Royal Caribbean remains hopeful that it could operate some sailings on Anthem of the Seas out of Southampton this summer.
Speaking on the line’s first ‘Café Royal’ webinar for the trade, vide-president EMEA Ben Bouldin said: “It’s a little early to say when Anthem will be back and in what guise.
“Nothing’s guaranteed, but I use the word when, rather than if. We are still expecting her to come to the UK. We are expecting her to have a European dry dock once the ship yards are open and, once that’s done, we can evaluate what’s left in terms of the season and what opportunities there are left to get some sailings away this summer.
“No-one wants to see Anthem back this summer more than me.”
He added: “We’ll have her here in great shape for 2021. We are seeing a lot of excitement for that.”
But Bouldin admitted the company had “been a bit harsh” on Anthem pricing for 2021, with customer experience manager Sam Murdoch adding: “Anthem’s 2021 pricing is proving to be a barrier.”
Murdoch explained that sailing lengths between 2020 and 2021 were very different, making it “difficult to transfer the pricing for 2020 into 2021”.
But Bouldin revealed: “We are actually pushing out some revised pricing for Anthem today.”