Odyssey Set To Sail From Israel For 2021

Royal Caribbean have announced today they will move Odyssey of the Seas to Haifa in Israel for the Summer 2021 season.

Odyssey of the Seas is the newest flagship for Royal Caribbean and was due to launch this year and homeport in Rome for the summer season. In their statement Royal Caribbean said:

“Odyssey of the Seas is our newest and latest flagship and we want to ensure her inaugural season takes place as best we can. With that said, instead of debuting in Rome this summer, Odyssey of the Seas will begin her inaugural season out of Israel – a country that leads the world with its progressive vaccine rollout program for COVID-19. As a result, Odyssey will welcome Israeli residents at its new homeport in Haifa from June to October 2021”

According to the latest figures Israel has vaccinated over 50% of its population with 4.7million people having received their first vaccine jab and over 35% or approximately 3.4 million of their population have received their second vaccine jab.

With such a high number of people vaccinated Israel is returning to normal life, anyone who has received both their vaccines can now obtain a green passport and can visit bars, restaurants and theatres.

With such a high level of vaccinations it’s no surprise Royal Caribbean have chosen Haifa as the homeport for Israel. I wonder will this be their policy moving forward, will they demand all guests to be vaccinated? Will they only sail to destinations where there is a high level of vaccinated population?