Royal Caribbean International has become the second cruise ship operators to launch a “cruise to nowhere” service out of Singapore after Quantum of the Seas set sail on Thursday night.
With capacity limited to 2,000 passengers – half of its usual maximum – the maiden journey welcomed 1,300 guests following a series of COVID-19 safety precautions before boarding. They included online only check-ins, all baggage undergoing a disinfection process, and all passengers having to submit a negative COVID-19 test acquired prior to arrival.
A second sailing scheduled for Monday 7 December has 1,700 bookings, Royal Caribbean said, with all cruises for either three or four nights.
“We want to trial our product, and the demand is there, as we are already 99% sold out for most of December,” said Angie Stephen, Managing Director for Asia Pacific at Royal Caribbean International, in comments to The Straits Times.
“We’d like to start slow and ramp up in a safe manner.”
Genting Cruise Lines became the first to offer cruise to nowhere sailings from Singapore on 6 November with World Dream’s first sailing welcoming 1,400 guests onboard under similar COVID-19 restrictions.
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