ROYAL Caribbean International claims the maiden voyage of its new 142,000-tonne ship Voyager of the Seas will go ahead as planned, despite delays in its construction.
It said the ship would be launched on November 21, but some inaugural events may be cancelled due to building delays at the Kvaerner Masa shipyard in Finland.
A company spokeswoman admitted it had stopped taking bookings for the vessel’s first four sailings in the western Caribbean. But she claimed this was because passenger numbers had been limited to help staff get used to servicing the ship, which will be the largest in the world.
Meanwhile, prospective buyers of Kvaerner’s shipyard in Finland are thought to include Carnival and Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri (Travel Weekly April 19).
Kvaerner has pledged to complete the six cruise ships it has on order or under construction. These include two further vessels for RCI, one for Carnival Cruise Line, one for Costa Cruises and one for Hapag-Lloyd Cruises.