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Royal Princess is running slow in Alaska. The ship has cancelled its calls at Juneau and Ketchikan on the seven night sailing that left Seattle on Saturday 12 September, according to the guest letter reported by Cruise Hive.
Princess is refunding half the cruise fare to everyone aboard, which is an unusually large gesture for a two port loss. The revised week now turns on one Alaska call instead of three, and that call is Skagway.
- Cancelled: Juneau on Monday 14 September and Ketchikan on Thursday 17 September.
- Still scheduled: Skagway on Tuesday 15 September, 6:00 a.m. to 8:15 p.m., and Victoria on Friday 18 September, 9:00 p.m. to midnight.
- Compensation: 50 percent of the cruise fare refunded to the original payment method in 10 to 15 business days.
- Shore excursions: tours booked through Princess for the cancelled ports are cancelled and credited automatically.
- Return: Seattle on Saturday 19 September, still on schedule.
What Princess Told Guests
The line described a speed problem rather than a safety problem. Its letter said the ship is “currently experiencing a technical issue with our engines that does not affect the safety of our guests or crew but does restrict our ability to proceed at the required speed to maintain our itinerary as planned.”
Princess added that “technical teams are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.” No repair date was given to guests, and the line did not say whether the ship can recover speed before the week ends.
The Speed Math Behind Two Lost Ports
Royal Princess has been tracking at roughly 16 knots against a normal service speed near 22 knots, as reported by Cruise Fever. That gap is what removes ports from a fixed seven night loop.
At 22 knots a ship covers about 528 nautical miles in a full day of steaming. At 16 knots it covers about 384. The shortfall of roughly 144 miles a day is our own arithmetic from those two reported speeds, and over a Seattle round trip it compounds into a day of lost sea time.
An Alaska itinerary out of Seattle has no slack to absorb that. The ship has to be back in Seattle on Saturday morning for the next turnaround, so the schedule gets shortened at the port calls rather than at the return.
Why Skagway Survived and Juneau Did Not
Juneau sat on Monday, the second sea leg of the week, before the ship had any chance to make up distance. Dropping it bought an extra day at sea and protected the northernmost call.
Skagway is the deepest point of the itinerary and the hardest to reach late, so cutting it would have cost more than it saved. Guests now get a full day there, 6:00 a.m. to 8:15 p.m., which is longer than a typical Skagway call.
Ketchikan then went on Thursday for the same reason in reverse. It sits on the southbound run home, where the lost speed has to be paid back before the Victoria call and the Saturday arrival. The revised week now reads: depart Seattle Saturday 12 September, sea day Monday 14 September in place of Juneau, Skagway Tuesday 15 September, Glacier Bay scenic cruising Wednesday 16 September with its status not confirmed in the letter, no call Thursday 17 September, Victoria Friday 18 September, and Seattle Saturday 19 September.
| If you… | What to do |
|---|---|
| Are aboard with a Princess booked Juneau or Ketchikan tour | Do nothing. The tour is cancelled and credited to your onboard account automatically. |
| Booked a Juneau or Ketchikan tour with a local operator | Contact that operator yourself today. The Princess credit does not reach independent bookings. |
| Are watching for the 50 percent refund | Check the original payment method, not your onboard account, and allow 10 to 15 business days. |
| Now have a full day in Skagway | Plan for 6:00 a.m. to 8:15 p.m., which is longer than the standard call, and book the longer excursions. |
| Hold a booking on the next Royal Princess sailing | No change has been announced to the 14 night Alaska to Tokyo voyage. Watch for a letter rather than assume one. |
Inside the 50 Percent Refund
The 50 percent refund applies to the cruise fare and goes back to the original payment method within 10 to 15 business days. It is a refund rather than a future cruise credit, which matters for anyone who does not plan to sail Princess again soon.
Shore excursions booked through Princess for Juneau and Ketchikan are cancelled and credited without a guest request. Tours booked independently in either port are not covered by that automatic credit, and getting money back for those is a matter for the individual operator.
Air, hotel and transfer costs tied to the cancelled ports are not addressed in the letter. Neither is trip insurance, which is where an independent Mendenhall Glacier booking out of the Juneau cruise port would normally be recovered.
Two of three Alaska ports are gone. The week now carries one Alaska town call, at Skagway, plus a Victoria stop that runs from 9:00 p.m. to midnight.
The refund is cash, not credit. Half the cruise fare returns to the original payment method, which is a stronger outcome than the future cruise credit these disruptions usually produce.
Independent tours are the exposure. Anything booked outside Princess in Juneau or Ketchikan has to be chased by the guest, through the operator or through trip insurance.
Context for the Next Booking
This is the second propulsion related disruption for a Princess ship in Alaska inside fourteen months, following a Ruby Princess incident in July 2025. Two events do not establish a pattern across a fleet this size, but they do sit on the same route.
Royal Princess entered service in 2013 and is due in dry dock in Singapore from 16 October to 1 November 2026. Whether this engine issue is folded into that scheduled work has not been stated by the line.
Why did Royal Princess cancel Juneau and Ketchikan?
Princess told guests the ship has a technical issue with its engines that restricts its speed. The line said the issue does not affect the safety of guests or crew.
Is the cruise being cut short?
No. The ship is still due in Seattle on Saturday 19 September on its original schedule. Only the Juneau and Ketchikan calls were removed.
Do I have to ask for the 50 percent refund?
No. Princess said the refund goes to the original payment method automatically within 10 to 15 business days.
What happens to my Juneau shore excursion?
If it was booked through Princess it is cancelled and credited automatically. If it was booked directly with a local operator, you need to contact that operator yourself.
Is the next Royal Princess sailing affected?
Princess has not announced any change to the 14 night Alaska to Tokyo sailing that follows this voyage.
