Jenna DeLaurentis

15 Things To Do As Soon as You Get to Your Cruise Cabin

In:

31 Mar 2023

Seeing your cruise cabin for the first time is one of the most exciting parts of a Royal Caribbean cruise. Whether you’ve booked a tiny interior room or spacious suite, your cabin quickly becomes your home away from home on a cruise vacation.

When you enter your cruise cabin on embarkation day, however, there are a few things you should do as soon as possible, such as unpacking and putting away valuables.

While these mundane tasks may not seem like the best way to kick off a cruise vacation, getting your cabin organized right away means you can better enjoy your time onboard throughout the rest of your sailing.

From meeting your stateroom attendant to decorating your cabin door, here are 15 things to do as soon as you get to your cruise cabin.

Drop off your carry-on bag

Most cruisers drop their large suitcases off with the porters at the cruise terminal to avoid bringing heavy luggage onboard. However, you’ll want to use a carry-on bag—a backpack, carry-on suitcase, or purse—during the embarkation process.

In this carry-on you should keep your electronic devices, identification documents, and important necessities like medication. You want to carry all items you’ll need on the first day of your cruise with you in a carry-on bag, as your luggage may not arrive in front of your cabin door for several hours.

The downside of bringing a carry-on bag with you onboard, though, is that your cruise cabin may not be ready for several hours after your boarding time. Many passengers begin boarding at 11AM, for example, but their stateroom isn’t ready until 1:30PM.

This leads to an awkward wait time of lugging your carry-on bag with you around the ship. Therefore, once staterooms are ready, the first thing you should do is drop off your carry-on in your cabin and get rid of the extra weight.

Unpack your clothes

We always recommend unpacking your clothes on a cruise whether the sailing is three nights or fourteen nights. In a small cruise cabin, living out of your suitcase will leave your room feeling more cramped, as valuable space will be taken up by your luggage on the floor or couch.

Instead, unpack your clothes into your cruise cabin’s drawers and closets. Not only will your room feel more spacious, but unpacking helps you settle into your cabin, making it feel much more like home.

This is especially important if you have formal wear prone to wrinkles. Hanging these outfits in your closets immediately will lessen the time your clothing is squished in a suitcase!

Put away your suitcases

Speaking of suitcases, be sure to store your suitcases out of sight after unpacking. There is ample room in your cabin’s closets for suitcases, so there’s no need for them to be out in the open during your sailing.

You can also store luggage under your cabin’s bed. Cruise cabin beds have enough space underneath for most sizes of luggage, and this is one of the best ways to increase space in your room while keeping your suitcase hidden for the duration of your cruise.

Meet your stateroom attendant

Your stateroom attendant cleans your cabin once per day during a Royal Caribbean cruise, and we always advise passengers to meet their cabin attendant on embarkation day.

Meeting your stateroom attendant helps set a rapport with the crew member. You’ll usually see your stateroom attendant every day of the cruise as you pass through your cabin’s hallway, and a friendly introduction can go a long way in terms of service and helpfulness during your cruise.

Make special requests

If you have any special requests for your cruise cabin, we recommend letting your stateroom attendant know on the first day of your cruise. You can request things like extra pillows, extra towels, and having ice be restocked in your ice bucket each day.

If there are more than two people in your cabin, you might want to make requests regarding your sofa bed or pullman bed. Many stateroom attendants will convert the sofa bed back into a couch during daytime, for example, but if you would rather keep the bed down throughout the day, just let them know!

Inspect your stateroom

Once you arrive in your cabin, do a quick check to make sure everything is in working order. Check that the safe opens and closes correctly, that your mini fridge is cold, that your air conditioning is working properly, and that there are no issues opening and closing your doors and closets.

On one recent cruise, I noticed the closet door was off its track. Unable to open the closet, I made a quick call to maintenance and had the issue resolved within less than an hour.

On another occasion, I realized my virtual balcony wasn’t working. I neglected to call maintenance and spent the entire cruise with a broken television screen on my virtual balcony! Looking back, I wish I had called maintenance, as they likely could have fixed the issue quickly.

More often than not, everything will work perfectly in your cabin, but it’s still worth a check in case there are any issues.

