Royal Caribbean schedules February drydock to repair Allure

Royal Caribbean has canceled the Feb. 23 sailing of the Allure of the Seas to repair one of its three propulsion motors.

For about the past four weeks, the Allure has not been sailing at full speed, but the ship has been able to complete its weeklong cruises out of Fort Lauderdale.

However, Royal Caribbean has compensated for the slower speed with shortened port stays in Nassau and later arrivals in St. Thomas. Some excursions have been canceled.

Until repairs can be made, Royal Caribbean will adjust the Allure’s eastern Caribbean itineraries. The ship will call on Nassau from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. and St. Thomas from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. There is no need to modify western Caribbean itineraries, Royal Caribbean said.

“While Allure could have continued to sail at a reduced rate of speed, we felt it was important to fix the problem as soon as possible,” said William Baumgartner, Royal Caribbean’s senior vice president of marine operations. “We explored numerous repair options. Unfortunately, there was no satisfactory solution that did not involve taking the ship temporarily out of service.”

The repairs will take place at Grand Bahama Shipyard, in Freeport, Bahamas, the week of Feb. 24.

Customers booked on the Feb. 23 sailing will receive a full refund or will have the option to sail on select itineraries at the same rate.

Photo of Allure of the Seas in Nassau courtesy of Maria Maarbes/Shutterstock.com.