Royal Caribbean Plans Seven Ships for Its First Year-Round Europe Season in 2028-29
If you hold Crown & Anchor Society status, you can book these 2028 European sailings now, ahead of the general public. Everyone else has until October 15, 2026, when general bookings open. Check which port suits you: Rhapsody of the Seas sails from Piraeus, Barcelona and Lisbon, Explorer of the Seas from Ravenna, Freedom of the Seas from Southampton, and Odyssey of the Seas from Civitavecchia. If you want an Oasis Class ship in Europe, note that none appear in this schedule.
My read is that this is a fleet-depth story rather than a flagship story. Royal Caribbean is spreading seven ships, from Rhapsody of the Seas at 2,040 guests to Odyssey of the Seas at 4,198, across Europe's ports, and the article says nothing about why. The winners are Crown & Anchor members, who book first, and travelers who want something new: Heraklion and Cagliari return after more than a decade, and Santorini gets both extended stops and the Royal Beach Club. The ironic twist is that the line's biggest ships, the Oasis Class, are missing, and the article notes they have been in Europe for over a decade anyway. Royal Caribbean also has not confirmed whether more deployments are coming, so this is only the first tranche. I would not treat October 15, 2026 as the end of the story. If I held Crown & Anchor status, I would use the early window to lock in a Rhapsody Santorini sailing, since those are the itineraries with the most distinctive stops.