There are only a few days left before Royal Caribbean's flexible cancellation policy is no longer available to book.

UPDATE: Royal Caribbean has extended Cruise with Confidence through July 31, 2021.

The Cruise with Confidence program was introduced right as the cruise industry was shutting down for an indeterminate amount of time due to the global health crisis, and with cruises on the precipice of returning, this program may no longer be offered.

Cruise with Confidence officially ends after May 31st, 2021, which means if you want to have your sailing qualify for its benefits, you need to book on or before May 31, 2021.

A cruise that was booked on or before May 31, 2021 is entitled to a 100% future cruise credit if you decide to cancel any cruise that sets sail from now through April 30th, 2022.

The policy covers any cruise reservation made on or before May 31, but if Royal Caribbean does not extend the program again, guests will no longer be able to take advantage of it on sailings booked beyond May.

As long as you cancel at least 48 hours before your sail date, Royal Caribbean will provide you with a 100% future cruise credit. Future Cruise Credits are valid to book by April 30th, 2022 and sail by September 30th, 2022.

It is possible Royal Caribbean may extend Cruise with Confidence again, but as of right now, it is set to end as an included benefit for new cruises booked at the end of May.

Royal Caribbean has already sunset one of its popular cancellation program, Lift & Shift, which allowed guests to defer their cruise by a year.  Lift & Shift ended on February 1, 2021.

The chief benefit of Cruise with Confidence is someone can cancel their cruise up to 48 hours before their cruise with no penalty or fees. 

Once the program ends and you were to book a cruise without Cruise with Confidence, you would be subject to the standard cancellation terms, which include penalties for canceling beyond the final payment date as well possible additional penalties if you booked a non-refundable cruise fare.

In addition to Cruise with Confidence, the enhanced Best Price Guarantee program is set to expire on May 31, 2021.

The Best Price Guarantee program allows guests to take advantage of better rates up to 48 hours prior to sail date. Usually guests in certain countries can reprice cruises only up until their final payment date to take advantage of a price drop.

Just like Cruise with Confidence, guests must be booked on or before May 31st, 2021 for sailings that depart on or before April 30th, 2022 and they can request the difference of their booked rates versus any rate reduction.

The difference in pricing will be added to the booking as an onboard credit, inside final payment, and it’ll be applied within 14 business days, and a new confirmation will be generated with the Onboard Credit value.

What you should do before Cruise with Confidence ends?

If you are thinking of booking any cruise between now and April 2022, it may make a lot of sense to at least put a deposit down now to not only lock in the price of your cruise, but also ensure you can cancel it under Cruise with Confidence up to 48 hours before the sailing.

The flexibility this program provides is a great "safety net" for anyone with a cruise booked who is unsure what the cruise world may look like closer to your sail date. In short, there is very little risk when your booking is protected with Cruise with Confidence since you can change your mind at any time.

Of course, there are still some other means to retain some level of flexibility to change your mind later even without the program. 

• Book refundable cruise fare so you can cancel before final payment date for a 100% refund.
• Consider a "Cancel for any reason" travel insurance plan

Ultimately,if you were thinking about booking a cruise for 2021 or 2022, you might consider booking it before Cruise with Confidence ends to have access to the flexibility it provides.

Construction of Royal Caribbean's next new class of cruise ships reached a milestone recently.

The Icon Class will be the a new class of cruise ship, and Unimedien shared photos of the first blocks of the vessel to be shipped by the Neptun Werft shipyard in Rostock, Germany.

The giant blocks will eventually be joined together to form the hull of the Icon Class cruise ship.

The Icon Class ships will be constructed at Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland, which is the same shipyard that built a number of Royal Caribbean ship, including Allure and Oasis of the Seas.

It appears the first Icon Class cruise ship is scheduled for delivery in the third quarter of 2023.

Each ship will be powered by a combination of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and fuel cell technology.

Modern shipbuilding is a modular process, where engineers break down the ship into smaller pieces that they later assemble.

Each of these blocks is pre-assembled elsewhere, and there can be as many as 80 blocks per ship.  They are then joined and welded together and wired at the dry docks. 

This process alows differerent engineers and specialists work at the same time on one ship to significantly decrease construction time.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is envisioned as the primary fuel for the new vessels, which would dramatically reduce or even eliminate emission of nitrogen oxide (NOX), sulphur oxide (SOX) and particulates, as well as cutting carbon dioxide (CO2). The ICON Class will also introduce fuel cell technology, which in combination with hull air lubrication means that the ships could potentially be some of the most fuel efficient cruise vessels ever constructed. 

