Royal Caribbean's move to deploy more of its ships to sail shorter 3- and 4-night itineraries has sparked heated debate among its loyal cruisers.
Royal Caribbean released new short Caribbean cruises this week, but some cruise fans don't love a notable shift in the cruise line's strategy.
Utopia of the Seas and Wonder of the Seas will have already made this switch in 2025, but Oasis and Harmony of the Seas will join the trend when they start sailing short cruises in the fall of 2026.
"It's so sad that Royal Caribbean is ruining most of the Oasis class ships with the short cruises," said Søren Hemmingsen on Facebook, and it echoes what hundreds of other die hard Royal Caribbean fans expressed about the new releases.
The big change is in winter 2026-2027, Royal Caribbean will have all but one of its Oasis Class ships sailing short cruises in the Caribbean and they're all less than 7 nights.
The reason so many cruisers are upset is the lack of itinerary variety and high cost for a short trip.
Some long-time cruisers feel a week is necessary to be able to fully enjoy these mega ship’s amenities, entertainment, and dining experiences. With more ships being allocated to short sailings, seasoned cruisers are feeling left out.
"I can’t seem to find it worth my time to drive 8+ hours or cost beneficial to fly for a 3 or 4 night cruise. This hurts those of us who are just far enough away that have to come in the day before," said Barry Akins.
The only Oasis Class ship that will remain offering week long cruises is Symphony of the Seas out of Galveston, Texas. It's not clear what Allure of the Seas will be doing yet.
A shift toward attracting new cruisers
Why is Royal Caribbean moving more of its ships to sail short cruises? The answer is at the heart of its business.
"Short cruises is really the onramp for new to cruise," Vicki Freed, Senior Vice President of Sales, Trade Support and Service for Royal Caribbean, explained to travel agents during a webinar yesterday.
"It's kind of the test drive, people don't have to invest a lot of time, they don't have to invest a lot of money... to see if cruising is the right experience for them."
Traditionally, older cruise ships sailed these short cruises but Royal Caribbean wanted to flip the script and attract new cruisers with the best possible ships.
The idea is offer the very best new cruise ship in the short cruise market to give new cruisers an obvious choice of which ship is best for them to try. Shorter cruises allow passengers to get a taste of the best that Royal Caribbean has to offer without committing to a weeklong cruise.
From a business standpoint, Royal Caribbean is doubling down on what works.
The cruise line is targeting a younger demographic and those who want a quick escape without taking a full week off work. Shorter cruises often sell out faster and at higher per-night rates, making them a profitable option.
One comment on the new deployment recognized the business reality, "A very short lesson in Cruising 101—Short cruises you can turn that ship twice and flip it and make more money—that only makes sense for the cruise lines! Fresh passengers buying more drinks and gambling more. This is nothing new."
Frustration over lack of variety
The shift away from longer cruises on Oasis Class ships means there aren't many options for a traditional 7-night Caribbean cruise on an Oasis Class ship. There are sailings on Icon Class vessels, but right now Icon Class ships command the highest average cruise fares in the fleet.
One workaround is to book a back to back sailing, where you sail the same ship twice in a row to get a week on the ship. However, there isn't a lot difference in where your ship visits.
"I hate this!," wrote Susan Cliatt. "We have to fly and it is not worth the 3,4 or 5 days!
Royal Caribbean executives have repeatedly said the top two reasons people book a cruise ship vacation are for the destinations and the food.
Short cruises, especially 3-night sailings, usually only go to The Bahamas.
Cruise fans complained, "This caters to those that live close to the ports."
"They are only worth it if you live near the port."
Another frustration is many travelers feel that large, feature-packed ships like those in the Oasis Class are wasted on short itineraries, where there simply isn’t enough time to experience everything onboard.
Matt Anderson wrote, "Just don’t understand why all the Oasis Class ships are moving to short cruises. You have to take just as many days off work to go on the 4-day cruise since it’s Mon-Fri as a 7-day Sunday-Sunday cruise. Also, there is just way too much happening on these ships to only be on for 3 or 4 days."
Another person echoed this concern:
"Hmmmm can’t say I like this move. We don’t like Icon because it’s crawling with out-of-control kids and was perfectly happy going back to Oasis Class for our 7-night Eastern Caribbean."
