Royal Caribbean Cancels Batch of Cruises Scheduled in the UK

Royal Caribbean has decided to keep Independence of the Seas in Port Everglades instead of sending it to Southampton, England in 2020.

On the line’s UK website, they explained that their decision was due to high demand for their revitalized private Bahamian island, Perfect Day at CocoCay. “Responding to strong booking interest in our exciting new Caribbean private destination, Perfect Day at CocoCay, Royal Caribbean International has announced a 2020 deployment change for Independence of the Seas. The ship will now sail from Fort Lauderdale, Florida rather than Southampton. Guests affected by the itinerary change will be offered full refunds and a ‘Future Cruise Credit’ for use on alternative sailings.” Royal Caribbean went on to say that the “smart ship” Anthem of the Seas will still be returning to the UK in 2020 as planned.

The line has begun to inform those who were booked on those sailings directly, and stated that they aren’t automatically moving passengers’ bookings to an Anthem of the Seas sailing because they want the future cruise option to be entirely the choice of the guest. It would also be a logistical nightmare to move people to a new ship if the original and new sail dates didn’t match up. The Future Cruise Credit will have a 25 percent value on top of the refunded fare that was paid on the canceled voyage. Those who have already booked non-refundable flights or incur change fees will also be refunded those costs by Royal Caribbean, if needed.

Responding to strong booking interest in its exciting new Caribbean private destination, Perfect Day at CocoCay, Royal Caribbean International has announced a 2020 deployment change for Independence of the Seas. Click here: https://t.co/dv6aoXOnjx for more details.

— Royal Caribbean UK (@MyRoyalUK) May 9, 2019

Royal Caribbean UK issued an apology, “Your sailing is being cancelled because we’re making changes to our 2020 season that require the Independence of the Seas to remain in the Caribbean, instead of sailing to Southampton. Our goal is [to] provide our guests with the best itineraries that take you to exclusive parts of the world and have decided to make these changes for the 2020 season to maximise our capacity in the Caribbean. We are terribly sorry. We know this news is disappointing. We do hope you find an alternate vacation option with us.”