This year's torrential rain and floods in Spain have delayed another cruise ship's return to service.
Royal Caribbean's Adventure of the Seas is undergoing routine maintenance work in Cadiz, Spain, which typically occurs every five years.
Guests booked on Adventure of the Seas were informed of a change in plans as a direct result of the bad weather in the region.
Guests booked on the transatlantic sailing returning the ship to the United States received an update their voyage has been pushed back two days and as a result, had to change up its itinerary.
"Due to adverse weather impacting our ability to complete our current drydock operations; Adventure of the Seas will be arriving in Barcelona two (2) days later than we initially planned," an email to booked passengers read.
The ship was originally scheduled to depart Barcelona, Spain on Sunday, November 24, 2024.
Instead, Adventure will now depart Barcelona on Tuesday, November 26, 2024.
The change in departure date also means a change to the ship's itinerary. Adventure will skip Valencia, Malaga, and Seville, Spain and instead spend those days at sea.
This means the only port of call for her revised 11-night crossing will be Madeira (Funchal), Portugal on Friday, November 29th.
Any pre-paid Royal Caribbean International shore excursions booked for Valencia, Malaga & Seville, will automatically be refunded to your original form of payment.
Adventure of the Seas is scheduled to arrive to Port Canaveral, Florida as originally scheduled on December 7, 2024.
Once the ship returns to Port Canaveral, she will return to offering 6- and 8-night Caribbean cruises through April 2025.
Compensation for the change
To make it up to passengers, Royal Caribbean is offering some money back.
Royal Caribbean is providing:
- A refund of two (2) days of your Cruise Fare paid as an onboard Credit
- A pro-rated refund as an onboard Credit for daily packages (Beverage, Dining, VOOM) and pre-paid gratuities.
All Onboard Credits can be used anywhere onboard, and any remaining refundable amounts at the end of the sailing will be refunded to the card on file up to 14 business days from final disembarkation.
For travel plans that need to be changed, Royal Caribbean will cover any air change fee up to $200 USD for domestic travel and $400 USD for international travel, per person OR one (1) night hotel accommodations, up to $250 USD, per stateroom if needed.
Royal Caribbean will also honor the original amount of nights in the sailing, as it relates to Crown and Anchor Society points.
"You’ll receive loyalty points for the original sail nights, instead of the nights sailed. For this sailing, you’ll still receive 13 nights worth of loyalty points."
Second shipyard delay this fall
Adventure is the second Royal Caribbean ship in a few weeks to have a delay in returning to service following a drydock.
Voyager of the Seas had a similar situation when it had to delay its return by a day.
Just like Adventure, the reason for Voyager's work delay was because of the rain and floods in Spain.
Voyager took an extra day to return, and replaced a visit to Valencia, Spain with Palma De Mallorca.
Shipyards are typically outdoor facilities, and severe weather can impact timelines. Spain, however, is suffering through
severe thunderstorms and torrential rain along its coast.
Thousands of people had to be evacuated just two weeks after the country experienced deadly flooding in Valencia and other nearby communities.
