Royal Caribbean Cancels Next Grandeur of the Seas Sailing

In a not unexpected move, the May 31st sailing of Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas from Baltimore, Maryland, has been cancelled to allow for repair of damages sustained as a result of today's fire (scroll down for complete details and photos). All booked passengers will receive a full refund of the cruise fare paid for their sailing. Royal Caribbean also will provide these guests with the opportunity to sail in the future by providing a future cruise certificate for 50 percent of the cruise fare paid for the May 31, 2013, Grandeur of the Seas sailing.

Guests who booked air transportation through Royal Caribbean International will receive a full refund for air costs. If they did not purchase air transportation through Royal Caribbean, the cruise line will pay for their airline change fees.

A dedicated telephone hotline has been established for guests on the current and May 31st sailings. Guests may call 1-888-824-0012 in the U.S. or +1-408-916-9000 internationally.

Royal Caribbean will provide an update regarding future sailings on Grandeur of the Seas by the end of this week.

While we know many readers' cruise vacation plans have now been disrupted—and there may be more disappointments coming later in the week as the situation unfolds—here at CruiseDiva.com we're pretty impressed with the way Royal Caribbean has kept the media informed. As a result, we've been able to spread the news to consumers in a timely fashion. Everyone from President & CEO Adam Goldstein and his executive team to the ship's captain and crew should be commended for a job well done under difficult circumstances.