Citing the continued impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection has again rescheduled the inaugural sailing of its first ship, the Evrima, from this November to next May.
The ship will now set sail on May 6 from Lisbon.
The company said that the delay was the result of "the ongoing impact of Covid-19, combined with related challenges created for construction operations in Europe."
"While we are eager to welcome guests on board the Evrima, we have had to re-evaluate the timing of our first voyage given the rapidly changing circumstances and their impact on the Evrima's completion," said Douglas Prothero, CEO of Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection. "We remain excited to set sail in the spring and thank our guests for their understanding and patience as we continue to navigate this unprecedented global environment."
The Evrima was originally scheduled to set sail in January 2020, but due to issues at the Hijos de J. Barreras shipyard in Vigo, Spain, the ship was not ready. Ritz-Carlton subsequently took ownership of the yard, and while the ship's debut was at first pushed to June 2020, pandemic related delays pushed it to April 2021 and then November.
A rendering of the Evirma's pool area.
According to Prothero, Ritz-Carlton fans will find the experience onboard is the same as ashore.
The company said it was reaching out to impacted guests and travel advisors to reschedule to an available itinerary in 2022 or 2023 or discuss reimbursement options.