"We are thrilled Alaskans will be able to welcome cruise visitors this year knowing how important the tourism industry is to the economy and the communities we visit. It’s been a tough year for everyone, but people clearly have pent-up demand to cruise again, and we can’t wait to get back to what we do best, delivering world class vacations to our guests. Our immense gratitude goes to Senators Murkowski and Sullivan and Congressman Young along with Governor Dunleavey, and the Alaska State Legislature for making this reality happen."

"Few words can express just how excited we are to start delivering memorable vacations in the U.S. once again, starting with a destination as rich in culture and natural beauty as Alaska," said Vicki Freed, senior vice president, Sales and Trade Support & Service, Royal Caribbean International

Royal Caribbean will become the second cruise line to confirm cruises to Alaska this summer, following Carnival Corporation's announcement yesterday.

The other major part of Royal Caribbean's announcement is Royal Caribbean has changed its requirements for the minimum age to be vaccinated for guests sailing this summer to be as low as 12 years old.

For cruises departing before August 1, 2021, all guests 16 years and older must be fully vaccinated. Those underage will receive a test prior to sailing. 

As of August 1, 2021, guests 12 years and older must be fully vaccinated.

Read more: 6 mistakes & 3 things we did right on our Royal Caribbean cruise to Alaska

Lowering the minimum age guests must be vaccinated to 16 was a policy change sister brand Celebrity Cruises announced this week for its summer cruises.

Unless something changes, these Alaska cruises in summer 2021 could be the first Royal Caribbean cruises to sail from the United States since March 2020.

Read more: What should I pack for a cruise to Alaska?

Cancelled cruises

As a result of the announcement, Royal Caribbean cancelled some other Alaska sailings.

• Radiance of the Seas: July 2 - September 24, 2021
• Serenade of the Seas July 4 & 11, 2021
• Ovation of the Seas July 2 - August 6, 2021

Those that were booked on the sailings can transfer to an upcoming Alaska sailing onboard Serenade of the Seas departing July 19 – September 19, 2021 or Ovation of the Seas sailing August 13 –  September 10, 2021. Your rate will be protected at the rate paid or prevailing fares, whichever is lower.

Lift & Shift: Select a qualifying Alaska cruise in 2022 on the same ship, sail date and stateroom category, while protecting their original cruise fare and promotion. This option expires on May 28, 2021.

125% Future Cruise Credit: 125% Future Cruise Credit (FCC) which is based on the total cruise  fare paid per guest and will be automatically issued on or before June 25, 2021. Taxes and fees, as well as any pre-purchased amenities or onboard packages, will  be automatically refunded to the original form of payment within 45 days from the cancelation date.

Refund: Full refund if requested on or before June 30, 2021.

The Florida Health Department informed Royal Caribbean this week it can directly appeal to the CDC to begin cruises.

One of the mandates included in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) plan for cruise ships to be able to restart sailings from the United States is for each line to  secure agreements with port and health authorities in the U.S. cities they plan to visit.

Royal Caribbean Group announced it had signed a port agreement with Port Canaveral to operate cruise ships, and Port Everglades informed RoyalCaribbeanBlog it had also signed a similar port agreement with Royal Caribbean Group on May 10.

The agreement explains what the cruise terminal would do in the case of Covid-19 cases on a cruise ship, as well as how it intends to keep the cruise terminal and gangways sanitized.

The CDC's instructions for cruise lines under the Framework for Conditional Sailing Order (CSO) are to submit the port agreements to the state Department of Health, but Florida has responded by saying they do not need to give cruise lines permission to operate, and directed cruise lines to go right to the CDC for test cruise permission.

The letter was sent on Thursday by State Surgeon General Scott Rivkees, MD, to Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises CEOs Michael Bayley and Lisa Lutoff-Perlo.

In the letter, Dr. Rivkees said Florida has "limited statutory authority with respect to cruise lines, and the Department's permission is not required for your company to resume operations."

Dr. Rivkees went on to be even more specific about the lack of need for cruise lines to seek permission, "To be clear, nothing in state law stands in the way of cruise ship operations."

"The Department is in full support of your company resuming operations and we look forward to continuing this collaborative relationship when your company begins sailing again."

As a result of the letter, Port Everglades re-executed its MOA between the port and Royal Caribbean International/Celebrity Cruises, and believes the cruise lines can now send its application into the CDC for test cruise permission.

