One of the World's Largest Cruise Ships Notifies Guests of Propulsion Repair

Guests aboard Royal Caribbean International’s Oasis of the Seas did not get as much time to enjoy the Port Canaveral and Orlando, Florida area as planned on the ship’s current sailing, due to a propulsion issue that has impacted the ship’s speed.

Repairs are already underway, however, but it is possible that additional itineraries may be affected depending on the nature of the needed repairs.

Oasis of the Seas Itinerary Change

Oasis of the Seas was delayed by an hour in reaching Port Canaveral, Florida on the ship’s current 7-night cruise. Guests onboard were notified by announcements made by the ship’s captain, as well as a letter delivered to their staterooms, of the need for the speed adjustment.

“An electrical component in one of our three propulsion pods needs replacing,” the letter explained. “While everything else is functioning at 100%, as a precaution we’ve lowered our speed.”

Because of the slower speed, the ship did not arrive at Port Canaveral until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, October 3, 2023. Originally, the ship was scheduled to arrive at 1 p.m. The ship was still scheduled to depart the port of call at 9 p.m. as initially planned, so guests lost just one hour of port visit time.

Shore tours booked through the cruise line were automatically adjusted to the new port visit time.

At no time were any safety systems, navigation, or onboard operations impacted; only the ship’s cruising speed was adjusted. Repairs were already underway as the ship approached Port Canaveral and spent the day at the Space Coast, and at this time, there have been no further announcements of any itinerary changes.

Oasis of the Seas departed Cape Liberty, New Jersey on Sunday, October 1, 2023 and spend Monday as a day at sea before Tuesday’s visit to Port Canaveral.

Wednesday is scheduled as a day at the cruise line’s private island in the Bahamas, Perfect Day at CocoCay, and Thursday, the ship will be in port at Nassau.

Two more days at sea will follow, taking Oasis of the Seas back to her homeport in New Jersey. The ship is scheduled to arrive back at Cape Liberty at 6 a.m. on Sunday, October 8.

If the electrical component is successfully replaced, there should be no further itinerary adjustments necessary. If the engine propulsion pod requires additional maintenance, however, it is possible there may be further changes to the itinerary through the week. It is also possible that there may need to be adjustments to the ship’s next sailing, an identical itinerary.

At this time, no such announcements have been made for future sailings – Oasis of the Seas is offering the same cruise each week for the next three weeks. In late October, the ship will reposition to Miami, Florida to offer 7-night Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises until moving to Europe in April 2024 for the summer Mediterranean sailing season.

The 226,838-gross-ton vessel, the first ship in the revolutionary Oasis class, can welcome 5,400 guests at double occupancy, or as many as 6,780 passengers when fully booked with all berths filled.

Other Engine Issues in the Royal Caribbean Fleet

Several Royal Caribbean International ships have been afflicted with engine difficulties in recent weeks.

The Quantum-class Anthem of the Seas recently had to adjust multiple itineraries due to engine maintenance affecting sailing speed, which has resulted in some skipped ports of call. For that ship, the itinerary changes are impacting multiple cruises for the next several months.

In early September, two complete sailings for Radiance of the Seas were cancelled for emergency engine repairs while the ship was finishing the Alaska sailing season.

For each ship, the type of repair is different and the length of time for the repair depends on the level of work to be completed and whether or not it can be done while the ship is underway, while docked, or if a dry dock is needed.

Hopefully, the repairs to Oasis of the Seas will indeed be minor and quickly completed, so no further sailings need to be changed.