Royal Caribbean cruise cancels canal trips

Royal Caribbean has canceled its Panama Canal cruise season for one of their ships. It was planned to Rhapsody of the sea will complete itineraries of seven nights on the interoceanic highway.

International press reports indicate that the company has contacted its customers to inform them of the route changes.

Although the cruise will start the journey from colon portthe transit across the channel is not part of the route which has now been renamed the Southern Caribbean Cruise.

The original plan, from December 2023 to April 2024, included visits to the islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao (Netherlands) and Cartagena (Colombia). In his last outings he would cross Panama Canal reach a port on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.

While Royal Caribbean has not made an official statement, it emailed customers who had already booked and claimed that the change is to improve the experience.

The specialized portal Cruisehive.com adds that this adjustment may be due to the fact that costs and fees for transit through the Channel have increased significantly, making short trips financially unprofitable for cruisers.

The international press also mentions that the situation could arise due to the low water level towards the channel, which limits transit, and cruisers do not have priority over cargo ships. Besides, this could Inconsistency with the cruise schedule.

“The cruise ship may have been removed from the transit list by channel administrators,” adds Cruisehive.com.

The modification was not very well received by customers, who expressed their dissatisfaction.

“Extremely disappointing, like The canal was the only reason I booked this cruise” or “To improve your experience…we’ve removed the one thing that brought 99% of you to this journey,” commented those affected, who confirmed they had received the email.

Royal Caribbean (RC) will return to Panama this year, after more than nine years of absence. The chosen ship is Rhapsody of the Seas, with a maximum capacity of about 2,400 passengers.

For those passengers looking to experience the Channel, there are still several longer one-stop transoceanic cruises available in 2024, such as Radiance of the Seas or Brilliance of the Seas.