NEWS UPDATE: Royal Caribbean Cancels Aus | Quantum kaput, Serenade and Ovation hang in the balance

Join my private Facebook group for cruise deals, tips and advice - the more members we have, the better we’ll get! www.facebook.com/groups/CTGdeals Head to my website for great cruise and travel deals: www.thecruiseandtravelguy.com.au Follow me on Facebook and Instagram: www.facebook.comn/thecruiseandtravelguy www.instragram.com/thecruiseandtravelguy Around the world, cruise lines are ramping up operations with announcements coming in thick and fast with more and more ships starting to operate around the US and Europe. Down under though, it’s couldn’t be more different. Last week it was P&O and Princess, and this week it’s Royal Caribbean. The announcement came through a couple of days ago confirming that the entire Quantum of the Seas season had been cancelled. Quantum was due to sail from Brisbane’s brand new international cruise terminal during the entire Australian summer season from October until April next year. With the continuing uncertainty around the resumption cruising in Australia, Royal Caribbean pulled the plug on the season and has decided to keep Quantum in Singapore where she can at least continue to operate. Serenade of the Seas and Ovation of the Seas were both due to set sail from Sydney after repositioning from Alaska via Hawaii. Instead, the transpacific repositioning cruises on both ships have been cancelled. Ovation of the Seas will enjoy an extended Alaska season with an additional four sailings added to her schedule. Ovation of the Seas’ first scheduled Sydney departure was also cancelled - she was due to sail from Sydney on October 16th on her first official voyage of the Australian cruise season. Royal Caribbean has not cancelled the remaining voyages for Serenade of the Seas or Ovation of the Seas. Both ships are still scheduled to cruise from Sydney, Serenade commencing on October 24th, and Ovation on October 27th. Affected guests will receive either a full refund, or a 125% future cruise credit. The credit will need to be used towards a booking before April 30th, 2022, and can be applied to any voyage departing by April 30th, 2023. If you are booked on an Ovation or Serenade cruise that is still scheduled, the general consensus is that its best to wait it out and if it is eventually cancelled, choose either the refund or credit option. If you booked under Cruise with Confidence, you may have additional options open to you. Also remember that Royal Caribbean have suspended all of their final payments for upcoming Australian departures. Royal Caribbean claim that they are in talks with the Australian government, trying to sure up the remaining Sydney departures. I say, don’t hold your breath, at least for the cruises scheduled earlier in the season. In terms of re-establishing cruising from this country within a few months from now, it seems highly unlikely that Royal Caribbean will succeed where other lines like P&O and Princess have failed. I do hold hope that should, by some miracle of common sense, domestic cruising be allowed to resume during the summer season, Royal Caribbean along with other lines, will do what they can to begin operating here. There are dozens of ships currently bobbing around in the ocean, and I do believe that given any opportunity to resume sailing down under, cruise lines will not hesitate to send their ships here. Although we’re used to the concept of a summer cruise season in Australia, cruise lines need business, and they need to start sailing. Although our traditional low cruise season is during the winter months, there’s nothing stopping cruise lines from adding voyages to their schedules if, assuming cruising gets the green light, the demand is there. We’ve already seen how flexible cruise schedules have become, they seem to be mere suggestions now, so I would’t be surprised at all if cruise lines took advantage of pent up Australian demand and added winter voyages from our local ports. Of course, there’s a long way to go before anything like that happens, but we’ll see. Overseas, Royal Caribbean have also decided to delay the start of Spectrum of the Seas’ cruise season from Hong Kong. She was originally due to set sail in July but that has been pushed back until October 5th. The change allows crew members to meet vaccine and quarantine requirements. When Spectrum eventually sets sail, she will be undertaking cruises to nowhere and sailing with a reduced capacity of 50%. Genting Dream will also be sailing from Hong Kong, and will depart on her first cruise on July 30th. Like Spectrum, she will sail on ocean voyages with no port stops, with fully vaccinated passengers and crew and will likewise sail at a reduced capacity of 50%. Thanks for watching, and see you soon!