Key Aspects:
- Royal Caribbean’s Radiance of the Seas offered guests several lucrative deals to either cancel their overbooked sailing, transfer their booking, or give up their balcony cabins, with all options featuring refunds of the cruise fares paid.
- One option called for guests to instead sail aboard a slightly shorter Serenade of the Seas voyage along a similar route, which included a Panama Canal transit.
- The cruise line attempted to entice guests to swap their balcony cabins for ocean view or inside accommodations.
Another instance of an overbooked Royal Caribbean cruise has resulted in some very tantalizing offers designed to persuade booked guests to either swap the sailing for another cruise or give up their balcony cabin on the affected ship.
The situation unfolded for travelers set to sail onboard Radiance of the Seas’ 16-night Panama Canal cruise from San Diego to Fort Lauderdale, departing on October 4, 2025.
Port calls on the voyage feature Cabo San Lucas and Mazatlan, Mexico; Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala; Puntarenas, Costa Rica; Colon, Panama; Cartagena, Colombia; and George Town, Grand Cayman.
In a notice to booked guests, Royal Caribbean presented four options in an effort to free up staterooms.
Three of the offers involved a full refund of the cruise fare paid, plus other perks, while the fourth option invited guests to cancel their reservation and receive not only a full refund but also a future cruise credit equal to 200% of the cruise fare paid.
In that case, the cruise line would reimburse guests for all non-refundable flights or hotel bookings that guests had already paid for.
Let’s drill down into the other three offers, which allowed booked guests to sail on their intended voyage in a lower category accommodation or switch to a similar cruise.
In the first option, Royal Caribbean offered guests the ability to switch their cruise to a slightly shorter Panama Canal cruise onboard the 2,578-guest Serenade of the Seas. The 13-night sailing departs from San Diego on September 19, 2025 and concludes in Miami rather than Fort Lauderdale.
Port calls are limited to just four destinations: Puerto Vallarta and Huatulco, Mexico; Puntarenas, Costa Rica; and Cartagena, Colombia. However, the line would fund the full 100% of the cruise fare paid and add on a $300 onboard credit.
Royal Caribbean also would reimburse guests for already-purchased air and hotel expenses that are non-refundable.
Two more options enabled guests to remain booked on the 2,466-guest Radiance of the Seas, but in lower category cabins.
One option asks guests booked in balcony cabins to switch to an ocean view cabin and receive a 100% cruise fare refund, meaning that these guests can enjoy a free cruise, not counting any dining or drinks packages, shore excursions, or other onboard expenses.
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The final option offers the same 100% cruise fare refund and added in a $300 onboard credit to those who agreed to swap their balcony cabin for an inside stateroom.
Guests Who Took No Action Remained Booked to Sail as Planned
The cruise line’s notice to guests made clear that those who wished to keep their original reservation could do so — it simply made these gestures to those who had flexible travel dates or who were willing to swap staterooms in order to sail free and enjoy some onboard spending money.
Royal Caribbean gave guests until September 12, 2025 to apply for one of the special offers. Those who did not contact the line by September 16, 2025 remained booked in their original stateroom for the October 4, 2025 sailing aboard Radiance of the Seas.
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Royal Caribbean, in recent months, has experienced a few overbooked situations and has offered similar deals to booked guests.
It happened on a Navigator of the Seas cruise to Mexico from Los Angeles in June 2025, as well as on an Allure of the Seas voyage in May 2025, when that ship was sailing from Rome.
