Royal Caribbean Blog

Many people with an upcoming Royal Caribbean cruise often wonder if there is a way to get a free Royal Caribbean drink package for their vacation.

Can you really get a Royal Caribbean unlimited drink package for free? And if so, what's the catch?

Free drink packages are rare

Generally speaking, Royal Caribbean does not offer its drink packages for free, but it does regularly offer discounts on them.

If you book a Star Class suite on an Oasis or Quantum Class ship, complimentary Deluxe Beverage Package is included for every guest in the room. Star Class staterooms are the highest category of suites available on any Royal Caribbean ship, and usually come at a high cost.

The cruise line used to include a complimentary soda package if you booked a Boardwalk Balcony stateroom on its Oasis Class ships, but discontinued that program on January 1, 2020.

In select countries (i.e. United Kingdom), occasionally a new promotion will offer an "all-inclusive package", where the drink package cost is included with the cruise fare cost. Whether or not the drink package is free, or simply paid for as part of the cruise fare, is debatable.

Another way to get a free deluxe beverage package is if you reach a high enough tier of the Casino Royale program, which rewards guests who gamble a lot on Royal Caribbean.

As previously stated, a free drink package is nearly non-existent, and when it is "included" for free, you are usually paying for it in the grand scheme of things.

How to get a discount

If you want to know how to get a get a discount on a Royal Caribbean drink package, there are far more options available to you.

Every few weeks or so, Royal Caribbean runs a sale on pre-cruise purchases made on its Cruise Planner site.

These discounts regularly offer money off the cost of an unlimited drink package, primarily the unlimited alcohol package. The exact discount will vary, but the price offered online is always cheaper than the price onboard the ship.

If you know you want to buy a drink package, your best option is to pre-purchase and lock in the lower price.

In addition, Royal Caribbean will offer Crown and Anchor Society members a discount if they purchase the drink package onboard the ship.

Typically, the onboard discount for a Crown and Anchor Society member is 20% off for Diamond, 30% off for Diamond Plus, and 40% off for Pinnacle. 

This discount can be a better option if you are cruising solo, as the pre-cruise discounts typically offer the best deal if you are buying two packages.

The Meyer Werft shipyard has released a couple of new construction photos that show off the recent progress made on Odyssey of the Seas.

Our latest glimpse at Royal Caribbean's next new cruise ship was shared with the context of how the shipyard's workers are still working hard, despite this challenging time.

Photos by Meyer Werft

Odyssey is under construction in Papenburg, Germany.

While no change to scheduled sailings has occurred, Royal Caribbean did tell Wall Street that impacted shipyard operations and will result in delivery delays of ships previously planned for delivery in 2020 and 2021.

Odyssey of the Seas will be the cruise line's second Quantum Ultra Class ship, and will sail from Port Everglades, Florida.

Could this be one aspect of Royal Caribbean's rumored eMuster functionality?

Royal Caribbean has added a new feature on its app, "Learn about safety at sea" that lists the safety information for guests that is usually given during a traditional safety muster drill.

The app includes a video for watching how to put on a life jacket, what to do and what not to do during an emergency, youth evacuation instructions and assembly station information.

The new feature comes a few months after Royal Caribbean filed a trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for "EMUSTER". This lead many to speculate that Royal Caribbean might be considering a change to the required safety drill at the beginning of every sailing.

Royal Caribbean has not commented publicly on the trademark, nor on if they have any plans to change the safety drill.

In its traditional form, the muster drill involves all guests reporting to their assembly stations and being lined up closely together to hear and see the safety demonstration of what to do in casy of an emergency.

An electronic muster drill would potentially allow guests to conduct the safety drill at their leisure during the first day, and while maintaining proper social distancing. 

Thanks to RoyalCaribbeanBlog readers FionaMG and CGTLH for spotting this change.

Royal Caribbean offers an app for free to its guests that is available from the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store.

Happy Sunday! We hope you are having a great weekend and ready to talk a little Royal Caribbean.

