Royal Caribbean Seeks Volunteers to Rebook After Overselling Voyager of the Seas' Alaska Sailing
If you're booked on Voyager of the Seas' June 19, 2026 Seattle-to-Alaska sailing, check your email for Royal Caribbean's June 12 request about flexible travel plans. You can volunteer to switch to Voyager's September 18/25 sailings, Anthem of the Seas' August 24/31 departures, or Ovation of the Seas' August 28 Seward-to-Vancouver cruise. Confirmation may not come until June 18, the day before departure — if you don't hear back, you keep your original booking. No action is required if your plans aren't flexible.
Overselling is standard cruise-industry practice — lines book past 100% capacity because empty cabins are perishable revenue, and Royal Caribbean's models apparently missed the mark on this Alaska sailing. My read is the compensation package (full refund, 50% future cruise credit, expense reimbursement) is generous enough that Royal Caribbean is betting enough guests will bite before the June 18 deadline, one day before the June 19 departure. Guests who value certainty win by ignoring the offer; those chasing a future cruise credit and flexible schedules can come out ahead, especially with alternatives like Anthem's August sailings or Ovation's new Seward terminal debut. The irony is Alaska's peak summer demand — the very popularity Royal Caribbean wants to capture — is what created this scramble. If I were on this sailing, I'd read the fine print on stateroom category and expense reimbursement before volunteering.