Royal Caribbean suspend cruise ships due to fear of COVID-19

Royal Caribbean International has postponed some trips because of the spread of Covid-19's highly contagious Omicron variant.

The main brand of the Royal Caribbean Group, which is based in New York, hasn't had any new illnesses on its ships. However, four cruises have been pushed back until at least late January.

On the Symphony of the Seas, Royal Caribbean International has postponed cruises until January 29, Jewel of the Seas until February 20th, and Vision of the Seas until the week before March 7.

It has also put a stop to Serenade of the Seas cruises until April 26, when the ship will be dry-docked, the brand says.

"We are sorry that we had to cancel our guests' long-awaited vacations, but we appreciate their loyalty and understanding. It is always important to us that our guests, crew, and the communities we visit are safe," added the Royal Caribbean Group.

Royal Caribbean International placed a "health and travel update" on Friday, three days after cancelling a trip on Spectrum of the Seas on January 6.

In early January, it called off a sailing trip for nine people because they were "close contacts" to a case in Hong Kong. On 5 January, the ship came back to Hong Kong so that all passengers and crew could be tested .

It was just a few days after Jason Liberty, the company's former chief financial officer, took over as CEO from Richard Fain, who ended his 33-year run as CEO on a high note.

"We want to keep our goal of providing the safest vacation on land or sea, and we'll keep changing our procedures to make this happen even though Omicron is so easy to send," said Jason Liberty.