Earlier this week, Royal Caribbean pulled the plug on its 2020 Alaska, Hawaii and Canada cruises, following a decision by Canada to ban cruise ships through the end of October.

Royal Caribbean indicated itineraries touching on a Canadian port through October 2020 are suspended.

Without the ability to visit Canadian ports, Royal Caribbean cruises cannot legally offer sailings because of U.S. cabotage laws that require foreign-flagged vessels leaving from a U.S. port of call to first call on a "distant foreign port" before returning to the United States.

Royal Caribbean News

• Richard Fain suggested "new normal" is what the cruise industry has always done.
• Royal Caribbean's headquarters in Miami will begin reopening next week.
• Norwegian Cruise Line announced their new onboard health policies for crew and guests onboard its ships.
• A new cruise planner sale kicked off this week.
• Royal Caribbean announced up to $2 billion in bonds and announced pricing for them.
• Photos of Majesty and Jewel of the Seas in Southampton helping repatriate crew members.
• The CDC will use a color-coded system to classify cruise ships during the shutdown.
• 10 weird things about Royal Caribbean cruises that no one tells you about.
• Why you should book an inside room.
• Top 10 things to do before going on a cruise.
• What is the best time to cruise to the Caribbean?
• Wall Street thinks it will take years for Royal Caribbean's revenue to recover.
• What happens if you want to cancel your Royal Caribbean cruise this year?
• Here is a list of what you can not bring on a cruise.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 357th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, featuring the story of two brothers who cruise annually together.

In this episode, Joe shares how he and his brother take a "bro cruise" every year as an opportunity to catch up with family, as well as enjoy their favorite way to vacation.

Please feel free to subscribe via iTunes or RSS, and head over to rate and review the podcast on iTunes if you can! 

Do's & Don'ts of Perfect Day at CocoCay

Perfect Day at CocoCay is packed with so many activities for families to enjoy, and it has quickly become a must-visit destination for lots of cruisers.

If you are looking to make the most of your visit to this private island, I have compiled a list of thirteen do's and don'ts of Perfect Day at CocoCay to ensure your next visit is flawless.

Is booking an inside cabin on your Royal Caribbean cruise a good idea, or a mistake waiting to happen?

An inside stateroom is usually the cheapest option available when booking, and it offers a "home away from home" to enjoy during your cruise. In fact, a lot of people end up booking an inside room for a variety of reasons.

If you are deciding between room choices, here are a few good reasons why you should book an inside cabin for your Royal Caribbean cruise!

How much time will you really spend in your room?

Royal Caribbean offers so much to see and do onboard its ships, and then there are all the activities you can do in the ports you visit, that you have to start wondering how much time will you actually spend in your room.

Unlike a hotel room, stateroom cabins are somewhere to get ready for your day ahead, but not a focal point of where you will spend your time. In practice, many guests find themselves outside of their room for most of the day, so why invest in space you will barely use?

An inside room and a balcony room offer the same basic amenities, but if you are going to be at the pool deck, exploring ruins, swimming, learning how to fold a napkin and dancing the night away, an inside room will still provide a place to shower, sleep and change.

Good idea if you are worried about getting sea sick

Experts say if you are prone to motion sickness, the best location for any stateroom is to be on as low a deck as possible, and towards the middle of the ship.  On most ships, that location is where the inside staterooms are located.

Obviously there are no guarantees that any room will be able to completely prevent getting sea sick, but the location of a room is among the most important factors in reducing the likelihood of it occurring the in the first place.

Inside rooms are not always tiny

Some cruisers hear "inside stateroom" and think a closet posing as a cabin, but that is not always true.

Royal Caribbean offers a great variety of interior staterooms to choose from, especially on their newer ships. Larger interior stateroom category can offer up to 178 square feet of space, and family interior staterooms range between 260 square feet to 324 square feet.

While inside rooms are not the most spacious rooms on the ship, they do offer more space than you might be giving it credit for offering.

The best room for sleeping!

If you want the best sleeping conditions, an inside room is just what the doctor ordered.

Since there is no natural light in an interior room, your cabin can get pitch black when you turn off all the lights, and that means prime sleeping conditions.

