INDEPENDENCE OTS

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Call at Alesund skipped due to reduced cruising speed

The 'Independence of the Seas' had to skip the call at Alesund on July 1, 2025, during the current Norway voyage from June 29 to July 6, due to ongoing maintenance work, making the ship currently unable to reach the necessary cruising speed to dock in the western Norwegian coastal town on time at 4 p.m. The ship required a second day at sea en route from Southampton to Norway. The first Norwegian port of call will therefore be Molde, which will be reached on July 2. Calls in Olden and Haugesund are then planned, before returning to Southampton for a third day at sea on the North Sea. Already in recent weeks, there have been slight itinerary changes due to maintenance work on the 'Independence of the Seas'. Royal Caribbean International is was working hard to complete the maintenance so that the ship can return to full cruising speed and operate its upcoming cruises as scheduled. Original itinerary for the Independence of the Seas from June 29 to July 6, 2025: Southampton – Sea Day – Sea Day & Ålesund – Molde – Olden – Haugesund – Sea Day – Southampton Adjusted itinerary for the Independence of the Seas from June 29 to July 6, 2025: Southampton – Sea Day – Sea Day – Molde – Olden – Haugesund – Sea Day – Southampton

Hurricane Milton affects cruise schedules

The 'Independence of the Seas' had to skip a scheduled stop in Cozumel due to hurricane Milton, Instead the ship proceeded to Puerta Plata, Dominican Republic.

RCI crew repatriated in St. Marteen

The 'Independence of the Seas' berthed in St. Maaten on July 15 to repatriate her crew, being the second cruise ship in the past week to utilise Port St. Maarten to facilitate repatriating her crew back to their home countries. The repatriation will be carried out according to Port St. Maarten’s “Sterile Port Protocol”, which complies with national public health laws as well as international health regulations issued by the World Health Organization (WHO). The cruise line Royal Caribbean International (RCI) said it has repatriated 95 per cent of its 40,000 crew as of the end of June, and this number will increase to 97 per cent by July 15. The repatriation of crew from ships has been a challenging task due to new public health and travel regulations and restrictions that were imposed at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic throughout the world. As restrictions are slowly lifted, repatriation of crew was taking place at various ports that can handle such procedures. Port St. Maarten was chosen due to its strategic location in the North-eastern Caribbean as well as its international connections with airports around the world. The country’s infrastructure, such as its homeporting facility and services at Port St. Maarten, make it easy for a cruise ship to have travel documents of crews processed and then taking them directly to the airport to board their international flight.