Anthem of the Seas will open its 2027 Alaska season with one port fewer than planned. Royal Caribbean has removed Icy Strait Point from the Quantum Class ship's May 7, 2027 sailing, a seven-night roundtrip from Vancouver, replacing the call with an additional sea day and shortening the final stop in Ketchikan by two hours.
The 4,180-guest ship was originally set to call at Icy Strait Point on May 9, followed by scenic cruising at Hubbard Glacier and visits to Sitka and Ketchikan, returning to Vancouver on May 14. Under the revised itinerary, May 9 becomes a sea day, and Ketchikan's departure moves from 7:00 PM to 5:00 PM. The Sitka call and the Hubbard Glacier scenic cruising are unchanged.
Booked guests received the notice on October 21, 2026, about six months before the sailing. 'To comply with speed restrictions and maintain a comfortable sailing experience, we'll enjoy an additional Sea Day in place of our visit to Icy Strait Point, Alaska,' the notice said, and it apologized for the inconvenience. Royal Caribbean has not said which speed restrictions are behind the change.
What it means for your sailing: if you are booked on the May 7 sailing, prepaid Royal Caribbean shore excursions for Icy Strait Point are cancelled automatically, and refunds for cancelled tours go back to your original form of payment within 14 business days. Ketchikan excursions that no longer fit the shorter day will be rescheduled or cancelled, so plan that port around a 5:00 PM departure rather than 7:00 PM. Everything else on the itinerary stands, and with the notice arriving six months out, there is time to rebook excursions and rework plans. If you booked Icy Strait Point tours independently, check with your provider about cancellation terms.
This is the second Royal Caribbean itinerary change attributed to speed restrictions in the space of a week. Days earlier, the line retimed Star of the Seas' Costa Maya call to 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM on its 2027 Western Caribbean sailings, also citing speed restrictions. In neither case has Royal Caribbean identified the specific restrictions involved. At least one guest booked on the Anthem sailing has questioned why the limits were not accounted for when the itinerary was planned, noting the sailing had been on sale for well over a year.
After the May 7 roundtrip, Anthem of the Seas moves to one-way seven-night Alaska cruises between Vancouver and Seward through late September 2027. Those sailings are not affected by this change.