Indian crew will not be able to board RCI-Royal Caribbean International cruise ships at this stage after the company decided to temporarily cancel all assignments for shipboard employees from India or people residing in the country.
According to a letter sent to the crew, the decision was based on a variety of reasons and related to recent travel restrictions and complexities with crew movement to/from India.
The decision is effective immediately: at the time being RCI is canceling all crew movements from India until further notice.
Royal Caribbean's letter reads:
“It’s always unfortunate when we must cancel assignments but we believe this is a prudent decision at this time. We know how much our crew look forward to returning to work after waiting for so long. We also understand how tough it can be to have to make last-minute travel changes. It’s not the way that we want to operate, but it is the reality of the quick changes we need to make based on different reasons that are often unplanned and beyond our direct control."
~300 Indian crew assigned to join Anthem of the Seas on May 3, 2021, were canceled. Some of the Indian crew who were supposed to join the ship are already in Philipsburg (St Maarten Island, Dutch Antilles) but will not be allowed to embark.