Cruise Ship "Independence of the Seas" Alters Itinerary: Ålesund Call Canceled

Currently, Royal Caribbean International's Independence of the Seas is in the midst of its European season, sailing from and to Southampton, England. On its current Norway voyage, scheduled from June 29 to July 6, 2025, the cruise ship has to skip a planned port of call. The stop in Ålesund, originally set for today, Tuesday, July 1, 2025, will not take place.

Von kees torn - INDEPENDENCE OF THE SEAS b, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link

All news also on X formerly Twitter

The reason for this adjustment is ongoing technical maintenance work. As a result, the Independence of the Seas is currently unable to reach its full cruising speed. A higher speed would have been necessary to arrive punctually at 4:00 PM in the West Norwegian coastal city. Since the ship requires an additional sea day for the journey from Southampton to Norway, the visit to Ålesund, originally planned from 4:00 PM to 10:00 PM, has been canceled without replacement.

The first Norwegian port of call will now be Molde, a city expected to be reached tomorrow, Wednesday. Subsequently, visits to Olden and Haugesund are still planned, before the return journey to Southampton, which includes another sea day on the North Sea. Due to the limited sailing speed, the number of Norwegian ports has been reduced from four to three. Royal Caribbean International has informed guests about this change in advance and apologizes for any inconvenience caused.

In recent weeks, the Independence of the Seas has already experienced minor itinerary adjustments due to maintenance work. It is presumed that Royal Caribbean International is working diligently to complete the repairs, ensuring the ship can regain its full operational speed and that future cruises can proceed as scheduled.

Original Itinerary of the Independence of the Seas (June 29 – July 6, 2025): Southampton – Sea Day – Sea Day & Ålesund – Molde – Olden – Haugesund – Sea Day – Southampton

Adjusted Itinerary of the Independence of the Seas (June 29 – July 6, 2025): Southampton – Sea Day – Sea Day – Molde – Olden – Haugesund – Sea Day – Southampton