Royal Caribbean has reached out to guests booked aboard one special sailing of Serenade of the Seas this spring with the unfortunate notification that their cruise must be cancelled.
The impacted sailing is the ship’s March 9, 2025 departure from Tampa, Florida, a 5-night Western Caribbean itinerary that was to have visited Cozumel and Costa Maya.
What is special about this particular sailing is that it was to have been the ship’s final sailing before entering dry dock for maintenance and general updates. The cruise line has learned that the planned dates of the dry dock will not be sufficient for the necessary work, however.
“We have discovered that Serenade of the Seas requires additional servicing beyond planned repairs and maintenance, which extends her currently scheduled dry dock period,” the notification reads. “To ensure that we meet our high standards, and due to the availability at the shipyard, we must advance the dry dock schedule.”
“As a result, we’ll be canceling our upcoming March 9, 2025 sailing.”
This gives the ship more time out of service so all the essential work can be completed smoothly. The cruise line has not offered details about what extra work is necessary.
To be clear, all the ship’s systems are currently functioning properly and Serenade of the Seas is sailing as planned on her scheduled itineraries. Only the one cruise is cancelled to permit additional time in dry dock.
The 90,090-gross-ton, Radiance-class Serenade of the Seas is one of the older ships in the Royal Caribbean fleet, having entered service in 2003. She is far from the oldest ship, however, and all cruise ships get regular dry dock maintenance every 3-5 years. Serenade of the Seas‘ most recent dry dock was in 2022.
Serenade of the Seas is scheduled to return to service after her dry dock on April 13, 2025 with a one-way repositioning cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles, including a transit through the Panama Canal. At this time, there is no impact expected to that sailing.
This is the beginning of the ship’s relocation for the Alaska sailing season, when she will offer 7-night itineraries from Vancouver, Canada.
Alternative Bookings Offered
While guests booked on the now-cancelled cruise are sure to be disappointed, Royal Caribbean is offering incentives and special options for rebooking.
Guests may choose to rebook their cruise on Enchantment of the Seas for a 4-night or 5-night sailing on selected dates. These options are most similar to what Serenade of the Seas was offering on her March 9 departure, as the ship is also leaving from Tampa and visiting Cozumel and Costa Maya, depending on the cruise length and departure date.
Alternatively, select sailings on Grandeur of the Seas from Fort Lauderdale and Voyager of the Seas from Port Canaveral are options for rebooking.
These are all 5-night itineraries with visits to Labadee, Royal Caribbean’s private destination. Grandeur of the Seas is also visiting Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic, while Voyager of the Seas is visiting Nassau.
Guests who opt for any of these alternative choices will receive onboard credit from $150 (USD) to $400 per stateroom, with an extra $50 of credit for additional travelers in the same stateroom.
Furthermore, bookings moved to these alternatives will be price protected in the original stateroom category, and any overage in a price difference will be refunded.
Read Also: Who Owns Royal Caribbean? All You Need to Know!
Travelers can also apply for reimbursement of up to $200 per guest for domestic travel changes ($400 for international changes) related to flights, train tickets, or rental cars.
If guests do not like or cannot adjust their cruise vacation plans to the alternative cruises suggested, they can also rebook on any upcoming Royal Caribbean cruise without any deposit change fees or other penalties. They will, however, be responsible for any increase in cruise fare for the new booking.
The last option is a full cancellation and refund, if impacted guests cannot find another cruise that suits their vacation plans and preferences. Guests who cancel will also receive a 20% future cruise credit based on their cruise fare.