Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship Skips Two Ports Due to Propulsion Trouble

*Update 4/26/24: The Radiance of the Seas cruise departing Vancouver for Alaska has been postponed due to repairs taking longer than originally anticipated.

The original departure date of April 26th is now April 28th. Passengers can still board on the 26th and spend the first two days in port at Vancouver while the repairs are finalized.

This delay is because of propulsion problems that forced the ship to skip port calls on its way to Vancouver.

Royal Caribbean International’s Radiance of the Seas will be skipping calls to Astoria and Victoria on its North American West Coast voyage due to propulsion issues.

According to a statement from the cruise line, a technical issue with one of the ship’s propulsion systems has reduced its maximum speed.

While this issue forced a change in the itinerary, a statement from the company assured that the ship can still travel safely to Vancouver.

“The Radiance of the Seas is experiencing a technical issue with one of its propulsion systems, resulting in a slower maximum speed,” the statement reads. “Unfortunately, this means we’re no longer able to make our scheduled calls. We’re sorry for the inconvenience caused by this unexpected situation.“

The 2,500-passenger ship is currently on a 4-day repositioning cruise, a one-way sailing from Los Angeles to Vancouver.

The Radiance-class vessel is expected to arrive in Vancouver on April 25th, a day earlier than originally scheduled. This earlier arrival will allow the maintenance team more time to make repairs before the next sailing.

“Our teams are hard at work to correct this issue and our current progress is meeting our timeline. However, we’ll need to be docked to complete the required repairs,“ the cruise line said. “At this time, we intend to sail as planned on April 26, 2024, and we are committed to keeping you informed every step of the way.“

Passengers currently sailing on Radiance of the Seas will receive a 50% refund of their cruise fare in the form of onboard credit.

Additionally, any shore excursions booked through the cruise line at Astoria and Victoria will also be refunded as onboard credit.

The next cruise on the ship is still scheduled to depart from the Port of Vancouver on April 26th.

This will be a 7-day round-trip sailing from the Canadian cruise port, visiting Juneau, Hubbard Glacier, Icy Strait Point, and Ketchikan before returning to Vancouver on May 3rd.