The San Juan issue leads to further changes for the Royal Caribbean ship

Symphony of the Seas will set sail on December 1, 2024, for a seven-day voyage to the Eastern Caribbean – but it won’t be the itinerary her up to 5,518 guests had originally booked.

Sailing back and forth – that is based in Miami, Florida – was scheduled to call at San Juan, Puerto Rico; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; and Coco Cay, Bahamas. However, due to an ongoing issue at the San Juan cruise port, this itinerary is no longer possible.

“We were recently informed by the Port Authority in San Juan, Puerto Rico that due to technical issues with the pier and the work that must be completed and approved by the USCG to accommodate a vessel of our size, we will be doing so. “to adapt our itinerary to our sailing”, Royal Caribbean wrote to affected guests.

While guests can still experience something Perfect day at CocoCay – the cruise line’s private island destination in the Bahamas – visits to San Juan and Philipsburg have been replaced.

The Oasis-class ship will now instead call at Falmouth, Jamaica and Labadee, Haiti – where Royal Caribbean has another exclusive resort-style destination.

“We apologize for any inconvenience caused by these changes. Nevertheless, we look forward to visiting our private destination and a new port with you!”, continued with the letter.

Falmouth, Jamaicais known for its history, culture and natural beauty – from waterfalls and swimming holes to pristine beaches.

The rescheduled visit to Labadee may be more exciting – and perhaps controversial – than just Royal Caribbean recently returned to its private destination in October after a months-long break for security reasons.

However, the cruise line has assured guests that the destination is safe – as Labadee is far away removed from the riots occurs elsewhere in Haiti and is heavily guarded by private security forces.

When will San Juan resume full operations?

Neither San Juan authorities nor Royal Caribbean have confirmed exactly what is wrong with the cruise port or how long it will take to fix it.

However, the relevant employees in San Juan are working hard to fix the problem – because the cruise port has big goals expand its cruise ship operations. However, without concrete knowledge, the exact duration of a repair cannot be estimated.

Symphony of the Seas won’t be returning to San Juan until Christmas Day, so hopefully everything will be repaired, inspected and approved by the relevant officials by then.

However, it is entirely possible that other large ships that call at the popular Caribbean port earlier could also be affected.

Medium to large cruise ships – such as Serenade of the Seas, Celebrity ApexAnd Celebrity Summit – are currently scheduled to visit the port before the end of November.

Also Read: San Juan Cruise Port Amenities and Surroundings

This is also not the first route to be disrupted for the 228,081 gross ton Symphony of the Seas due to the unresolved issues in San Juan.

A previous Eastern Caribbean cruise that departed Miami on Sunday, November 17th. There was also a change in the itinerary because I couldn’t visit Puerto Rico.

In this case, the calls at San Juan and Philipsburg were replaced by visits to Labadee and Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.

Royal Caribbean has not publicly offered compensation for the changes to its Nov. 17 and Dec. 1 sailings — although the cruise line said its official letter could be used to make a travel insurance claim if necessary.

Normally in these cases, Royal Caribbean would cancel and refund any shore excursions booked through the cruise line – however, guests who booked with other companies or tour providers must adhere to each provider’s cancellation policy.