Royal Caribbean have announced that they will have one of their Quantum-class ships sailing out of Southampton in 2020.
Michael Bayley, Royal Caribbean’s President and Chief Executive made the announcement and revealed that the strengthening of the pound against the dollar had made the cruise line re-evaluate the positioning of their ships.
He said: “We’re delighted the pound is doing so well. It’s great news, and when the rate is at that level or better, it causes us to re-evaluate the deployment of ships into the UK market.”
He continued by explaining that when the pound fell after the EU Referendum the projected revenue from the UK dropped. “A week after the Brexit vote our projected revenue from the UK dropped by $50 million on conversion. But now it is back, and it’s improved substantially – the exchange rate is a 15% change from what it was.” Bayley added.
When he was prompted if this change was enough to mean a new ship would be placed in the UK, he responded by saying: “There is going to be a ship in the UK market in 2020 – there is a Quantum-class ship coming to the UK market, and it will be sailing out of Southampton and homeporting there for a season.”
He hinted that the vessel in question may potentially be either Anthem or Quantum of the Seas as Ovation of the Seas will be redeployed to Alaska in 2019.
