Hello, it’s Jordan from RCI fans. I thought I would share with you this developing story that could potentially cause chaos to several cruise ships and its passengers, including myself…
A strike by state workers including Oslo Fjord port pilots have affected many cruise line itineraries. Three ships have been turned away from the Norwegian capital over the weekend, including Royal Caribbean’s Vision of the Seas.
Oslo’s 42 pilots have gone on strike, this meant that Emerald Princess was turned away on Friday, Star Clippers’ Star Flyer cancelled its call on Saturday and Vision of the Seas was diverted to Gothernburg on Sunday.
Royal Caribbean released a statement on the situation: ‘Vision of the Seas was unable to dock in Oslo on Sunday, May 27th, as originally planned. Because of this, it was necessary to modify Vision of the Seas’ boarding and debarking process on Sunday. Vision of the Seas arrived in Gothenburg, Sweden, on Sunday, and guests were transported to and from Oslo via motor coach.’
Talks over wages are happening today (28th May) and if the dispute isn’t resolved, it could have major consequences on the region. According to Cruise Industry News, if the dispute does not resolve by May 30th, the pilot strike could go nationwide, which would have a devastating impact on cruises to the Norwegian Fjords.
May is the beginning of the busy cruise season for Norway, so the stike could not have happened at a worser time.
As for myself, we are infact cruising twice in the Norway region in June. A 7-night Norwegian Fjords cruise on Brilliance of the Seas on 2nd June and another 7-night Norway cruise on P&O’s Oceana departing 17th June. If the strike does go ahead for the whole region, it could have serious impacts on our cruises.
You can keep updated with my cruise adventures on Twitter (@RCI_fans) and I’ll be posting my cruise reviews when I arrive back.
