Royal Caribbean is about to take greater than 4,000 passengers even farther northwest into Alaska. Beginning in spring 2026, Ovation of the Seas will turn into the road’s largest-ever ship to sail one-way voyages to The Final Frontier, providing each cruises and cruisetours — one thing that wasn’t obtainable to Royal Caribbean passengers earlier than on a giant ship.
The Quantum Class ship, which is a part of the road’s third-largest class of vessels, will exchange Radiance of the Seas on weeklong one-way voyages between Seward, Alaska, and Vancouver, British Columbia. The ship will name on the ports of Juneau, Skagway, Icy Strait Level and Sitka, Alaska. Ovation may also traverse the highest a part of the Gulf of Alaska between Hubbard Glacier and Seward throughout its sailings, opening up entry to Anchorage and Alaska’s inside.
For that, passengers have the choice to tack on as much as six extra nights for land-based exploration, that includes Alaskan locations like Anchorage, Fairbanks, Denali, Talkeetna and Alyeska. Tundra trekking and glass-dome practice rides are among the many tour picks.
What’s notable about Ovation of the Seas’ cruisetours is that the ship dwarfs the opposite vessels providing one-way sailings with cruisetour add-ons. That is as a result of most cruise strains put their largest Alaska ships on round-trip Seattle cruises and save older, smaller ships for the one-way runs. When Ovation begins these itineraries in 2026, megaship followers who wish to spend time in Alaska’s inside earlier than or after their cruise will not have to decide on between their most popular ship dimension and their desired itinerary.
Though one-way itineraries present vacationers with a approach to discover locations ships cannot attain, journey to and from a one-way Alaska cruise is commonly costlier. That is since you’ll must e-book two one-way flights, together with one from an Alaskan metropolis, which could be pricier than round-trip Seattle or Vancouver flights. This will have an effect on your backside line when you’re on a funds.
For the 2026 season, Ovation of the Seas, an everyday on the Alaska cruise scene, will be a part of 4,180-passenger classmate Anthem of the Seas and three,602-passenger Voyager Class fleetmate Voyager of the Seas within the area. (This season might be Voyager’s first crusing Alaska.) The latter two ships are set to function weeklong sailings round-trip from Seattle. Ports of name embody a mixture of Juneau, Sitka, Skagway and Icy Strait Level with scenic crusing provided for Alaska’s Endicott Arm Fjord and Dawes Glacier.
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A fourth ship, 2,143-passenger Serenade of the Seas — a member of the Radiance Class of vessels — is scheduled to sail seven-night cruises round-trip from Vancouver throughout the 2026 Alaska season. Ports embody Sitka, Juneau, Icy Strait Level and Ketchikan in Alaska and Prince Rupert in British Columbia, plus scenic crusing by means of the Inside Passage and to Alaska’s Tracy Arm Fjord.
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