Royal Caribbean sends newest ship to Israel to begin sailing there

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Royal Caribbean's Newest Ship, Odyssey of the Seas 2021 Sailings Are Now to Leave from Israel.

Royal Caribbean announced today that the brand new Odyssey of the Seas is being rerouted to Israel instead of the scheduled sailings that were to include Alaska and Europe in 2021.

The ship is now scheduled to begin sailing May 2021 from Haifa, Israel.  Offering short duration cruises of 3- to 7-nights in duration to the Greek Isles and Cypress.    At this time, it does appear that only Israeli nationalists, who have been vaccinated, will be able to sail as passengers.

The modification was made because of the reports of the amazingly low numbers of Covid cases in Israel.  Vicki Freed, CTC,  Senior Vice President, Sales and Trade Support & Service, for Royal Caribbean, in her emailstatement to their Travel Partners, made the following statement, 

"With  the impressively low case levels in Israel, we have made the decision to have our newest ship (and only one month out from delivery!), Odyssey of the Seas, sail from Haifa, Israel beginning May 2021. Itineraries range from 3-to-7-night escapes visiting the Greek Isles and Cyprus. Excitedly, In conjunction with Israel’s health and tourism authorities, these will be the first fully vaccinated sailings, where both crew and guests above the age of 16 will be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 prior to boarding."

Those who were to sailed on the Odyssey of the Seas will be given an inaugural ship board credit (spending money) of $100 should they elect to reschedule or book another cruise with Royal Caribbean.  Any monies paid will be held and applied to the next booking at 125% of the funds paid.    Those who used Future Cruise Credits, will receive the credit back at 100%, plus the $100 shipboard credit.  A refund can also be requested.

Have you been affected?  Please feel free to reach out to us at Cruise Planners.