Unlike at home or in a balcony room, where the morning light seeps in and wakes everyone up, 3pm and 3am look exactly the same in an inside room (so pack an alarm clock!).

The inside room X factor: virtual balcony

So you like everything so far about an inside room, but giving up that view of the world still bugging you? Try a virtual balcony!

Virtual balcony rooms are available on select Royal Caribbean ships and they are inside cabins that feature a floor-to-ceiling LED screen that offers real-time, high definition views of the outside world.

This fun application of technology provides an on-demand option to see what is going on outside, whether to see if the sun is shining, or catch a view of the port your ship is docking at, the virtual balcony provides a balcony experience, without the balcony cost.

Save money!

Perhaps the most compelling reason to book an inside room is the cost.

Without a doubt, the best reason to book an inside room is for the cost savings, relative to other stateroom categories.

Often, inside staterooms are the least expensive option, which means you can spend a lot less money on your cruise vacation, or have more money to spend during the cruise on things like drink packages, excursions, the spa and more.

Unfortunately, not everyone has a vacation budget for booking higher room categories, but an interior stateroom gets you on the same ship as people in a balcony or suite, and any cruise vacation is better than no cruise vacation!

The bottom line

Anyone that typically books inside rooms will tell you that you will find lots of public space and open decks on the Royal Promenade, pool decks, helipad give you ample opportunity to go outside and enjoy the fresh air and passing scenery.

The interior rooms may not be the right choice for everyone, but if it is the difference between going on a cruise or not, I will gladly stay in an interior room!

Drugmaker AstraZeneca announced today great news for the cruise industry, which has seen a great deal of hesitation among customers who are concerned about going on a cruise ship during the current pandemic.

The British company said it has begun manufacturing the University of Oxford’s potential coronavirus vaccine ahead of trial results and has doubled its capacity to two billion doses. It hopes to make 400 million doses for the U.S. and U.K. and 1 billion for those in low- and middle-income countries. 

AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot told journalists the company plans to start distributing the vaccine to the U.S. and U.K. in September or October, with the balance of deliveries likely to be made by early 2021.

Human trials began in Oxford at the end of April and scientists hope to have some indication over whether the vaccine works by July. 

Soriot added that the company expected to have clinical results by August. “Our present assumption is that we will have the data by the end of the summer, by August, so in September we should know whether we have an effective vaccine or not,” he told BBC radio.

Last month, American biotech company Moderna announced it has an experimental vaccine that resulted in positive interim clinical data in its first human safety tests.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Chairman and CEO Richard Fain shared a new video with travel advisors challenging the notion of "new normal" as it relates to the world today.

Mr. Fain explained that change is an inevitable part of life, and as it relates to cruising, change is something that has been a key part of Royal Caribbean's mantra.

"Some people, many people are beginning to talk about the next chapter as the new normal. That's a term that I've begun to hate."

"The only constant is change. We don't know how the future is going to unfold. We don't know how long it will take to get beyond this epidemic, and the traumatic changes that we are enduring to deal with it. We do know that things will be different."

"Most importantly, there won't be a new normal for selling cruises, or taking cruises or operating cruises. Change is coming to cruising. Some suggest the cruising in the future will be unrecognizable from what we are used to. That we will go from one constant, unchanging cruise experience before, to a radically different, totally changed cruise experience after. Horse pucky."

Mr. Fain reiterated how important change has been to the makeup of Royal Caribbean, "When we design our ships, we talk about a design formula of one third tradition, one third evolution and one third revolution," he said.  "That formula's worked pretty well for us and it works in the post-COVID world, too. It doesn't stick us in the past, but it isn't a new normal."

Towards the end of the video message, Mr. Fain spoke about the health protocols Royal Caribbean is working on that will be announced soon.

"We will raise the bar even higher on health, safety, sanitation and medical care. We will soon be announcing a blue ribbon panel working to ensure our health safety protocols are unparalleled. We will proceed cautiously and we will learn from our experiences. And unquestionably, we will invest in all these areas more than most of our guests will ever fully see or know."

