Storm Damage at Private Island Only Allows One Royal Caribbean Ship to Dock at a Time

A strong winter storm disrupted a few cruise ships in The Bahamas over the last few days.   And now some damage left behind at Royal Caribbean’s private island is only allowing one ship at a time to dock.

A Pier at Half-Capacity

Normally, the pier at Perfect Day at CocoCay can handle two ships at the same time. But after some strong winds and rough seas over the last weekend, not all scheduled ships were able to dock at the private destination.

The storm was powerful enough to tear away the catwalks (the metal walkways used by crew members to secure mooring lines) on the eastern side of the pier.

The catwalks fell into the sea, and until they are recovered, that side of the dock is off-limits.

Wonder of the Seas and Celebrity Reflection had to alter their schedules and were not able to visit the island, and instead enjoyed cruises to nowhere.

Letter Sent to Guests

While one side of the pier remains fully operational, the other side is effectively shut down due to underwater obstructions.

In a letter sent to guests aboard Freedom of the Seas, the Captain explained,

“Due to this past weekend’s winter storm, which included strong winds and heavy seas at Perfect Day at CocoCay, Bahamas, catwalks fell into the sea on the eastern side of the pier.  Unfortunately, divers have not been able to locate all of them, which prevents us from safely docking the ship at Perfect Day at CocoCay.“.

Until the sunken catwalks are retrieved, the cruise line can’t risk a ship’s hull or propeller hitting some of the debris.

Passengers on Freedom of the Seas went to Cabo Rojo in the Dominican Republic today instead of CocoCay.

Which Ships Are Impacted?

While Freedom of the Seas was not allowed to dock at the island, Wonder of the Seas was able to use the undamaged side of the pier yesterday.

Today, Utopia of the Seas is calling on CocoCay but Celebrity Reflection, which was originally scheduled to visit the private island, is visiting Freeport instead, according to tracking data at CruiseMapper.

Tomorrow, February 5, Liberty of the Seas and Adventure of the Seas are scheduled to stop at CocoCay.  There has been no official word on whether or not one of these ships may need to sail somewhere else, but we will keep this article updated if we hear anything.

We also don’t’ have an exact timeline for these repairs. Replacing structures like this in the middle of the ocean isn’t as super simple and quick as you might think.  Of course, better weather conditions will definitely help.

If you are scheduled to visit Perfect Day at CocoCay soon, keep a close eye on your cruise app. Royal Caribbean will notify you of any changes 24 to 48 hours in advance if possible.

At the end of the letter Royal Caribbean sent to impacted guests, the cruise line encouraged cruisers to keep the letter they sent, saying it could be used for insurance purposes.