Exclusive: Cruise coup as Bermuda makes Quantum leap

Bermuda’s economy appears to have scored a double victory with news that the massive Quantum of the Seas wants to visit the island regularly in 2015.

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line’s (RCCL) website now states its new mega-ship, which comes into service in November 2014, ‘will’ include Bermuda in its itinerary.

This follows the highly lucrative decision by Norwegian Cruise Line’s to send its latest ship, Breakaway, to the island for its inaugural season. 

The arrival of Quantum of the Seas and her 4,180 passengers in Bermuda would net the island’s economy hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees and taxes.

Earlier this year the Bermuda Sun revealed that Government was in talks with RCCL in the hope of bringing Quantum to the island in 2015.

At the time both RCCL and Government remained tight-lipped about where negotiations were.

But the RCCL website says: “Sailing from the New York area, Quantum of the Seas 2014-2015 itineraries will capture the most sought after destinations in the Caribbean, Bahamas and Bermuda, including our very own private beach paradises of Labadee and CocoCay.”

Furthermore RCL’s blog site suggests that Quantum will take over from the Explorer of the Seas, which is currently a regular caller to Bermuda.

Last night a Government spokesperson said: “We have received an application from RCI to deploy the Quantum of the Seas on a Bermuda itinerary for 2015 but no decision has been made. 

“The Ministry is continuously working with our partners in the cruise industry to secure new itineraries for their ships.”

At present bookings on the new liner can be made as far head as April 2015 but itineraries for after April 24, 2015 have yet to been unveiled. 

The Quantum of the Seas is the first of two 167,800-ton, 4,180-passenger next-generation Royal Caribbean cruise ships to debut.

She will launch November 2014 and will sail between Cape Liberty in Bayonne, to the Bahamas, the Eastern Caribbean and the Southern Caribbean.

The ship is fitted with 2,090 cabins including 373 virtual balconies inside cabins that feature real-time views of the ocean and destinations. n