"As I said, our mantra is continuous improvement. And it means just that everything gets better. Every chance we get."

Two Royal Caribbean ships have been in Southampton over the last few days repatriating crew from the UK and Europe.

Jack's Cruise Blog shared photos with us of these great ships in port, while crew members were disembarking and getting charter flights home.

Jewel of the Seas had crew members from Allure of the Seas that were transferred onboard prior to Allure beginning her dry dock while the two ships were in Gibraltar. 

Both ships came from The Bahamas to Southampton in an effort to repatriate more of the cruise.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. announced on Friday that it has priced its concurrent private offerings of $1.0 billion aggregate principal amount of 9.125% Senior Guaranteed Notes due 2023, and $1.0 billion aggregate principal amount of 4.250% Convertible Senior Notes due 2023.

The Senior Notes will mature on June 15, 2023. The Senior Notes will be fully and unconditionally guaranteed on a senior unsecured basis by a newly formed, direct wholly owned subsidiary of the Company that will own all the equity interests in the Company's subsidiaries that own seven of the Company's vessels. 

The Convertible Notes will mature on June 15, 2023, unless earlier converted, redeemed pursuant to a tax redemption or repurchased. The initial conversion rate per $1,000 principal amount of Convertible Notes is 13.8672 shares of common stock of the Company, which is equivalent to an initial conversion price of approximately $72.11 per share, subject to adjustment in certain circumstances. The initial conversion price represents a conversion premium of approximately 25.00% to the last reported sale price of $57.69 per share of the Company's common stock on The New York Stock Exchange on June 4, 2020.

The Convertible Notes will be convertible at the holder's option in certain circumstances. Upon conversion, the Company may satisfy its conversion obligation by paying or delivering, at its election, as applicable, cash, shares of its common stock or a combination of cash and shares of its common stock. The Convertible Notes will not be guaranteed by any of the Company's subsidiaries.

In connection with the offering of the Convertible Notes, the Company granted certain of the initial purchasers of the Convertible Notes a 13-day option to purchase up to an additional $150.0 million aggregate principal amount of the Convertible Notes. The Notes are expected to be issued on or around June 9, 2020, subject to customary closing conditions. The closing of each of the Senior Notes offering and the Convertible Notes offering is not contingent upon the closing of the other offering.

The Company expects to use the combined net proceeds from the offerings of the Notes for general corporate purposes, which may include the repayment of indebtedness.

Before your first cruise vacation begins, there are some important things everyone should before going on their cruise ship.

A cruise vacation does not mean simply showing up to the embarkation port on the first day of your cruise and seeing how things go. In order to avoid some common first time cruise mistakes, I have tried and true advice to share for anyone with a cruise planned.

22. Bring something magnetic to put on the outside of your cabin door

Cruise ship cabin walls and doors are magnetic, and Redditor Artandelfie advised bringing something magnetic to put on the outside of your cabin door. This will easily distinguish your cabin from others in the hallway, making it easier to find your room throughout the cruise.

This trend is popular in the cruising industry, and you can buy customized magnets on craft websites like Etsy. Customized magnets can include your family name, ship name, or be themed for a birthday or anniversary celebration.

It can be a lot of fun to decorate your cruise cabin door, and many families like to get their kids involved with picking and designing magnets. From nautical-themed decor to sea creatures, you can choose from countless colorful designs.

As another plus, it’s a lot easier to find your decorated cruise cabin door after a few too many drinks at the Schooner Bar!

21. Wake up early to take advantage of a quiet ship

User Rubyfisch mentioned how early morning on the ship can be a magical time.

“Watch the sunrise from the deck,” they explained. “Walk around the empty ship coming to life. Take a free stretching class. Go to the Windjammer when it’s quiet and still. Grab a fancy coffee before the line gets too long.”

We agree with Rubyfisch in that the morning is one of the best times to enjoy your cruise ship. Many passengers prefer sleeping in on a cruise—it is vacation, after all—and this makes early morning on a cruise ship the quietest time of the day.

