Royal Caribbean cruise ship delayed by winter storm

A major winter storm is wreaking havoc across the United States, and one Royal Caribbean ship will not return to its homeport on time.

Odyssey of the Seas was scheduled to return to Bayonne, New Jersey on January 26th but will now take an extra day.

“Due to the major winter storm affecting much of the east and northeast US, and the impacts to land-based travel and port operations, we are delaying our arrival into Bayonne by one day,” an email sent to passengers booked on the ship read.

The historic winter storm historic has impacts across nearly 40 states and began on Friday.  It’s expected to carry through to Monday.

The New York City area is expecting 8 to 12 inches of snow

Odyssey of the Seas is one of the bigger cruise ships in Royal Caribbean’s fleet.  It launched in 2021 and is 167,704 gross tons in size. It’s the newest Quantum Class ship in the fleet.

There are two reasons for delaying the ship for a day.

First, it allows the storm to move out of the area and for the port itself to be prepared to handle turnaround day on a ship. 

A cruise terminal requires government officials to handle immigration and customs inspection, longshoremen to offload cargo and luggage, parking assistance, port workers, and more.

Second, this allows anyone traveling into the area more time to make it in.

As of Sunday, more than 16,000 flights have been canceled and thousands more were expected to be canceled over the weekend.

“This will allow for the weather to improve and shore-based operations to recover. For many guests experiencing difficulties getting to Bayonne, we hope this relieves some worry as you’ll have an extra day to make it there safely,” the email said.

This ship measures 1,138 feet in length and can accommodate 4,198 guests at double occupancy.

New sailing schedule

As a result, Odyssey of the Seas will now sail on Tuesday with a modified itinerary.

Odyssey was scheduled to offer a 12-night Southern Caribbean cruise that visited 

• San Juan, Puerto Rico
• Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas
• St. Johns, Antigua
• Bridgetown, Barbados
• Castries, St. Lucia
• Philipsburg, St. Maarten

As a result of the delayed start of the cruise, Odyssey will now skip San Juan, Puerto Rico and Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas.

Both of those days will be replaced with sea days.

The new schedule is as follows:

Compensation

As a result of the last-minute change, Royal Caribbean is offering compensation to guests to make up for it.

Technically, the cruise contract that all guests agree to when they book a cruise guarantees nothing in terms of changes, but the cruise line is offering some money back as a gesture of good will.

All passengers will receive a one day refund of cruise fare paid as onboard credit. Any unused credit at the end of the cruise will be refunded back to the credit card on file.

Royal Caribbean will also reimburse passengers for non-refundable, pre-purchased travel fees incurred, such as a hotel, train ticket, or rental car.  

Plus, one night of a hotel stay up to $250 for one night will be reimbursed.

Airline change fees will also be covered up to $200 USD per guest for Domestic, or up to $400 USD per guest for International flights.

• Any pre-paid internet or beverage packages will be refunded for 1-day’s worth of the price paid
• Any pre-paid Royal Caribbean shore excursions booked for San Juan and Charlotte Amalie will also be refunded

Bonus day

Guests sailing on Odyssey of the Seas for an extra day received letters in their stateroom explaining how the extra day will work and what to expect with disembarkation.

“Our plan is to begin debarking guests at 7:00 AM on Tuesday, January 27th in Bayonne. We kindly ask that you stick to your departure group to ensure a smooth and seamless transition to your onward journey.”

Passengers that purchased unlimited drink packages will have them extended at a reduced rate:

• Deluxe Beverage Package: $50 USD per person
• Refreshment Package: $20 USD per person
• Soda Package: $5 USD per person
• VOOM Internet: $15 USD per day
• The Key: $15 USD per day
• Unlimited Dining cannot be extended at this time

Guests can go to Guest Services and ask to not have their package extended.

In addition, gratuities will be extended as well by one more day. 

Royal Caribbean has an automatic gratuity they charge guests for each night of the cruise to cover the hard working crew members. That means every passenger in a standard cabin will be charged an additional $18.50, or $21.00 per person in suites.

Live from Odyssey of the Seas

A Royal Caribbean Blog reader, JohnK6404, is onboard the current Odyssey of the Seas sailing and shared the change in plans from the ship.

“Captain Per came on at 2:00 PM and confirmed we will be extended one FULL day and will not be returning to Bayonne now until Tuesday, 1/27, at 6:00 AM!”

“We are so lucky that we do not have to stress over the return trip. I really feel for all of the folks that are dealing with this mess especially those flying in or out!”

He shared a photo of the ship’s progress, showing it turning away from Bayonne.

Second Royal Caribbean ship to change itinerary because of this storm

Odyssey is the second ship to have her plans changed from this storm.

Earlier this week, Harmony of the Seas cut its cruise short and skipped a port visit to Cozumel in order to return to Galveston, Texas.

“We are tracking the development of a major winter storm expected to impact Southeast Texas beginning late Saturday. In order to give you the best chance at a safe and uninterrupted journey home by avoiding the winter weather impacts to local infrastructure and transportation,” an email to passengers read.

The result was to cut its sailing short by a day.

Guests had the choice to stay onboard for the extra day or disembark as soon as it returned.