Vision from Bermuda cancelled

[Ourusualbeach]

While the past few weeks have certainly been tumultuous, we remain encouraged and excited about our progressive return to sailing. Recent conversations have led to promising movement for the cruise industry and are the necessary steppingstones to get Royal Caribbean^® back to what we do best – delivering the most memorable vacation experiences to both you and your clients!  
 
As a result of these developments, the likelihood of cruises setting sail from the U.S. this summer is greater each day, and with that, U.S. travelers are increasingly showing a preference for more direct access to ports of departure. Regrettably, the decision has been made to cancel Vision of the Seas^®’ summer season from Bermuda. While we are no longer homeporting from Bermuda, we still look forward to visiting the beautiful island nation with several ships across the Royal Caribbean fleet as we have for many years. We continue to work in close partnership with the Ministry of Transport and the Bermuda Tourism Authority towards our common goal of reviving local tourism as part of our larger return to service scope.   
 
We understand that this news may be disappointing to your impacted clients. For those currently booked on Visions of the Seas this summer and not previously canceled under our Cruise with Confidence program, the compensation options are as follows:

125% Future Cruise Credit
·      To compensate for the disruption to your clients' vacation plans, they are eligible for an elevated 125% Future Cruise Credit (FCC) which is based on the total cruise fare paid per guest and will be automatically issued on or before June 18, 2021. Taxes and fees, as well as any pre-purchased amenities or onboard packages, will be automatically refunded to the original form of payment within 45 days from the cancelation date.

Refund
·      If your clients would simply prefer a refund, we are happy to return the funds paid per guest when selecting this option on or before June 30, 2021. To request the refund on your client's behalf, simply select the "Request a Refund" option via the automated “Cruise with Confidence” form on CruisingPower.com under "Brand Programs & News" and the process will begin. Your client can expect their refund to the original form of payment within 45 days from the cancelation date. To ensure your client is selecting the best possible option for their vacation, there is no need to rush — the 125% Future Cruise Credit will remain active until the refund request is submitted, at which time it will be deactivated.

[100viper]

So is this implying that Vision is being moved to the US sailings last minute? Or RCI just not ready to sail?

[molly361]

Wonder if that will happen to the Nassau sailings now as well?

[Ourusualbeach]

Just now, 100viper said:

So is this implying that Vision is being moved to the US sailings last minute? Or RCI just not ready to sail?

I suspect that it was a combination of very poor Bermuda bookings ad the fact that they could be sailing from the US soon

[Ourusualbeach]

1 minute ago, molly361 said:

Wonder if that will happen to the Nassau sailings now as well?

I think those bookings were stronger than the Bermuda sailings

[100viper]

2 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

I suspect that it was a combination of very poor Bermuda bookings ad the fact that they could be sailing from the US soon

Makes sense. Flights for Bermuda seem like a lot more planning than a flight to Nassau. 

[smokeybandit]

2 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

I think those bookings were stronger than the Bermuda sailings

Plus it seems RC and Bahamas are both committed to making Nassau a legit full time home port.

[AF-1]

3 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

I think those bookings were stronger than the Bermuda sailings

I agree with you.  I think Adventure of the Seas has quite a few bookings from June-Aug

[RFerrington]

Wow !  What a Charlie Foxtrot with the Israel and now Bermuda "alternative" sailings being cancelled.  It really makes Royal look like they are knee-jerking.  Time to slow things down and stop reacting.  Looks really bad, IMO

[smokeybandit]

12 minutes ago, RFerrington said:

Wow !  What a Charlie Foxtrot with the Israel and now Bermuda "alternative" sailings being cancelled.  It really makes Royal look like they are knee-jerking.  Time to slow things down and stop reacting.  Looks really bad, IMO

 

I don't think it's knee jerk at all.  Just goes to show how badly RC would rather sail from US ports than stopgap foreign ports.

[AF-1]

Agree with smokeybandit;  the US ports like Miami/FLL/PC all have dedicated terminals to process passengers.  They will be using the Hilton Hotel in Nassau to process passengers;  so yea,  they would rather have the CDC  approve sailing from US ports.  All foreign ports like Bahamas, St. Martin, Bermuda;  have temp makeshift terminals to process passengers. 

[RFerrington]

8 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

 

I don't think it's knee jerk at all.  Just goes to show how badly RC would rather sail from US ports than stopgap foreign ports.