Put drinks in the fridge

Emerald members and above in Royal Caribbean’s Crown & Anchor Society receive water bottles in their cabin on embarkation day. Emerald and Diamond members receive two bottles of water per person whereas Diamond Plus and Pinnacle members receive three per person.

When you enter your stateroom, you’ll find these water bottles on your desk or dresser. Be sure to put these water bottles in the fridge to make sure they are cold later on.

Additionally, if you've brought any wine, soda, or other non-alcoholic drinks onboard, this is a great time to put these drinks in the fridge, too.

Confirm bed configuration

Your king-sized cruise cabin bed can be split into two twin beds on request, and one thing to do immediately after getting to your cruise cabin is confirm your bed configuration. If you’re traveling with kids or a friend, you might prefer the bed to be separated into two smaller beds.

Most of the time, your beds will not be separated upon arrival to your cruise cabin. If this is the case, you’ll have to contact your stateroom attendant or housekeeping to put in your request and they will separate the beds as quickly as possible.

Check your onboard offers

If you’re a member of Royal Caribbean’s Crown & Anchor Society, you will receive a paper on your cabin desk listing onboard offers for your sailing.

Depending on your loyalty status, onboard offers may include coupons for beer, wine, and soda, discounts on laundry, and free play in the casino.

Knowing which freebies and coupons are offered can save you money during a cruise, so take the time to browse your onboard offer sheet as soon as you get to your cruise cabin.

Look at the daily schedule

In addition to checking your onboard offers, take a view minutes to browse the daily schedule of activities in the Royal Caribbean app. While browsing, you can add activities and events to your calendar to ensure you don’t miss out on anything while onboard.

Plus, you can use this time to reserve entertainment and activities before they book up, such as comedy shows, AquaTheater performances, and a ride on the North Star observational pod.

Doing this while in your stateroom means you can take a quick break from the hustle and bustle onboard to plan out your cruise in a quieter space.

Sign in to your wifi package

If you reserved a Royal Caribbean wifi package, we recommend signing in to your wifi account once you get to your stateroom. If you’ve never had a wifi package before, you can find login instructions on a helpful sheet that will be on your cabin’s desk.

If you encounter any problems or errors when logging in to your wifi account, you can ask for help at the VOOM internet desk or Guest Services.

Put away your valuables

As soon as you get to your cruise cabin, put any valuables away in the safe or drawers. We advise placing your passport in the safe, as this is the first place crew members will look for a passport on the off chance you miss the ship at a port of call.

Plus, keeping valuables in safe spaces helps make sure you won’t misplace any expensive or special items throughout the cruise.

Place magnets on the wall

One of our favorite cruise cabin hacks—especially if you’re sailing in an interior cabin—is to use magnetic hooks on your stateroom walls.

Royal Caribbean cruise cabins are magnetic, and magnetic hooks provide extra storage space for items like hats, purses, and jackets. Although newer cruise ship cabins have an impressive amount of storage space, older cruise ships may lack storage.

Because of this, many cruisers like to bring magnetic hooks to hang miscellaneous accessories. Placing magnetic hooks on the wall when you get to your cruise cabin can keep your cabin organized throughout the sailing.

Decorate your cabin door

Like your cruise cabin walls, the door to your cabin is magnetic. To make cruising more fun, many passengers enjoy decorating their cruise cabin door with magnetic decorations.

If you walk down any hallway on a cruise ship, you’ll find fun decorations on the door, whether anniversary and birthday decor, tropical magnets like palm trees, or more specific decorations stating a family’s name and sail date.

Decorating your cruise cabin door as soon as you get to your cabin can be a fun way to make your cabin feel more like home. As another plus, it makes finding your cabin a lot easier when walking through the long hallways on your ship!

Do your muster drill

Lastly, once you get to your cruise ship cabin, make sure to complete the mandatory muster drill. Royal Caribbean’s eMuster drill is a safety drill that all guests must complete before a ship can set sail on embarkation day.

The drill consists of three parts. The first two, watching a lifejacket safety video and listening to the emergency horn, can be done via the Royal Caribbean app or on your stateroom’s television.

