Royal Caribbean International will expand its “Nowhere Cruise” program from Singapore based on “overwhelming demand”.
The US-listed cruise giant said its 169,000 dwt Quantum of the Seas (built in 2014) will continue to sail from the city-state through October 2021.
Royal Caribbean, which launched the initiative in December 2020, said more than 50,000 people have sailed on the ship since then.
“After a successful run … Royal Caribbean initially extended the season by three months to June 2021 and is doing so again for another four months thanks to the partnership with the Singapore government,” said the cruise line.
“We continued to see overwhelming demand for sailing aboard Quantum of the Seas in Singapore,” said Michael Bayley, President and CEO of Royal Caribbean International.
The cruise line’s 30+ trips have given Singapore residents one of the few opportunities to travel outside of their tiny island nation.
Cruises operate at reduced capacity while outside the staterooms passengers must wear masks and comply with other social distancing measures.
Royal Caribbean announced that these new crossings will be available to residents of Singapore and will be available for booking on April 13, 2021.
“When we launched pilot cruises in Singapore, our goal was to regain guest confidence by supporting cruise companies with strict hygiene practices,” said Annie Chang, director of cruises for the Singapore Tourism Board.
“So far we have made more than 90 trips with over 120,000 passengers and no cases of Covid-19 have been reported on board,” she added.
In early February, Qatar became the youngest country to try to breathe life into its local cruise market by launching a range of cruises to nowhere.
The Gulf nation of the Middle East has teamed up with the French luxury expedition cruise line Ponant to operate six consecutive departures on board the Le Champlain with 184 passengers (built in 2018).
