Royal Caribbean has confirmed that the inaugural cruise for Star of the Seas, the second Icon-class ship for the cruise line, has been cancelled.
Guests who were booked onto the 7-night cruise sailing around the Eastern Caribbean received notification on Tuesday, 27th February that their cruise would no longer be sailing.
The email from the cruise line stated that “after a review of the work that remains to be done, we’re unfortunately forced to delay the ship’s delivery date. As a result, we must cancel our inaugural 7-Night Eastern Caribbean & Perfect Day August 17th, 2025 sailing.”
Now, the new inaugural cruise will take place on 31st August 2025 – two weeks after the original scheduled date.
Guests originally booked on the 17th August 2025 sailing have been presented with several options:
- They can transfer to the new inaugural sailing on 31st August 2025. This is the default option, and if guests don’t choose one of the others then they will automatically be moved onto this sailing
- They can transfer to a cruise on Wonder of the Seas, which will depart on 17th August 2025 – meaning the date remains the same
- They can transfer to a cruise on Icon of the Seas, sister ship of Star of the Seas, on 16th August 2025
- They can ask for a full refund
If guests choose any of these rebooking options, then their original stateroom price will be protected, or reduced to the fare for the new cruise – whichever is lowest. This excludes extra fees such as taxes and gratuities.
Guests can also move their booking to any other cruise with Royal Caribbean on any ship in the fleet, but if they do, then they’ll be responsible for any differences in cruise fare.
There is a deadline – guests have until 12th March 2024 to make their decision, otherwise they will be moved to the new inaugural cruise.
There are always risks that cruise lines have to cancel inaugural cruises – Princess Cruises has twice cancelled the inaugural cruise of their latest ship, Sun Princess.
While it’s disappointing for guests to have their plans change, the small positive is that this was announced almost 18 months before the cruise was due to depart, giving guests plenty of notice.
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Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.
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