The Royal Caribbean International Alaska Cruise canceled its travels after guests had already boarded the ship, USA Today reports. Online, passengers didn’t take the news kindly.
A passenger on the cruise posted a video to TikTok giving insight to the trip’s cancellation. The user @lilmel.16 posted their video with the caption, “Yup, cruise got canceled.”
In the 5-second video clip, @lilmel.16 records themselves on the balcony of what seems to be their room while staying on the Royal Caribbean. The audio used in the clip is from Beyoncé’s hit song, “Texas Hold’Em,” off of Cowboy Carter, using the line that sings, “This ain’t Texas.”
In replace of the word “Texas” in the clip, @lilmel.16 added an on-screen caption to say “Alaska,’ joking that the ship will never make its way to Alaska.
@lilmel.16 also put another on-screen caption to their video that says, “POV: your Alaska cruise gets canceled and they are kicking you off the ship in Vancouver tomorrow.”
@lilmel.16 gave more insight to viewers in the caption of their video saying that “Royal Caribbean is taking great care of us and refunding the trip and everything. It’s just sad.”
Why did Royal Caribbean cancel its Alaskan cruise?
The Radiance of the Seas canceled the voyage due to “propulsion issues, forcing it to shorten and eventually scrap the weeklong itinerary.”
“The sailing was originally set to depart from Vancouver on Friday,” they confirm.
A passenger on board with her family, named Charlene Chong, told USA Today that “passengers were notified Saturday afternoon that the cruise was canceled.” She says passengers were warned several days before boarding that Saturday that there was a “technical issue with its propulsion system.” Royal Caribbean proceeded to board the ship as planned.
Chong said that after traveling toward a nearby cargo port, “the captain announced Saturday afternoon that the sailing could not proceed and that guests would need to disembark by Sunday at 4 p.m.”
Royal Caribbean shared to guests in a letter that they “truly extend our sincerest apologies for the continued unforeseen disruptions to your vacation.”
@lilmel.16 Yup, cruise got canceled. Royal Caribbean is taking great care of us and refunding the trip and everything. Its just sad. #radianceoftheseas #royalcaribbean ♬ TEXAS HOLD 'EM – Beyoncé
USA Today states that the cruise line reimbursed guests their money back money “as onboard credit, with any remaining amount refunded, increased their future cruise credit to 100% of their fare and kept its open-bar policy for the remaining time on board.” Royal Caribbean also offered to “reimburse trip change fees up to $250 for guests traveling domestically and $400 for international travel and additional reimbursements for hotel and transportation costs, among other compensation.”
Thinking about taking an Alaskan cruise? They’re plentiful and popular… and TikTokers love posting the pros and cons in viral travel videos.
The Daily Dot reached out to @lilmel.16 via TikTok direct message request and Royal Caribbean Cruise Line via email.