Main Adjustments for Distinctive Royal Caribbean Itinerary

Friends aboard Odyssey of the Seas‘ Might 6, 2023 crusing should not having fun with the cruise they’d initially deliberate, as a result of native unrest that has prompted important adjustments to the scheduled itinerary.

Slightly than visiting uncommon and extremely coveted ports of name in Israel, the ship has diverted to ports of name in Greece.

Odyssey of the Seas Itinerary Adjustments

Royal Caribbean Worldwide’s Odyssey of the Seas is at the moment crusing what was to have been a 12-night “Holy Land” cruise itinerary with ports of name for each Jerusalem/Bethlehem in addition to Tel Aviva/Nazareth in Israel.

Each of these ports of name have been cancelled, nonetheless, with substitute ports in Greece added to the ship’s itinerary. Friends onboard have been notified of the adjustments through bulletins by the ship’s captain in addition to letters delivered to their staterooms.

“Regardless of our greatest efforts to protect our Holy Land expertise, the geopolitical scenario is escalating,” the letter defined. “Consequently, we’ve suspended immigration processes in Haifa.”

The letter goes on to element the revisions to the rest of the ship’s itinerary till it arrives in Rome (Civitavecchia) on Thursday, Might 18.

Initially, the ship was to have spent an in a single day name for Jerusalem/Bethlehem (port of Ashdod) from Wednesday, Might 10 till the night of Thursday, Might 11.

Escalating unrest in Gaza, simply 30 miles (48 kilometers) southwest of the port of Ashdod, led the ship to plan as a substitute for additional time in Haifa, an extra 70 miles (113 kilometers) north alongside Israel’s western coast.

Shortly after arriving at Haifa and commencing immigration processing, nonetheless, visitors onboard reported a number of bulletins that highlighted security considerations within the area and it was determined to not stay in Israel. As an alternative, preparations had been made for port visits in Greece.

Now, the Quantum-Extremely-class ship will spend a day at sea on Thursday en path to Greece, and can spend Friday in Santorini from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. On Saturday, the ship will go to Crete from 7 a.m. to six p.m.

The remaining ports of name on the itinerary – Ephesus, Athens, and Naples – are unchanged, as is the ship’s arrival in Rome on Might 18 for debarkation.

“We sincerely apologize for any disappointment this will likely trigger,” the letter concluded. “Thanks to your understanding, we hope you benefit from the the rest of your time with us onboard Odyssey of the Seas.”

Compensation Provided

All pre-paid shore excursions for the now-cancelled ports of name are being mechanically refunded to visitors as onboard credit score. Moreover, Royal Caribbean is providing extra onboard credit score for visitors to make use of throughout the remainder of the cruise.

The quantity of credit score provided is predicated on stateroom kind, with $250 (USD) given to inside and ocean view cabins, $300 for balcony cabins, and $500 for suites. The full is per stateroom, however an additional $50 will likely be added for every third, fourth, or extra visitor in every cabin.

Credit can be utilized for spa companies, drinks, specialty eating, add-on sights, images, memento purchases, and different onboard bills. Any refundable credit remaining on the finish of the cruise will likely be reimbursed to visitors’ playing cards on file for his or her SeaPass accounts.

Security Is All the time the First Precedence

Many visitors onboard will likely be understandably dissatisfied on the drastic itinerary change, however the determination has been made with visitors’ security in thoughts, because the letter states: “As all the time, your security and luxury stay our highest priorities.”

All cruise traces have the proper to change itineraries for any purpose, together with as a result of native or regional unrest, rising crime charges, or violence which will threaten passengers, crew members, or port officers.

Whereas cruise ticket contract phrases and situations might range relying on a visitor’s main nation of residence, for vacationers from the US, part 7a clearly states that Royal Caribbean:

“Might for any purpose at any time and with out prior discover, cancel, advance, postpone or deviate from any scheduled crusing, port of name, vacation spot, lodging or any exercise on or off the Vessel, or substitute one other vessel or port of name, vacation spot, lodging or exercise.”

This isn’t the primary time {that a} cruise line has altered a crusing as a result of geopolitical unrest. Protests, coups, and different occasions have additionally impacted cruise ships at ports of name world wide, together with in Haiti, Russia, Ensenada, Tunisia, and different locations.

Learn Additionally: Cruise Passengers Restricted Going Ashore As a consequence of Native Protests

Regardless of the drastic alterations for Odyssey of the Seas, Santorini and Crete are each fabulous locations, and the cruise line is working to place collectively shore tour choices earlier than reaching the ports. Hopefully, visitors onboard will proceed to make wonderful reminiscences of their Mediterranean cruise getaway.