It’s been just under a year since the Red Sea crisis began, and the tensions are still impacting cruising.
When the conflict first began in October of 2023, many cruise lines opted to alter course or cancel sailings out of an abundance of caution. But while changes have become less frequent, they sometimes still become necessary.
The latest ship to be impacted is Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas – which was supposed to operate a one-way voyage from Dubai, UAE, to Singapore, beginning on November 17, 2025.
The 14-night itinerary would have called on Mumbai, India; Kochi, India; Phuket, Thailand; and George Town, Penang Island, Malaysia.
“To avoid the continuing unrest in the Red Sea area, and after exploring all options, our upcoming November 17, 2025, Voyager of the Seas sailing has been redeployed,” reads a letter from Royal Caribbean to impacted guests.
“The time and effort you took to plan your cruise is important to us and we apologize for the inconvenience,” continued the letter.
The note did not specify where the Voyager-class vessel would be redeployed to, although it’s possible that the ship would skip ahead to its next homeport of Brisbane, Australia.
The 4,269-guest vessel is due to start operating out of the Australian port on December 1, 2025 – from where she will offer a series of three to 9-night itineraries throughout Queensland, Australia, and the South Pacific well into 2026.
It’s also not yet clear if the November 17 voyage is the only sailing that will be impacted by the redeployment – although the letter from the cruise line only addressed the one cruise.
Interestingly, there is also currently a 14-night, one-way voyage from Rome, Italy, to Dubai that is scheduled to embark on November 3, 2025, and arrive on November 17. It would have been the voyage directly before the now cancelled sailing.
However, the month of November 2025 has been removed from cruise tracking data for this 137,276-gross ton ship – which implies that the earlier voyage may perhaps be impacted by the redeployment as well and the ship might temporarily exit service.
Options for Impacted Guests
While no one wants to hear that their cruise won’t be going ahead as planned, Royal Caribbean is giving guests three generous options to choose from to try to make things right. Guests simply have to inform the cruise line of their decision by October 22, 2024.
“Every aspect of your time with us should be enjoyable, so we’ve put together some alternative options that we hope will work for you and those in your party,” wrote the cruise line.
The first option is for guests to rebook on Allure of the Seas’ 13-night transatlantic voyage that embarks from Barcelona, Spain, on October 26, 2025.
The one way voyage will call on Palma De Mallorca, Spain; Alicante, Spain; Cartagena, Spain; and Malaga, Spain; before concluding in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas Cruise Ship (Photo Credit: StudioPortoSabbia)
The price will either be adjusted to the new cruise fare rate or prorated for the change in sailing nights – with the option that results in the lesser fare being selected on a case by case basis.
Cruisers who have already paid in full and receive a rate decrease from choosing this option will be provided with a refund reflecting the difference in cost.
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The second option is to rebook with any other Royal Caribbean sailing not included in the first option – and the cruise line will waive any non-refundable deposit change fees.
As with the first option, any passengers who have already paid in full will be refunded the difference if the price of their new cruise is lower.
Last but not least, impacted passengers do have the option to cancel – and will receive a full refund of any portions of the cruise fare they already paid, including normally nonrefundable deposits, and for any pre-paid amenities.
Guests who used a future cruise credit to book this sailing will receive a new certificate and a refund for any funds paid above and beyond the original credit amount.
Source: Cruisehive.com
