Cruise Guest Denied Boarding After Travelling To The Wrong Florida Port

A Royal Caribbean guest missed their cruise departure after travelling to the wrong Florida port.

The guest has also been denied permission to join the ship at a later stop.

The incident involved a passenger booked to sail aboard Utopia of the Seas, which departed from Port Canaveral on Monday, 12th January 2026.

Instead of arriving at the correct homeport, the guest mistakenly went to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, realising the error only after the ship had already sailed.

The guest later shared the experience on Reddit, confirming that the mistake was entirely their own.

“We pulled a major travel fail today. … We’ve obviously missed the ship’s departure,” they wrote.

How The Mix-Up Occurred

The passenger explained that the confusion stemmed from a previous Royal Caribbean cruise that had departed from Fort Lauderdale.

“We flew into Fort Lauderdale yesterday, the night before the cruise,” they said. “I had been on one Royal cruise previously that left from the port here in Fort Lauderdale.”

Port Everglades is currently home to several Royal Caribbean ships, including Liberty of the Seas, Allure of the Seas, Oasis of the Seas and Radiance of the Seas. The guest assumed Port Canaveral was the same port they had used in the past.

“For whatever reason I was sure Port Canaveral was the one in Fort Lauderdale that I left from last time,” they added. “Only at noon today did we figure out that the port here in FLL is Port Everglades. Obviously a very dumb mistake in hindsight.”

By the time the error was discovered, it was already too late to attempt to reach Port Canaveral. Even in ideal traffic conditions, the drive from Port Everglades to Port Canaveral takes at least three hours, not including time needed for terminal check-in and security.

Utopia of the Seas departed at 4 pm, making it impossible to arrive and board before the all-aboard deadline.

Request To Join The Ship In Nassau Rejected

Utopia of the Seas was scheduled to call at Nassau the following day, prompting the guest to immediately contact Royal Caribbean International to ask whether they could join the sailing at the Bahamian port.

The passenger also booked refundable flights from Fort Lauderdale to Nassau for early Tuesday morning while awaiting a decision.

Other travellers commenting on the post noted that Nassau is typically an easy destination to reach by air and shared advice on getting from Lynden Pindling International Airport to the cruise port, which is around 10 miles away.

However, several users also pointed out that permission to embark at a port of call does not rest with the cruise line alone and requires approval from local authorities.

One commenter even issued a light-hearted but practical warning: “Be sure you actually go to Nassau, Bahamas and not Nassau, New York.”

Despite the swift action, the request was ultimately denied.

“We regret to inform you that your request to embark in Nassau, Bahamas has been denied by port authorities,” Royal Caribbean stated in its response. “The reason provided does not meet the established criteria for authorization to embark at an alternate port of call.”

No further explanation was provided, and the decision could not be appealed.

With Utopia of the Seas operating a four-night itinerary featuring only Nassau and Perfect Day at CocoCay before returning to Port Canaveral, there was little opportunity for the guest to pursue alternative options in time to join the voyage.

Why Joining A Cruise Late Is Rarely Approved

While stories occasionally circulate of passengers successfully joining ships at later ports, such cases are relatively uncommon and depend heavily on immigration laws, security requirements and itinerary length.

Cruise lines submit detailed passenger manifests in advance, and changes after departure require clearance from port and border authorities. On short sailings such as Utopia of the Seas’ four-night cruises, there is often insufficient time to process approvals before the ship returns to its homeport.

It is also unclear whether the guest held travel insurance, and many policies do not cover missed embarkation when the cause is passenger error rather than flight delays or cancellations.

Despite the outcome, the guest said they hoped their experience would help others avoid making a similar mistake.

“Good to know that Royal won’t just green light you to join at a different port,” they said.

The situation serves as a reminder that verifying embarkation ports and cities is just as important as confirming flight details, particularly in regions like Florida where multiple cruise ports operate within a few hours of one another.

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