According to Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley, the Icon Class ships will be "a real game changer" and the next generation of cruise ship to follow up on the Oasis Class.

Not much else is known about the Icon Class, but according to Royal Caribbean Group SEC filings in April 2021, the unnamed Icon Class ships will have a capacity of approximately 5,600 passengers.

This would make the Icon class ships larger than the Quantum Class ships, but slightly smaller than the Oasis Class ships.

There are three Icon Class ships on order:

• Unnamed first Icon class ship delivery in 3rd Quarter 2023
• Unnamed second Icon class ship delivery in 2nd Quarter 2025
• Unnamed third Icon class ship delivery in 2nd Quarter 2026

In addition, Royal Caribbean filed a trademark for Icon of the Seas, which could be the name of the first ship.

After a few weeks absence, Royal Caribbean Group Richard Fain is back with a new update with his most optimistic outlook yet for cruises to restart.

Mr. Fain started off his video update to travel agents by stating how good things are looking, "we can now state with a high level of confidence that ships from the Royal Caribbean group will be operating out of US ports as early as next month."

Cruises restarting as early as next month follows up on the news that Royal Caribbean applied to the CDC for test cruises to begin, which Mr. Fain repeated again, "Last week, we formally submitted our request for sailing authorization to the CDC."

"We're hopeful that they will issue that permission shortly."

The opportunity for cruises to restart again from the United States is something Fain sees as the result of widespread vaccine distribution, public pressure on government officials, and a change in the relationship with the CDC.

While the cruise industry's relationship with the CDC was tenuous after some early requirements, things have changed, "over the past weeks, that level of dialogue has improved one thousand percent and that dialogue has allowed us to understand their concerns. But in addition to that, dialogue has enabled the CDC to understand our concerns."

"It has also enabled the CDC to review so much helpful data that we have acquired from our sailing's abroad."

Vaccines

Mr. Fain talked about how vaccines will work, and he said Celebrity Cruises and Silversea will follow the CDC's option to have 95% passengers vaccinated and 98% of crew members vaccinated, but Royal Caribbean International will go a different route.

Mr. Fain echoed a new policy posted on its website that says everyone who is eligible to get a vaccine will be expected to get one. However, since Royal Caribbean is so family oriented and there are often large numbers of children, he does not think reaching 95% is possible.

"On these cruises[with many children], we may not reach the ninety five percent threshold, but even here the vast majority will be vaccinated."

Health protocols and changes onboard

So what will a cruise be like once they can sail again?

"As we restart, there will be some more restrictions than before," Mr. Fain explained, "but we expect there will be temporary and similar to what we've all become used to on land.

Mr. Fain talked about what to expect, and here are some key takeaways.

• Buffets will be full service
• No masks for fully vaccinated, "We're optimistic that masks won't be required anywhere if you're vaccinated and since most people will be."
• Some ares where social distancing required, but with lower capacity onboard initially, it should not be an issue.
• Upgraded air conditioning
• Guests will have choice of going on their own shore excursions, "In most cases, our guests can also arrange their own excursions and these will be regulated by by local rules."

These updates are exactly what Celebrity Cruises announced last week for what guests could expect, and a good sense that those rules are going to be the reality.

As expected, President Joe Biden signed a new bill into law that will allow cruise ships to sail to Alaska this year.

Late on Monday, President Joe Biden signed H.R. 1318, the "Alaska Tourism Restoration Act".

The Alaska Tourism Restoration Act  passed the House of Representatives in a vote last Thursday, and is awaiting the President's signature to become a law.

Now that it is law, cruise ships will be able to sail from State of Washington to Alaska without needing to stop in Canada.

Per the @washingtonpost YouTube feed, here's White House @PressSec Jen Psaki announcing that @POTUS will be signing the Alaska Tourism Restoration Act today alongside @lisamurkowski @SenDanSullivan and @repdonyoung! #News #CruiseNews #TravelNews #Alaska pic.twitter.com/xDfsQ2hi3h

— Porthole Cruise and Travel (@PortholeCruise) May 24, 2021

Ms. Psaki said in a press conference on Monday, "This law will allow large cruise ships to visit Alaska this year, a critical step toward returning to normal in a state where one in 10 jobs is in the tourism industry."