If you haven’t completed the first two steps by the time you get to your cruise cabin, be sure to complete them as soon as possible. After the first two steps, leave your stateroom to head to your muster station on the ship, which will be indicated on the Royal Caribbean app.

Once your muster drill is completed, you can continue to enjoy your Royal Caribbean vacation!

We booked 2 cabins on the same cruise, but one was $300 more. Here's why booking a cruise early matters

In:

Money Saving

27 Mar 2023

Nine times out of ten, the earlier you book a cruise, the more money you’ll save. No one wants to waste money, but unfortunately, booking a cruise just a few months later than another passenger onboard could see you spending hundreds of dollars more for the same cabin, sail date, and cruise ship.

I recently sailed on Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas for a 7-night Western Caribbean cruise. I booked my February cruise in early September—162 days before the sail date—and spent $1,656.

Just a few months later, my fellow Royal Caribbean staff member Elizabeth decided to book a separate cabin on the same sailing of Symphony of the Seas. She booked her room in mid December—59 days before the sail date—and spent $1986.

Both of our cruise rates reflect the total price for two adults in an interior cabin including taxes, fees, and gratuities. My cabin was only $828 per person, whereas Elizabeth’s was $993 per person.

Suffice to say, when Elizabeth found out she spent hundreds of dollars more than me for the same exact cruise experience, it was a bit of a letdown.

Money wasted is never ideal, especially when you could have saved money by just booking a few months earlier. Saving money on your cruise fare means stretching your budget further, freeing extra funds for that amazing shore excursion, spa treatment, or drink package.

Let’s dive in to share how you should approach the cruise booking process to avoid paying more than other passengers on the same sailing.

Booking your cruise early to save money

In general, the cheapest cruise fares are found as soon as Royal Caribbean releases new itineraries. Cruise itineraries are released around two or three years prior to the sail date.

Keeping an eye on when new cruise itineraries will be announced will help you snag the best deals. Two easy ways to do this are to sign up for Royal Caribbean’s newsletter or follow our newsletter here at RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com.

As more and more people book a cruise, the price of that cruise is likely to increase over time. Not only that, but certain cabin categories can sell out, which might force you to either book a more expensive stateroom or downgrade to a cabin you would rather avoid.

What about last-minute cruise deals?

Some people prefer waiting to book a cruise with the hope of finding a last-minute cruise deal. In the case of Elizabeth’s sailing on Symphony of the Seas, this strategy would not have worked.

She booked within the cruise’s final payment date, which is after all passengers had paid the cruise in full. If there was a last-minute deal offered, it almost certainly would have been offered around the same time Elizabeth booked the cruise.

Royal Caribbean only offers last-minute deals if a certain cruise has low demand, but this did not appear to be the case with Symphony of the Seas.

If you do want to find a last-minute cruise deal you definitely can, but you’ll have to remain flexible on ship, sail date, and destination. Finding a cheap last-minute cruise is not something you can necessarily plan for; it’s more about the luck of finding a deal than anything else!

Book with a travel agent

I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve saved money simply by booking my cruise with a travel agent. As someone who always preferred booking vacations on my own, I’ve been blown away by the service and convenience a travel agent provides.

Whenever I find a cruise I’m interested in booking, I send the cruise information to my travel agent. More often than not, she either responds back with a lower price than I found on Royal Caribbean’s website, or the cruise fare includes a generous amount of onboard credit.

By booking with a travel agent, I often save more money than other passengers who booked a cruise on their own. Whether $50 or $200, any dollar saved is another dollar to put toward cruise add-ons like shore excursions and specialty dining!

Not only can using a travel agent save me money on cruise fare, but it saves time. Whenever I have a question or concern, all I need to do is email my travel agent, and she will be the one who contacts Royal Caribbean instead of having to do it myself! Time is money, after all, and I’ve saved hours upon hours of time by using a travel agent instead of booking on my own.

If I’m being honest, when I first started cruising I didn’t even know people still used travel agents to book vacations. After seeing the amazing service they provide, though, I can’t imagine not using one for my cruise, especially if I’m looking to find the best cruise deals!

Check frequently for a drop in the price of your cruise

One of the best Royal Caribbean hacks to save money on cruise fare is to reprice your cruise. Royal Caribbean allows you to reprice your cruise until final payment date if you notice a lower fare.

