by Donald Wood
Last updated: 10:02 AM ET, Tue November 5, 2019
Royal Caribbean will not visit Alaska's Glacier Bay National Park for at least a decade after it was revealed the cruise line elected not to sign an agreement with the National Park Service.
As a result, Royal Caribbean will be forced to change itineraries on several Alaskan sailings, according to Cruise Critic.
The cruise line was awarded 10-year park access by the National Park Service earlier this year, but Royal Caribbean officials did not finalize the agreement. The current deal expires in 2029, which means the company can't visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site until then.
As for the impacted sailings, passengers on Ovation of the Seas and Radiance of the Seas will have their stops in Glacier Bay being replaced by calls in "Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier, or Skagway."
The cruise line will not be offering compensation to impacted travelers as a result of the changes.
"We have removed Glacier Bay from select cruises and those sailings will revert back to their original itineraries," Royal Caribbean spokesman Jonathon Fishman told Cruise Critic. "We know this may be disappointing to some; however, we still have several glacier adventures."
The cruise lines that managed to finalize their Glacier Bay agreements include Cunard, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn and Viking Cruises.
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