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BumRushDaShow

(169,197 posts)
Sun Mar 22, 2026, 03:11 AM 7 hrs ago

Royal Caribbean suddenly cuts 20 cruises just days after Carnival canceled 11 sailings, report says

Source: The Independent

Saturday 21 March 2026 15:33 EDT


Royal Caribbean has canceled more than 20 scheduled sailings aboard its Freedom of the Seas ship for the summer 2027 season, just days after Carnival Cruise Line similarly canceled 11 future sailings.

The impacted Royal Caribbean departures were originally scheduled between May and September 2027 and included a range of itineraries from four‑night Bahamas trips to five-night trips in the Dominican Republic and nine‑night journeys calling in Aruba and Curaçao, according to the unofficial Royal Caribbean Blog and The Travel.

Royal Caribbean emailed passengers this week to announce that Freedom of the Seas will be redeployed to Southampton, England, for the 2027 season, canceling its previously scheduled home‑port sailings due to an “ongoing itinerary planning process,” according to the blogs.

“Deployment planning is dynamic and regularly reviewed based on demand, capacity requirements, and broader fleet considerations,” a Royal Caribbean spokesperson told The Independent in a statement. “As part of this process, we’ve made the decision to redeploy Freedom of the Seas to Southampton in 2027. Guests and travel partners are being contacted directly with details about their sailings and available options.”

Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/travel/royal-caribbean-carnival-cancel-cruises-b2943187.html

10 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Royal Caribbean suddenly cuts 20 cruises just days after Carnival canceled 11 sailings, report says (Original Post) BumRushDaShow 7 hrs ago OP
Translation? BidenRocks 6 hrs ago #1
Translation: Canadians aren't going to Miami. LisaM 3 hrs ago #3
Agree that this is a big factor Prairie Gates 2 hrs ago #6
trumpfuckup Whip-poor-will 6 hrs ago #2
No mention of the underlying reasons in the Independent article. TheRickles 2 hrs ago #4
The radio reports I heard over the weekened BumRushDaShow 2 hrs ago #5
Nothing to see here Footay 1 hr ago #7
Yes but this time BumRushDaShow 1 hr ago #9
Not really. Footay 48 min ago #10
Given the threats Iran has made RainCaster 1 hr ago #8

LisaM

(29,615 posts)
3. Translation: Canadians aren't going to Miami.
Sun Mar 22, 2026, 08:03 AM
3 hrs ago

The drop-off in Canadian tourism is huge, and Canadians have a lot of choices.

Whip-poor-will

(183 posts)
2. trumpfuckup
Sun Mar 22, 2026, 05:00 AM
6 hrs ago

This is what to label every unintended consequence resulting from trump's Iran rape.

Have it handy it's going to be constant.

Gas prices it's a trumpfuckup

Close the shipping it's a trumpfuckup

No fertilizer it's a trumpfuckup

Snuffing 265 school girls intentional not a trumpfuckup but trump is fucked up

TheRickles

(3,351 posts)
4. No mention of the underlying reasons in the Independent article.
Sun Mar 22, 2026, 08:45 AM
2 hrs ago

But their online Commenters mention the higher price of fuel, and the fear that the ships' crews would encounter ICE agents in America. In addition to the drop in Canadian tourism.

BumRushDaShow

(169,197 posts)
5. The radio reports I heard over the weekened
Sun Mar 22, 2026, 09:00 AM
2 hrs ago

did mention the current crisis -notably since this happened right after Carnival canceled with similar weasel wording, but people speculated about the why - especially the cruises going along coastal Mexico...

Footay

(87 posts)
7. Nothing to see here
Sun Mar 22, 2026, 09:36 AM
1 hr ago

This happens all the time in this industry. Cruise lines evaluate bookings and redeploy ships to the areas with the potential to sell more.

Redeployments and itinerary changes are frequent and for numerous reasons. In fact, just this week Virgin Voyages changed the itineraries of four sailings for next February in order to have a 3-hour meetup and photo op with four ships in the middle of the Caribbean.

BumRushDaShow

(169,197 posts)
9. Yes but this time
Sun Mar 22, 2026, 10:01 AM
1 hr ago

there are actual hostilities going on in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, with purported "drug boats" being blown out of the water in both locations.

You also have a U.S. aircraft carrier (docked in Greece at Crete for repairs) and its group in the Mediterranean and Red Sea (and some of the cancelled cruises were in that area, where an Iranian missile hit Cyprus).

Reduce the ships and you reduce the risk that an errant missile that someone figures fell "harmlessly" in the water, actually hits one of those ships. That is the whole issue with the Strait of Hormuz.

Footay

(87 posts)
10. Not really.
Sun Mar 22, 2026, 10:18 AM
48 min ago

Over 150 cruise ships sail the Caribbean yearly. Moving one, 20-year-old smaller ship to a different geographic location is insignificant and not related to anything you listed.

If anyone was worried about safety in the Caribbean, they would be moving the new, $2 billion mega ships carrying 7,500 people.

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