Royal Caribbean Replaces Mariner With Freedom for Southampton 2027
Guests booked on Mariner's original programme can transfer to Freedom, choose another cruise or receive a full refund; Freedom will return in 2028.
Royal Caribbean will replace Mariner of the Seas with the larger Freedom of the Seas for its summer 2027 Southampton deployment, increasing passenger capacity per sailing by about 17%. The change was confirmed in April 2026.
Freedom accommodates approximately 3,926 passengers at double occupancy, compared with about 3,344 on Mariner, roughly 582 additional passenger places per departure.
Passengers booked on the original Mariner programme were offered three options: transfer their booking to Freedom, choose another cruise or receive a full refund.
“The UK & Ireland is an incredibly important market for Royal Caribbean,” said Aaron Langford, the cruise line’s UK and Ireland sales director.
Freedom, which entered service in 2006, measures 339 metres in length, compared with 311 metres for Mariner, which entered service in 2003. The replacement moves Southampton’s planned deployment from a Voyager-class vessel to a Freedom-class ship.
Onboard facilities include a FlowRider surfing simulator, rock-climbing wall, ice-skating rink and the Perfect Storm waterslides. Freedom also has a splash park, glow-in-the-dark laser tag and an adults-only Solarium, alongside Adventure Ocean children’s activities and a separate lounge for tweens and teenagers.
The ship has 10 dining venues, five of them complimentary. The free choices include the El Loco Mexican buffet, added during its 2020 refurbishment, while extra-charge options include Izumi and Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen. Its nine bars include the Playmakers sports bar, an English pub and the poolside Lime & Coconut.
The entertainment programme includes Once Upon A Time, a theatre production drawing on fairy tales, and the FreedomICE skating show.
A second Southampton season
Royal Caribbean has also confirmed that Freedom will return to Southampton in 2028. The programme includes Norwegian fjord sailings and calls at Copenhagen, Bruges, Bilbao, Le Havre and Lisbon.
The ship is scheduled to operate from the port between May and October, with cruises lasting two to nine nights. Announced fares for the programme start at £460 per person.
See current Freedom of the Seas fares and itineraries on Cruise Lookup.