Once the CDC accepts the agreement, Royal Caribbean Group can make an application to the CDC to begin test cruises.

More ships coming to get crew vaccinated

Meanwhile, more Royal Caribbean ships are coming to get its crew members vaccinated in preparation for cruises to sail.

The quick pace of approval with Florida's ports means ships are coming to various ports for brief stops to get crew members inoculated with the Covid-19 vaccine.

Explorer of the Seas stopped in Port Canaveral on Wednesday to administer 210 vaccines, and Adventure of the Seas arrived on Friday morning to administer 1,050 vaccine doses. Explorer will return on Saturday for another 210 vaccines to be administered.

What about Port Liberty?

With all of the news recently of Florida cruise ports working with Royal Caribbean to sign port agreements, many cruise fans have been asking about the state of affairs as it relates to Port Liberty in Bayonne, New Jersey.

A spokesperson for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey issued a statement after RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com reached out for an update.

"We are working closely with Cape Liberty Cruise Port in anticipation of the ‘trial cruise’ required by the CDC’s Conditional Sail Order to take place by mid-August, with a regular schedule of cruises expected to resume by the end of August."

"At this time, there is no timeline for cruise resumption at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal."

The United States Congress passed a new bill that will make it possible for cruise ships to sail to Alaska without stopping in Canada, and that has Canadian officials concerned.

On Thursday, the House of Representative passed the Alaska Tourism Restoration Act, which provides a waiver for cruise ships in 2021 to not have to stop in Canada in order to offer cruises to Alaska.

Canada banned cruise ship travel until February 2022 due to the global health crisis, and until now, cruise ships would not have been able to sail to Alaska since U.S. cabotage law requires a stop in a foreign port.

After the bill passed, premier of British Columbia John Horgan said he has plans to meet with Alaska's delegation to talk about the issue.

Premier Horgan told Victoria News the meeting would take place "in the coming weeks", "We share a common desire with the people of Alaska to see a safe return to the cruise ship industry."

"The tourism sector is eager to welcome visitors back when it’s safe to do so."

Two ports in British Columbia heavily rely on tourism from cruise ships. Vancouver is a traditional homeport for many cruise ships, and Victoria is a stop-over port.

B.C. Liberal MLA Mike de Jong is concerned this workaround for 2021 could become permanent.

The CEO of the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority said he tried to warn Canadian politicians about what the negative effect this bill would have if cruise ships could skip Canadian ports, "I must admit it’s been frustrating, we’ve been sounding the alarm for the past few months," Ian Robertson said.

"You always worry about a temporary measure becoming permanent," Robertson said.

The new bill is waiting to be signed into law by President Joe Biden before it can become a law. One of the bill's sponsors, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), posted on Twitter that it is "on the way to be signed into law by the President."

Senator Murkowski added that she is proud of the hard work that went into getting the bill passed, "The Alaska Delegation worked with stakeholders and industry leaders across the state to brainstorm all our options. We were in coordination with the Alaska State Legislature who backed our efforts through a resolution of support."

Senator Dan Sullivan was happy with the bill's result, after encountering no compromise from Canada during earlier negotiations, "We’ve put forward a number of very reasonable suggestions to try to accommodate what we are hoping will be a fighting chance for our tourism season, for our small businesses so decimated by this pandemic to our colleagues in Canada."

"This is not the co-operative spirit that has defined the Alaska-Canadian relationship for decades. Quite frankly, we’ve been disappointed by it."

Hours after the bill passed the House, Carnival Corporation announced three of its brands will offer cruises to Alaska in 2021.

Princess Cruises, Holland America Line and Carnival Cruise Lines will all offer week-long sailings from Seattle for vaccinated passengers.

On top of that, Norwegian Cruise Line put sailings back on sale for Norwegian Bliss from Seattle.

Royal Caribbean has not announced any new sailings yet, or added new sailings to its website for booking.

Hours after new legislation has opened the door for cruises to Alaska, Carnival Corporation announced plans to offer cruises there this summer.

Carnival Corporation announced three of its brands, Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises and Holland America Line, will offer cruises to Alaska this year.

The new sailings will begin in July, and depart from Seattle, Washington.

The announcement was made a few hours after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a Bill to allow cruise ships to sail to Alaska without stopping in Canada.

Carnival said each of the lines has received guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as coordinated with Alaskan officials in order to sail again.

