USA TODAY US Edition

Royal Caribbean cruise canceled after boarding

- Nathan Diller

A Royal Caribbean Internatio­nal Alaska voyage became a cruise to nowhere over the weekend, with the line canceling the sailing after guests had already boarded.

The cruise line’s Radiance of the Seas ship experience­d propulsion issues, forcing it to shorten and eventually scrap the weeklong itinerary, according to notices shared with guests. The sailing was originally set to depart from Vancouver on Friday.

Charlene Chong, who was on board with her husband, their 3-year and 11month-old children, and her parents, said passengers were notified Saturday afternoon that the cruise was canceled. The 34-year-old teacher and her husband previously took a cruise for their honeymoon, but this marked their first trip with Royal Caribbean.

“My parents had wanted to go to Alaska for a really long time,” said Chong, who lives in Vancouver.

The cruise line warned guests several days before boarding that the ship had a “technical issue with its propulsion system,” according to an email sent to passengers that Chong shared with USA TODAY. The line later pushed the departure back by two days to allow more time for repairs.

Royal Caribbean said boarding would proceed as planned but that the terminal would close Friday evening due to U.S. Customs and Border Protection rules. Passengers would not be able to leave until the ship arrived at Icy Strait Point.

“We were going stir crazy a little bit,” said Chong.

Royal Caribbean gave guests onboard credit worth two days of their fare, a future cruise credit of the same amount, compliment­ary drinks and other compensati­on, another email said.

According to Chong, the ship sailed toward a nearby cargo port, but the captain announced Saturday afternoon that the sailing could not proceed and that guests would need to disembark by Sunday at 4 p.m. Chong said she and her family were “lucky” they were local, but she saw other guests scrambling to change their flights and find accommodat­ions.

“We understand the disappoint­ment due to this unfortunat­e turn of events,” the cruise line said in a letter shared with guests. “We truly extend our sincerest apologies for the continued unforeseen disruption­s to your vacation.”

Royal Caribbean gave them their money back as onboard credit with any remaining amount refunded, increased their future cruise credit to 100% of their fare and kept its openbar policy for the remaining time on board. The line also offered to reimburse trip change fees up to $250 for guests traveling domestical­ly and $400 for internatio­nal travel and additional reimbursem­ents for hotel and transporta­tion costs, among other compensati­on.

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