Royal Caribbean Reportedly Cancels More Than 20 Cruises, Days After Carnival Slashed 11 Sailings

NEED TO KNOW

• Royal Caribbean reportedly canceled over 20 cruises on its Freedom of the Seas ship in the summer of 2027 due to itinerary planning changes

• Impacted passengers can rebook on a different Royal Caribbean ship or receive a full refund for their canceled trip, according to reports

• Carnival Cruise Line recently canceled 11 of its fall 2026 sailings, offering similar rebooking or refund options to guests

Royal Caribbean has reportedly canceled more than 20 cruises set to depart throughout the summer of 2027.

Impacted passengers reportedly received an email from the cruise line this week, which informed them of the unexpected cancellations for trips originally set to depart in May through September 2027, according to the unofficial Royal Caribbean Blog and The Travel. All the impacted sailings were aboard the Freedom of the Seas.

The cruise line noted that the changes impacting the 3,926-guest ship are due to the company’s “ongoing itinerary planning process,” both outlets report.

“Deployment planning is dynamic and regularly reviewed based on demand, capacity requirements, and broader fleet considerations,” the cruise line says in a statement to PEOPLE. “As part of this process, we’ve made the decision to redeploy Freedom of the Seas to Southampton in 2027. Guests and travel partners are being contacted directly with details about their sailings and available options.”

Royal Caribbean’s ‘Freedom of the Seas’ ship
Credit: Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas

If a cruise ship is redeployed, it could mean the vessel is changing its home port and that its itinerary will reflect destinations in a new region, according to Cruise Passenger. When this happens, it typically means passengers’ original bookings on the ship are canceled.

According to Royal Caribbean Blog and The Travel, impacted itineraries range from 9-night cruises to Aruba and Curaçao, 5-night sailings to the Dominican Republic and Perfect Day at CocoCay, and 4-night voyages to the Bahamas.

As a result of the cancellations, Royal Caribbean is reportedly giving guests a few options in order to make things right.

The first alternative is to automatically move guests to the Wonder of the Seas departing from Miami and sailing for four nights, or they can choose from 5-night and 3-night voyages on the Adventure of the Seas or the Jewel of the Seas, according to the outlets.

Passengers who are unable to find a new Royal Caribbean itinerary that works for them will reportedly receive a full refund of the cruise fare they’ve already paid, as well as any prepaid amenities.

Carnival Cruise Line’s ‘Firenze’ ship
Credit: Alamy

The Royal Caribbean cancellations come after Carnival Cruise Line recently canceled 11 sailings aboard its Carnival Firenze ship that were scheduled to depart in the fall of 2026.

“Due to changes to itinerary plans, we have cancelled sailings aboard Carnival Firenze scheduled between October 12, 2026, and November 16, 2026,” a spokesperson for the cruise line previously told PEOPLE in a statement.

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Similar to Royal Caribbean, Carnival is giving passengers the option to rebook another cruise or receive a full refund for their canceled trip.

“We have apologized to our impacted guests and are offering them the option to rebook another Carnival cruise with their cruise fare protected on a comparable sailing in similar accommodations, along with an onboard credit,” the cruise line added.

Read the original article on People