Costa Maya Visit Cancelled as Royal Caribbean Handles Required Maintenance
Passengers boarding Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas this weekend are getting an unexpected extra day in Miami after the cruise line announced that the massive ship will remain at PortMiami for required maintenance.
The change affects the seven-night Western Caribbean & Perfect Day sailing scheduled to depart on Saturday, September 26, 2026. Instead of leaving Miami at the planned 4:30 p.m. departure time, Icon of the Seas is now expected to sail at approximately 4 p.m. on Sunday, September 27, with one scheduled port call — Costa Maya, Mexico — removed from the itinerary.
Why Is Icon of the Seas Staying in Miami?
Royal Caribbean has described the reason simply as “required maintenance,” but the company has not publicly identified the specific equipment or system involved. There is currently no indication from the available reports that passengers should interpret the delay as a major emergency. Royal Caribbean is using the additional time in Miami to address the maintenance before the ship continues its voyage.
Passengers still need to board on Saturday, September 26. According to the communication sent to guests and travel advisors, this requirement remains in place under U.S. Customs and Border Protection procedures. Once aboard, passengers won’t simply be stuck waiting in their cabins. Royal Caribbean says bars, lounges, entertainment, dining and spa services will be available while the ship remains alongside in Miami, although the onboard casino and shops will stay closed until Icon of the Seas leaves port.
Costa Maya Is the Big Itinerary Change
The original itinerary called for Icon of the Seas to spend Sunday at sea before arriving in Costa Maya at 8 a.m. Monday, September 28, and remaining there until 5 p.m.
That Costa Maya call has now been cancelled, turning Monday into another day at sea. The rest of the currently announced itinerary remains unchanged: Roatán is scheduled for September 29, Cozumel for September 30, another sea day follows on October 1, and Perfect Day at CocoCay remains scheduled for October 2 before the ship returns to Miami on October 3.
For travelers who had booked a Royal Caribbean shore excursion in Costa Maya, there is an important bit of housekeeping: cruise-line-booked excursions will be automatically cancelled and refunded to the original form of payment, but third-party excursions will need to be contacted directly by either the passenger or their travel agent.
Royal Caribbean Offering Onboard Credit
The cruise line is also providing refundable onboard credit as a goodwill gesture for the delayed departure and missed Costa Maya visit. The amounts depend on the stateroom category: inside and oceanview cabins receive $300, balcony cabins receive $350, and suites receive $800. Note that this credit is per stateroom rather than automatically being multiplied by every passenger in the cabin. An additional $50 is being provided for third- and fourth-guest occupants in the same stateroom.
Watch a full tour of the Icon of the Seas!
A Reminder That Even New Cruise Ships Need Maintenance
Icon of the Seas remains a relatively new ship, having entered service in 2024, but new does not mean maintenance-free. For travelers, the frustrating part is obvious: losing a port day can change the character of an entire cruise, particularly when passengers had already arranged excursions. Still, a modified cruise is better than a completely cancelled vacation. The ship previously experienced an itinerary disruption connected to “unplanned maintenance” in September 2024, when a sailing was ultimately cancelled.
For now, the focus is on getting the maintenance work completed in Miami and getting Icon of the Seas underway Sunday afternoon.
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