Royal Caribbean announces new cruise dates as Port Canaveral reopens

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – With Hurricane Ian expected to impact Florida Wednesday, Royal Caribbean announced it would postpone two of its upcoming cruises until Saturday, which is when Port Canaveral officials said that cruises will be cleared to resume.

Due to Ian’s approach, Port Canaveral was expected to close from Wednesday through Friday, which impacted Royal Caribbean’s planned cruises, according to the cruise line.

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Port Canaveral announced Friday that cruise ships were cleared to continue operations starting Saturday, Oct. 1. Officials urged cruise guests to check in with their cruise lines for schedules.

Officials said that boarding for the Mariner of the Seas cruise that was scheduled to set out on Thursday, Sept. 29 will now depart Saturday, Oct. 1 and return as planned on Monday, Oct. 3.

As a result of the change, the cruise will no longer visit Nassau, though it will still travel to Perfect Day at CocoCay on Sunday, according to the cruise line.

In addition, the Independence of the Seas cruise set to sail Friday, Sept. 30 will now depart Saturday, Oct. 1 and return as planned on Monday, Oct. 3, the cruise line announced in a statement.

As a result of the change, the cruise will no longer visit Perfect Day at CocoCay, though guests will still travel to Nassau on Sunday as planned, according to the cruise line.

For customers affected by the changes, Royal Caribbean is offering the following options for reimbursement. All credits will be able to be used anywhere onboard, and any unused balance will be refunded to the card associated with the guest’s account.

• Since the trip will be cut short, Royal Caribbean is offering to provide guests with the value of three days’ worth of cruise fare for the Mariner of the Seas cruise or two days’ worth of cruise fare for the Independence of the Seas cruise as a refundable onboard credit
• Prorated refundable onboard credit for any pre-cruise packages purchased, including RoyalUp
• Anyone who purchased any Royal Caribbean International shore excursions for Nassau will be refunded as a refundable onboard credit. Royal Caribbean said it would do its best to preserve any activities originally reserved at Perfect Day at CocoCay
• Cancelation for a 100% refund

For guests who no longer wish to sail or want to change their sail date, Royal Caribbean said to contact the company at 1-866-562-7625.

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