Ovation of the Seas Cruises Cancelled as Royal Caribbean Shifts Ship to Australia

Following in the wake of Royal Caribbean’s announcement of the expansion of sailing options in Asia, guests booked on impacted sailings aboard Ovation of the Seas have begun receiving cancellation notifications for their upcoming Mexican Riviera cruises.

“As we continue planning our Winter 2027-2028 sailings, some itinerary adjustments have been necessary due to scheduling, port agreements, and other operational considerations,” the notification explained.

For example, the ship’s November 22, 2027 cruise is now cancelled. That sailing was to have been a 4-night cruise from Los Angeles to Ensenada, with two full days at sea.

While the email notice does not outline where the 4,234-guest Ovation of the Seas will be going, Cruise Hive has already reported that the Quantum-class ship will be homeported from Brisbane beginning in November 2027. From Australia, she will be offering 3- to 8-night itineraries to Australian and South Pacific destinations.

Naturally, this makes it challenging for Ovation of the Seas to offer Mexican cruises during the same month, so multiple cruise cancellations are likely as the redeployment plans are rolled out.

Guests have noted similar cancellations for other Ovation of the Seas sailings as well as Navigator of the Seas cruises from May through October 2027. Navigator of the Seas will be remaining homeported from Singapore at that time.

Alternative Cruises and Compensation Options

Guests have been offered three options for the cancellation of this Ovation of the Seas cruise. The first option is to move to the new 4-night Navigator of the Seas sailing departing on November 29, 2027, one week after their originally booked cruise was to have set sail. The new cruise will be visiting both Catalina Island and Ensenada.

Any non-refundable deposit change fees will be waived and guests will be moved to a like-for-like stateroom assignment at the prevailing rate for the new cruise. Guests will be responsible for paying any increase in fare, taxes, fees, and other expenses. If the original cruise was already paid in full and the new sailing is less expensive, Royal Caribbean will refund the difference.

The email notice confirms that this first option will be the default choice if guests do not reach out to their travel agent or Royal Caribbean by August 28, 2026. If guests are happy to transfer to Navigator of the Seas, they do not need to take any action.

The second option is for guests to rebook on any other sailing in the Royal Caribbean fleet, also with non-refundable deposit change fees waived. As with the automatic move to Navigator of the Seas, guests will still be responsible to pay any price difference.

If guests do not want to rebook a new Royal Caribbean cruise they can opt for a full cancellation and refund. That refund will also include any non-refundable deposits, and the refund may take up to 14 business days to process.

Guests Upset About Two Key Points

Every cruise guest understands that itinerary shifts and cancellations can happen. While such circumstances are disappointing, cruise lines typically offer generous compensation to impacted guests in recognition of their disappointment and frustration.

Guests for this Ovation of the Seas cancellation, however, as well as the cancellation of Navigator of the Seas‘ transpacific cruise in May 2027, have noticed some key omissions in the compensation.

While Royal Caribbean is waiving change fees, guests are still responsible for the new prevailing rate of rebooking on a different cruise. Many times, such scheduling changes would be price protected for guests, at least on select, comparable sailings.

Furthermore, the original Ovation of the Seas cruise was over the Thanksgiving holiday (November 25, 2027) but the automatic replacement alternative cruise is the week after the holiday.

“Oh wow. That stinks. Not giving any FCC or OBC as compensation stinks. Defaulting to rebooking you at possibly a higher rate really stinks. Doing this around Thanksgiving and all the complications that implies really really stinks,” one commenter on Reddit noted descriptively.

Other guests on Reddit have noted a similar swap for the 2027 New Year’s Eve cruise on Ovation of the Seas. That sailing was to have departed Los Angeles on December 31, 2027, but the rebooking option is now aboard Navigator of the Seas departing on December 17, 2027.

Cruise ship schedules are released years before sailing and guests often book well in advance to secure the best pricing and cabin selection. While these changes are more than a year away, it can still be frustrating for travelers to now need to adjust their travel plans for their upcoming cruise vacations.