Royal Caribbean’s Odyssey of the Seas, the newest ship in the fleet, has arrived in Port Canaveral for the first time and marks a major milestone for the cruise line. She’s the second new vessel to arrive on Friday following Carnival Cruise Line’s Mardi Gras, which was welcomed by hundreds of people at the port in the morning.
Odyssey of the Seas Arrives in Florida
What a day for Port Canaveral and the cruise industry as Odyssey of the Seas become the second mega-ship to arrive at the port on Friday. Even though the ship should have already started sailing, it’s a huge milestone as Royal Caribbean can now focus on restart cruises with Odyssey of the Seas in the US.
The Quantum-ultra class vessel arrived at the port at around 9:30 AM and was welcomed by the traditional spraying water from the tub boats and hundreds of people along Jetty Park and around the port. The arrival completes Odyssey of the Seas journey all the way from Israel, including the transatlantic crossing. Of course, due to the suspension of operations, there are no passengers on board, just crew members.
The journey was not completely smooth sailing as four crew members tested positive for COVID and were disembarked in Spain for further tests. Since then, the good news is that the crew members have tested negative and will be re-assigned to Harmony of the Seas and Symphony of the Seas.
Royal Caribbean canceled the ship’s planned Israel sailings, at the time, president and CEO Michael Bayley said “โToday we announce the re deployment of Odyssey of the Seas from Israel to Florida. The conflict makes it unsafe for our crew and guests and there is too much uncertainty. In the next day or so Odyssey will begin its voyage to Florida.โ It came due to the growing unrest in the country and in the interest of passenger and crew safety.
Odyssey of the Seas was to resume cruises out of Israel on June 2, 2021, and sail 3- to 7-night sailings through October 2021. The ship was originally scheduled to begin cruises out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in November 2021, but now with the earlier unexpected redeployment, the ship could begin cruising much earlier.
Royal Caribbeanโs Odyssey of the Seas: Overview and Things to Do
Odyssey of the Seas joined the fleet in the Spring and is the second Quantum-ultra class vessel, sister ship to Spectrum of the Seas. The ship is 169,000 gross tons and has a guest capacity of 4,198 at double occupancy along with 1,550 international crew members.