April 10, 2007 — A cruise ship that has called on St. Thomas for many years will cease to do so in March 2008 when Royal Caribbean’s Empress of the Seas is transferred to a Madrid-based cruise and tour operator, Pullmantur.
Royal Caribbean International (RCI), which owns the cruise ship, formally known as the Nordic Empress, is parent company to Pullmantur.
A statement from RCI last week said the “Empress of the Seas is a wonderful ship that has served our brand well; the transfer will help to increase Pullmantur’s capacity and meet demand for its distinctive style of cruise holidays in the European market.”
The last voyage of Empress as part of the RCI fleet will be March 7, 2008. Guests booked on all sailings after this date will be contacted by RCI representatives to transfer existing reservations to similar accommodations on board other Royal Caribbean ships.
The Empress of the Seas has been a frequent visitor to St. Thomas for years as the ship has been on both Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries. The ship joined the RCI family in June of 1990 and was built by Chantiers de L’Atlantique in France. The vessel, which has a double-occupancy guest capacity of 2,020, was refurbished three years ago.
RCI’s Freedom of the Seas, touted as the world’s largest cruise ship, will begin calling on St. Thomas in the next few weeks as the ship, which launched in June 2006, begins to sail alternating Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries from Miami. The Freedom is the first of three Freedom-class ships launched by RCI. At 160,000 gross registered tons, the Freedom can accommodate up to 3,634 guests double-occupancy.
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