By
Elizabeth Robinson |
Royal Caribbean International is to base four of the world’s largest cruise ships – Oasis of the Seas, Allure of the Seas, Harmony of the Seas and Symphony of the Seas – in Florida, US between 2019 and April 2020.
Oasis of the Seas will undergo a bow-to-stern transformation before homeporting at Royal Caribbean’s custom-built terminal at PortMiami for autumn and winter, alongside Symphony of the Seas which will sail from Miami year-round. Meanwhile, Allure of the Seas will return to Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades and Harmony of the Seas will homeport in Port Canaveral for the first time. All four Oasis Class ships will sail seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries.
Two of the cruise line’s Voyager Class ships – Mariner of the Seas and Navigator of the Seas – will sail three- and four-night itineraries to the Bahamas from Port Canaveral and PortMiami respectively.
Also in 2019, Liberty of the Seas will sail seven-night Western Caribbean from Galveston, Texas and Freedom of the Seas will sail seven-night Southern Caribbean itineraries from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Based at Cape Liberty Cruise Port in Bayonne, New Jersey, Anthem of the Seas will sail five- to nine-night summer itineraries to Bermuda and the Bahamas, followed by nine-night itineraries to Canada and New England in autumn. Adventure of the Seas will also sail from Cape Liberty, providing six- to eight-night cruises to the Bahamas and Caribbean, and select itineraries to Canada and New England in the summer and autumn.
Making her US debut, Ovation of the Seas will reposition from Sydney, Australia to Seattle, Washington in summer 2019 and offer seven-night Alaska voyages. The ship joins Radiance of the Seas, which will offer open-jaw itineraries between Seward, Alaska and Vancouver, British Columbia.
Royal Caribbean will also travel to four new European ports of call in the 2019-2020 season, allowing travellers to visit the UNESCO World Heritage site of Visby, Sweden; Zadar, Croatia; Portofino, Italy; and Porto, Portugal.
For the first time since 2014, Oasis of the Seas will spend the summer 2019 season in Europe, sailing from Barcelona, Spain. The ship will sail seven-night itineraries, visiting Palma de Mallorca, Spain, Marseille, France, Florence, Rome and Naples, Italy.