Royal Caribbean International has reached out to guests on multiple sailings of Anthem of the Seas to notify them of itinerary adjustments, shortening the times the ship will spend in different ports of call. While the changes are relatively minor, multiple changes on a single itinerary can add up significantly.
Anthem of the Seas Port Time Modifications
Guests booked on different sailings of the Quantum-class Anthem of the Seas have been informed that their cruises have been slightly adjusted, with port times modified for several destinations. All the communications are similar, stating:
“To maintain a safe and comfortable speed along our journey, we’ve adjusted the times we’ll visit [impacted ports of call].”
Both the June 4 and June 16 itineraries are confirmed to have similar changes, though the sailings are very different.
The June 4, 2023 departure is a 12-night Discover the Canaries cruise roundtrip from Southampton, with calls in Vigo, Spain; Funchal, Portugal; three destinations in the Canary Islands – Lanzarote, Las Palmas, and Santa Cruz de Tenerife; and Lisbon, Portugal.
For that sailing, the calls in Vigo, Funchal, and Lanzarote have all been shortened. Time in Vigo has been trimmed by two hours – arriving one hour later and departing one hour earlier than originally planned – while the times in Funchal and Lanzarote have been trimmed by just one hour each, arriving later than the original schedule.
The June 16, 2023 departure is a 7-night Norwegian Fjords cruise, also roundtrip from Southampton. On that sailing, the ship is visiting four different ports in Norway: Bergen, Olden, Maloy, and Kristiansand.
The port time adjustments for this cruise are more extreme, as the ship will now be in Bergen from 2:30-8 p.m. and in Kristiansand from noon until 8 p.m. The visits to Olden and Maloy are not changed, but this is still a loss of 4.5 total hours in port. The majority of that time is trimmed from Bergen, which was originally scheduled for 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Anthem of the Seas will also return to Southampton 30 minutes later than initially planned, with an anticipated arrival time at the end of the cruise of 6 a.m. rather than 5:30 a.m.
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For both cruises, the email confirms that tours are being rescheduled for impacted ports of call. “Our Shore Excursions team will automatically reschedule any pre-paid Royal Caribbean International shore excursions affected by this change,” the email reads.
Guests who have booked independent tours should contact their tour operators to make time adjustments or arrange for cancellations and refunds if necessary.
Ongoing Propulsion Issues
Guests booked on recent and upcoming sailings of Anthem of the Seas have reported a variety of similar changes to multiple sailings, and earlier this month it was reported that the ship had a “mechanical limitation” with one of its engines that impacted overall speed.
This does not affect the ship’s safety or seaworthiness, nor are any onboard hotel, dining, or activity arrangements affected. Under normal operation, the ship’s top speed is 22 knots (25 miles per hour / 41 kilometers per hour).
This is also not the first time Anthem of the Seas has experienced engine issues affecting overall speed. Similar problems were also encountered in 2017, with similar solutions – slower speeds that altered port visits. At that time, and overnight port of call was used for any external mechanical work necessary.
At the moment, the 168,666-gross-ton Anthem of the Seas is homeported from New York, sailing 7-night Bahamas cruises that call at CocoCay, Royal Caribbean’s private island destination. Nassau, the capital of The Bahamas, as well as Port Canaveral, Florida are also on those itineraries.
Due to the engine issues, however, several recent cruises have trimmed or skipped Port Canaveral.
On May 1, 2023, the ship will depart New York in a transatlantic repositioning cruise to Southampton, where she will be homeported all summer, offering a wide range of Mediterranean, Spain, Canary Islands, and Norway sailings.
In October, Anthem of the Seas will return to New York for another winter of Bahamas cruises, and she will again be homeported from Southampton in the spring and summer of 2024.
