Star of the Seas Delayed, Inaugural Sailing Cancelled
Royal Caribbean International has announced the delay of one of the newest ships, Star of the Seas. Read more below to find out what this means.
Recently, Royal Caribbean notified travel agents, as well as booked guests, of a delay of the inaugural sailing of Icon-class ship Star of the Seas. Slated to first set sail August 17th, 2025, the cruise line regrettably informed passengers set to sail that the date must be pushed back. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the sailing out of Port Canaveral is to be pushed back to a rescheduled date of August 31st, 2025. Will this be enough time for the cruise line to get their ships in a row?
The original inaugural cruise, a 7-Night Eastern Caribbean & Perfect Day at Coco Cay sailing, was supposed to be the debut of this Star (pun-intended). What are the unforeseen circumstances, you may ask? Delays in delivery. The cruise line evaluated the current supply chain and construction efforts, but unfortunately the work being done at this current rate will not allow for the ship to sail on it's original sailing date. Instead, now the cruise line expects an additional 2 weeks. Whether this is because of a safety issue or a cosmetic protocol, we do not know.
The 7,600 passenger ship is slated to be similar to Royal Caribbean's latest icon (more puns!), Icon of the Seas, as they share the same vessel class. Whether this Star will outshine it's sister is yet to be determined, but there are talks that this ship will be just as stunning.
What About Those of Us Who Booked the Inaugural?
Sailors who were originally booked on the inaugural sailing have a few options, which are extended graciously by the cruise line. As well, as this sailing is over a year away, passengers have ample time to be able to adjust their flights, hotels, PTO, and what not. Guests can switch their sailing to another ship with a similar date and itinerary, or choose to stay on the Star for when it is finally able to sail. It is recommended that guests read through their options in full or consult their travel agent to determine the best course of action based on their needs and desires.
The new inaugural date of August 31st, 2025 has a gorgeous itinerary of Coco Cay, Cozumel, and Costa Maya. For those who do not want to take any of the options Royal Caribbean is providing as alternatives, a full refund is possible.
Those who are affected are asked to make a selection within the coming weeks so that Royal Caribbean can anticipate changes required.
Is This Common?
In terms of inaugural sailings, recently the Sun Princess had quite a bit of headline-space in the news for its debut being delayed not once, but twice. Unfortunately, unforeseen circumstances (such as Covid-19, which delayed multiple ships and presumably messed with many future debuts as well) can occur.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time a cruise line has announced a delay in sailing for a cruise ship. This happens even for ships that have been on sea for a while, with itinerary changes due to political issues or simply due to safety and security measures that need to be changed.
I recently had to change my Valiant Lady sailing to a Scarlet Lady sailing with Virgin Voyages because of some scheduling issues.
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