Royal Caribbean to swap ship sailing from Southampton in summer 2027

Royal Caribbean is set to deploy Freedom of the Seas from Southampton in summer 2027, replacing Mariner of the Seas.

The 3,926-passenger Freedom Class ship was last refurbished in March 2020 and itinerary details of its new ex-Southampton cruises will be revealed at a later date.

The 3,344-passenger Mariner of the Seas was set to make its Southampton debut in summer 2027 offering a series two and nine-night voyages.

When the Voyager Class ship was announced to replace Freedom Class ship Liberty of the Seas next summer, several agents expressed disappointment that a smaller and older class ship had been deployed to the UK port.

Aaron Langford, senior sales director UK & Ireland, said: “The UK and Ireland is an incredibly important market for Royal Caribbean, and as a result, we’re excited to announce that we’ll be upsizing our Southampton deployment in 2027 with Freedom of the Seas following our long-standing success here with this class of ship.

“Freedom Class has consistently resonated strongly with British and Irish guests, and following a recent amplification, Freedom of the Seas offers a fantastic mix of scale, innovation and guest-favourite features that deliver the ultimate family holiday.”

To make the deployment change, the family-friendly cruise line has cancelled more than 20 sailings that were scheduled to depart from Miami between May and September 2027 on Freedom of the Seas.

Affected guests on the cancelled sailings are being offered to swap to cruises or a full refund of the paid portion of the cruise fare if they do not find a voyage that suits them.