Key Aspects:
- Royal Caribbean is moving four different ships in two homeport swaps for sailings in 2026 and 2027.
- The impacted vessels are Radiance of the Seas swapping with Rhapsody of the Seas and Vision of the Seas swapping with Brilliance of the Seas.
- Impacted guests can choose to rebook or cancel their sailing for a full refund if preferred.
It’s a confusing time for guests booked on various Royal Caribbean ships sailing in 2026 and 2027 as the cruise line sends out multiple notices of redeployment plans. This is canceling some cruises, changing homeports, and otherwise causing plans to change for thousands of booked guests.
Four different ships are impacted: Radiance of the Seas, Rhapsody of the Seas, Vision of the Seas, and Brilliance of the Seas.
Radiance of the Seas Swaps with Rhapsody of the Seas
Initially, Radiance of the Seas was scheduled to offer 7-night Southern Caribbean sailings from San Juan, Puerto Rico beginning in April 2026. Instead, the cruise line has decided to move Radiance of the Seas to Tampa, Florida.
“As a result, your cruise has been redeployed, and unfortunately, there is not a sailing on our new deployment that matches your current sailing,” the cruise line notified impacted Radiance of the Seas guests.
Royal Caribbean is waiving change fees and non-refundable deposits for guests who wish to rebook on any other sailing, which does not necessarily need to be aboard Radiance of the Seas. If guests do not wish to rebook, they will receive full refunds instead.
Replacing Radiance of the Seas in San Juan will be the somewhat older and smaller Rhapsody of the Seas. With the larger Radiance of the Seas to be sailing from Tampa, this gives guests booked from that homeport different options.
“The good news is, your sailing and itinerary will remain intact, just on a different ship,” the email explained.
Guests booked on Rhapsody of the Seas out of Tampa will automatically be moved to the same sailing on Radiance of the Seas in a like-for-like stateroom and with price protection.
If guests prefer to re-book on a different sailing, however, they can do so without any change fees. Guests can also choose to cancel their cruise vacation outright if no other sailing meets their expectations. If guests cancel, they will receive a full refund.
Brilliance of the Seas Swaps With Vision of the Seas
A similar ship swap is also happening for two more ships, involving San Juan and Fort Lauderdale as homeports.
Brilliance of the Seas was to have homeported from Puerto Rico from November 2026, but now that ship will instead be sailing from Fort Lauderdale.
Taking her place in San Juan is Vision of the Seas, another older and smaller vessel, which was to have sailed from Fort Lauderdale.
As with Radiance of the Seas and Rhapsody of the Seas, guests already booked on the impacted cruises aboard either Brilliance of the Seas or Vision of the Seas have the opportunity to rebook if they prefer, or else to receive a full refund.
Why Swap Ships?
Cruise lines will occasionally swap ships in this way to better serve passenger interest from different homeports. Ship capacities can be a factor in deciding which vessel is deployed where, as can the strength of bookings from different homeports and for different itineraries.
Read Also: What Are the Different Royal Caribbean Ship Classes?
Fortunately, the changes for all four ships are several months in the future, which gives impacted guests plenty of time to consider their vacation options and rebook or cancel if they prefer.
More From Cruise Hive
If guests are booked on any of the four vessels but have not yet received notification of the ship swaps, they should be patient. It may take some time to notify thousands of guests of the impacted sailings, but emails are on the way.
Staying in close contact with the cruise line or their travel agent is a sure way to be alerted to such changes as soon as possible.
