By
Rebecca Gibson |
Royal Caribbean International is gearing up to return to San Juan in Puerto Rico and Philipsburg in St. Maarten, following the recent hurricanes in the Caribbean.
Freedom of the Seas will be the first ship in the fleet to call on San Juan on 30 November, bringing around 3,782 visitors to the island. All power and transportation services are expected to be readily available across San Juan from this date, so all of Royal Caribbean’s scheduled calls to the city will operate as planned.
Power and water will also be returned to most of St. Maarten over the next month, so on 17 December, Grandeur of the Seas will be the first to sail into St. Maarten since Royal Caribbean’s Majesty of the Seas provided humanitarian relief after the storms. Other scheduled visits to St. Maarten will operate as planned from this date, except for Oasis of the Seas, which will make her first call to the island on 1 January 2018.
“Royal Caribbean is encouraged by the commendable progress that has been made by the governments of Puerto Rico and St. Maarten towards the recovery of these destinations and it means a lot to us that we are heading back home,” said Michael Bayley, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International. “We have been part of the Caribbean community for almost 50 years, and for all of us it has been paramount that we focus on supporting our long-standing partners – who feel more like family after so many years. Supporting these destinations that are so reliant on tourism is key to the future of the islands and the best thing we – as travellers and businesses – can do for the islands.”
Royal Caribbean also recently revealed that Adventure of the Seas will be the first to call on St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands in early November, while Jewel of the Seas will return to the island’s St. Croix port on 8 January 2018.
All calls to Dominica are cancelled through June 2018 and the cruise line is working closely with the local government on a return date to the destination.