Royal Caribbean Ship Boarding Pushed Back, Guests ...

It’s been a tense weekend for friends wanting to board Royal Caribbean’s Utopia of the Seas on Monday, December 15, 2025. On Friday, the cruise line introduced that the ship would be delayed returning to Port Canaveral as a consequence of anticipated excessive winds, however it wasn’t till Sunday night that the size of that delay was confirmed.

“As a reminder, our earlier crusing is returning to Port Canaveral later than initially deliberate as a consequence of excessive winds within the space,” the notification reminder defined.

“Please stick with your up to date window as arriving earlier could have you ever turned away till your adjusted time. Parking, and the terminal, will solely open as soon as our earlier friends have completed debarking.”

The up to date cruise terminal arrival occasions are 6.5 hours later than initially deliberate with friends not starting check-in till 5 p.m. for the primary arrival window that was to have been at 10:30 a.m.

The newest cruise terminal arrival, initially 2 p.m., is now 8:30 p.m. The cruise line is alerting friends to not arrive later than 8:30 p.m. as everybody should be checked in and onboard Utopia of the Seas by 9 p.m.

Some Advantages Refunded

Due to the delay and the way it impacts the unique advantages of The Key, Royal Caribbean can also be refunding 30% of the acquisition worth to friends who pre-paid for that elite bundle.

The Key affords precedence ship boarding throughout embarkation, stateroom carry-on baggage supply, and an unique welcome lunch with a signature menu from 12-1:30 p.m. Due to the delay, none of these coveted embarkation day advantages might be accessible.

The remainder of The Key advantages stay intact, together with reductions on choose onboard actions and spa providers, devoted present seating, and debarkation advantages.

No different refunds, together with for specialty eating packages or beverage packages, seem like supplied, although it’s potential this can be up to date as soon as friends are capable of board the ship.

Why Aren’t Different Ships Impacted?

Whereas the early notification of Utopia of the Seas‘ delay has given friends time to plan for his or her late departure, it has additionally generated important suspicion and questions.

A number of friends on a Facebook group dedicated to the sailing have questioned why three different cruise ships haven’t any obvious delays returning to Port Canaveral Monday morning, but Utopia of the Seas might be thus far delayed.

“Unusual that each one the opposite ships are nonetheless coming in on time,” one visitor famous.

“Why can CARNIVAL and DISNEY arrive on time and Royal can’t. Scratching my head,” one other visitor questioned.

Three different cruise ships might be at Port Canaveral on Monday, December 15: Disney Want, Carnival Glory, and Carnival Freedom.

It’s essential to notice, nonetheless, that Utopia of the Seas is by far the most important ship in port that day, at 236,500 gross tons and 16 decks tall.

Learn Additionally: Gross Tonnage of a Cruise Ship – What Does It Mean?

Disney Want is second in dimension however solely 15 decks tall and 144,000 gross tons, making her extra maneuverable.

Carnival Glory and Carnival Freedom are each sister ships within the Conquest class with 13 decks and simply 110,000 gross tons.

The bigger a cruise ship is, each by way of peak with variety of decks in addition to its gross tonnage, the extra inertia it has and the tougher it may be to maneuver and management in excessive winds. This implies Utopia of the Seas is by far on the best danger on Monday morning.

In line with Windy.com, winds on the time Utopia of the Seas was initially deliberate to be docking on Monday morning are anticipated to be roughly 30 miles per hour with gusts as excessive as 40-42 mph.

Compared, winds at 3 p.m. might be solely about 20 mph, with gusts as excessive as 30 mph. This might be a lot safer for the cruise ship to handle, significantly within the slim channel at Port Canaveral.

Each Disney Cruise Line and Carnival Cruise Line are undoubtedly monitoring the climate for his or her respective arrivals and can make any modifications they deem crucial for the security of their friends, ships, and crew members.