Wichita’s Royal Caribbean employees to work from home permanently

Wichita call center employees of Royal Caribbean Cruises will not return to their south-side office, the cruise line confirmed Wednesday, saying “the majority of contact center employees globally” will remain working from home permanently.

Miami-based Royal Caribbean, which has the second-largest fleet of passenger ships in the world, employed roughly 5,000 American workers before shedding a quarter of its U.S. workforce last April at the height of coronavirus travel restrictions.

“We have decided that our Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises contact center employees will now be permanently working from home,” said Jonathon Fishman, a spokesperson for the cruise line group. “As the world changes, we will change as well and we will continue to evolve as we learn more.”

Royal Caribbean’s Wichita employees make reservations for the company’s Celebrity Cruises brand. The Wichita contact center, at 4729 S. Palisade, boasts 77,215 square feet of office space.

“Our contact center employees have been very effective in adjusting to and operating in a remote environment while showing how flexible, resilient and compassionate they are,” Fishman said. “The way everyone has handled work while supporting family and friends is impressive.”

Fishman did not respond to questions Wednesday about how the company planned to use their vacated Wichita office space.

The cruise industry was decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic, as viral outbreaks on several ships led to suspension of sailing operations in the U.S. That suspension resulted in the loss of an estimated $32 billion in economic activity and more than 254,000 American jobs, according to a report by the Cruise Lines International Association.

Last month, Royal Caribbean reported a loss of $1.13 billion for the first quarter of 2021.