Repricing a Royal Caribbean cruise means checking if the price of your cruise has lowered since you booked the sailing. If you booked a cruise for $3000 and notice a few months later that the price has dropped to $2500, the lower price will be honored on your reservation.

You can find out if a price dropped by searching for your sailing on Royal Caribbean’s website or contacting your travel agent for an updated quote.

You should know that Royal Caribbean’s website does not specifically mention this repricing policy. In fact, the Royal Caribbean website states that you can take advantage of a lower fare within 48 hours of booking your cruise.

That being said, we have had no problem repricing our cruises until final payment date. If you notice a price drop, simply contact your travel agent or call Royal Caribbean directly to take advantage of the lower fare.

Let’s take a look at a common scenario to highlight why it’s important to reprice your cruise and save money.

Two passengers—let’s call them John and Peter—book a Royal Caribbean cruise at the same time. Both book a balcony cabin on the same Oasis of the Seas cruise and pay $1500 each.

Four months before the cruise, however, John notices the price has changed to $1350 for a balcony cabin on his sailing. Noticing this change, he contacts Royal Caribbean (or his travel agent) and has the price readjusted, saving $150 total.

Unfortunately, Peter never checked the price of his cruise again after he made the initial booking, so he paid $150 more than John for the same cabin on the same cruise!

As you can see, taking advantage of repricing your cruise can make the difference between paying more or less for a cruise than another passenger. No one wants to pay hundreds more than someone else for the same experience, so checking the price of your cruise every so often is recommended.

Why saving money matters on a cruise

For my 7-night sailing on Symphony of the Seas, I spent $330 less than what Elizabeth paid for her cabin. With that money saved, I was able to spend extra on specialty dining and shore excursions without breaking the bank.

On my cruise, I spent a total of $60 on specialty restaurants and $150 in port—and that’s before I accounted for the onboard credit I received by booking with a travel agent.

At $210 total, the amount of money I paid extra on top of my cruise fare was still less than the amount Elizabeth paid for just her cruise fare. Booking just three months earlier than she did allowed me to spend that money on additional ways to enhance my cruise experience.

If Elizabeth had booked her cruise earlier, she could have put the $330 extra she spent toward her flight, travel insurance, or a pre-cruise hotel stay. Essentially, she "wasted" hundreds of dollars just because she booked a few months later than me!

If there’s anything I learned from this experience, it is to always book my cruises as early as possible. Although snagging a last-minute cruise deal is always a possibility, it’s best to plan further in advance to ensure you get the lowest possible price.

How much does it cost to build a cruise ship?

In:

Ships

25 Mar 2023

Most people are awestruck by the size and amenities of today’s modern cruise ships, but how much do they cost?

Cruise ships are often referred to as floating cities. With upwards of twenty decks, a length of over 1,000 feet, and thousands of cabins, it’s no surprise that building a cruise ship is expensive.

Even when accounting for inflation, most new cruise ships built in the early 1990s would cost only around $300 million today. As cruise ships became even bigger in the 2000s, the average cost exceeded $500 million.

Today’s newest cruise ships can easily break $1 billion dollars, although construction costs can vary widely depending on the ship’s size. In fact, almost all cruise ships with a capacity of over 3,000 passengers cost over $750 million to build!

Why do cruise ships cost so much money to build?

Most major cruise lines launch a new ship nearly every year. Here are some of the estimated construction costs for recent ships:

Wonder of the Seas: $1.35 billion
MSC World Europa: $1.25 billion
Norwegian Prima: $850 million
Carnival Celebration: $1 billion
Celebrity Beyond: $900 million

All of these ships fit over 3,200 passengers. In fact, the Carnival Celebration, MSC World Europa, and Wonder of the Seas have a capacity of over 6,000 passengers!

With so many passengers onboard, cruise lines need to ensure they are building enough cabins, dining venues, and entertainment spaces to satisfy all customers. This requires extensive market research, during which cruise lines design the ship’s layout and amenities.

Royal Caribbean has a spacious innovation lab for use throughout the research process. It includes a virtual reality room where designers can immerse themselves “inside” the cruise ship’s design.

