Guests booked on the maiden cruise season of The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection (RCYC) have this week been notified of a third delay for the yet-to-launch ultra-luxury superyacht operator.
Thirteen departures around the Adriatic, Croatia, Greek Islands and the Mediterranean – ranging from five- to nine-nights duration – have been rescheduled, with a new start date now earmarked for late July 2021.
The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s first of three ships, Evrima, was initially slated to launch in February 2020, however “delivery and cost issues” saw that date bumped back until mid-June of the same year.
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That setback was compounded when the new cruise line confirmed a further 10-month postponement for its start of operations until mid-April 2021 as a result of delays at the Hijos de J. Barreras shipyard in Spain where the 298-guest vessel is being constructed. At the time, management stated the delay was not due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Now, LATTE can reveal that pre-booked guests are being notified of a further three-month delay, with Evrima’s re-scheduled inaugural cruise in the Mediterranean now pushed back to 24 July, 2021 – a seven-night sailing from Venice to Athens (Pireaus).
Furthermore, it appears Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection has postponed its originally planned season in the Canadian Maritimes and New England and impacting five-departures in the region, according to guest feedback on social media.
Instead, Evrima has now extended its season in the Mediterranean, with additional sailing in October before the ultra-luxury yacht charts a course to the Caribbean in November.
This latest launch delay comes as the majority of other cruise lines voluntarily pause their operations due to the pandemic, some up until the end of April 2021.
