Royal Caribbean will need a little more time to finish scheduled work on Mariner of the Seas.
Mariner of the Seas is currently in Cadiz, Spain undergoing dry dock for routine maintenance.
Guests booked on the first sailing back received an email today that the April 1, 2023 sailing has been cancelled.
"Mariner of the Seas is currently undergoing dry dock for routine maintenance and exciting, which will require some extra time for these upgrades to be completed."
"Regrettably, this means our April 1st, 2023 cruise has been cancelled. We know this news is disappointing and apologize for the impact to your clients' cruise."
It's not unheard of for a cruise following a ship's dry dock to be cancelled because of extra time needed at the dry dock. While not common, it does happen from time to time.
Explorer of the Seas recently completed her dry dock work at the same ship yard last month and had no issues returning to service as scheduled.
Guests that were booked on that sailing have two choices:
Re-book any Royal Caribbean International sailing and receive a Future Cruise Credit.
Royal Caribbean will waive any non-refundable deposit change fees to change ship or sail date.
A Future Cruise Credit worth 50% of the original cruise fare paid to book a new cruise and sail by April 1st, 2024.
Reimbursement of up to $200 for non-refundable, pre-purchased transportation change fees incurred (such as a flight, train ticket, or rental car).
Cancel and refund.
A full refund of any paid portion of their cruise fare (including non-refundable deposits) and any pre-paid amenities to the original form of payment within 14 business days.
A Future Cruise Credit worth 50% of the original cruise fare paid to book a new cruise and sail by April 1st, 2024.
Reimbursement of up to $200 for non-refundable, pre-purchased transportation change fees incurred (such as a flight, train ticket, or rental car).
What work is being done to Mariner of the Seas?
Mariner of the Seas is getting maintenance work done, and Royal Caribbean has not announced any changes to the ship.
Cruise ships go in for work about every 5 years, and it's an opportunity to keep them operating efficiently, as well as clean up and enhance public areas.
When dry docks do not entail major upgrades, such as the Royal Amplification program, the cruise line tends not to announce or highlight the work being done since it's not especially newsworthy.
Mariner of the Seas' Cruise Director, Marc Walker, shared photos of the work being done on Mariner of the Seas on his Facebook page.
Much of the work seems aesthetic in nature, focusing on public decks, pools, and venues.
The ship is also getting work done below the waterline, which includes repainting the hull and propellor maintenance.
One other minor note is the minor hull damage from when a ship accidently drifted into Mariner while in Freeport, Bahamas will be repaired.
Mariner's first sailing back now should be April 6, 2023.
