Royal Caribbean provides delivery update for delayed newbuild Odyssey of the Seas

Odyssey of the Seas, the new Quantum-Ultra class cruise ship from Royal Caribbean, and the first scheduled to cruise in North America, won’t be delivered until April, 2021, according to the line.

Originally scheduled for delivery in November, 2020, Odyssey of the Seas has been affected by reduced work capacity at the Meyer-Werft shipyard in Germany, along with supply chain issues due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

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She is one of several new cruise ships and major refit projects impacted by the virus, which forced a near-total lockdown of the global economy earlier this year, while the entire cruise industry remains shut down.

“The impact of worldwide port and shipyard closures have created delays in the construction schedule and delivery of Odyssey of the Seas,” Royal Caribbean said, in a statement.

“Based on adjusted plans and timelines created in partnership with Meyer-Werft shipyard in Germany, delivery of Royal Caribbean’s newest ship is now scheduled for April 2021,” the statement added.

Odyssey of the Seas is now due to spend her inaugural season sailing Eastern Mediterranean cruises from Rome, during the 2021 summer, before arriving in the US in November 2021.

“We are working directly with our guests and travel partners to address this disruption to their vacations. We are genuinely sorry for their inconvenience and disappointment,” Royal Caribbean added.

Guests booked on the cancelled cruises will be offered compensation including the cruise line’s ‘Lift & Shift’program. A 125% Future Cruise Credit (FCC) can be chosen which must be used by the end of December 2021 on sailings through April 2022.

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For those who no longer wish to take a cruise, a full refund must be requested before the end of the year. Guests can also choose to move an existing booking to a 2021 sailing within 4 weeks before or after the original sail date in 2021.

Odyssey of the Seas will also feature new safety regulations for some of its on-board attractions, although they don’t appear to be related to the Coronavirus pandemic.

“The trapeze school will no longer be a feature of the SeaPlex,” the cruise line added in its statement. “Also, we are modifying the age restrictions to the Sky Pad — guests must be at least 7 years old to jump, and at least 13 years old to jump with a virtual reality headset.”

That move comes after a passenger was injured aboard Mariner of the Seas while using the SkyPad, which prompted the line to close all SkyPad’s across the fleet for inspection.