Royal Caribbean stays in Europe all year: seven ships and winter Canaries cruises in 2028-29

Royal Caribbean just did something it has never done before: keep a ship in Europe through the winter. The line's 2028-29 Europe lineup, announced October 14, 2026, puts seven ships across the continent, and for the first time one of them stays on this side of the Atlantic after summer ends. General bookings open today, October 15.

Royal Caribbean

Liberty of the Seas

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The ship that is not going home

Rhapsody of the Seas is the story here. She is a Vision-class ship from 1997 carrying around 2,000 passengers, the oldest and smallest in this lineup, and she drew the long straw: instead of repositioning for winter, she stays in Europe all year.

From May to October 2028 she sails seven-night cruises from Athens (Piraeus), Barcelona, and Lisbon, calling on Greece, Turkey, and Egypt with overnight stays in Istanbul and Alexandria. An overnight in port changes the trip completely. You get dinner ashore, a sunset sail-away you actually remember, and a port you see twice.

Then from November 2028 she switches to winter mode: nine to twelve-night getaways visiting the Canary Islands, Madeira, Portugal, Morocco, Cyprus, Malta, and Greece. Ports include Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Casablanca, and Tangier, with some itineraries adding overnight stays in Alexandria. She also returns to Heraklion in Crete and Cagliari in Sardinia for the first time in more than a decade.

This is the first time Royal Caribbean has run a true year-round Europe program. The Mediterranean in winter is a different animal from the August crush, and the Canaries are the classic escape hatch: mild weather when northern Europe is freezing.

Summer 2028: the six warm-weather ships

The rest of the deployment covers the classic season, from three-night getaways to twelve-night journeys:

• Odyssey of the Seas sails from Rome (Civitavecchia), working the Greek Isles and Mediterranean.
• Explorer of the Seas covers the Greek Isles and Croatia from Ravenna and Venice.
• Liberty of the Seas and Mariner of the Seas run seven-night Mediterranean itineraries from Athens, Barcelona, Lisbon, and Rome.

Royal Caribbean

Freedom of the Seas

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• Freedom of the Seas returns to Southampton from May to October 2028 for a second UK season, with cruises of three to nine nights to the Norwegian fjords and northern France. For UK sailors, she is the one ship in the program that needs no flight.
• Jewel of the Seas handles the Baltic with seven to eleven-night sailings from Copenhagen and Stockholm, marking the line's return to both ports.

Santorini gets the spotlight

Royal Caribbean is leaning into the Greek Isles with a full-day excursion called the Ultimate Santorini Day, combining Oia and Fira with a stop at Royal Beach Club Santorini. The beach club features an open-air market with local producers, including Nomikos Estate produce, spirits from the Santorini distillery Canava Lyngos, and wine from Santo Wines. Select getaways include later evening stays, which means more time on the island instead of a rushed bus loop back to the tender.

What to do with this

If a Europe cruise has been on your list, the timing question just got more interesting. A November Canaries sailing out of Lisbon or Barcelona is a very different trip from a July Mediterranean run: fewer crowds, cooler days, longer evenings at sea. Both are now on the same booking page.

One practical note: the announced fares were not included in the launch coverage, so compare prices once booking opens widely, and remember these itineraries are announced well over a year out and can shift.

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