Oasis of the Seas Departing Late Due to Minor Mechanical Issue
Every cruise guest knows that fun feeling as they walk up the gangway and onto their ship, their oceangoing home for the next few days as they’re ready to dive right into vacation vibes.
Onboard Oasis of the Seas on Saturday, May 25, 2025, however, those vibes have to wait a few extra hours before the ship will actually pull away from the pier.
While guests have been able to board the ship in Port Everglades as planned, the 226,800-gross ton ship was not able to depart at 4 p.m. as planned.
It is not unusual for cruise ship departure times to be approximate, but satellite tracking data shows Oasis of the Seas still docked as of 8:30 p.m. Saturday evening.
According to multiple guests who boarded the ship on Saturday afternoon, the vessel’s departure has been delayed at least twice and she should now be setting sail closer to 9 p.m., though that may yet be revised again.
The captain apparently made an announcement indicating a scrubber needed to be repaired before the ship could depart. The scrubbers are part of a cruise ship’s exhaust management and ensure only acceptable amounts of particulates are expelled from the smokestacks.
Oasis of the Seas is due to start a 7-night Western Caribbean sailing. Her first port of call, for Sunday, May 26, is Perfect Day at CocoCay.
Fortunately, Royal Caribbean’s private island destination in the Bahamas is just 137 miles east-southeast of Fort Lauderdale. Because Oasis of the Seas can reach a top speed of 24 knots (28 miles per hour), she could reach CocoCay in just about five hours if necessary.
Of course, this does not include maneuvering or docking time, but nevertheless, the ship has plenty of extra time to make up for any departure delay without impacting her planned 7 a.m. Sunday morning arrival at CocoCay.
To be clear, there is no indication that the ship’s propulsion system – engines or thrusters – are impacted in any way, nor are any safety systems compromised.
What is changing this evening is some of the onboard experience. Because the ship cannot legally open the casino or retail shops until she reaches international waters, those venues may not be available until much later than expected for embarkation day.
The rest of the ship’s itinerary is unlikely to be impacted – other than the earlier announced cancellation of the visit to Labadee – and there have been no changes confirmed at this time.
Oasis of the Seas Departing Late Due to Minor Mechanical Issue