Royal Caribbean’s Legend of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world, is currently on an 8-day sailing from Rome to Barcelona. The ship was supposed to dock in Naples, Italy early Tuesday morning.
But at the last minute, a port of call in Italy was canceled and the ship turned around when it was about 30 nautical miles away from the port (based on tracking data from Vessel Finder).
Every cruise passenger should know that while cruise ships make every effort to sail the exact itinerary you book, itineraries are not guaranteed.
And there are several reasons your itinerary may be altered.
According to passenger reports on Reddit and Facebook, Naples, Italy was scratched off the itinerary while it was on route. The cancellation came late Monday night around 11:45 PM while most passengers were already in bed.
One Reddit user posted the following:
“I am on legend of the seas and it is 11:45 pm and they canceled out port stop at Naples tomorrow with no warning. We had booked a very expensive day and it is all lost.”
Royal Caribbean Clarifies Port Cancellation Confusion
As you can imagine, when a port is canceled on a cruise the first question is, “Why?”.
Social media reports were all over the place as to the season. Some cited a “ship ban” and others blamed the weather and choppy seas.
Royal Caribbean formally clarified the situation in a letter delivered to guest staterooms on Tuesday morning.
While still not giving exact specifics, the decision to cancel was handed down by the port itself:
“As previously announced by our Captain, following a recent dock assessment by the Italian Port Authority, current conditions on the pier in Naples, Italy prevent us from visiting there as planned. As a result, we have canceled our call to Naples and will instead enjoy a Sea Day followed by a visit to Marseille (Provence), France,” the letter said.
The letter added a sincere apology from the bridge, saying, “We’re terribly sorry for this last-minute change — your safety is our top priority. Feel free to use this letter for insurance purposes.”
Legend of the Seas just started sailing in early July, and passengers on a previous sailing had an itinerary adjustment as well.
As one passenger pointed out in a Facebook group:
“Alicante was swapped off the itinerary a few weeks ago.”
We don’t know the specifics behind the Naples call, whether it was pier issues or infrastructure limitations, but the Italian port authorities ultimately made the call just before the ship was set to arrive.
Late-Night Announcement
The announcement from the captain came just before midnight. While some were already in bed, the ship decided it was better for passengers to know this new information before they woke up in the morning with full plans of exploring Naples.
One Facebook user on board the ship asked:
“Is anyone on board right now? Have the crew told you why you can’t dock at Naples & why it’s been diverted to Provence instead? Just curious if it’s a ship issue, port issue or bad/rough seas?”
Another passenger posted:
“Just now: 8 hours earlier we received a notification that we would not be stopping in Naples. We had booked and paid for the tours. “
A Second Sea Day Added Before Heading to France
The cancellation changed the schedule for everyone on board.
Because Monday was already a scheduled day at sea following Sunday’s stop in La Spezia, converting Tuesday’s Naples visit into an unscheduled sea day gives passengers two back-to-back days at sea before sailing to Marseille on Wednesday, July 29.
Royal Caribbean updated the ship’s revised itinerary as follows:
- Sat, Jul 25: Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy (Depart 8:00 PM)
- Sun, Jul 26: La Spezia (Florence/Pisa), Italy (6:30 AM – 8:00 PM)
- Mon, Jul 27: Cruising
- Tue, Jul 28: Cruising (Originally Naples)
- Wed, Jul 29: Marseille (Provence), France (7:00 AM – 4:00 PM)
- Thu, Jul 30: Palma de Mallorca, Spain (8:00 AM – 3:30 PM)
- Fri, Jul 31: Malaga, Spain (12:30 PM – 9:00 PM)
- Sat, Aug 1: Cruising
- Sun, Aug 2: Barcelona, Spain (Arrive 5:00 AM)
Shore Excursion Refunds
When a cruise line cancels a port, any shore excursion booked directly through the line’s Cruise Planner is automatically refunded back to the passenger’s onboard account or original form of payment. Royal Caribbean confirmed this in their letter:
“Any pre-paid Royal Caribbean shore excursions booked for Naples will automatically be refunded as an Onboard Credit. These credits can be used anywhere onboard, and any remaining, refundable amounts at the end of our sailing will be reimbursed to your card on file in up to 14 business days from final disembarkation.”
The real issue with a late-night cancellation is for passengers who booked independent tours, private drivers or ferry transfers.
With private transfers to Sorrento, Amalfi Coast tours, and ferries booked months in advance, a notice delivered past the typical 24-to-48-hour cancellation windows may make it difficult for those travelers to get full compensation.
And this is another example of what makes cruise travel insurance so important. It’s planning for the unexpected.
One passenger on Facebook had purchased a ferry transfer for four people and said the £300 was lost.
Veteran Cruisers Clear the Air
It’s easy to sympathize with cruise travelers who are upset about this last-minute change. But if you’ve been cruising for a while, you know the importance of flexibility and that not everything is withing a cruise line’s control.
One experienced cruiser mentioned that port cancellations are a known risk of independent tour bookings:
“This isn’t necessarily royals fault. Ports can deny ships for any reason with no warning. And if you have an excursion with someone outside of Royal this is part of the risk you take to save a few dollars. Travel insurance might cover it but you don’t strike me as the kind of person who uses it.”
Another commenter added:
“I learned very early on (literally before i even got on a cruise for the first time) that cruising comes with unexpected things, and that quickly adapting to change and being flexible are invaluable traits. You can either pout and complain that “your vacation is ruined,” or you can spend that same time and energy looking for things to do in your new port.”
I found that to be a very refreshing comment in the midst of a fairly frustrated online interaction.
At the end of the day, every major cruise line operates under a passage contract that explicitly states port calls, arrival times, and destinations are never guaranteed. Captains hold total discretion over safety and navigation. This means a port can be skipped at any moment.
With Legend of the Seas now heading toward France, guests are making the best of an unexpected second day at sea before calling on Marseille tomorrow morning.
Read more: Legend of the Seas sailed to Barcelona, a port trying to curb cruise traffic.
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