Sailing into 2025, RCCL’s Oasis-class ships remain unable to dock at the Puerto Rican capital—much to the dismay of customers, travel advisors, and presumably, Royal Caribbean.
The Symphony of the Seas sailings on December 28, 2024, and January 12, 2025, are the latest to be rescheduled, following the closure of San Juan Cruise Port Pier 3.
Pier 3, the only one that can handle the largest RCCL ships, has been out of service since April, when the US Coast Guard announced that “San Juan Port’s Pier-3 West remains 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 at the time said it was “working diligently with regulatory agencies to restore service to Pier 3 West, following a recent incident involving a mooring dolphin.”
Through November and December, RCCL ships have been visiting Labadee, Haiti; Falmouth, Jamaica; and Nassau, Bahamas instead of San Juan. But San Juan is a different kind of destination, a Royal Caribbean homeport that’s not a typical Caribbean island but a US territory with its own unique culture. And the dock is in the heart of the old town of San Juan, with restaurants and stores within easy walking distance of the ships.
Local media reported at the time of the accident that the pier was damaged by MSC Meraviglia, but neither Royal Caribbean nor the Port of San Juan have officially confirmed this.
In the meantime, smaller ships can use the Pan America pier. But there is no timeline for when Pier 3 will be available.
Calls to RCCL for comment were not returned by press time.