Austin

DR is one of the few places in the Caribbean that I’ve never been so I think that is where some of the disappointment is. We were actually going to be there two days due to the Haiti issue. Puerto Rico is probably one of my favorite stops because all of the culture and there are a ton of things you can do (I’ve stayed and cruised here). Some parts of the Caribbean (especially Eastern) when cruising seem the same. For me, St Thomas is less interesting since you still feel like you are in the US.
Some of the less cruised itineraries tend to command a higher booking price (this original itinerary was Nassau, PR, DR, Haiti). So now it’s back to the usual itinerary (St Marten/Thomas) without Coco Cay. Also, most people probably purchase excursions on sale, whereas now all of them are last minute full price.
 
Either way, we are still cruising and this is our first suite experience so an extra sea day means more time to enjoy ship amenities.

Thanks for posting this. Someone else shared a video of Captain Rob explaining this onboard.
What's not clear is WHEN it occurred.
I was in Puerto Rico on Icon of the Seas for her inaugural, so clearly it has to have happened since then.
It's strange there's no reports of the MSC ship hitting the pier.

This is Wonders first stop in PR for 2024 and they were not sure of repair timing. She was switching between the two common eastern/western itineraries previously(similar to Icons current itineraries). Also Royal tried to convince PR port authority to allow WOS to dock on the other side of the pier but the port authority waited awhile to respond and eventually declined per the captain’s video detailing the reasoning.
 
I’ll take an itinerary change rather than having a cruise cut short or cancelled like some of the other recent events across the cruise universe lately.

Because maybe San Juan ensured them it'd be fixed by now and yet it wasn't.

After you Status match to MGM, then status match from MGM to Marriott rewards… Sorta feels like a loophole, but I’ll take it. I also status matched to Celebrity and Virgin this year.

DR is one of the few places in the Caribbean that I’ve never been so I think that is where some of the disappointment is. We were actually going to be there two days due to the Haiti issue. Puerto Rico is probably one of my favorite stops because all of the culture and there are a ton of things you can do (I’ve stayed and cruised here). Some parts of the Caribbean (especially Eastern) when cruising seem the same. For me, St Thomas is less interesting since you still feel like you are in the US.
Some of the less cruised itineraries tend to command a higher booking price (this original itinerary was Nassau, PR, DR, Haiti). So now it’s back to the usual itinerary (St Marten/Thomas) without Coco Cay. Also, most people probably purchase excursions on sale, whereas now all of them are last minute full price.
 
Either way, we are still cruising and this is our first suite experience so an extra sea day means more time to enjoy ship amenities.

Just to clarify for anyone on a PR itinerary on an Oasis class ship, Captain said the dolphin Oasis ships use is unstable from the MSC ship striking it in PR. They tried to work with the port authority to dock on the east side of the pier instead of the usual west side, but the port authority rejected this option and told them that we cannot dock until the dolphin is repaired (unknown downtime). No mofongo for me this cruise, but will have to do conch fritters and coconut shrimp.

DR is one of the few places in the Caribbean that I’ve never been so I think that is where some of the disappointment is. We were actually going to be there two days due to the Haiti issue. Puerto Rico is probably one of my favorite stops because all of the culture and there are a ton of things you can do (I’ve stayed and cruised here). Some parts of the Caribbean (especially Eastern) when cruising seem the same. For me, St Thomas is less interesting since you still feel like you are in the US.
Some of the less cruised itineraries tend to command a higher booking price (this original itinerary was Nassau, PR, DR, Haiti). So now it’s back to the usual itinerary (St Marten/Thomas) without Coco Cay. Also, most people probably purchase excursions on sale, whereas now all of them are last minute full price.
 
Either way, we are still cruising and this is our first suite experience so an extra sea day means more time to enjoy ship amenities.

At first look, this is just a picture of the artwork on Odyssey, but a quick zoom in shows a creative way to hide a duck
 

An MSC ship apparently caused some damage to that pier a couple weeks ago making it not possible for an Oasis class ship to dock there.

I’ve been trying to find information on this and can’t find any information anywhere. Not too happy about the change, really put a damper on our honeymoon. We were very excited to go to PR & DR.

They dropped DR due to geography with the replacement ports. Plus DR is pretty overrated as a cruise port.

First time on Royal, trying to find good cruise line for world cruising. Folks chose cruises in large part on itineraries. To just drop the D.R. is unconscionable. We are now on the exact cruise we just took in January and would otherwise not have booked. Royal has now delivered on 25% of the destinations we purchased. 

Nothing that you will probably notice or see. More of a routine tune up.

Nothing that you will probably notice or see. More of a routine tune up.

The port of call location is in downtown San Juan whereas the terminals for home ported ships are a little farther away. No Oasis ship has embarked from there, only day stops as a port of call. PR is one of my favorite stops in the Caribbean.

You can swim with pigs for free at any of the beaches if you look around closely.

You can swim with pigs for free at any of the beaches if you look around closely.

The port of call location is in downtown San Juan whereas the terminals for home ported ships are a little farther away. No Oasis ship has embarked from there, only day stops as a port of call. PR is one of my favorite stops in the Caribbean.

You can swim with pigs for free at any of the beaches if you look around closely.

You can swim with pigs for free at any of the beaches if you look around closely.

You can swim with pigs for free at any of the beaches if you look around closely.

You can swim with pigs for free at any of the beaches if you look around closely.

You can swim with pigs for free at any of the beaches if you look around closely.

I bet we can charter a whole Margaritaville ship for real cheap...🤣