UPDATE 1-Royal Caribbean to return to the Caribbean with vaccinated guests in June
(Adds details on sailings, executive comments)
March 19 (Reuters) - Some of Royal Caribbean Group's cruises will resume sailing in the Caribbean in June with vaccinated adult guests, ending a year-long hiatus brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Adventure of the Seas and Celebrity Millennium ships will also have vaccinated crews and accept children under the age of 18 with a negative COVID-19 test, Royal Caribbean International https://bit.ly/2OSpyTh and Celebrity Cruises https://bit.ly/3vHeSHv said on Friday.
"Returning to the Caribbean ... marks the measured beginning of the end of what has been a uniquely challenging time for everyone," said Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, chief executive officer of Celebrity Cruises, a division of Royal Caribbean.
Adventure of the Seas will homeport in Nassau, The Bahamas, with the itinerary also including stops in Cozumel, Mexico and Royal Caribbean's own private island. Celebrity Millennium will homeport in Caribbean island St. Maarten.
Governments of The Bahamas and St. Maarten said the return to sailing could help boost their economies.
"The vaccines are clearly a game changer for all of us," Royal Caribbean International Chief Executive Officer Michael Bayley said. (Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