Yeah, I get that....but they made commitments to people who had booked the Bermuda and Haifa sailings and now to pull the rug out from under them just makes them look untrustworthy.  I get that they want to sail out of the US.  Ok.  They made some alternative temporary plans.  At least for Bermuda, they should make good on their "promise".

 

I also understand that Haifa just wasn't going to happen due to uncontrollable circumstances...but Bermuda could have.  

[Iamcruzin]

29 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

I suspect that it was a combination of very poor Bermuda bookings ad the fact that they could be sailing from the US soon

Bermuda is the star on that itinerary. I can't see people spending money to fly to Bermuda to sail to Coco Cay. Bermuda is the destination for me. I can't wait until they start the regular Bermuda itineraries on Celebrity. 

[John&LaLa]

And so it begins....

[Iamcruzin]

5 minutes ago, RFerrington said:

Yeah, I get that....but they made commitments to people who had booked the Bermuda and Haifa sailings and now to pull the rug out from under them just makes them look untrustworthy.  I get that they want to sail out of the US.  Ok.  They made some alternative temporary plans.  At least for Bermuda, they should make good on their "promise".

 

I also understand that Haifa just wasn't going to happen due to uncontrollable circumstances...but Bermuda could have.  

I wonder how long it will take for the refunds. 

[Iamcruzin]

22 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

 

I don't think it's knee jerk at all.  Just goes to show how badly RC would rather sail from US ports than stopgap foreign ports.

Naturally they would prefer to sail from the US especially from Florida where most of the ports are. There were just too many obstacles.  I never felt good about the Bermuda itinerary actually sailing. It just didn't make sense to fly there to take a cruise to a private island.  May as well book a land vacation to Florida and go to real theme and water parks. 

[JoeFan]

I was just talking to my wife about if our July Symphony cruise gets cancelled we would flip over to Bermuda. We sailed there on Anthem out of Bayonne and fell in love with Bermuda.

 

What a shame.

[Pratique]

16 minutes ago, Iamcruzin said:

Bermuda is the star on that itinerary. I can't see people spending money to fly to Bermuda to sail to Coco Cay. Bermuda is the destination for me. I can't wait until they start the regular Bermuda itineraries on Celebrity. 

With I think two consecutive overnights in Bermuda it was basically just a slow side trip to CocoCay. Not much of a cruise, but I considered it. Taking a land trip to visit family instead.

[JoeFan]

Is there any flight incentives for Bahamas like there was for Bermuda? $99 flights from Newark is a pretty great deal.

[smokeybandit]

4 minutes ago, JoeFan said:

Is there any flight incentives for Bahamas like there was for Bermuda? $99 flights from Newark is a pretty great deal.

They have $249 round trips from certain FL cities or $100 off elsewhere

[firefly333]

1 hour ago, RFerrington said:

Wow !  What a Charlie Foxtrot with the Israel and now Bermuda "alternative" sailings being cancelled.  It really makes Royal look like they are knee-jerking.  Time to slow things down and stop reacting.  Looks really bad, IMO

Agree. Some booked somewhat reluctantly because they really wanted to cruise .. and now even this has the rug pulled out under them. I'd be mad.

[Heavenly Rain]

32 minutes ago, Iamcruzin said:

I wonder how long it will take for the refunds. 

They just told me June 18 is the projected refund date

[livingonthebeach]

5 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Agree. Some booked somewhat reluctantly because they really wanted to cruise .. and now even this has the rug pulled out under them. I'd be mad.

True, it’s hard to make travel plans with so many unknowns.  It’s wise to have a plan B. 

[BecciBoo]

57 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

 

I don't think it's knee jerk at all.  Just goes to show how badly RC would rather sail from US ports than stopgap foreign ports.

In other words, they were willing to do these sailings for business, but need to get back to Normal! ASAP.  I think it's looking even better with this news.  These ships are ready to sail now, get them back to US home ports and lets commence!

[Heavenly Rain]

6 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Agree. Some booked somewhat reluctantly because they really wanted to cruise .. and now even this has the rug pulled out under them. I'd be mad.

Yup, mad is the word.  We have had 3 other cruises cancelled this past year with RC and we understood completely. This was our Aniversary “for sure” cruise. Didn’t care where it sailed, just drag us around on the sea.  We feel hurt and disappointed.  But the world revolves around the almighty dollar and I’m sure this sailing wasn’t hot on their market.