Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas Cruise Ship to be Based in Southampton in 2021

(12:00 p.m. BST) -- Anthem of the Seas will be based in the UK in 2021, Royal Caribbean has confirmed.

The 4,180 passenger ship, which was last based here in 2015, was due to sail a summer season from Southampton this year, but failed to make a single ex-UK voyage due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Anthem will cross the Atlantic in May and offer a series of seven-night Norwegian Fjords itineraries, as well as 14-night Mediterranean cruises. New ports of call include Denmark, France and Norway.

The ship was due to replace Independence of the Seas, a perennial favourite with UK cruisers, which will now move from Fort Lauderdale to Miami offering six and eight-night cruises to the Southern and Western Caribbean.

Anthem had also been chartered by Jane McDonald for a special "Sailaway with Jane McDonald" cruise which was due to take place right now (September 20-27), but has also been cancelled.

"We have an incredibly exciting line up of ships and itineraries in Europe for the Summer 2021 season," said Ben Bouldin, VP EMEA. "Not only will we welcome the incredible Anthem of the Seas back to Southampton, but we'll have a second, brand new Quantum (Ultra) class ship in Europe with Odyssey of the Seas sailing her debut season from Rome.

"Meanwhile, we’ll have one of the world’s biggest and most action packed ships, Harmony of the Seas sailing from Barcelona, now alongside Adventure of the Seas covering off the Mediterranean’s must-visit destinations. And with Jewel of the Seas now sailing from Copenhagen and Stockholm, our guests can experience some of Northern Europe’s most beautiful ports."

Royal Caribbean announced a number of other deployment changes today, which include:

Adventure of the Seas: Previously scheduled to be deployed from Copenhagen and Stockholm, the ship moves to Barcelona instead to sail a mixture of four-and-five-night Mediterranean cruises. Ports of call can include La Spezia and Rome, Italy; Ajaccio, Nice and Marseille, France; and Palma and Ibiza, Spain.

Jewel of the Seas: Moves from Amsterdam and Barcelona to Copenhagen and Stockholm. The Radiance Class ship will sail weeklong cruises throughout Northern Europe, visiting Helsinki, Finland; Tallinn, Estonia; and Visby, Sweden.

Vision of the Seas: Moves from Barcelona to San Juan, offering a brand-new summer program of Caribbean cruises. The weeklong adventures will call on ports that can include Philipsburg, St. Maarten; Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis; St. John’s, Antigua; Castries, St. Lucia; and Bridgetown, Barbados.

Brilliance of the Seas: Stays put in Tampa for the 2021 summer cruise season, where it will offer four, five and seven-night Caribbean voyages.

Odyssey of the Seas: The line's first Quantum Ultra-class ship will sailing from Rome, offering seven night itineraries to the Greek isalands and Ephesus, Turkey.

Harmony of the Seas: The Oasis-class ship will be heading back to Europe for the first time since its inaugural season in 2016, with seven-night sailings to the Western Mediterranean from Barcelona.

The Caribbean, Alaska, and Asia-Pacific will sail as currently scheduled.

Royal Caribbean states passengers with confirmed bookings on the above ships between April and November 2021 and those who are impacted by these changes are being notified directly.