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Royal Caribbean cancels cruise to operate hurricane relief mission

A Royal Caribbean International cruise due to depart tomorrow (Saturday) has been cancelled to enable the ship to run a relief mission to hurricane-hit Caribbean islands.

Adventure of the Seas is being used for evacuation and humanitarian efforts in the wake of Hurricane Maria.

The 3,114-passenger vessel is operating humanitarian calls in San Juan, Puerto Rico; and St Thomas and St Croix in the US Virgin Islands.

Adventure of the Seas is being deployed to aid in the evacuation and donate critical supplies to each destination, according to the line.

The ship will bring evacuees to Fort Lauderdale before returning to San Juan on October 6 to prepare for its next cruise the following day.

The company said: “We are very sorry for the impact this storm has had on your vacation.

“The cruise fare and fees will be 100% refunded to the original form of payment, and we are also offering a 25% future cruise credit, based on the cruise fare, if a new cruise is booked in the next 30 days.”

Pre-booked shore excursions will also be refunded.

A number of future itineraries in the Caribbean have been altered due to the impact of Hurricane Irma to St. Maarten and St. Thomas, as well as Hurricane Maria’s impact to San Juan.

“As the recovery effort remains fluid and each island is working diligently to get back to normal operations, we will continue to communicate any port changes approximately four weeks prior to departure,” the line said on its website.

Ships with altered itineraries in addition to Adventure of the Seas include Allure of the Seas, Enchantment of the Seas, Harmony of the Seas, Serenade of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas.

Meanwhile, Regent Seven Seas Cruises is donating £300 per new suite bookings made by October 31 on eight selected 2018 Caribbean voyages by Seven Seas Explorer. Discounts of £300 per suite will also be offered.

The initiative is part of parent company Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings’ efforts to raise at least $2.5 million for hurricane relief efforts in the Caribbean.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises president and CEO Jason Montague said: “We are deeply moved over the devastation that the hurricanes left in their wake, but thankful that many islands were spared the storms’ full force.

“We have been in contact with our friends and business partners who were severely impacted and they have all said the same thing, ‘we will rebuild.’

“Their resilience and strength is truly inspirational and they are already working hard to return their towns to their radiance and charm — now it’s up to us to give them the well-deserved help that they need.”

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