It is not clear what this guidance is exactly since the Conditional Sail Order is still in effect, but the line issued a statement that it seemingly has the go-ahead to make these cruises happen.

These Alaska cruises are available for guests who have received their final dose of an approved COVID-19 vaccine at least 14 days prior to the beginning of the cruise and have proof of vaccination. Crew vaccinations will be in accordance with CDC guidelines.

Princess Cruises will resume operations in Alaska starting July 25 through September 26, with seven-day cruises onboard Majestic Princess, a MedallionClass ship.

Its cruises will visit signature ports, glaciers and attractions in Alaska including Glacier Bay National Park, Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan.

Holland America Line will resume its cruise operations to Alaska with seven-day itineraries aboard Nieuw Amsterdam, calling at Juneau, Icy Strait Point, Sitka and Ketchikan, with scenic cruising in Alaska's iconic locales, including Glacier Bay and Stephens Passage.

The first cruise for the brand is scheduled to depart July 24, with 11 Saturday departures that will operate through October 2.

Carnival Cruise Line has already opened Alaska sailings departing from Seattle beginning July 27, with weekly departures through September 14 aboard Carnival Miracle. There are seven 7-day cruises featuring calls in Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan, as well as scenic cruising in Tracy Arm Fjord.

The September 14 departure is an 8-day cruise with an additional stop in Icy Strait Point.

Carnival Corporation also said plans for these itineraries to fulfill obligations under the Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA) are expected to be approved. Princess Cruises, Holland America Line and Carnival Cruise Line are each continuing the return-to-cruising preparation already underway.

Each of the lines will announce more details in the coming weeks.

More U.S. sailings to come

Carnival Cruise Line is also working to finalize its plans to operate Carnival Horizon from Miami, and Carnival Vista and Carnival Breeze from Galveston in July.

Itineraries along with specific details about protocols are expected to be finalized and announced next week.

Another major hurdle to cruises being able to sail to Alaska this year has been overcome.

The Alaska Tourism Restoration Act (H.R. 1318) passed the House of Representatives in a vote on Thursday, and will now to go President Joe Biden to be signed into law.

This bill will allow cruise ships in 2021 to sail from State of Washington to Alaska without needing to stop in Canada.

Canada banned cruise ships from its waters due to the global health crisis, so if cruise ship travel in the United States were able to occur, cruises to Alaska would not have been legally possible unless this bill becomes law.

The bill was introduced by Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) in February 2021 as a way for cruise ships to be able to sail to Alaska in 2021.

The bill passing is a major show of support for Alaska, which desperately needs cruise ship traffic for its local economy.

Speaking on the House of Representatives floor, Rep. Don Young (R-AK) celebrated the bill's passing as a major buoy for Alaskans, "We lost billions of dollars last year because of Covid in the tourist industry, and this bill that we just passed by this House unanimously will give us an opportunity to recover that, not the money, but the ability to take and serve the people of America and the tourist industry in and southeast Alaska and the rest of the state of Alaska."

"And I sincerely thank all of you for being part of an effort to solve a problem for state."

The Alaska Tourism Restoration Act would essentially provide a way to circumvent the Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA) restrictions for cruise ships transporting passengers between the State of Washington and the State of Alaska.

Canada has banned cruise ships for at least a year, which means it prohibits cruise ships from navigating, mooring, anchoring or berthing in Canadian waters until February 28, 2022 or until the Canadian Government lifts the prohibition. 

If President Biden signs the bill into law, it would allow cruise ships to visit Alaska in 2021, but the cruise industry still needs the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to rollback its own ban of cruise ships from the United States.

If the bill were to become law, it would apply to any sailing that begins on or before February 28, 2022.

The bill only applies to cruise ships sailing from the Pacific Northwest in 2021, and does not apply to ships sailing from New England and would not be in effect for the 2022 season.

In anticipation of the bill passing, Norwegian Cruise Line began selling Alaska cruises again for August, September, and October.

The NCL sailings will sail roundtrip from Seattle to Ketchikan.

Royal Caribbean's website does not yet show cruises available to book for Alaska 2021.

Celebrity Cruises President & CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo took to Twitter to celebrate the news, "One more signature and then Alaska, here we come!"

We may have an idea about one of the new shows coming to Odyssey of the Seas.

