Royal Caribbean International’s Jewel of the Seas had to change its homeport on August 10, 2024, due to protests preventing the ship from passing through the locks to Amsterdam.
The 2,100-guest vessel debarked its current sailing in IJmuiden, located approximately 40 kilometres away from Amsterdam, following a disruption that made it unsafe to reach the original homeport.
On its website, protest group Extinction Rebellion said that the protest was aimed at “serious pollution caused by cruise shipping.”
The disruption affected the completion of a 12-night cruise to Iceland and Ireland from Amsterdam which included a stop in Cobh on Thursday last, with the ship rescheduling to depart from IJmuiden for a voyage to Norway and the Arctic Circle.
Activist group Extinction Rebellion claimed responsibility for blocking the locks at IJmuiden to protest against pollution caused by cruise ships, with the Jewel of the Seas expected to return to Amsterdam on August 22, 2024, before embarking on a trans-Atlantic cruise to Boston and subsequent voyages to Canada, Greenland, and the Caribbean.
Protesters also delayed the arrival of the Seven Seas Mariner at the port of Amsterdam by blocking the locks of IJmuiden, preventing the ship from initially entering the port.
Extinction Rebellion activists chained and glued themselves to the gates in an attempt to stop the ship from reaching Amsterdam, leading to police intervention to clear the protest and allow the ship to continue its journey.
The demonstration was part of efforts to highlight pollution caused by cruise shipping, with a similar blockade impacting the arrival of the Jewel of the Seas in Amsterdam the day before.
The Seven Seas Mariner eventually entered the locks later than scheduled, arriving in Amsterdam nearly three hours behind the original plan for its 20-night cruise to Northern Europe and Scandinavia before repositioning to the Mediterranean.
