Royal Caribbean International's newest ship, Odyssey of the Seas—originally scheduled to begin service this year—now won't begin sailing until spring 2021. In a statement this week, the line said all scheduled Odyssey of the Seas sailings between November 5, 2020 and April 17, 2020 have been cancelled. The ship's first 2021 sailings will be an inaugural season of eastern Mediterranean sailings from Rome, then the new ship then will reposition to the U.S. in November 2021, it added.
The line told travel advisors, "In the wake of COVID-19, our initial global suspension and its subsequent extensions, we understand the uneasiness all of this has caused both for you as a travel advisor and, of course, your clients whose vacations have been regrettably disrupted.
"The health crisis has unfortunately also impacted shipyard operations, as well as our supply chain. As a result, the debut of our newest fleet member, Odyssey of the Seas, will be delayed, resulting in the unfortunate cancellation of all sailings between November 5, 2020 to April 17, 2021."
The line said the compensation options that apply for recent global cancellations (caused by the extended suspension of service for the pandemic situation) will also apply for these cancelled sailings.
In making the announcement to advisors, the line also announced two changes to the onboard activities programming. Royal Caribbean said the trapeze school will no longer be a feature of SeaPlex. It also noted that the minimum age to jump in Sky Pad will be seven years of age, and 13 to jump using a virtual reality headset.
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