The attractions of a maiden voyage on a brand-new cruise ship are obvious. The promise of cutting-edge amenities, exclusive celebrations, and, well just simply being first, can be hard to resist.
But with the high-profile cancellation of several maiden voyages recently, is booking the first sailing of a cruise ship just too big of a risk to take?
The first sailing of Disney’s first ship in over a decade was delayed from June 9 to July 14 2022, with DCL saying that this was due to the effect of Covid “at a critical point in the production process.”
And now another Disney Ship, Disney Adventure, has had it’s maiden voyage delayed by 3 months from December 2025 to March 2026. No reason has been given for the delay.
I had never really thought too much about this until I was impacted by the delay in the maiden voyage of Disney Wish in 2022.
A total of 12 sailings on Disney Wish were canceled, and whilst Disney offered a full refund or a 50 percent discount on a future cruise, the delay affected a lot of people.
But Disney isn’t the only cruise line to have had to decide to delay a maiden voyage. There seem to have been several announcements recently.
Princess Cruise Line had to postpone the maiden voyage of the new much anticipated Sun Princess. The announcement was made on January 25th, 2024 that the ship’s inaugural 10-day voyage, which had been scheduled to depart from Barcelona on February 8th was cancelled.
On January 25th 2024, Princess said that it and the shipbuilders Fincantieri had agreed to delay delivery of the vessel. This led to the cancellation of the ship’s inaugural 10-day voyage, which had been scheduled to depart from Barcelona on February 8th 2024. I sailed on Sun Princess in June of that year and there were still many things that weren’t ready or in operation.
What was particularly notable about the cancellation of Sun Princess was that the passengers affected by the cancellation were not given a lot of notice – and some had already traveled to the port to join the cruise.
Not only that, but after the original announcement was made it wasn’t immediately clear when the ship would sail.
Passengers who were supposed to sail on the next cruise were left wondering. Princess did subsequently cancel the next cruise and the ship didn’t set sail until 28th February 2024.
photo courtesy of Princess Cruises
Guests did receive a full refund of the cruise fare along with any additional onboard services that were pre-purchased, as well as a 50% future cruise credit that can be used on a future Princess voyage.
The very late announcement no doubt impacted a lot of guests.
This was not the last of the delays.
Following the successful launch of the mega-ship Icon of the Seas, Royal Caribbean changed the date of the debut of her sister ship Star of the Seas.
The new RCL ship was originally due to sail on August 17 and August 24, 2025, but the maiden voyage was initially pushed to August 31, 2025 and then eventually launched on September 24, 2025
At least the guests had 18 months to rearrange their plans. They could move to the delayed maiden voyage or can rebook on another RCL ship.
Oceania Cruises also experienced delays with their new ship Allura.
The first six sailings of the ship’s maiden season were canceled in the summer of 2025. This ship was built with Fincantieri, the same shipyard that constructed Sun Princess.
Cancellations are not the only potential problems that you can encounter if you book a maiden voyage.
Incomplete Features: There’s a risk that not all features, venues, or entertainment options will be fully operational as the crew may still be working out the kinks during the first cruises.
This can be seen by my personal experience of sailing on Sun Princess, months after the launch. Two of the dining venues, Spellbound and Love by Britto are not open.
Even more disappointing is that the Princess Arena, the new theater on board, was not yet open.
Staff Inexperience: Crew members, while trained, might still be getting accustomed to the ship and its procedures, which can affect the level of service and overall guest experience.
I have certainly heard this being reported on several maiden voyages.
Unforeseen Technical Issues: New ships may have undiscovered technical problems that only become apparent once they are operational, potentially leading to disruptions in services or amenities.
Some things just don’t become apparent until the ship sails with passengers on board.
But for many people, the excitement of booking a maiden voyage will outweigh the possible pitfalls. Being the first to lounge by the pool, dine at the new restaurant, or experience the excitement of the maiden voyage experience is just too good to miss.
Have you ever sailed on a maiden voyage? Would you book one?
Alison Meacham is the founder of EverythingMouse Disney Blog. For over 15 years she has shared her love of Disney Parks, Disney Cruises and Universal Orlando. In over 30 years of Disney Travel she has spent countless months in Disney Parks and has sailed on over 45 cruises. A British native and now a United States resident she splits her time between California, Florida and the UK. And spends a serious amount of time sailing the seven seas. She helps over 200,000 people per month follow their Disney travel dreams.