Cruisers who were getting ready to board Rhapsody of the Seas in just about two day’s time got some bad news from the cruise line.
The Vision-class cruise ship had to cancel her 7-night Southern Caribbean cruise for some passengers who were supposed to embark from San Juan, Puerto Rico, on September 15, 2024, due to a damaged lifeboat.
It’s unclear what caused the damage to the smaller vessel, which doubles as a tender boat, but it must have become apparent that the boat could not be fixed or replaced in time to set sail.
“On our previous sailing, there was damage to one of our tender boats, which also serves as a lifeboat. This leaves the ship over capacity for the number of available lifeboat seats in the event of an emergency for our next sailing,” reads a letter from Royal Caribbean to impacted guests.
“We must have a seat on a lifeboat for every guest onboard. Unfortunately, this means we’ll be unable to welcome you onboard our September 15, 2024, Rhapsody of the Seas sailing, and we must reschedule your cruise,” continued the letter.
Indeed, maritime law is quite strict about lifeboat guidelines to ensure the safety of both guests and crew should an emergency occur.
According to the current regulations, which are enforced by Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), there must be lifeboats available on both sides of the ship with enough vessels to be evacuating 37.5% of the people onboard simultaneously. This accounts for 75% of the ship’s capacity – and the remaining quarter can be rescued using life rafts.
Even though an emergency is unlikely to occur, cruise ships are not allowed to continue sailing if they do not have the capacity to evacuate all guests should an emergency arise.
Safety Comes First – But Guests are Compensated Well
If the 2,416-passenger ship was able to sail as planned, the round trip voyage would have called on St. Croix, US Virgin Islands; St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands; Basseterre, St. Kitts; Castries, St. Lucia; and Bridgetown, Barbados.
It’s unclear if Rhapsody of the Seas’ subsequent sailing – another 7-night Southern Caribbean voyage scheduled to embark on September 22 – will be impacted. That said, this cancellation gives the family friendly cruise line a week to make repairs or replace the damaged lifeboat.
While the last-minute cancellation is understandably disappointing, Royal Caribbean has to always put safety first. That said, the cruise line is compensating the guests with a full refund and future cruise credit to help soften the blow.
“We will be providing you with a full refund and a credit for a new cruise. We know this news is disappointing and we’re terribly sorry for the impact to your vacation plans,” wrote Royal Caribbean.
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The cruise line will start by refunding guests the total cost of the sailing within 14 business days. If the cruise was paid for using a future cruise credit, passengers will be provided with a new certificate that will be valid for one year from the date of issuance.
Also in the next two weeks, passengers will receive a 100% future cruise credit via email that can be used on any Royal Caribbean International sailing that embarks on or before September 13, 2025.
While there are many exciting ships in Royal Caribbean’s fleet, guests might want to take advantage of this credit to be among the first to sail on the second Icon-class cruise ship, Star of the Seas, which will debut in August of 2025.
Lastly, guests are invited to submit their travel receipts to Royal Caribbean for reimbursement of non-refundable, pre-purchased transportation change fees. The cruise line will cover up to $200 per guest for domestic changes, or up to $400 per guest for international adjustments.
