Key Aspects:
- Neither Liberty of the Seas nor Radiance of the Seas made it to CocoCay on January 15.
- The call to Royal Caribbean’s private destination had to be cancelled due to unsafe weather conditions.
- Both Royal Caribbean ships spent the day at sea instead.
Thanks to some rough weather, thousands of disappointed Royal Caribbean guests never got to experience their “perfect day.”
Liberty of the Seas and Radiance of the Seas were supposed to visit Perfect Day at CocoCay in the Bahamas on January 15, 2026, and both ships had to cancel due to unsafe weather conditions.
With room for 3,798 guests onboard Liberty of the Seas and 2,134 guests onboard Radiance of the Seas, Royal Caribbean could have nearly 6,000 upset passengers to contend with.
“The Radiance and the Liberty just cancelled Coco Cay for tomorrow. This is my second time in 4 months. I guess I’ll get there someday…,” one impacted guest shared on Reddit on January 14.
“For those wondering, they cancelled due to high winds/safety concerns,” another guest added to the post.
Royal Caribbean’s private destination was meant to be the final stop of the current sailings for both ships, which are operating identical 4-night Bahamas itineraries that embarked in Fort Lauderdale on January 12, 2026.
The only other port call was to Nassau, Bahamas, where both vessels stopped on January 13.
How Bad was the Wind?
Per weather forecasts, the Berry Islands – where the private destination is located – have been experiencing winds of up to 35 miles per hour throughout the day on January 15.
The winds started picking up the previous day, with guests from Utopia of the Seas who had visited CocoCay on January 14 taking note of the rocky conditions as they departed at approximately 5 p.m. local time.
“Was there on Utopia today. The wind definitely picked up a crazy amount at the end of the day when we were leaving,” one cruiser commented on the situation.
Read Also: Rough Seas on a Cruise Ship – How They Handle It
While cruise ships have no problem navigating strong winds at sea, docking is unfortunately a different story.
Once winds reach speeds of around 30 miles per hour, the risk of colliding with port infrastructure or another ship becomes too great, especially if there are stronger gusts.
Where Did the Ships Go Instead?
In this case, Royal Caribbean did not replace the skipped port call with another destination.
According to cruise ship tracking data, both of the vessels spent the day at sea instead. This was also confirmed by passenger accounts.
“View from our balcony on Radiance of the Seas. We have been at sea since Tuesday at 5:30pm because it was too rough to go to Coco Cay this morning,” one guest onboard Radiance of the Seas shared, along with a photo of the sunset.
“They canceled it because of the weather. So we just had another day at sea until we dock tomorrow,” a guest of Liberty of the Seas’ said in a separate update.
At this time, it appears no compensation was provided to guests over the missed call, nor is Royal Caribbean required to provide any based on the cruise contract.
Both cruise ships are due back in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on January 16, for disembarkation. Hopefully, guests were able to make the most of the final day of their vacation, even if it wasn’t what they expected.
