Princess cancels Regal Princess cruise

To me, vacations are sacred. I look forward to them for months and get excited planning all the activities I’m going to do once I’m at my destination. I can only imagine how awful I’d feel to show up for my vacation only to learn that it’s been canceled.

That’s what happened to the folks on the Regal Princess this week. The ship was scheduled to sail a 10-night Panama Canal itinerary from Acapulco, Mexico, to San Juan, Puerto Rico. But after guests boarded, crew members discovered some damage to the ship’s ballast, evidently from the cruise ship touching bottom as it left Huatulco the previous day. In order to repair the ship, Princess was forced to cancel the cruise.

The cruise line is making the best of a bad situation, refunding passengers’ airfare and cruise fare, helping them make arrangements to return home, and giving them a future cruise credit equal to 35 percent of the fare they paid for the canceled voyage. Cruisers will be allowed to remain on the ship until their flight home and take advantage of all of the ship’s activities and services.

Once all the guests disembark, the Regal Princess will go into dry dock for repairs. Its next sailing, a 12-night South America cruise, may be delayed or canceled. If you’re booked on this cruise, watch the Princess website for updates or check in regularly with your travel agent.