With the U.S. still not allowing cruises to resume, Royal Caribbean continues to find alternative homeports worldwide. The cruise line will begin cruises out of Limassol, Cyprus, in July.
This follows other recently announced homeports outside of the United States, including the Bahamas, Israel, Bermuda, and St. Maarten for sister line Celebrity Cruises.
Another New Homeport for Royal Caribbean
Royal Caribbean will base Jewel of the Seas out of Cyprus starting on July 10 through October 2021. The cruise line expands its offerings in the Mediterranean with the vessel sailing 7-night cruises and calls include Athens, Rhodes, Crete, Mykonos, and Santorini.
Michael Bayley, president and CEO, Royal Caribbean International, said:
“I’m delighted to announce our safe and gradual return to Europe. We know how eager our guests are to enjoy a getaway this summer, and these sailings, which include a mix of fantastic destinations and must-visit islands, make for the perfect getaway.”
“Cyprus is a beautiful island, and we are thankful to the Cypriot government for their support and enthusiasm in making these incredible itineraries possible.”
Bookings for the new offerings on Jewel of the Seas will open on April 7, 2021, and for fully vaccinated adults only. Those under the age of 18 will need to show proof of a negative test. The cruises will be full protected as all crew members will also be fully vaccinated.
Also Read: Must-Know Things About Royal Caribbean’s Jewel of the Seas
Royal Caribbean proved that cruises could sail safely as it has already welcomed over 50,000 passengers out of Singapore with Quantum of the Seas. Health measures have already been well used and tested thanks to those sailings. The cruise line is also working with Cyprus on making sure guests and crew remain safe.
Savvas Perdios, the Deputy Minister of Tourism for Cyprus, said:
“We are delighted that Royal Caribbean will call Limassol its homeport for the first time ever. This has been an ambition of ours for many years, and we are thrilled that, finally, this dream has come to fruition. We have every confidence that Royal Caribbean’s presence in Limassol will be beneficial to Cyprus and, similarly, we are very confident that as a homeport and as a country, Cyprus will live up to the expectations of Royal Caribbean and its guests.”
This will be the first time Royal Caribbean will cruise in Europe since the suspension of operations. Europe has been one of the few regions that have already allowed cruise ships to operate.
Costa Cruises and MSC Cruises have already had sailings out of Italy. AIDA Cruises have also been offering cruises on and off out of Germany and the Canary Islands.
The UK will also allow cruise operations to resume from May 17, and many cruise lines are jumping in on the action to offer domestic sailings out of Southampton. However, the U.S. remains very much closed, and Royal Caribbean is moving away by finding alternative homeports.
There are also rumblings of Jamaica and Cozumel becoming a homeport so there could be even more exciting announcements to come.
