New cruise ships face choppy waters as yet another launch is delayed

Royal Caribbean has been forced to push back the debut of its highly anticipated cruise ship, Odyssey of the Seas, until April 2021 due to the impact of Covid-19.

The 4,198-passenger cruise ship – one of the biggest cruise ships ever built – had been scheduled to sail from Fort Lauderdale to the Bahamas and the Caribbean in November. Odyssey of the Seas will now debut in Europe next summer, sailing the Eastern Mediterranean out of Rome.

The company said: “In the wake of Covid-19, our initial global suspension and its subsequent extensions, we understand the uneasiness all of this has caused... the health crisis has unfortunately also impacted shipyard operations, as well as our supply chain.

“We are saddened to share this news. There's nothing we wanted more than to launch this revolutionary ship this fall – but trust us when we say that Odyssey will be well worth the wait.”

Odyssey of the Seas is the latest cruise ship to see its launch delayed due to the knock-on effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Virgin Voyages' Scarlet Lady, the culmination of seven years of work, had been slated to sail an inaugural showcase season on April 1, departing Miami for the Caribbean.

The adults-only ship, Sir Richard Branson’s first foray into the cruise industry, initially postponed its maiden voyage until August 7 before putting the launch date back to October 16.

Virgin Voyages said: “The current global health crisis is understandably making many people rethink upcoming travel plans. While the timing isn’t right to launch our first ship right now, we look forward to welcoming everyone on Scarlet Lady later this year.”

Carnival Corporation is another major cruise company to have announced a delay for the arrival of three of their next ships including Mardi Gras, who will famously feature the first roller-coaster at sea.

“Enchanted Princess in our Princess Cruises Line, Iona in our P&O Line, and of course Mardi Gras from our Carnival line. Those ships are all going to be delayed,” Arnold Donald, Carnival Corporation's chief executive, confirmed to Brian Kelly, founder and CEO of The Points Guy, during a webinar with the American travel website in June.

Luxury line Crystal Cruises has also delayed the long-awaited debut of its first expedition ship, the 200-passenger Crystal Endeavor, until at least November. The postponement follows the temporary closure of the MV Werften shipyards – which halted operations in ship production to protect its employees during the global pandemic.

Endeavor’s inaugural voyage will now be a 14-night cruise around Tasmania and the Fjords of New Zealand, departing November 14.

“We know that, like us, our guests have been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to explore anew with Crystal aboard this ground-breaking ship, and we deeply regret that this change has become necessary and has disrupted our guests’ travel plans,” said Crystal’s president and CEO, Tom Wolber.

“While this unprecedented global health crisis inhibits our journeys for now, we are looking ahead with great optimism to introducing Crystal Endeavor to the world on November 14 and welcoming travellers to their next great adventure.”

Elsewhere construction on National Geographic Endurance, a new Arctic cruise ship owned and operated by Lindblad Expeditions that's designed to explore polar waters, was completed in March. The ship should have welcomed passengers aboard for inaugural voyages in the Arctic in April – but coronavirus had other ideas.

The virus has hit the cruise industry hard. At the beginning of the outbreak, ships such as Princess Cruises’ Diamond Princess were forced into quarantine when passengers tested positive for Covid-19.

Three months into the pandemic, more than 40,000 crew workers remained stranded at sea waiting to find out if they would be repatriated.

Other ships lie empty but are unable to dock as a result of restrictions – Canada, the Cayman Islands, Australia, New Zealand and Spain have all extended their cruise ship bans until later this year, while there’s a voluntary US sailing pause in place until September 15 at the earliest.

There are some good signs even in the midst of a crisis. Last month, ocean cruising resumed in Norway on-board Hurtigruten ship Finnmarken and will return to Asia at the end of July. Dream Cruises – sister line to US-based Crystal Cruises  – will leave Taiwan on two- or three-night domestic island-hopping itineraries, stopping off at Peng Hu, Matsu and Kinmen aboard Explorer Dream, departing July 26.

As for river cruise lines, they are quietly making their comeback in Europe and America with strict new health and safety protocols in place in a bid to rebuild public trust.

Cruise ship companies also benefit from a loyal customer base. Tom Wolber told Telegraph Travel: “More than 30 million people cruise every year and absolutely love it, so the cruise industry will come back from this. Although this global health pandemic is unprecedented, the cruise industry has weathered storms before, and we have a strong track record of adapting and responding to world events around us.”