Celebrity Cruises is asking passengers booked on the April 9, 2026 sailing of Celebrity Millennium to voluntarily cancel their trip in exchange for a full refund plus a 100% Future Cruise Credit (FCC).
The unusually generous offer has raised questions among cruisers about whether Celebrity is now experiencing the same overbooking pressures recently seen across its sister brand, Royal Caribbean.
The email, sent this week to guests booked on the 12-night Best of Japan itinerary, is titled “Are Your Plans Flexible?”
A screenshot of the email was shared to Facebook from a cruiser who received the message, which invites travelers to give up their staterooms with lucrative incentives.
In the email, Celebrity Cruises says guests who choose to cancel will receive:
- A full refund, including non-refundable deposits
- A Future Cruise Credit equal to 100% of the cruise fare paid, valid toward any Celebrity sailing departing by April 9, 2027
- Refund of any new funds if the booking was originally paid with an FCC
- Reimbursement for certain non-refundable travel expenses, including airline cancellation fees up to $350 per person and other non-refundable trip costs up to $500 per stateroom
However, the cruise line notes that travelers with “set in stone” plans can disregard the offer. The email reads, “If your plans are set in stone, please disregard this email and we look forward to sailing with you soon!”
Celebrity Millennium will be sailing on a 12-night Japan itinerary
The April 9, 2026 voyage seems to be one of Celebrity’s most in-demand spring itineraries in Japan. The 12-night itinerary sails round-trip from Yokohama, Japan and includes the following ports of call:
- Osaka (overnight)
- Kochi
- Hiroshima
- Jeju Island, South Korea
- Nagasaki
- Kagoshima
- Shimizu (for Mount Fuji)
Because April coincides with Japan’s popular cherry blossom season, these itineraries have historically sold out early with higher demand.
Celebrity hasn’t confirmed the overbooking, but the offer strongly implies it
Celebrity Cruises has not stated that the sailing is overbooked in its email to passengers. However, the combination of a full cash refund, a full-value Future Cruise Credit, and coverage for non-refundable expenses appear to signal an overbooking situation.
One commenter on Facebook shared how they experienced the same scenario last month on Celebrity Millennium.
“This happened for our October 19th cruise as well. Many people from UK received this. The ship was running a medical conference and a huge art auction and was overwhelmed for space.”
Another commenter on Facebook said, “Wow! This is the most generous offer I’ve seen from Celebrity. They either oversold this sailing or have such high demand that they can resell these cabins for much higher. This is common practice with Princess, but rare with Celebrity.”
Royal Caribbean seems to have more overbooking incidents this year
While Celebrity rarely faces this issue, its sister-company, Royal Caribbean, has seen a surge in overbooking situations. The cruise line has sent similar “flexible plans” emails throughout 2025 due to overbooked cruises.
Recent examples include Allure of the Seas, Liberty of the Seas, and Navigator of the Seas over the last few months. Many guests shared online about emails received from Royal Caribbean with tempting offers to change their plans.
Royal Caribbean has offered guests to downgrade their staterooms, shift itinerary dates, or cancel entirely for compensation.
Why cruise lines overbook in the first place
Cruise lines sometimes overbook intentionally to compensate for expected cancellations or for inventory management reasons.
When too few people cancel on their own, or when a ship hosts large groups, charters, or corporate events, cruise lines may ask volunteers to forfeit their rooms for additional compensation.
Overbooking is standard practice in the airline industry and increasingly present in cruising. It generally happens because:
- Cruise lines expect a small percentage of “no-shows” and late cancellations
- Sailing at or near full capacity increases onboard spending per passenger
- Premium itineraries, like Japan and Europe, see unusually high demand
Most of the time, guests never notice this. But when not enough passengers voluntarily cancel or rebook, the cruise line must offer compensation to reduce the numbers.
About Celebrity Millennium
Celebrity Millennium is the namesake vessel of Celebrity Cruises’ Millennium Class, which first debuted in 2000. The vessel later received a major refurbishment under the fleet-wide “Celebrity Revolution” renovation in 2019.
The update modernized staterooms, refreshed public spaces, and added design elements, giving the ship a more contemporary look and elevated feel.
Carrying roughly 2,100 guests at double occupancy, Celebrity Millennium is smaller than most modern mega-ships. Because of her size and layout, the ship is frequently deployed on longer Celebrity cruises, particularly destination-driven, port-immersive sailings in Japan.
This combination of a smaller ship and high-demand itineraries often results in fast sell-outs, which may help explain why this 12-night sailing is experiencing capacity pressure so far in advance.
