Last month was busy for cruise news from Galveston. Here are some of the biggest news items that we will cover this month:
- Several Liberty of the Seas sailings for next year were cancelled due to an extended dry dock.
- The Carnival Dream cruise departing January 6 had to return to Galveston for a medical emergency.
- The Carnival Dream and Royal Caribbean Enchantment of the Seas had long fog delays January 15
- Royal Caribbean will release their Summer 2021 short Caribbean itineraries the week of March 2.
- Feedspot recognized Galveston Cruise Reviews as a Top 75 Cruise Blog!
Liberty of the Seas cancellations
We announced previously that the Liberty of the Seas is going into drydock in January 2021. Royal Caribbean has not announced details of what they are calling an “amplification.” However, it appears that dry dock will take longer than originally planned. Five sailings were impacted, starting with the February 14, 2021 sail date. Passengers booked on those cruises have already been contacted, and they were offered pretty good compensation. Part of that included a new sailing on Jewel of the Seas from Galveston the same week. Royal Caribbean offered several other itineraries, all of which would allow passengers to book the same cabin category at the same price. Passengers will also receive an onboard credit if they re-schedule their cruise. Of course, passengers had the option to simply cancel and receive a refund.
Medical emergency on the Carnival Dream
The Carnival Dream departed January 6 on a five night sailing to Cozumel and Progresso. Unfortunately, a passenger suffered a medical emergency the first night. On January 7, the captain announced that the ship was returning to Galveston so the passenger could receive urgent medical care. Carnival offered the other passengers a 20% future cruise credit. In addition, Carnival refunded all Cozumel shore excursions purchased directly through the cruise line. As a reminder, if you book shore excursions privately and something like this happens the cruise line would not accept responsibility for the costs incurred.
Fog strikes again in Galveston
Fog is a regular risk if sailing from Galveston in the winter. The cruise lines do an excellent job of keeping passengers safe when fog reduces visibility. Unfortunately, not all ships operate as safely. On January 15, a fishing ship and an oil tanker collided in the Galveston ship channel. Emergency response to that incident and heavy fog meant that the Carnival Dream and Royal Caribbean Enchantment of the Seas were not able to return to port on time.
Instead of a 4 day cruise to Mexico, the Dream left the next day on a 3 day cruise to nowhere. The Enchantment of the Seas cut its 5 day sailing to 4. Unfortunately, this resulted in missing the port call in Progreso, Mexico. Both cruise lines offered compensation to their passengers due to the shorter cruises.
Summer 2021 Royal Caribbean shorter sailings
Royal Caribbean has already twice missed their own schedules for announcing short Caribbean sailings. From Galveston, this typically means 4 and 5 night cruises to Mexico. Royal has done this sailings for several years now. They have been on a different, and usually smaller, ship than the one sailing 7 night itineraries.
Royal Caribbean announced that they now intend to release their Summer 2021 short Caribbean schedule the Week of March 2. We will, of course, keep you posted. Still, there are several things we already know.
In addition to the short Caribbean schedule, Royal Caribbean also has not yet announced what they call “China Phases 2 and 3.” They will also announce sailings from Singapore and Australia. It is unclear whether those sailings will be year round or seasonal. It is also unclear how many ships will be involved.
Royal’s website lists 9 ships which cannot yet be booked for July 2021. They are the Brilliance, Explorer, Grandeur, Independence, Mariner, Navigator, Quantum, Spectrum, and Voyager of the Seas. In addition, the Wonder of the Seas should come online before then. Of those ten ships, some will be deployed to Asia. Additionally, the Navigator and Mariner will continue their existing 3 and 4 day sailings. They simply can’t be booked yet. Galveston Cruise Reviews will post as soon as we know the details. I fully expect a second ship to sail from Galveston in Summer 2021.
Galveston Cruise Reviews recognized as a Top 75 cruise blog!
We write about cruises and Galveston because it is fun. We also want to share useful information with folks visiting Texas. Still, it is fantastic to know you are reading our work. Thanks also for watching our YouTube videos. Feedspot just recognized our blog as one of the Top 75 Cruise Blogs! We are honored, and we appreciate all of you who have been along for the ride with us. Please share the good news, and please keep visiting Galveston Cruise Reviews!
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