For months, passengers on one of Royal Caribbean’s biggest cruise ships have missed out on visiting one of their planned cruise ports due to a damaged pier.
Ongoing repair work happening at the only pier that can accommodate Royal Caribbean’s giant Oasis-class ships in San Juan, Puerto Rico has been taking longer than expected, forcing the cruise line to cancel Symphony of the Seas’ recent calls to the sought-after Caribbean destination.
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The last-minute itinerary changes have left many passengers disappointed, but the cruise line has no control over the port. The best it can do in the meantime is find an alternative port to visit.
According to Royal Caribbean Blog, on recent Symphony of the Seas’ sailings, Royal Caribbean has replaced stops in San Juan and St. Maarten with visits to Falmouth, Jamaica and the cruise line’s private destination in Labadee, Haiti.
On Royal Caribbean Blog’s message boards, passengers have expressed frustration about the itinerary changes.
“I am sailing February on Symphony,” said JChipps. “It is frustrating for me, because I did choose this itinerary to go to ports I have not yet visited. And paid a good amount of money for it.”
But passengers may not need to be concerned about Symphony of the Seas itinerary changes for much longer. New reports coming in from San Juan signal that the port may be able to welcome the ship again soon.
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Symphony of the Seas cannot dock in San Juan until the pier gets fixed.
LOIC VENANCE/AFP via Getty Images
Process underway to reopen San Juan Port’s Pier-3 West
The U.S. Coast Guard took operational control of San Juan Port’s Pier-3 West after an incident at the facility in April 2024, which resulted in the loss of a dolphin mooring structure just off the main pier.
In November, the Coast Guard announced that the pier would remain closed to cruise ships until further notice pending requested satisfactory assessment studies followed by a Coast Guard on-site inspection of the facility. The port’s other piers remain open to cruise ships, but they cannot accommodate giant Oasis-class ships.
“Since the loss of the facility’s mooring structure, Coast Guard Prevention personnel have been actively working with the San Juan Cruise Port and the Puerto Rico Ports Authority to determine if the structure remains sound for cruise ship operations,” said Capt. Luis J. Rodriguez, Commander of U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Juan and Captain of the Port – San Juan.
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“We understand the inconvenience of this matter, however, it is critical we ensure the safety of the port, the cruise ships and the thousands of people who operate on or visit the island through this port facility,” Capt. Rodriguez continued. “My team stands ready to move ahead immediately once we receive the awaited studies from San Juan Cruise Port and the Puerto Rico Ports Authority.”
According to more recent local media reports, these assessment studies have been submitted to the Coast Guard for review.
San Juan pier could reopen as early as Jan. 20
According to Puerto Rican newspaper El Vocero, San Juan Cruise Port is working to meet the Coast Guard’s requirements in order to reopen the pier in the near future.
The newspaper received a statement from the cruise port indicating that “a group of engineers has completed all necessary structural evaluations of the pier and these have been submitted to the United States Coast Guard (USCG) for review.”
Pier-3 West is expected to be able to receive Oasis-class ships again as early as this month. El Vocero reports that “all regulatory and operational conditions are expected to be met by January 20, 2025, allowing the arrival of the largest cruise ships during the remainder of the season.”
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The Coast Guard has not yet issued an update on the pier’s status. Its November announcement about the pier’s closure noted that its operational control would have to be lifted before the pier could reopen to cruise ships.
Once the satisfactory assessment studies are presented to the Coast Guard, Sector San Juan Prevention port facilities personnel will conduct an on-site inspection of Pier-3 West to corroborate the findings in the assessments and determine whether the operational control may be lifted.
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