Say goodbye to the Sovereign of the Seas

In an age of bigger and newer cruise ships, the smaller and older ships get left behind. They are assigned shorter itineraries and less popular routes, and ultimately end up transferred to another market. The Sovereign of the Seas, which has faithfully served [% 15420 | | Royal Caribbean %] since 1988, will go into active retirement when it becomes a member of the Pullmantur fleet in November 2008.

The Sovereign’s last cruise with Royal Caribbean will take place on October 31, 2008. Its November 3 and 7 sailings will be canceled, and guests will receive a full refund and onboard credit for rebooking on an earlier departure. The Monarch of the Seas will take over the Sovereign’s three- and four-night Bahamas itineraries on November 10. Guests booked on the Sovereign for cruises in November and beyond will have their reservations transferred to the Monarch.

The Monarch of the Seas will sail its last cruise out of Los Angeles on October 13, 2008. On October 17, it will depart for Miami via a 16-night Panama Canal cruise. It will go into dry dock for a week before heading to Port Canaveral (Orlando) to begin its Bahamas sailings. Guests on canceled Monarch cruises will also receive a full refund and onboard credit for rebooking on select Royal Caribbean departures in 2008.

If you’ve always wanted to sail a three- or four-night Baja Mexico itinerary with Royal Caribbean, you’ll need to plan your vacation for this coming year. So far, Royal Caribbean has not announced plans to continue those voyages, although southern California residents can still sail seven-night Mexican Riviera cruises on the Vision of the Seas or Mariner of the Seas.