Senior Vice President of Entertainment for Royal Caribbean International, Nick Weir, has been teasing cruise fans on Twitter with hints about which show might be coming to Royal Caribbean's newest ship.

While Royal Caribbean has not officially announced the new entertainment lineup for Odyssey of the Seas, it appears there will be a show that celebrates showgirls in entertainment onboard.

Earlier this week, Mr. Weir said Odyssey would have, "the biggest cancan in cruise industry history", with a teaser of the sequence.

The biggest #CanCan in #CruiseIndustry history, (and the second biggest in the entire world, ever), coming to a #CruiseShip called #OdysseyoftheSeas, near you... soon. ;-) pic.twitter.com/JhYRzkxav9

— Nick Weir (@NickWeirShowbiz) May 18, 2021

After digging through Royal Caribbean's app, RoyalCaribbeanBlog reader twangster found a reference to a new show listed for upcoming Odyssey sailings.

The show is called, "Showgirl: Past. Present. Future" and is listed as having a 45 minute runtime, with the description as follows:

Our original production is a thrilling multi-sensory experience that uses bar-raising choreography and cutting-edge lighting and video effects to pay homage to the iconic siren of the stage — the showgirl — across the decades. 

A showgirl is a female dancer or performer in a stage entertainment show, and Las Vegas is famous for utilizing show girls in their acts, going back as early as the 1940s. Traditionally, Las Vegas Showgirls are classically trained dancers with skills in Ballet and Jazz dance.

Showgirls were first introduced at the Sands Casino for a show with Danny Thomas.

It is also worth noting Mr. Weir has an extensive history in working at Las Vegas, as he had a consulting firm based in Las Vegas, which catapulted him into the cruise industry when he worked with Celebrity Cruises to develop entertainment for the Solstice Class cruise ships.

Mr. Weir is no stranger to leaking details about new shows. In December 2020, he confirmed a show for the Two70 venue on Odyssey of the Seas known as "Oceanides".

Oceanides utilizes the roboscreen technology to show different performers on various screens that interact with each other as the screens move.

Two70 is the venue Royal Caribbean designed on the aft of its Quantum and Quantum Ultra class ships that offers immersive scenery on a 270 degree wall of floor-to-ceiling windows. 

The projection surface in Two70 measures 135 feet wide and 22 feet tall, and has a 12k digital screen along with  8-foot-tall, 4-foot-wide robotic screens.

Odyssey of the Seas is Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship, but her immediate plans are not yet known.  Her inaugural cruise season has been cancelled a few times, with sailings from Israel most recently cancelled.

It is not known yet when or where she will first sail from, but Royal Caribbean said a port in Florida is likely. She has scheduled sailings beginning in November 2021 from Fort Lauderdale, with 6- and 8-night Caribbean itineraries.

Royal Caribbean's restart plans in 2021 have hit another snag, as a second ship is having her entire summer season cancelled.

The cruise line announced Vision of the Seas' summer season from Bermuda in 2021 is now officially cancelled.

This affects Vision of the Seas Bermuda departures between June 26 – August 28, 2021.

In an email, Royal Caribbean said the past few weeks have been, "tumultuous", and that, "recent conversations have led to promising movement for the cruise industry and are the necessary steppingstones to get Royal Caribbean back."

Royal Caribbean sees the likelihood of cruises returning to the United States getting better each day, "and with that, U.S. travelers are increasingly showing a preference for more direct access to ports of departure."

Those on cancelled cruises have a few choices for compensation:

125% Future Cruise Credit: 125% Future Cruise Credit (FCC) which is based on the total cruise fare paid per guest and will be automatically issued on or before June 18, 2021. Taxes and fees, as well as any pre-purchased amenities or onboard packages, will be automatically refunded to the original form of payment within 45 days from the cancelation date.

Full refund: return the funds paid per guest when selecting this option on or before June 30, 2021. Guests can expect their refund to the original form of payment within 45 days from the cancelation date.

Vision of the Seas is the second Royal Caribbean cruise ship to have her entire summer 2021 restart season cancelled, following Odyssey of the Seas having her cruises from Israel cancelled.

She was scheduled to sail from Bermuda, and offer 7-night sailings down to Perfect Day at CocoCay.

With the announcement, this leaves now just three ships with firm restart plans for summer 2021: Adventure of the Seas from Bahamas, Anthem of the Seas from England, and Jewel of the Seas from Cyprus.

