Three More Royal Caribbean Cruise Ships to Restart in December

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With Royal Caribbean Group hoping to have the majority of its brands fully operational early next year, it’s time for Royal Caribbean International to make some more inroads into stepping up its operational capacity. The cruise line will bring three more ships into operation this December.

With a variety of cruises around the Caribbean and the Bahamas, from three different homeports, Bridgetown, Tampa, and Baltimore, will give guests even more choice when choosing a Royal Caribbean cruise.

Grandeur of the Seas Calls Barbados Home

The warm and friendly island of Barbados will be the home for the first ship to resume operations this December. Starting December 5, the Grandeur of the Seas will depart on a series of Southern Caribbean sailings 7- and 14-nights long. Grandeur is the smallest in the Royal Caribbean fleet at 73,817 gross tonnes and the oldest at 25 years.

Grandeur of the Seas Cruise Ship
Photo: NAN728 / Shutterstock.com

The 7-night cruises include calls in Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia, Grenada, the Grenadines, and more. On the 14-night cruises, which sail on January 9 and February 20, guests will enjoy the Dutch Antilles (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao); Cartagena, Colombia; Colon, Panama; Puerto Limon, Costa Rica; and more.

These cruises are available only to those that have been fully vaccinated if they are 12 years or older. Younger guests will need to show a negative PCR test. That’s not all though. While the cruises have fantastic itineraries, on cruises from Barbados in December, all 2,440 guests onboard will need to book a tour if they wish to go ashore in ports of call. Whether guests have been vaccinated or not is irrelevant in this case. Grandeur of the Seas will reposition to Galveston, Texas, in May 2022.

Brilliance of the Seas from Tampa

Brilliance of the Seas will join Serenade of the Seas on December 16 as she becomes the second Royal Caribbean cruise ship to have Port Tampa Bay, Florida, as its homeport. The 90,090 gross tonnes Radiance-class ship will be sailing 4- and 5-night Bahamas and Western Caribbean cruises.

Brilliance of the Seas Cruise Ship
Photo: Royal Caribbean

The 2,543 passengers onboard Brilliance of the Seas will be able to enjoy a series of voyages that includes a 4-night cruise with a call in Cozumel, Mexico, and two days at sea. The 5-night cruises sail from Tampa either to Cozumel and Costa Maya in the Western Caribbean; a different 5-night option is a Perfect Day at CocoCay cruise, which calls at the cruise lineโ€™s private island, and in Nassau. Brilliance of the Seas will operate in Tampa until March of next year.

Enchantment of The Seas from Baltimore

The last cruise ship in the Royal Caribbean fleet to commence operations this year will be Enchantment of the Seas as she sets sail on a series of 8-night Bahamas sailings and select 12-night cruises to the Southern Caribbean from Baltimore. She will sail just before the holiday period, starting December 23.

Enchantment of the Seas in Miami, Florida
Photo Credit: SNEHIT PHOTO / Shutterstock.com

Also Read: Which Royal Caribbean Cruise Ships Have Resumed Operations?

The 24-year old, 82,910 gross tonnes, Vision-class vessel, will first sail on an 8-day cruise from her home in Baltimore with stops in Port Canaveral, Grand Bahama,  Perfect Day at CocoCay, and Nassau, in the Bahamas, before she arrives back in Baltimore, Maryland.

The 12-night cruises will sail the Southern Caribbean with calls in St. Croix, Philipsburg, St. Maarten, Castries, St. Lucia, Bridgetown, Barbados, and Basseterre, St. Kitts. Enchantment of the Seas will be based in Baltimore year-round.

One vessel is missing from the December list of ships with restart operations. Ovation of the Seas had been scheduled to resume operations in Australia from Sydney, beginning December 13. However, her season down under was canceled recently due to the uncertain operating conditions in Australia.

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Robert McGillivray
Robert McGillivray
Robert has been involved in the cruise industry since January 2007. He joined his first ship, the Seabourn Pride, in Miami Florida, and never looked back. Robert started his cruise career as a bar-waiter and worked his way up to being a corporate trainer for the same luxury 6-star cruise line. After a short break from ships in 2013, Robert has worked as a Hotel Director onboard several different cruise ships worldwide and even in Antarctica, and on the North Pole. As a writer for Cruise Hive Robert stays on top of all current developments and brings you breaking news, facts, and special reports. As an avid traveler and photographer, Robert has visited no less than 101 countries worldwide and stepped on to his 7th continent on his 30th birthday. His photos have been published by news media like Bloomberg and The New York Times, and are used by Celebrity and Azamara Cruise lines for their promotional materials. Robert currently resides in the Philippines on the tropical island of Panglao, with his wife and two daughters. Find out more about us here.

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