Royal Caribbean Notifies Guests of Big Vision of the Seas Itinerary Change

Many cruise guests carefully choose their oceangoing getaways based on ports of call, perhaps for their favorite destinations or new spots to visit. It can be disappointing, then, when the itinerary is changed and multiple ports are swapped.

Guests booked on Royal Caribbean’s Vision of the Seas may be feeling that disappointment as they learn about a dramatic change for their upcoming sailing. The impacted cruise is not until May 2027, but the cruise line has reached out to notify guests about multiple port adjustments.

“From time to time, updates are necessary as we finalize scheduling, port arrangements, and operational details,” the email explained. “As a result of a recent review, your May 10, 2027 sailing has been updated.”

The impacted sailing is an 11-night Eastern Caribbean cruise roundtrip from Baltimore. Originally, Vision of the Seas was to have visited Grand Turk, Puerto Plata, San Juan, St. Maarten, and St. Thomas before returning to Maryland.

Both St. Maarten and St. Thomas have now been removed from the itinerary. Instead, the 78,340-gross-ton ship will be visiting Samana Port in the Dominican Republic as well as Perfect Day at CocoCay instead.

Vision of the Seas will call on Samana Port on May 16 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., the day that was previously planned for St. Maarten. Likewise, the visit to CocoCay will be on May 18 from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. That day had previously been a day at sea, which has now been moved to May 17.

At this time, there are no changes to the visits to Grand Turk, Puerto Plata, and San Juan, nor have the ship’s departure or return times to Baltimore been adjusted.

The email notes that any shore excursions booked through Royal Caribbean for the now-cancelled visits to St. Maarten and St. Thomas will be automatically refunded to the original form of payment. If guests have made independent tour arrangements, they should reach out to their tour providers for cancellations as needed.

Why Are These Ports Changed?

Royal Caribbean has not provided any further details for why both St. Maarten and St. Thomas are now cancelled, other than “as a result of a recent review.”

There could be many reasons why the changes have been made. Because Vision of the Seas is one of the smaller ships in the Royal Caribbean fleet, she may be making way for larger vessels to take her place at St. Maarten and St. Thomas.

Rising fuel costs could also be a consideration, as the ship will now not be traveling nearly as far. On the original itinerary, the furthest point east on the sailing was to have been Philipsburg, St. Maarten.

Now, however, Samana Port on the northeastern coast of the Dominican Republic will be the easternmost destination. In comparison, Philipsburg is 400 miles further east than Samana Port. This means the ship will be sailing 800 fewer miles overall for the itinerary.

Overall port schedules, dock maintenance, cruise terminal availability, booking popularity, and recent guest feedback may also be factors in the itinerary changes.

Guest reactions are mixed for the changes, with some travelers intrigued by the opportunity to visit the little-known Samana Port. Typically, smaller ships visit Samana, which is not a common destination for Royal Caribbean ships.

Star of the Seas is scheduled to visit Samana Port twice in May 2027, albeit not on the same day as Vision of the Seas. It is possible that the Icon-class ship’s itineraries may yet be adjusted as well, or other vessels could also have their schedules tweaked.

Perfect Day at CocoCay, on the other hand, is one of Royal Caribbean’s most popular ports of call, common on itineraries of all lengths. While some of the up to 2,514 guests that could be sailing aboard Vision of the Seas may be excited about the destination, others could prefer a more relaxed, unique port visit.