Several hundred passengers, including travel agents, have set sail on a two-night ‘shakedown’ cruise on Royal Caribbean International’s Anthem of the Seas, ahead of the ship’s official resumption of operations on Wednesday.
Anthem of the Seas will be the cruise line’s first vessel to return to sailing with passengers in Europe since global operations stopped last year amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking beside the ship in Southampton, Ben Bouldin, UK, Europe & Middle East vice-president, said: “The beauty of a shakedown cruise, or simulation sailing, is that we are able to invite a number of loyal guests and, most importantly, all our great trade partners.
“They have had such a torrid time over the past 12-15 months.”
He said UK ‘seacations’ offer a great opportunity to make 2021 sales and the cruise line has a learning programme for agents who need to refresh their knowledge.
Some of the early sailings are sold out and the initial sailings will be capped at 1,000 passengers because of Covid restrictions.
Normally the ship would have a full capacity of nearly 4,200 but it looks set to increase to about 2,000 when government restrictions are eased.
“There has been incredible support through the summer…the Department of Transport and Public Health England have been working closely with us,” said Bouldin.
More: Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas returns to Southampton
But he admitted the past 15 months have been “soul destroying” as the cruise sector didn’t know how or when it would be able to restart.
“There has been a huge amount of work behind the scenes to make sure we have the protocols in place to look after our crew and guests,” he said.
When the government gave the go-ahead for domestic cruises this summer, Royal Caribbean’s UK team grappled with the new protocols as it created a family-friendly programme of sailings to ports that can accommodate a ship the size of Anthem of the Seas.
“We have attracted a very similar dynamic to what we normally have,” he said.
“There is a segment of the market, at least initially, that won’t be able cruise with us but the country is pushing through the second vaccinations and, come the end of the summer, we will be able to take more on a great holiday.
“We have curated shore excursions to Liverpool and Belfast and hope to go to Kirkwall in Shetland in the summer – we are waiting for [Scottish first minister] Nicola Sturgeon to grant permission for us to sail to Scotland and stop in Scotland.”
When asked what differences passengers will see on board, he said: “I hope they don’t notice a huge amount.
“People will wear masks when moving around not in state room or eating – it’s similar to a shopping mall.
“The reduced capacity is easier for social distancing.
“Everything you do on a normal cruise will be on – the only thing we are not doing is circus school, which needs close contact.
“If you’re doing a cruise around the UK, inside this ship it is phenomenal.
“It is designed for the UK audience.”
He said there is “fantastic hardware” available for agents to book with a host of cruise ship offering domestic cruises ahead of an expected restart to international sailings later this year.
The Royal Caribbean International ship will operate a mix of four to eight-night sailings from July 7.
Features on Anthem include the world’s tallest observation capsule at sea, the North Star; RipCord by iFly, a sky diving experience at sea; and surf simulator FlowRider.
More: Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas returns to Southampton