Earlier this year, the line confirmed its 2027 ex-UK deployment, revealing that 4,000-passenger Mariner would replace Liberty of the Seas, a newer and slightly larger Freedom-class vessel, in two years' time.

In 2027, Mariner will operate a mix of sailings from Southampton between May and November, with at least four departures going to the Norwegian Fjords and several others calling into Porto.

Speaking at a trade event at Fulham Football Club's Craven Cottage ground in west London on Monday (24 November), Aaron Langford told agents in the room that the line had been "a constant" in Southampton for the last 20 years, before stressing: "That's not going to change. It's nice to know we always commit to the UK market and there's always a ship in the UK market."

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Asked by a travel agent if Royal would ever deploy a second ship in Southampton that would operate year-round sailings, Langford added: "Our deployment is completely flexible based on whatever we want it to be."

He later told TTG: "We do well with Southampton. We listen very carefully to what people want. They want new destinations such as Porto and the Norwegian Fjords which Mariner of the Seas can now get to."

He also highlighted how Mariner "has all the stuff" that Independence of the Seas – a UK market favourite often referred to as "Indy" – has got. "Mariner is relatively the same size as Indy," he explained. "The opportunities to sell are no different to Indy."