Royal Caribbean International (RCI) also formerly known as Royal Caribbean Cruise Line has cancelled plans to homeport its Vision of the Seas ship in Bermuda for seven-night cruises to the Bahamas, dealing a major blow to giving the island’s battered economy a much-needed boost, the media stated.
But a second line, Viking Ocean Cruises, is going ahead with its Bermuda homeporting plan.
Media quoted travel websites reporting that RCI issued a statement, citing the reason for the cancellation as a preference by US travellers to sail from ports closer to home.
According to an announcement on RCI’s website, the cruise line has suspended the sailings of its global fleet through June 30.
RCI announced in March that Vision of the Seas would homeport in Bermuda from June 26 for 12 trips to its private island, CocoCay, in the Bahamas.
The following month it started offering return flights from the US to Bermuda for as little as US$99 return in a bid to attract passengers to the homeporting voyages.
There was no immediate reaction from the Bermuda government.