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 Alaska Tourism Restoration Act essentially provides 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.

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.

Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and NCL have all announced cruise restart plans for Alaska this summer, with Serenade of the Seas leading the pack with cruises beginning in July 2021.

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

Both ships will sail 7-night roundtrip cruises from Seattle, Washington, and sailings are available now to book.

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.

Cruise ships will still need approval to sail from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) due to the Framework for Conditional Sail Order, which remains in effect until November 2021.

Despite the major cruise lines announcing sailings to Alaska this summer, there has not been any announcement or confirmation the CDC will allow ships to sail.

In Carnival's announcement, they mentioned deciding to offer cruises again, "based on recent guidance from the CDC and close collaboration with Alaskan officials."

NCL said its plans were contingent on obtaining a Conditional Sailing Certificate, which it expected to be granted "in the coming days".

Royal Caribbean made no mention of its negotiations with the CDC during its announcement.

Norwegian Cruise Line announced it will sail to Alaska this summer, and even went as far as saying  it expects to get approval very soon.

Following up on Carnival and Royal Caribbean's similar announcements, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NCLH) announced on Monday it would deploy Norwegian Bliss to Seattle and offer cruises to Alaska beginning August 7, 2021.

NCL's restart plan are contingent on obtaining a Conditional Sailing Certificate from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

NCL says it expects to be granted that approval, "in the coming days".

Cruises to Alaska on the Bliss will require all guests and crew required to be fully vaccinated, along with the implementation of the Company’s robust, multi-layered SailSAFE health and safety program.

The cruise line's abilities to sail to Alaska is a result of Congress passing the Alaska Tourism Restoration Act, which provides a temporary exemption to the Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA) restrictions for cruise ships transporting passengers between the State of Washington and the State of Alaska.

NCLH says it expects to phase-in more cruise ships across its three brands.

NCLH President and CEO Frank Del Rio was excited to share todays news, "We are thrilled to reach the next milestone in our Great Cruise Comeback with the expected resumption of cruising in the U.S. starting in Alaska, one of our guests’ most popular destinations."

"This is a moment we have all been waiting for and it would not have been possible without the strong support of the Alaska congressional delegation who worked tirelessly to pass legislation that temporarily waives certain requirements of the Passenger Vessel Services Act."

NCL's announcement comes just days after Royal Caribbean revealed it has also applied to the CDC for permission to start test cruises.

On Friday, Royal Caribbean submitted a plan to the CDC for approval to begin test cruises.

It is not clear which ship was included in that proposal to the CDC, but Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley said it was the "first of several" applications they plan to send to the CDC.

What is NCL's SailSAFE?

Norwegian Cruise Line has internalized the recommendations of the Healthy Sail Panel into what it calls SailSAFE.

These are the multi-layered science-leaning approach to operating cruises safely in the face of Covid-19.

Here are the basics of what it entails:

• All guests and crew must be fully vaccinated, at least 2 weeks prior to embarkation, in order to board.
• All guests will be required to take a COVID-19 antigen test, administered and paid for by the cruise line, prior to boarding and receive a negative result.
• Staggered embarkation process
• Limited guest capacity on ships
• Contactless food and beverage service will be provided across all ships with service staff stationed ship-wide, including all restaurants and lounges, and shared use items will be removed where possible.
• Guests are free to explore ports of call on their own, according to protocols in each specific port, and can purchase shore excursions as they wish.

Masks are not mentioned in their protocols, other than in certain settings during shore excursions where they would be needed in order to comply with local requirements.

Everyone wants to know what the health protocols will be like on a cruise ship when they restart sailings, and it appears expectations are changing.

With Royal Caribbean quietly changing its Covid-19 vaccine requirements on its website over the weekend, it appears the cruise line is preparing to pivot some of its onboard policies based on the changing science we see in the world today.

Royal Caribbean Group Chairman and CEO Richard Fain was interviewed by the BBC over the weekend, and he spoke about a few topics related to cruise ship restart plans, including wearing a mask.

Having to wear a mask on a cruise ship has been one of the most polarizing topics among cruise fans and if they feel comfortable going on a cruise ship and wearing one.

Mr. Fain was asked if mandatory mask wearing as set to continue, "as the vaccine is rolling out, and certainly in the cruises from the States where pretty much everybody will be vaccinated on board, I think you're right."

