Key Aspects:
- Icon of the Seas will remain overnight in PortMiami following embarkation for her September 26, 2026 departure due to the need for maintenance.
- Because of the delayed departure, the ship’s visit to Costa Maya on September 28 has been cancelled but no other stops on the itinerary are impacted.
- Royal Caribbean is providing refundable onboard credit as compensation for the delayed departure and missed port visit.
Guests boarding Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas will be remaining at PortMiami longer than anticipated on Saturday, September 26, 2026. In fact, they will be in The 305 until 4 p.m. on Sunday, September 27, as the ship’s departure is now delayed.
Royal Caribbean has reached out to guests booked on the 7-night sailing to alert them to the change and what their options for exploring Miami include.
“Due to required maintenance, we’ll now depart from Miami, Florida on Sunday, September 27, 2026, instead of Saturday, September 26, 2026,” the email, which has been shared on Reddit, confirmed.
The cruise line does note that all guests are still required to board Icon of the Seas on Saturday as planned, per US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) guidelines.
Onboard the 5,610-guest ship, bars, lounges, entertainment, dining, and spa services will be available, but the Casino Royale and onboard shops must remain closed until Icon of the Seas departs. That departure will now be at 4 p.m. on Sunday, September 27.
After boarding, guests can leave the ship for time ashore in Miami, though the gangway will close at 8 p.m. Saturday night. The gangway will reopen Sunday morning (the exact time has not been specified but will likely be announced onboard), with an all-aboard time of 2:30 p.m. before the ship’s departure.
Royal Caribbean has not offered any details about what “required maintenance” is needed for Icon of the Seas that necessitates the ship remaining in Miami overnight, but hopefully any issues can be quickly resolved.
Cruise Hive has reported on several recent incidents onboard Royal Caribbean ships, including a brief power outage onboard Adventure of the Seas on September 5, 2026 and a burst pipe that created stairwell flooding on Quantum of the Seas at the end of August.
Serenade of the Seas has also experienced difficulties and cancelled a sailing due to urgent repairs after initially delaying her departure from Vancouver for two days for the August 30, 2026 cruise.
Icon of the Seas Port Visit Cancelled
Icon of the Seas was scheduled to spend Sunday, September 27 at sea, with a visit to Costa Maya from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, September 28, followed by Roatan from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, September 29 and Cozumel on Wednesday, September 30 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
After another full day at sea, the ship will visit Perfect Day CocoCay on Friday, October 2 from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. before returning to Miami on Saturday, October 3.
Due to the delayed departure from Miami, the port visit to Costa Maya has now been cancelled and Icon of the Seas will spend Monday at sea. The visits to Roatan, Cozumel, and Perfect Day CocoCay are unchanged.
Royal Caribbean is offering a refundable onboard credit to guests as a “gesture of goodwill” for the delayed departure and loss of a port visit.
The amount of the credit is $300 (USD) for inside and oceanview staterooms, $350 for balconies, and $800 for suites. The totals are per stateroom, not per guest, but an extra $50 for third and fourth guests booked in the same stateroom, regardless of category, will be added.
As is standard procedure for port cancellations, the cruise line also notes that any shore tours booked through Royal Caribbean for Costa Maya will be automatically cancelled and refunded to the original form of payment.
At this time, there is no impact on additional sailings, but booked guests should stay in close contact with Royal Caribbean in case of further updates.
