Royal Caribbean aborts Alaska sailing after 1,700 guests spend days aboard docked ship
Royal Caribbean cancelled a seven-night Alaska cruise after about 1,700 passengers had already boarded and stayed on the docked Serenade of the Seas in Vancouver.
Royal Caribbean informed passengers on August 22 that an unspecified technical issue would reduce their seven-night Alaska itinerary to five nights and delayed the sailing from August 30 to September 1, offering the ship as temporary lodging. Roughly 1,700 guests boarded early, only to learn on Tuesday that the voyage was cancelled because repairs remained unfinished. The line set a midnight Wednesday deadline for disembarkation and pledged full refunds, a 100% future cruise credit and partial refunds for food and drink packages.
No details about the nature of the problem were released, nor whether it would affect the ship’s next scheduled departure. One passenger, Arielle Anderson, expressed disappointment after planning the trip since Christmas. Online forums reflected mixed reactions, with some users relieved they had not boarded and others seeking information on upcoming cruises.
