Royal Caribbean has sent a letter to impacted guests after bookings had to be cancelled on an upcoming cruise on Rhapsody of the Seas.
One of the lifeboats on the Vision-class vessel was damaged on a previous sailing.
Due to the damage, this lifeboat cannot be used, and the cruise ship would not have enough capacity on the remaining lifeboats for every passenger.
Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) requires a cruise ship to have a designated seat on a lifeboat or life raft for each passenger. This makes sure in the event of an emergency everyone has space on a life-saving vessel.
Only passengers whose seats were designated on the damaged lifeboat were affected by the cancellations.
Read more: 10 surprising facts about lifeboats most people don’t know
Rhapsody of the Seas is scheduled to depart from Puerto Rico on the next sailing on September 15, 2024.
Guests that were impacted by the booking cancellations will be receiving a full refund for their cruise in addition to credit for a future cruise.
Passengers will have until September of 2025 to redeem the future cruise credit and it will be for 100% of the amount they originally paid for the cancelled cruise.
The statement sent to passengers whose cruises were cancelled said the following, according to news reports:
“On our previous sailing, there was damage to one of our tender boats, which also serves as a lifeboat. This leaves the ship over capacity for the number of available lifeboat seats in the event of an emergency in our next sailing. Unfortunately, this means we’ll be unable to welcome you onboard.”
Rhapsody of the Seas is currently offering 7-night cruises out of San Juan, Puerto Rico, visiting destinations like St Croix, St Thomas, St Maarten, and Barbados.
The ship will remain homported in San Juan until it is scheduled to move to Tampa, Florida in November of 2025.
“We know this is disappointing news and we’re terribly sorry for the impact on your vacation plans,” Royal Caribbean concluded in the statement.