Of course, this rule holds true for sea days more than port days. Early morning on port days tend to be more chaotic due to passengers waking up eager to eat breakfast and disembark the ship for shore excursions.

20. Download the Royal Caribbean app

The Royal Caribbean app has gone from utility to must-have.

With new features and capabilities coming to Royal Caribbean's app as a result of ensuring health and safety are the top priority. This includes a variety of new changes:

• Enforced check-in times at the cruise terminal
• Muster 2.0 enhanced safety drill
• Digital Key and stateroom controls
• Guest to guest chat feature
• Wellness check and health questionnaires 

Royal Caribbean's app is available on the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store.

19. Check the weather

In the last few days before you set sail, you can check the weather forecast to see if any major shifts from what you expect will occur.

If you are cruising the Caribbean, it's going to be plenty warm and likely humid, but cold fronts and even a hurricane could change what you pack and wear onboard.

For cruises visiting Europe or Alaska, weather forecasts are far more critical because of the variations in temperatures and precipitation you could encounter.

There is little value in looking at long-term weather forecasts.  Start checking the weather no more than 5 days before your cruise, to ensure the forecast is accurate.

Read more: Cruise FAQ: Weather

18. Watch a ship tour on YouTube

Watch a tour of your cruise ship on YouTube before you set sail, as this is one of the best ways to learn more about your cruise before embarkation day.

YouTube is full of detailed ship tours on every Royal Caribbean ship. These tours provide a walkthrough tour of your cruise ship while explaining helpful information about the dining venues, entertainment, and other amenities found onboard.

If there’s just one thing you do during the cruise research process, make sure it’s watching a tour of your ship. We have fifteen full ship tours on the Royal Caribbean Blog YouTube channel, each of which provides visuals of the ship and detailed commentary about everything to expect.

17. Check for a last-minute cabin upgrade

It doesn't hurt to see if any new cabins have come back to be bookable at the last-minute.

People cancel their cruises all the time, even if there are just a few days left. Whatever the reason, these cancellations mean their cabin will come back on the market to be booked.

If you wanted a better cabin in the first place, or want to see how much more it would be to upgrade, you can usually change rooms just a few days before your cruise if you will end up spending more money.

16. Figure out how you are getting to the port or airport

Driving yourself? Taxi? Uber? Limo? Now is the time to crunch the numbers to determine how you will get from your house to the next stop.

If you are driving to the cruise port, consider parking off-site or at the terminal. I prefer the terminal for the convenience, but you will pay more.

You may also consider doing a one-way car rental, taking a ride sharing service, or a car service. Each has its benefits, depending on your priorities.

15. Find a roll call

Did you know you can meet other cruisers on your Royal Caribbean sailing?

The RoyalCaribbeanBlog message boards has a dedicated forum for people on the same sailing to meet and get excited for the cruise together. You will not only know a friendly face or two onboard, but sometimes people will organize tours together to save money, or plan meet ups.

It's okay if you aren't the life of the party, just post a friendly hello. You never know what new friends you might make.

14. Call your credit card company

Before you travel internationally, it is a good idea to give your credit card company a call to let them know.

Many credit cards look for out of the ordinary charges, especially from different locations. If you are suddenly racking up bills in Mexico, that may trigger a freeze on your card rendering it useless until you can call them.

This is also a good time to double check if your credit card has any foreign transaction fees, as these can balloon your costs.

13. Pack

This one may seem really obvious, but you want to get a start on packing.

It's an easy mistake to assume packing will be easy or quick, but you may find it takes up much more time than you thought. More importantly, packing early may uncover certain clothes you suddenly realize you need.

Whether a piece of clothing is missing, ruined, or just out of style, going through the packing process may end up with a sudden need for new clothing. Packing a few days early will help ensure you have enough time to get anything extra you need to buy.

Read more: The best packing for a cruise list

12. Bring a lot of $1 bills for tips

Tubbis9001 gave great advice for any first-time cruiser: bring a lot of $1 bills.

“Most tips are included, sure. But a dollar for the luggage porters here, a dollar for your shore excursion bus driver there, it makes things easier,” Tubbis9001 explained.

