Two of the world's biggest cruise ships are at shipyards right now to undergo work for different reasons.
Oasis of the Seas is at the Navantia ship yard in Cadiz, Spain, while Icon of the Seas is at the Grand Bahama Shipyard in Freeport, Bahamas.
It's rare for two different Royal Caribbean ships to be at a drydock at the same time, highlighting the important work being done.
Here's what we know about the work Royal Caribbean has ordered for both ships.
Repairing Icon of the Seas
Royal Caribbean cancelled this week's sailing on Icon of the Seas because of an issue with the ship's propulsion.
The decision to send Icon in for repairs was made last week, and passengers were told it was due to "unplanned maintenance".
Royal Caribbean never specified exactly what the issue was, but there's been a lot of speculation it has something to do with the ship's propulsion because after the announcement was made, the ship's speed was reduced.
"We are currently conducting unplanned maintenance onboard Icon of the Seas," is all the statement indicated.
The ship will need to remain in dock for the work to occur, "while our crew is working hard to address this as quickly as possible, there is still some work that needs to be done over a few days while the ship is docked."
Not only did Icon slow down in her previous sailing, she also skipped a visit to St. Thomas in order to buy more time to get back closer to Miami.
Icon arrived at the Grand Bahama Shipyard on September 28 to fix the issue. Crew attempted some work while the ship was sailing, but getting the ship into a dry dock will allow unfettered access.
Icon of the Seas began sailing in January 2024 after construction was finalized in late 2023.
If the repairs go to plan, then Icon should be back in Miami on Saturday to resume sailings with the October 5 sailing. That's a seven night cruise to the Eastern Caribbean that will visit Perfect Day at CocoCay, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten.
Maintenance work for Oasis of the Seas
Across the Atlantic, Oasis of the Seas arrived at Navantia shipyard to begin her scheduled work.
Unlike Icon, Oasis had this work scheduled. Cruise ships go in for maintenance every 5 years or less, and it's akin to bringing your car in for a tune up.
Oasis arrived in Cadiz on September 29, and will remain at the shipyard until October 23, 2024.
Royal Caribbean has not made any announcements of what type of work will happen while Oasis is out of service, and that's usually an indication the ship is going in simply for maintenance work, and not to get major upgrades.
Royal Caribbean has two kinds of scheduled work done on its ships: refurbishment and amplifications.
Depending on the cruise line's plan, a Royal Caribbean cruise ship could get a number of enhancements and changes. Or, it could simply go in for maintenance without real changes the average guest would notice.
A refurbishment is when a ship is taken to dry dock for a shorter period of time to do primarily cosmetic changes and maintenance work.
During an amplification, the same cosmetic and maintenance work is done, but there are also enhancements made to the ship, such as adding new restaurants, activities, bars and more.
In 2019, Oasis had her amplification done and in 2025, Allure of the Seas will get the same type of upgrades.
However, it's likely Oasis is just getting work done to keep the ship operating nominally this time around. Moreover, the fact the time in dry dock is only six weeks is another signal it's a shorter stint.
To be fair, we don't know what Royal Caribbean has planned for Oasis. It's possible the elevators on the ship could be upgraded to destination elevators, which have been a big hit on Icon of the Seas and Utopia of the Seas. Plus, the company tested retrofitting destination elevators already on Allure of the Seas.
Without any official statement, we'll have to wait and see what changes occur onboard once the ship restarts cruises.
Oasis of the Seas is scheduled to resume sailings with a 14 Night Transatlantic from Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale that will begin on October 24 and conclude November 7.
Once in Port Everglades, Oasis will offer 6- and 8-night cruises to the Caribbean that will visit the Eastern, Southern, and Western regions.
