Royal Caribbean goes year-round in Europe for the first time in 2028, with seven ships and a winter season

Royal Caribbean has never kept a ship in Europe over the winter. That changes in 2028. The line announced on October 14 that Rhapsody of the Seas will sail year-round from Athens, Barcelona, and Lisbon starting in May 2028, with a winter program of 9- to 12-night cruises to the Canary Islands, Morocco, Cyprus, and Malta from November onward. Six other ships join her for the summer, making seven in Europe during the peak months.

Bookings opened today for Crown & Anchor Society members and open to everyone on Thursday, October 15.

The winter season is the real news

Royal Caribbean has sailed Europe every summer for decades, but it has always pulled every ship back across the Atlantic by November for the Caribbean season. MSC, Costa, and the British lines have had the winter Mediterranean and Canaries market mostly to themselves. Rhapsody staying put is a small bet, one 2,040-passenger Vision-class ship, but it's the first time Royal Caribbean has tested whether its North American customers will fly to Europe in January.

The winter itineraries run 9 to 12 nights and rotate through Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Casablanca, Tangier, and Alexandria, with Cyprus, Malta, and Greece in the mix on the longer sailings. Two ports stand out: Royal Caribbean is returning to Heraklion on Crete, and it's calling at Cagliari in Sardinia for the first time in more than a decade.

Rhapsody's summer schedule, May through October 2028, is 7 to 12 nights and leans east. The 7-night Turkey and Egypt sailings include overnights in both Istanbul and Alexandria, which is unusual for a mainstream line. Greek Isles sailings get the Ultimate Santorini Day with a stop at Royal Beach Club Santorini.

Rhapsody is one of the oldest ships in the fleet, launched in 1997, and the smallest Royal Caribbean ship in Europe. That's deliberate. She can dock in ports the Oasis- and Icon-class ships can't, and a smaller ship is easier to fill in January.

The six summer ships

Odyssey of the Seas is the biggest and newest of the group. She sails 7-night Greek Isles cruises from Rome (Civitavecchia) from April through October 2028, with Ephesus, Mykonos, and extended Santorini evenings. Odyssey is the only ship in the lineup with RipCord by iFLY skydiving and the North Star observation pod.

Liberty of the Seas splits her season among Barcelona, Athens, and Rome on 7- and 8-night sailings. Routes alternate between the Greek Isles, with Santorini overnights and excursions to Akrotiri, Fira, and Perivolos, and the western Mediterranean, with Marseille, Palermo, and Cagliari. Royal Caribbean describes her as "newly amplified," which means she's had the refit that adds the Lime & Coconut bar and Royal Escape Room.

Explorer of the Seas homeports in Ravenna for Venice from May through October, running 7-night Greek Isles and Croatia cruises. Some sailings stop in Kotor, Montenegro, with a Lovcen National Park excursion.

Mariner of the Seas rotates among four homeports: Barcelona, Lisbon, Athens, and Ravenna, on 7-night itineraries that include Palma de Mallorca, Porto (via Leixões), and Dubrovnik. She has the widest spread of embarkation ports in the lineup, which matters if you're pairing the cruise with a land stay.

Freedom of the Seas is the British-market ship, homeporting in Southampton from May to October on 3- to 9-night cruises. The short ones hit Bruges and Paris via Le Havre; the longer ones go to the Norwegian fjords, Copenhagen, Bilbao, and Lisbon. Freedom is the only ship in the group with laser tag.

Jewel of the Seas handles the Baltic from Copenhagen and Stockholm, May through August, on 7- to 11-night cruises to Helsinki, Visby, Gdansk (Gdynia), and Klaipeda. Jewel is a Radiance-class ship, which means more glass and better sea views than most of the fleet, a real advantage on scenic Baltic approaches.

What's not in the lineup

No Oasis- or Icon-class ship is going to Europe in 2028. Royal Caribbean is keeping its biggest ships in the Caribbean and sending the mid-size Voyager, Freedom, Radiance, and Quantum Ultra ships across instead. That's consistent with the past few years, but it does mean anyone wanting the Icon experience in the Mediterranean will have to look at Legend of the Seas or Star of the Seas, both of which are Caribbean-based.

Also absent: any new homeport. Athens, Barcelona, Rome, Ravenna, Southampton, Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Lisbon are all existing Royal Caribbean turnaround ports.

Should you book now?

Crown & Anchor members have a one-day head start, and the first-ever winter sailings on Rhapsody are the ones most likely to sell out early among the loyalist crowd. For the summer sailings, there's less urgency. Seven ships is a lot of inventory, and 2028 pricing tends to soften once the initial launch window passes. If you're flexible on dates, the shoulder months of April and October on Odyssey usually offer the best value in the Mediterranean.

One caveat on Rhapsody: she's a 3.8-rated ship on our scorecard, below the fleet average of 4.0. The itineraries are the draw, not the ship. If the ports matter more to you than the hardware, she's a great fit. If you want the full Royal Caribbean resort experience, pick Odyssey or Liberty.

For the full fleet with ratings, see Royal Caribbean International on Cruise Frog.