Royal Caribbean notified its travel partners and guests that the first six sailings scheduled for Empress of the Seas have been cancelled.

Empress of the Seas sailings scheduled to depart on March 30, April 4, April 7, April 11, April 16 and April 21 have been cancelled.

The reasoning seems to be that additional work is needed before Empress of the Seas can rejoin the fleet. In a statement to travel partners, Royal Caribbean explained, "Like many large renovation project, we are going to need more time to ensure the ship meets the high standards for quality our guests expect from Royal Caribbean."

As an alternative, guests may move to the same stateroom category on another Empress of Seas sailing between April 25, 2016 and July 23, 2016, and may also move to the same stateroom category on any Majesty of the Seas sailing between now and April 29, 2016 for the same cruise fare rate they paid for their original sailing. Guests who rebook to any Royal Caribbean Sailing will receive a $100 per stateroom onboard credit.

Guests who cannot or do not want to rebook, are eligble for a full refund of their cruise fare paid.