Passengers frustrated after sudden cancellation of Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas voyage

MIAMI – Thousands of families who wanted to board the world’s largest cruise ship found their dream vacation had suddenly been canceled.

Royal Caribbean said it was keeping the Icon of the Seas docked for what it called “unscheduled maintenance.”

Interestingly enough, that same ship is currently at sea, but that’s bad news for people who booked two years ago, who found out two days ago that the cruise that was supposed to leave in two days doesn’t would not take place.

Brooke Anspach dropped thousands to fly her family from Ohio to board the world’s largest cruise ship for seven days. She says her 3-year-old son was probably the most excited.

“He was just talking about planes and planes and boats, and he was so excited,” she said. “I was pretty excited on Tuesday when I found out.”

“Unscheduled maintenance” is what the cruise line says forced the cancellation, which happens with all new ships, according to a company spokesperson.

What this unscheduled maintenance is for, they can’t say, but we do know that it has forced the Icon’s current voyage to skip a stop in St. Thomas and instead to Coco Cay in the Bahamas.

Passengers on board will receive a one-day refund, Local 10 News has learned.

Royal Caribbean said full refunds and full cruise credits were being processed.

They also contribute to the partial reimbursement of flights and change fees.

“Most of my frustration is that I can’t rebook the vacation I had for the price I bought it for,” Anspach said. “Our vacation is over.”

Icon of the Seas returns to Miami on Saturday after its current voyage and is expected to be down for about a week for this maintenance.