"I think we will not need to be wearing masks. And I think very quickly we'll be going back to cruising, which will be virtually indistinguishable from what it was two years ago."

Mr. Fain pointed out that on the limited cruises that have been able to operate with masks required onboard (such as Quantum of the Seas), guest satisfaction levels are actually higher than they were before in a regular cruise.

"Not sure I can explain that," quipped Mr. Fain.

Last week, Celebrity Cruises told travel agents fully vaccinated passengers are not required to wear masks inside or outside while maintaining a safe distance from other passengers.

Unvaccinated guests, such as children, would need to wear a mask in certain situations, such as walking between venues.

Royal Caribbean has not announced a similar policy change yet on its ships, but did say masks will not be needed at all at Perfect Day at Cococay.

Even the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has relaxed some of its mask requirements for cruise ships recently.

On May 12, the federal agency said fully vaccinated passengers are no longer required to wear a mask outside.

Mr. Fain also talked about the role of vaccines on cruises, and dismissed the idea a vaccine passport would be needed, but did mention there are other options to use.

"I don't think we're talking about a vaccine passport. I think we are talking about people who are vaccinated. There are lots of different ways to show that."

"In terms of one of these computerized passports, we're certainly not seeing that in the States and in other countries, there are different forms that we'll be looking at."

The topic of having to show proof of a vaccine has been contentious in certain states, such as Florida, where businesses are prohibited from asking customers to show proof of a vaccine.

Happy weekend! In case you missed any Royal Caribbean news, here is a look at everything that happened this week!

There was so much cruise news this week, but Royal Caribbean announcing cruise ships will sail in Alaska this year had to be the biggest story so far.

Royal Caribbean Group confirmed plans to restart cruises to Alaska beginning in July 2021.

Two ships will sail to Alaska this summer, Serenade and Ovation of the Seas. Both ships will sail roundtrip from Seattle.

Royal Caribbean News

• Royal Caribbean cancels all Vision of the Seas cruises from Bermuda
• Royal Caribbean has submitted its first plan to the CDC to get approval for test cruises
• Royal Caribbean changes Covid-19 vaccine requirements for cruise ships
• Celebrity Cruises will let vaccinated passengers not wear masks and passengers can go on their own shore excursions
• U.S. House of Representatives passes Bill to allow cruise ships to sail to Alaska without stopping in Canada
• Odyssey of the Seas will sail from Florida first
• Florida tells Royal Caribbean it does not need its permission for cruise ships to sail
• Judge orders mediation in Florida's lawsuit against the CDC to get cruise ships sailing
• Royal Caribbean finalized a port agreement with Port Canaveral so it can start test cruises
• PortMiami wants to broker a deal for shared cruise terminal between Royal Caribbean and MSC
• Royal Caribbean expects new CDC update on cruise ship protocols this week
• CDC will only require cruise ship passenger Covid-19 tests after the cruise on sailings more than 4 nights
• Canada will meet with Alaska Senators to discuss cruise ships skipping Canada
• First look at Royal Caribbean's changes to Singapore cruises
• Carnival Corporation announces it will sail to Alaska in 2021
• Carnival is in active discussions with CDC to restart cruises in July
• Spotted: New Royal Caribbean show celebrating showgirls
• 5 times Royal Caribbean trolled other cruise lines

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 407th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, which addresses the question of what is the worst Royal Caribbean cruise ship.

Many first time cruisers are eager to learn about the best Royal Caribbean ship to sail on, so a common question asked is which cruise ships should be avoided.

Please feel free to subscribe via iTunes or RSS, and head over to rate and review the podcast on iTunes if you can! We’d appreciate it.

New RCB Video: Celebrity Cruises announces new mask, vaccine, and shore excursion rules!

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Have you subscribed to the Royal Caribbean Blog YouTube Channel? We share some great videos there regularly, all about taking a Royal Caribbean cruise! This week, we are sharing our latest video — Celebrity Cruises announces new mask, vaccine, and shore excursion rules! — and don’t forget to subscribe here.

40 Perfect Day at CocoCay tips, tricks and secrets

Want to know the best advice for what to do at Perfect Day at CocoCay?

If you have a Royal Caribbean cruise visiting Royal Caribbean's private island in the Bahamas, I'm sharing 40 Perfect Day at CocoCay tips, tricks and secrets.

This has all the information you need before you hit the pools, slides, and beaches, so you don't miss anything!

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.