Royal Caribbean International is beginning the test run of the world’s largest ships in the company’s history. The two brand new ships, The Harmony of the Seas and The Ovation of the Seas, will depart on scheduled voyages in September and December of this year, respectively, and will be joined by the company’s third new ship, The Freedom of the Seas.
The Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises lines are making the rounds with their newest ships. The makeovers bring the ships up to date with a stylish new design that is part modern art, part classic decor. The ships are part of a push to remodel the entire fleet of Royal Caribbean’s long-running cruise brand.
The cruiseship industry is a big one. But not every ship can get away with the high-profile, luxury-branded vessels seen in movies like “Pirates of the Caribbean.” In order to stay competitive, shipping lines try to make their ships look the same in order to help develop brand recognition. They tend to have a similar look, and they have similar layouts as well. But what about the actual ships themselves? Do the same thing that a movie does, and have the same shiny exterior.. Read more about royal caribbean cruise cancellations 2024 and let us know what you think.
Royal Caribbean’s aim of having its ships operational by the end of the year is on track. Several ships are already in service in the United States and throughout the globe. Two cruise ships, including the world’s biggest cruise ship, Symphony of the Seas, which departed from Miami, and Independence of the Seas, which sailed from Galveston, Texas, went on test sailings yesterday.
Before starting operations over the weekend, Royal Caribbean obtained authorization to conduct simulated or test voyages on six ships, including three Oasis-class ships and Odyssey of the Seas.
Cruises to the Caribbean are planned for both ships.
On Sunday, the Symphony of the Seas set off on its first voyage; the world’s biggest cruise ship will be gone for three days, with a stop at Perfect Day at CocoCay, before returning to PortMiami on August 3. If all goes according to plan, the ship will get a conditional sailing certificate soon after.
Only with this certificate will the vessel be able to begin preparations for her return to service, which will begin on August 14 with 7-night Eastern and Western Caribbean sailings from Miami. Symphony of the Seas will cruise from PortMiami to Puerto Costa Maya, Mexico, Roatan, Honduras, Cozumel, Mexico, and a Perfect Day at CocoCay on its first post-pandemic trip.
Independence of the Seas set off from Galveston on her three-day test trip. Starting August 15, the cruise ship will sail seven-night Western Caribbean cruises from Galveston, Texas. Roatan, Honduras, Puerto Costa Maya, Mexico, and Cozumel, Mexico will all be visited on these trips.
Also read: Odyssey of the Seas Sets Sail from Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Its First Cruise
Ceri Breeze / Shutterstock.com / Ceri Breeze / Shutterstock.com / Ceri Breeze / Shutterstock
Royal Caribbean proves that the route of simulated voyages works.
There was considerable debate earlier this year about whether Royal Caribbean’s simulated trip path was the best option. The CDC permits ships to sail with 95 percent of passengers who have been vaccinated, avoiding test trips. The cruise company can reach out to their biggest market: families with children, by using a route where passengers do not need to be vaccinated in order to board.
Royal Caribbean’s President, Michael Bayley, said the following:
“Because of the kids, we’ve been sailing at about 90% vaccinated, and we wouldn’t be able to operate at the CDC 95/95, so we selected this route, much like Disney and MSC.”
It might be argued that the cruise company has chosen the most difficult path by letting unvaccinated passengers aboard. However, the cruise company seems to have developed a method that works well for them via various workarounds such as obligatory testing and travel and quarantine insurance for unvaccinated passengers (or guests who do not want to disclose their vaccination status). Onboard Royal Caribbean ships, there have been a few incidents that have been handled quickly and with little effect on passengers.
The cruise company has long stated that keeping all COVID cases off the ships is impossible; it is up to passengers to follow the procedures and regulations in order to make sailing as safe as possible.
Six Royal Caribbean passengers test positive after routine testing
As Richard Fain recently stated:
“We set a target for ourselves to be safer on board than a ship on Main Street. We’ve shown that a lofty objective may be accomplished by hard effort and a dispassionate examination of the facts and science.”
Both the Symphony of the Seas and the Independence of the Seas are anticipated to perform just one simulated trip, like with the previous ships. The CDC will examine the rules aboard once the voyage is completed, and a conditional sailing certificate should be given soon after.
The Royal Caribbean International’s Freedom of the Seas, and Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Xpedition are set sail later this week. The two ships will sail to the Panama Canal for a series of test sails, and their departure has been timed to coincide with the new International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) “International Container Line Efficiency (ICLE) 2015” regulations that will allow their captains to measure fuel efficiency and emissions produced.. Read more about royal caribbean cancellations 2024 and let us know what you think.
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