Key Aspects:
- Royal Caribbean has emailed tempting offers to select guests on the September 27, 2026 sailing of Allure of the Seas, enticing them to change their travel plans.
- Different options include a fare refund and transfer to an identical cruise setting sail on October 11 or cancelling altogether for a full refund and a 100% future cruise credit.
- The cruise line typically makes these offers when a sailing appears overbooked as a way to free up more staterooms, but not all guests take advantage of the deals.
Select guests booked on Allure of the Seas‘ September 27, 2026 cruise departure have received very tempting offers from Royal Caribbean to change their travel plans: emails offering full refunds and free cruises if guests can switch their sailing dates.
The 5,718-guest Oasis-class ship is due to set sail on a 6-night Western Caribbean itinerary departing Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Sunday with port visits planned for Perfect Day CocoCay in the Bahamas; Falmouth, Jamaica; and Nassau, Bahamas before returning to the Sunshine State on Saturday, October 3.
If guests can adjust their plans, however, Royal Caribbean is calling the options “pretty sweet” according to the email.
“Ahead of our Allure of the Seas September 27, 2026, sailing, we are looking to see if you and your travel party have flexible travel arrangements. If your plans are set in stone, please mark this email as ‘Read’, and gear up for your upcoming adventure, although there are some pretty sweet options below,” the email said.
The first of those options is to switch to the ship’s Sunday, October 11, 2026 departure. Also onboard Allure of the Seas, that is an identical itinerary with the exact same port visits planned, down to the same order of the visits and the specific times in each port. The only difference is the cruise sets sail two weeks later.
If guests select that option, they will receive a full refund of the cruise fare paid for the September 27 sailing, though they will still pay for any applicable fees, taxes, and add-on amenities (spa reservations, specialty dining, drink packages, etc.) as those charges apply to the new cruise date. That cruise fare refund would be processed back to the original form of payment.
There would be no transfer fee to move the booking to the October 11 sailing, and the new reservation would be in a similar category to the original cruise stateroom selected.
The offer notes that Royal Caribbean would also reimburse guests for any non-refundable, pre-purchased travel expenses such as flights or hotels.
Read that all again: full refund for moving to an identical sailing two weeks later, with reimbursement for travel expenses if necessary. So, guests who take that option effectively get a free cruise just for delaying their vacation plans for two weeks.
A second option is for guests to cancel their cruise, but in return they get a full refund of all funds paid, including non-refundable deposits, as well as a future cruise credit worth 100% of the cruise fare paid. This option also includes reimbursement for travel expenses.
Effectively, this also amounts to a free cruise, as guests get both the full refund as well as the future cruise credit, which they can use on a booking of their choice on any ship in the Royal Caribbean fleet.
While Royal Caribbean has not explained why these offers are being made, this is a typical strategy the cruise line may use when a sailing is overbooked and they are attempting to free up staterooms.
Cruise Hive has reported on these types of offers in the past, most recently for Utopia of the Seas’ September 4, 2026 departure. That offer included options for stateroom upgrades as well as refunds if guests changed their plans.
Voyager of the Seas’ September 4, 2026 sailing to Alaska also appeared to be overbooked with similar offers that included free transfers to other sailings, full refunds, and onboard credit to enjoy on the new cruise.
Who Wouldn’t Take the Offer?
These offers may seem too good to be true, but not all guests are eager to take advantage of the deals.
“I got it to [sic] but I’m disregarding it & still going for the original date as it states it’s not guaranteed,” one guest commented on Facebook, referring to the fact that not everyone may get the deal, even if they express interest.
“I did get the offer and it sounds pretty amazing but everybody’s ready to go at this point and not finding out until tomorrow would be an issue,” another guest said, noting that guests won’t have confirmation of the change until Friday, two days before sailing.
If travelers are planning to fly in ahead of the cruise or if they have already confirmed time off work, set up a pet sitter, or otherwise made arrangements for the trip, it could be challenging to shift travel dates at the last minute.
Other guests might have chosen this specific sailing date to celebrate a special occasion or sail with a larger group, and not everyone could be eligible for the offer.
Nevertheless, for the right traveler, it can be a very tempting offer indeed.
