Oasis of the Seas Itinerary

What Oasis of the Seas's Autumn Caribbean / Bahamas Season Is Actually Like

Autumn on Oasis of the Seas is really two seasons stitched together. First comes a New Jersey stint of one 7-night sailing on Oct 11 and another on Oct 18, then a 9-night on Oct 25. After that, a Fort Lauderdale run of quick Bahamas hops starts on Nov 6. The ship docks back in Bayonne on Nov 3 and is sailing from Florida three days later. It carries roughly 5,400 guests and 2,100 crew. On the Oct 11 sailing, that's a lot of people queuing for a slide, and it leaves tomorrow.

Our own data has no port lists for the 9-, 3- and 4-night sailings. The ports above come from third-party listings and Royal Caribbean's itinerary pages, so confirm them with Royal Caribbean before you book. The 7-night fares are snapshots of the lowest listed price. For the 3- and 4-night sailings, third-party sites disagree with each other by well over $100 per person for the same departure, and they change often, so I'm not going to pin a number on them. Get a live quote from Royal Caribbean for your date.

Weather and the hurricane question

The Atlantic hurricane season officially runs June 1 to Nov 30, according to NOAA's National Hurricane Center, which also notes that tropical storms sometimes form outside those dates. That covers the 7- and 9-night sailings from Bayonne and most of the Fort Lauderdale run, but not all of it. The 3-night sailings on Dec 4 and Dec 11 and the 4-night on Dec 7 sail entirely after Nov 30, and the 4-night on Nov 30 leaves on the season's final day. NOAA's Aug 6 update gave a 75% chance of a below-normal season, with 7–13 named storms expected. It credited a strengthening El Niño, which adds wind shear. That is a seasonal forecast for the June–November season, so it says nothing about those December sailings, and it isn't a promise about any one week either. Royal Caribbean's itinerary pages note that ports of call are subject to change for weather, safety or operational reasons, so hold your shore plans loosely.

I'm not going to hand you a temperature range I can't pin to a proper source. Check the forecast for Nassau and your departure port a few days before you sail, and pack the sunscreen regardless, because the sun takes no days off.

Which length suits whom

• 7 nights from Bayonne: the straightforward pick for northeasterners who want to skip the airport. The ports are Port Canaveral, Nassau and CocoCay. The listed Oct 11 and Oct 18 fares are about $864–$946 per person.
• 9 nights: the one for people who want more than the usual Bahamas lineup. San Juan is listed for Oct 30 (10:00–17:00) and Puerto Plata for Oct 31, which is Halloween (09:00–15:00). Port Canaveral is listed from roughly noon to 7 p.m. on Oct 27. That's a tough fit for a theme-park day, so a beach or Kennedy Space Center day is more realistic.
• 3 and 4 nights from Fort Lauderdale: the cheap, sample-the-ship option. It's mostly CocoCay and Nassau, with a lot of ship in between. Thanksgiving is Nov 26, and the Nov 23 4-night sails right over it, so expect more family traffic than a random November week. That's my expectation, not published data.

What the ports are really worth

CocoCay is the point of these sailings: the water park, the beaches and the slides. On the 9-night, the Oct 28 CocoCay call is listed 08:00–16:00. Hours on the 3- and 4-night sailings differ by listing and by date, so check the times for your own sailing with Royal Caribbean. Nassau is a classic cruise port. It's best when you plan one thing, such as a beach or a food stop, rather than wandering aimlessly. San Juan rewards a walk through the old city. Puerto Plata is the lower-key, more local-feeling stop.

Packing for this climate

• Layers for Bayonne: a real jacket for the Oct 11, Oct 18 and Oct 25 departures. You'll be in sandals within two days.
• Reef-friendly sunscreen, a hat and water shoes for CocoCay.
• A light rain jacket, because most of these sailings fall inside hurricane season and the weather makes the final call.
• A cardigan for the air conditioning.

Before you go, check the ship's CDC inspection record. Its latest score is 89, from the June 30, 2026 inspection. Work out what's included in the food guide before you commit to the extra-charge restaurants.