A Royal Caribbean International ship was forced to cancel scheduled calls to Noumea & Mystery Island due to a technical issue that resulted in a reduced cruising speed.

The Ovation of the Seas departed from the Port of Sydney, Australia on December 14, and was sailing a nine-day round-trip South Pacific itinerary when the vessel began encountering a technical issue related to the cruising speed. As a result, the Ovation of the Seas canceled scheduled ports of call and will return to Sydney on December 23, at 6:30 am, as per the original sailing schedule.

A letter delivered to guests’ staterooms read:

“As the Captain previously shared, Ovation of the Seas is experiencing a mechanical issue resulting in the ship being required to sail at a slower speed. Unfortunately, we're no longer able to make our scheduled calls to Noumea & Mystery Island as a result. Instead, we'll head directly to Sydney, Australia to arrive into port as planned on Friday. We are very sorry for any inconvenience caused by this unexpected situation. 

As a result, we'll be providing you with the following:

A 50% refund of your cruise fare paid issued as a credit to your Onboard Account. Plus, a full refund of all pre-paid Royal Caribbean International shore excursions booked for Noumea &Mistery Island.

Additionally, we're also providing you with 25% Future Cruise Credit via email to book a new cruise by 31 December 2024.”

The next sailing for the Ovation of the Seas is a 12-day round-trip Holiday Cruise to New Zealand, but it remains unclear if the voyage will be impacted by the technical issue.