Spectrum of the Seas chartered for September 12 sailing - What are charter sailings?
Guests will be eligible to re-book and entitled to compensation.
Spectrum of the Seas in Singapore. PHOTO: SINGAPORE CRUISE SOCIETY
On July 15, 2022, Royal Caribbean International announced changes to one of their Asia cruises departing from Singapore onboard Spectrum of the Seas. The 3-night Penang Cruise departing September 12, 2022 sailing has been chartered, and reservations for this sailing will be cancelled.
Compensation offered
As mentioned, affected guests’ current reservations would be cancelled by July 20, 2022. Refunds for the cruise fare, as well as pre-purchased onboard packages like shore excursions and internet packages will be processed through guests’ original payment method. In addition to refunds, compensation will also be offered to affected guests. In order to qualify for compensation, guests must be re-booked no later than August 1, 2022.
Re-booking and Price Protection
Affected guests can re-book their cruise holiday on other Spectrum of the Seas departures within the month of September 2022 at the lowest or protected price. Alternatively, guests can choose to transfer their booking to any Royal Caribbean sailing, subject to prevailing rates, excluding On-Board Credit promotions.
Onboard Credit
If guests choose to transfer their booking to another Royal Caribbean sailing, they will also receive On-Board Credit (OBC) based on the stateroom category in their original booking.
Interior, Oceanview & Balcony Staterooms: US$50 per stateroom
Suites : US$100 per stateroom
Every 3rd and 4th guest in a stateroom will also receive an OBC of US$25 each.
Reimbursement For Airline Fees
Guests who incur charges due to changes in airline reservations will be reimbursed up to SG/US$200 per guest for domestic flights, and SG/US$400 per guests for international flights. Guests must send in a copy of the air change fees to be assessed for reimbursement by August 20, 2022.
What Are Charter Sailings?
But that begs the question - what is a charter sailing? What does it mean? What examples are there? How is it different from your normal cruise? We will try to explain all that below!
What Is A Charter?
Simply put, a Charter is when a cargo owner hires a ship from a ship owner for transport of his cargo. (in cruising’s case, passengers) Imagine hiring a truck to move goods or a bus to move people, but on a ship at sea.
Types Of Charters
Chartering comes in many forms, and these are some typical types of charters found in the maritime industry.
Voyage Charter
Time Charter
Bareboat Charter
Chartering in the Cruise Industry
One of the most common forms of cruise ship charters are single-trip Voyage charters. The ship can be used as a venue for events, intertwining the cruise experience with the event. This is most likely the case for the affected September 12, 2022 voyage.
Voyage Charter - It’s The Ship Music Festival
Another notable example of a Voyage charter would be It’s The Ship, a music festival held annually on a cruise ship since 2014. The event has previously chartered Royal Caribbean International’s Voyager of the Seas and Mariner of the Seas, as well as Genting Dream when she was still with her previous operator.
Bareboat Charter - Genting Dream, Resorts World Cruises
Some cruise lines also operate cruise ships on Bareboat charters as part of their fleet. Genting Dream, currently cruising out of Singapore and Port Klang and operated by Resorts World Cruises, is currently operating on a Bareboat Charter agreement. According to the vessel register records on DNV GL, Genting Dream’s legal owners are four companies registered in Hong Kong.
Time Charter - SuperStar Aquarius & SuperStar Gemini as workers’ accommodation
Singaporeans may also remember the Singapore Government chartering two cruise ships to accommodate foreign workers recovering from COVID-19 during the “Circuit Breaker” period from April to June 2020. Star Cruises’ SuperStar Aquarius and SuperStar Gemini were chartered from Genting Cruise Lines on a Time Charter basis and were berthed at Marina Bay Cruise Centre for a few months for this purpose.
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