Cruise NewsRoyal Caribbean Cruise Ship Drops St. Maarten From Upcoming Itinerary

Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship Drops St. Maarten From Upcoming Itinerary

Royal Caribbean has announced a slew of changes and cancellations due to Hurricane Irma. Included in these changes are the September 9 sailing on Adventure of the Seas.  The ship will no longer stop in St. Maarten due to damage to the island and will now have an overnight stop in Aruba.

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Royal Caribbean’s gave the following update this morning regarding all of their cruises on the Eastern seaboard:

We are closely monitoring Hurricane Irma’s path and its potential impact to our current and upcoming sailings. Royal Caribbean’s Chief Meteorologist, James Van Fleet, is closely tracking the storm’s progress, and the current forecast is as follows:

Hurricane Irma is a category 5 storm with sustained winds of 180 mph. Irma passed just north of San Juan, Puerto Rico and is currently located just north of the Dominican moving west at 17 mph. The current forecasts suggest that Hurricane Irma is tracking towards southeast Florida and should arrive Sunday morning, and then proceed to Port Canaveral Monday morning. The storm should exit the Florida area late Monday, pre-dawn Tuesday.

For guests on the current sailings of Oasis, Harmony and Allure of the Seas, we have decided to delay the return of these ships until the storm has passed. Due to the unpredictability of the storm, we plan to keep all of our guests currently sailing on these ships safely out of harm’s way.

The following sailings are departing as scheduled:

  • Grandeur of the Seas: September 7 New England/Canada cruise
  • Liberty of the Seas: September 10 Western Caribbean cruise
  • Serenade of the Seas: September 10 New England/Canada cruise
  • Vision of the Seas: September 7 New England/Canada cruise

The following sailings are canceled:

  • Empress of the Seas: September 9 Cuba cruise
  • Enchantment of the Seas: September 8 Bahamas cruise
  • Majesty of the Seas: September 8 Bahamas cruise

We are very sorry for the impact this storm has had on your vacation and please know that we made the decision with the safety and comfort of our guests and crew in mind. The cruise fare and fees will be 100% refunded to the original form of payment, and we are also offering a 25% future cruise credit, based on the cruise fare, if a new cruise is booked in the next 30 days. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call 1-800-256-6649.

The following sailings are being modified:

Allure of the Seas:  September 10 Western Caribbean cruise

The new departure date will be on Wednesday, 9/13 and we will sail a 4-night itinerary, with an overnight in Nassau, Bahamas. We will continue to watch the path of the storm, and if Nassau as a port of call is no longer an option, we will instead call on our private island of Labadee, Haiti.

We know this change is disappointing, and we are truly sorry for the storm’s impact on your vacation. Should you choose to sail with us we will provide you with a refund of 50% of your cruise fare paid in the form of a refundable onboard credit, and an additional 50% future cruise credit.

Harmony of the Seas: September 9 Eastern Caribbean cruise

The new departure date will be on Tuesday, 9/12 and we will sail a 4-night itinerary to Cozumel, Mexico. We know this change is disappointing, and we are truly sorry. Should you choose to sail with us we will provide you with a refund of 50% of your cruise fare paid in the form of a refundable onboard credit, and an additional 50% future cruise credit.

Oasis of the Seas: September 10 Eastern Caribbean cruise

The new departure date will now be on Tuesday, 9/12 and we will sail a 5-night itinerary to Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico. We know this change is disappointing, and we are truly sorry. Should you choose to sail with us we will provide you with a refund of 30% of your cruise fare paid in the form of a refundable onboard credit, and an additional 50% future cruise credit.

Adventure of the Seas:  September 9 Southern Caribbean cruise

We plan to operate this sailing as planned on Saturday. However, given the impact of Hurricane Irma in St. Maarten, we will be replacing this port with an overnight in Aruba.
Enchantment of the Seas: September 11 Bahamas cruise

The new departure date will be Tuesday, 9/12 and we will sail a 3-night itinerary to the Bahamas. Given the unpredictability of Irma, we will advise if there are any changes to the itinerary as soon as we know. We know this change is disappointing, and we are truly sorry. Should you choose to sail with us we will provide you with a refund of 25% of your cruise fare paid in the form of a refundable onboard credit.

Given the changes to these sailings, if you are unable to travel and need to cancel your cruise, we will provide you with a 100% future cruise credit. Pre-booked shore excursions will be refunded to your original form of payment, and you will have the ability to book excursions in our new ports of call once onboard.

The following sailings are being monitored and we will have further details in our 6 PM EDT update:

  • Anthem of the Seas:  September 9 Bermuda cruise
  • Majesty of the Seas (charter cruise): September 11 Bahamas cruise*

*For guests on the Majesty of the Seas charter, please direct your questions to Thirty One Gifts directly at [email protected].

We will be working with local authorities to assess and understand the impact of Irma and when it is appropriate to visit. If the impact of the storm requires us to make a change we will of course notify you immediately.

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Ben Souza
Ben Souza
Ben is a world traveler who has visited 40+ countries, taken over 80 cruises. He is one of USA TODAY's experts for their 10Best Readers' Choice Awards. His writings have appeared and been cited in various media outlets such as Yahoo News, MSN, NPR, CNN, Fox, and ABC News. Ben currently resides in Cincinnati, Ohio. Follow Ben on Instagram. Visit Ben Souza on Linkedin. You may email Ben at [email protected].
Cruise NewsRoyal Caribbean Cruise Ship Drops St. Maarten From Upcoming Itinerary
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