Three months after a series of engine problems started to impact multiple itineraries aboard a Princess Cruises’ ship, the line has decided to send the vessel into an unscheduled dry dock in April 2025, a move that will shorten her transatlantic repositioning cruise.
Guests booked to sail aboard the 3,560-guest Regal Princess on a 24-night Night Western Europe & British Isles Grand Adventure cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Southampton were alerted to the change.
The ship is set to depart the Florida port on April 4, 2025 and arrive at Southampton four days earlier than planned, on April 24, 2025, rather than on April 28, 2025.
The early arrival of Regal Princess, a Royal-class ship that entered service a decade ago, in Southampton means that several port calls will be missed. The ship was slated to call at Kirkwall, Scotland, on April 24, Invergordon, Scotland, on the 25th, and Edinburgh, Scotland, on the 26th.
The notice explained that the itinerary will retain port calls to four British Isles ports — Falmouth, Cobh, Dun Laoghaire, and Belfast. Princess Cruises also assured guests that the ship is safe for travel.
“We sincerely apologize for this unexpected change and inconvenience it may cause. Our team is committed to ensuring your revised itinerary is an enjoyable and seamless experience filled with the exceptional service and memorable moments you expect from Princess,” the notice from Princess Cruises said.
“The ship is fully certified for service by all applicable authorities and remains fully operational for all scheduled voyages through late April that will proceed as planned,” the line added.
Besides the British Isles ports, the ship is scheduled to call at Ponta Delgada, Azores; Brest, France; Amsterdam; Zeebrugge Belgium; Dublin; and Glasgow, Scotland.
The dry dock will likely be of short duration. The ship’s next scheduled cruise is slated to depart Southampton on April 28, 2025. The cruise line has not announced any delay or itinerary changes for that 11-night British Isles cruise.
Regal Princess has experienced a spate of engine issues since late October 2024. The 142,714-gross-ton ship was taken out of service on October 27, 2024, after her seasonal transatlantic crossing from Southampton to Galveston, Texas.
Emergency repairs caused three cruises to be cancelled, including the October 27, 2024, and the November 3 and 10, 2024 departures.
An engine room fire had erupted during the ship’s transatlantic crossing, however, the cruise line has not indicated that the blaze prompted those cancellations.
A month later, “essential engine maintenance” caused itinerary changes on four cruises in December 2024 and January 2025. These included the December 8, and January 5, 12, 19 Western Caribbean departures.
Three of the impacted itineraries had calls to Costa Maya, Mexico, cancelled, while the ship instead overnighted in Roatan, Honduras. On the fourth cruise, a call to Montego Bay, Jamaica, was nixed, and an overnight added in Roatan.
It appeared that the ship’s maintenance issues were likely addressed while the ship docked in Roatan during the overnight visits, although the cruise line did not disclose any maintenance details.
Cruise Line Offers Full, Partial Refunds to Booked Guests
Guests can cancel their booking and receive a full refund of the cruise fare and all pre-paid shore excursions booked through the cruise line.
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Princess Cruises also will refund air tickets booked through the line, or reimburse guests who booked air independently for up to $200 in change fees. Guests seeking reimbursement must provide receipts and fill out a refund request form.
Guests who wish to sail on the cruise will receive a 4-day pro-rated refund of their cruise fares and a future cruise credit reflecting 25% of the fare paid for the full voyage. The credit must be applied toward a future cruise booked by November 30, 2025 on sailings departing by April 2026.
Passengers who plan to sail on the cruise, and who booked their air travel through Princess Cruises will automatically have their flights altered to fit the new sailing schedule.
