Key Aspects:
- A cruise guest missed Utopia of the Seas because of confusion about the ship’s homeport.
- Their application to join the ship in Nassau the next day was also denied.
- The guest has shared their experience in the hopes that others can avoid similar mistakes.
Missing the ship at embarkation is a nightmare scenario for any cruise guest, but what options do you have?
One guest mistakenly missed Utopia of the Seas‘ departure on Monday, January 12, 2026 and had hoped to join the ship in Nassau, but was not given the result they’d hoped to hear.
The guest shared their situation on Reddit, immediately owning up to the mistake on their part after arriving at Port Everglades instead of Port Canaveral.
“We pulled a major travel fail today. … We’ve obviously missed the ship’s departure,” they explained.
Given that they were sharing their experience in the Royal Caribbean subreddit and Utopia of the Seas is the only Royal Caribbean ship departing Port Canaveral on Monday and visiting Nassau on Tuesday, it isn’t hard to determine which ship they missed.
The guest did contact Royal Caribbean right away with a request to join the ship in Nassau at their own expense. They then booked refundable flights from Fort Lauderdale to Nassau for early Tuesday morning in the hopes their request would be approved.
While they were waiting, different commenters weighed in, noting that Nassau can be a relatively easy port to fly into. These situations do have to be approved by the Bahamian authorities, however, and not just the cruise line.
Some travelers shared their own similar experiences or those of family members who made such arrangements successfully, as well as tips for how to reach the cruise port from Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau. The two are roughly 10 miles apart.
Another shared one critical piece of advice for booking flights to the capital of the Bahamas.
“Be sure you actually go to Nassau, Bahamas and not Nassau, New York,” they commented.
Permission Denied
Unfortunately, the impacted guest did hear back from Royal Caribbean, but not with the answer they’d hoped to receive.
“We regret to inform you that your request to embark in Nassau, Bahamas has been denied by port authorities,” the notification read. “The reason provided does not meet the established criteria for authorization to embark at an alternate port of call.”
No further explanation is given, and there is no option for the guest to appeal the decision.
Because Utopia of the Seas is on a 4-night sailing with visits only to Nassau and Perfect Day at CocoCay, it would be very difficult for the guest to work through any further official channels in time to join the vessel before her day at sea and return to Port Canaveral.
It is unclear whether or not the guest had any travel insurance, and different insurance policies do not necessarily cover this type of mistaken scenario.
How Did the Guest Confuse the Port?
Refreshingly, the guest is not blaming the cruise line or otherwise attempting to shift responsibility to anyone else for this unfortunate and disappointing mishap.
“We flew into Fort Lauderdale yesterday, the night before the cruise,” the guest explained. “I had been on one Royal cruise previously that left from the port here in Fort Lauderdale.”
The guest does not indicate when they previously sailed from Port Everglades. At the moment, Liberty of the Seas, Allure of the Seas, Oasis of the Seas, and Radiance of the Seas are all homeported from Fort Lauderdale.
Read Also: What Happens If You Miss Your Cruise Ship?
“For whatever reason I was sure Port Canaveral was the one in Fort Lauderdale that I left from last time,” the guest noted. “Only at noon today did we figure out that the port here in FLL is Port Everglades. Obviously a very dumb mistake in hindsight.”
Once the guest realized the critical error, it was already too late to shift plans to attempt to reach Utopia of the Seas.
Even in minimal traffic, driving time from Port Everglades to Port Canaveral is at least three hours, and that assumes being able to arrange transportation right away.
Because Utopia of the Seas departs at 4 p.m., it would have been impossible for the guest to drive to Port Canaveral, check in at the cruise terminal, and board the ship before the all aboard time.
Nevertheless, the guest is very magnanimous in wanting to help others avoid the same issues and they do take a good lesson from the experience, and not just to double (and triple!) check their embarkation port in the future.
“Good to know that Royal won’t just green light you to join at a different port,” they said.
It’s clear that cruise lines and port authorities take security precautions and identification clearances seriously, whether at the homeport or a port of call, and every traveler should do the same.
