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Anthem of the Seas’ departure scheduled for today from Bayonne has been pushed back until Monday. Royal Caribbean confirmed Saturday afternoon that the ship will sail a modified itinerary to Bermuda. The announcement from the cruise line comes a day after the ship arrived to port carrying four Chinese nationals suspected of having coronavirus.

The ship arrived at the Cape Liberty Cruise Terminal yesterday, and Royal Caribbean’s records show the four passengers hadn’t been in China since January 26. (According to the CDC, symptoms can take from two to 14 days to present.) The four passengers were sent to a nearby hospital, and all remaining passengers were able to disembark as normal.

Anthem of the Seas originally was scheduled to leave yesterday on an eight-night cruise to Florida and the Bahamas. While the ship has been cleared by authorities to depart, Royal Caribbean elected to hold off until results came in from the CDC. According to a news release from Royal Caribbean, the delay is due to a high volume of tests for which the CDC is responsible.

Royal Caribbean said Anthem of the Seas will depart Cape Liberty at 3 p.m. Monday; embarkation will take place at 11 a.m. The ship will spend a day at sea, one and a half days in King’s Wharf, Bermuda, and another day at sea before returning Saturday to New Jersey. According to the cruise line, the decision to reroute to Bermuda was made in consideration with a providing a better experience for those continuing on the shortened voyage.

Passengers choosing to sail this modified itinerary will receive a 50 percent refund added as an onboard credit; a 50 percent future cruise credit; prorated refunds for any purchased internet, beverage or dining packages as an onboard credit; and refunds for prepurchased excursions. Remaining funds in onboard accounts following the conclusion of the voyage will be refunded back to the credit card on file.

The cruise line is offering compensation to defray hotel costs at $200 per cabin, per night. It also has said it will cover flight change fee costs up to $200 per person for domestic flights and $400 per person for international flights for those passengers who have flown in for the cruise already.
Passengers have been told they may cancel if they’re booked on the sailing and receive full refunds simply by not showing up to the pier. Royal Caribbean said it expects to process refunds three to five business days after the sailing ends.

Two ships in Asia are quarantined because of a coronavirus outbreak — Diamond Princess off Yokohama (Tokyo), Japan and World Dream, off Hong Kong.

However, a number of other ships sailing around the South China Sea are barred from ports, including Westerdam, Silver Spirit and Seabourn Ovation.

Cruise Critic members are divided in their response, with some posting on the Boards they would not sail on Anthem and others describing the reaction as “hysteria”.

We will update this story when we have further information. Royal Caribbean says it will have another update at 9 a.m. Sunday.

Coronavirus: What Cruisers Need to Know

Source: Cruise Critic