Related: How much cash should you bring on a cruise?

Gratuities are automatically added to the price of a Royal Caribbean cruise, at $16 per person, per day for those in standard rooms and $18.50 per person, per day in Grand Suites and above. However, it’s customary (albeit optional) to tip crew members and other service providers extra during your cruise.

Having small bills on hand is helpful when you want to give a few dollars to porters, shore excursion guides, bartenders, waiters, and other staff onboard. $1 and $5 bills will be the most useful, and if you don’t have small bills, you can always break up a larger bill by going to Guest Services once onboard.

11. Print out documents

Whether you need copies of your shore excursion tickets, boarding passes, or airline boarding pass, double check everything you need is printed out.

While we live in a digital age, having print outs can sometimes be easier, especially for documents you need at check-in.

Moreover, you never know what the cell signal or wifi situation will be in cruise terminals, so having a hard copy can save a lot of grief later.

10. Research shore excursions

Your cruise ship will visit different ports of call during your sailing, so picking a great shore excursion for the few hours you have in each stop is very important.

Your first step is to determine the most popular activities in each port. Then, start looking at what tours are available, either on your own or through the cruise line.

The key is to determine which tours you want to book, and reserve it in advance. In some cases booking in advance will save you money, and everyone can benefit from having the luxury of time to consider all options.

9. Pre-book to save money

Royal Caribbean offers discounts on many packages and cruise add-ons if you buy it before the cruise.

Log into Royal Caribbean's website and head over to the Cruise Planner site to find pricing on things like a drink package, onboard WiFi, specialty dining and more.

Drink Packages

The most common question is if a Royal Caribbean drink package is worth it, and the answer depends on the person.  The price of a drink package before the cruise will always be cheaper than compared to buying it onboard.

There are a lot of considerations when it comes to if you need any of these options, but if you want to buy any of it, be sure to do so before the cruise because it will cost you more onboard the ship.

The decision to get a drink package is totally dependent on your drinking habits, and a drink package has the potential to save money, provided they drink enough every day of the cruise.

WiFi

Royal Caribbean's cruise ship WiFi will allow you to stay connected and surf the web, check email, and post to social media.

It is not uncommon to find discounts of up to 60% off the onboard prices for a Voom internet package. Regardless of the discount offered, pre-purchasing internet will save you money compared to buying it onboard.

Dining Packages

While there are lots of great places to dine on your ship that cost nothing extra, indulging in specialty dining offers more choices at an extra cost. Royal Caribbean has designed its specialty restaurants around themes or cuisines (Italian, steakhouse, sushi, etc).

The exact amount extra will vary from restaurant to restaurant, and ship to ship.

You have the option of pre-booking a specific restaurant, or purchasing a dining package that offers a set amount of restaurants for a lower per-meal cost.

8. Book flights & hotels

Something you should keep an eye on as soon as you book a cruise are flight prices and hotel rates.

First and foremost, be sure to plan to fly in at least one day ahead of time before your cruise.  A common cruise mistake is trying to fly in the same day your cruise ship leaves and risking putting your entire vacation in jeopardy if there is a travel delay.

Not only does flying in at least a day ahead of your cruise guard against travel delays impacting your vacation, but it starts your vacation earlier!

You should also monitor hotel prices, but never book anything that is non-refundable.  Hotel prices tend to be very volatile, and I have observed significant price changes in the weeks and months leading up to a cruise.

Your best bet is to make a refundable deposit for a hotel, and then keep an eye on prices and cancel and rebook as necessary. Most hotels tend to offer no-money down reservations and flexible cancellation terms, which allows you to take advantage of price drops and sales closer to your sail date.

7. Make sure you have enough cash

While a Royal Caribbean cruise is cashless, there is still a need to have cash on hand for a variety of scenarios, including:

• Tips for porters, bus drivers and almost anyone else who gets you to or from the cruise terminal
• Taxis, souvenirs and most transactions while in your ports of call
• Casino spending money on the ship
• Optional extra tips for bartenders/waiters onboard

It is impossible to know exactly how much cash you need, but plan on at least having some on hand. Depending on your spending habits, the amount of ports your cruise will visit, and the size of your family, the more or less cash you will need.