Some travel agents I spoke with seem to think one of the root causes of Vision's cancellation was poor sales, but the cruise line did not specify if that was the case or not.

In an email sent to guests, Royal Caribbean said, "our guests have reached out to us in overwhelming numbers to let us know they're waiting in anticipation for our U.S. debut."

In April, Royal Caribbean began subsidizing flight costs to Bermuda for Vision of the Seas cruises, with fares as low as $99 from New York.

When announced, Royal Caribbean said they were taking the risk of subsidizing fares to get bookings going. 

Official statement

Royal Caribbean issued a statement to the media about why they cancelled Vision's sailings.

"As we return to sailing, we continue to be committed to delivering memorable vacations informed by valuable feedback from our guests and travel partners. The likelihood of cruises setting sail from the U.S. this summer is greater each day, and with that, U.S. travelers are increasingly showing a preference for more direct access to ports of departure."

"The decision has been made to cancel Vision of the Seas’ summer season from Bermuda. While we are no longer homeporting from the island nation, we still look forward to bringing our guests to Bermuda with several ships across the Royal Caribbean fleet as we have for many years. As we get back to cruising, our close partnership with the Ministry of Tourism and the Bermuda Tourism Authority is still focused on working toward the common goal of getting the community back on its feet by helping revive local tourism."

"We are reaching out to guests and travel partners impacted by this change to assist with their options. This cancellation does not affect any other open deployments."

Cruise fans react

The news of Vision's cancellation spread quickly among cruise fans, along with speculation as to why the decision was made.

On the RoyalCaribbeanBlog message boards, CGTLH thinks the decision makes sense given the logistical issues facing this itinerary, "Sailing north-south along the Atlantic during hurricane season. Just seems to be a recipe for sailing delays and cancelations. Add to the mix the implied need of Freeport for provisions and fuel loading. Just seems too many bits that could have gone wrong."

twangster thinks there is more than meets the eye with the change, "The cruise lines all appear to be convinced that a US restart is imminent.  They know something we don't."

One of the major requirements before test cruises can begin looks to be a step closer for Royal Caribbean.

One of the mandates included in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) plan for cruise ships to be able to restart sailings from the United States is for each line to  secure agreements with port and health authorities in the U.S. cities they plan to visit.

This requirement is part of the CDC’s Framework for Conditional Sailing Order (CSO), and is intended to ensure health and safety protections for crew and passengers and port personnel prior to resuming passenger operations in a way that mitigates the risk of spreading Covid-19.

Royal Caribbean Group Vice President of Worldwide Operations, Captain Hernan Zini, spoke on Wednesday about Royal Caribbean Group's work to get its ships closer to be able to conduct test and revenue cruises.

Photo by Paul Crow

Captain Zini said that port agreement was submitted to the Florida Department of Health. 

Once that once Florida signs off on the plan, it can be submitted to the CDC. And once the CDC accepts the agreement, the Royal Caribbean group can make an application to the CDC to begin those test cruises.

Read more: Everything you need to know about Royal Caribbean test cruises

These port agreements are part of the Phase 2A of the CSO and need to be signed by executives from the cruise line, as well as port and state health authorities, as will as be approved by the CDC.  The agreement explains what the cruise terminal would do in the case of Covid-19 cases on a cruise ship, as well as how it intends to keep the cruise terminal and gangways sanitized.

Photo by Paul Crow

The agreement will also include information social distancing guidelines and plans for using commercial operators for any required evacuations at sea.

Each cruise line must have signed contracts with shore-side medical facilities to treat patients and shore-side housing facilities to isolate and quarantine sick passengers.

Explorer of the Seas arrived today to get crew members vaccinated at Port Canaveral, and Adventure of the Seas is due in port on Thursday.

Photo by Michael Bayley

 Royal Caribbean said they are hoping to vaccinate about 1,500 crew members.

Captain Zini told WFTV he likes what is happening right now as Royal Caribbean prepares, "We feel that the worst is behind us. And of course, we have to keep very focused on all the protocols, everything we need to do. But we feel very positive about what is coming."

Port Canaveral CEO Captain John Murray thinks while an exact date for cruises to restart is not yet known, they will be here this summer, "No specific date but I think you’re going to see it happen pretty quick."

"I think by summer we’ll have some ships sailing out of Port Canaveral and you haven’t heard me say anything that optimistic in a while."