For 2020, Royal Caribbean Sends Empress to New Orleans Year-Round

Following the end of people-to-people cruise travel to Cuba, Royal Caribbean is repositioning the Majesty of the Seas to New Orleans in 2020, marking the cruise line’s year-round return to the port. Empress of the Seas, which had also offered Cuba cruises from Florida, will continue to sail from that port on itineraries that now include a call at Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands

From New Orleans, Majesty of the Seas’ 2020 schedule will see it sail seven-night itineraries with calls at the Bahamas, including Perfect Day at CocoCay, the line’s newly revamped private island destination. Cruises from New Orleans onboard Majesty are now open to book for itineraries departing through April 2020. Sailings departing from May 2020 through April 2021 will be open to book the week of July 22, 2019.

Continuing to homeport in Miami, Empress of the Seas will sail six- to eight-night eastern and western Caribbean sailings with a new call at Virgin Gorda. The ship will also visit Mexico, Belize and the Bahamas, as well as Perfect Day at CocoCay on select itineraries. Details for the ship’s 2020-21 deployment will be announced and available to book in the upcoming weeks. 

In addition to the new call at Virgin Gorda, the move adds two new ships calling at the revamped CocoCay, which travel agents gave high marks during the cruise line’s recent Travel Partner Advisory Board meeting on a sailing of the recently revitalized Navigator of the Seas. Demand for the new destination, which is part of the cruise line’s new Perfect Day Island Collection, also prompted Royal Caribbean to keep Independence of the Seas in Fort Lauderdale in 2020, instead of repositioning the ship to Southampton as had been originally planned. 

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