You can always get cash onboard the ship from Guest Services, the onboard ATM or the casino, but these come with transaction fees.

6. Learn about your cruise ship

If your goal is not miss out on anything fun or interesting on your cruise, you are best served by learning as much as you can about your ship before you set sail.

Knowledge is power, and the more you know about what to expect on your Royal Caribbean cruise, the better prepared you will be and I think that leads to a better vacation experience. Learning about Royal Caribbean cruises has never been easier, and there is so much great information at your fingertips.  

Take advantage of the internet by reading trip reports, consulting a past Cruise Compass, listening to podcast episodes, and otherwise learning from others.

In particular, reading a past Cruise Compass from the ship and itinerary you are booked on is a really good way to get answers to commonly asked questions, such as:

• How many formal nights are there on my cruise?
• What restaurants are included with my cruise fare?
• Which shows are are on my cruise?
• What is free on the cruise?
• Which restaurants are open on embarkation day?

There is a wealth of great information from past cruisers on what to expect from your ship. Essentially, you want to be certain what the ship offers onboard so there are no surprises during your vacation.

5. Check your travel documents

In order to go on your Royal Caribbean cruise, you will need to have the proper documentation to actually board the ship.  Depending on which country your cruise begins and ends in, the exact documentation will vary.

A good starting point is to make certain you know exactly where everyone's passport, birth certificate and/or state issued identification is located.  Moreover, check expiration dates of these documents and verify that they will not be expiring anytime soon.  

If you are wondering do you need a passport for a cruise, the answer will depend on your citizenship and which country your cruise is sailing and returning. If you are a U.S. citizen and going on a cruise that begins and ends in the U.S., you do not need a passport to sail, but it is still a good idea to get one anyway. It is simpler and safer to have a passport, and a fantastic investment for any traveler.

4. Consider travel insurance

While everyone may not need to buy a travel insurance plan, you really should at least consider it before your cruise begins.

Travel insurance comes in many forms, and covers a variety of possible scenarios. It is available to purchase through Royal Caribbean directly, your travel agent, or any number of third parties.

Trip insurance can protect you against a multitude of emergencies, unforeseen events and accidents.  It is one of those things that you are glad you have it, if you need it.  

It is important to not just look at price but consider what is actually covered by the plan.  A common misconception surrounds hurricanes.  Many people think trip insurance will cover them if there is a hurricane in the general vicinity of their cruise and they can cancel with a full refund.  The reality is most plans only cover hurricanes if the cruise is canceled or otherwise directly impacted by the storm.  A guest's desire to cancel because they fear a storm is not usually grounds for the insurance to kick in, so it is important to understand what the plan does and does not cover and what circumstances allow for the insurance to kick in.

Be sure to check if any of your credit cards include complimentary trip insurance as part of the card benefits.

3. Complete online check-in

The easiest (and best) way to check-in for your cruise is via Royal Caribbean's app.  It is free to download, and will save you time later, when you arrive to the cruise terminal.

Complete the check-in process online as early as you can to get the best times for check-in. Doing this now will save you time later. 

2. Print luggage tags

After you complete online check-in for your cruise, you can print out luggage tags to attach to your suitcases that will be delivered to your stateroom.

These tags tell the Royal Caribbean crew members which deck and stateroom to deliver the luggage to later in the day.

You can print the luggage tags by logging onto Royal Caribbean's site and accessing your online cruise documents.

1. Pre-book entertainment

If you are sailing on an Oasis or Quantum Class ship, you can pre-book select shows before the cruise via the Cruise Planner website.

There is no extra cost to make reservations for shows, and it assures you of a seat for that performance, provided you arrive on-time.

There is no set timeframe when entertainment becomes available for booking on Oasis or Quantum Class ships. It is usually closer your sail date, so check the Cruise Planner periodically for if the option appears.

You can find shows to book on Royal Caribbean's Cruise Planner site.