After a thorough research process, construction on the cruise ship begins, which typically takes between 12-18 months. This involves an intricate process of building the ship in blocks which are later added together (think Legos!).

The manpower to build a cruise ship cannot be understated. For instance, there are over 3,000 people working every day on the construction of Icon of the Seas, set to be the biggest cruise ship in the world when she launches in 2024!

Refurbishing older ships versus buying new ships

Many cruise lines choose to refurbish older ships to modernize the vessel’s activities, amenities, and cabins. This is much less expensive than building a new ship from scratch, so it can be a cost-effective way to improve older cruise ships in order to increase demand and revenue.

Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas, for example, completed a $165 million amplification in 2019. This modernized the ship by adding new activities like waterslides, additional dining venues and lounges, and new cabins.

Refurbishing—or amplifying—the cruise ship was nearly eight times less expensive than building a new cruise ship, and the refurbishment was able to increase demand for the vessel.

Royal Caribbean tends to only amplify its ships built after 2000. Norwegian Cruise Line, however, has refurbished ships that were built in the 1990s.

Norwegian Sky, built in 1996, underwent a major refurbishment in 2019 that added updated cabins and eight new dining and lounge venues, including Starbucks and a new Italian restaurant.

In the past, cruise ships over twenty years old would often be sent to the scrapyard. With the popularity of today’s refurbishment programs, though, cruise lines are choosing to maintain their vessels for longer amounts of time instead of replacing each vessel with a new ship.

What was the most expensive cruise ship ever built?

Royal Caribbean’s Oasis Class cruise ships are the most expensive cruise ships to ever be built; they’re also the biggest cruise ships in the world. Each Oasis Class cruise ship cost between $1.3 to $1.45 billion.

It’s likely that Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas will become the most expensive cruise ship ever built. Early estimates of the build are around $2 billion, but an exact number is not yet known.

Icon of the Seas will boast impressive features, including:

The Category 6 waterpark with six record-breaking waterslides
An indoor AquaDome for impressive entertainment shows
Chill Island pool deck, with a swim-up bar and the largest pool at sea
Surfside, a family-focused neighborhood with kid-friendly restaurants and activities

Building Icon of the Seas is no small feat, and it will surely be one of the most popular cruise ships in the world when it launches.

Mass market ships versus luxury ships

Ships from mass market cruise lines, such as Royal Caribbean and Carnival, generally have a lower cost per berth than luxury cruise ships.

As an example, Carnival’s newest ship, Carnival Celebration, cost $900 million to build. With a maximum of 6500 passengers, this brings the price per berth to around $138,000.

To put this into perspective, the Regent Seven Seas Splendor, a luxury cruise ship built in 2020, reportedly cost over $600 million. With a capacity of only 750 passengers, though, the price per berth was over $800,000!

Construction costs of a luxury cruise ship can rival that of larger ships, leading to much higher cruise fares. A cruise on the Seven Seas Splendor—an all-suite ship—can start at over $1,000 per person, per day.

Why aren’t cruise ships built in the United States?

Even though the cruise industry is most popular in North America, most cruise ships are built in Europe instead of the United States. Whether at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland or at Chantiers de l’Atlantique in France, the majority of today’s modern cruise ships are built overseas.

The main reason why cruise ships are not built in the United States is due to cost. Given that most large cruise ships cost upwards of one billion dollars, cruise lines try to find the most cost effective option.

Both labor costs and material costs are much higher in the United States compared to other countries. The shipyard industry receives subsidies in the European Union, which helps to keep labor and construction prices down.

Additionally, cruise ships are foreign flagged. In order for a cruise ship to be U.S. flagged, most of the material onboard must be built and manufactured in the United States, and this can add a much higher cost to the overall construction.

Where to find cheap last-minute cruises

In:

Last Minute Discounts

24 Mar 2023

In search of a cheap cruise? Some of the lowest cruise fares can be found on sailings booked at the last minute. Whether a 3-night weekend cruise or 15-night transatlantic, it’s possible to find cheap last-minute cruises at any point during the year.

Last-minute cruises refer to any cruise departing within the next 90 days. Most cruise lines require final payment to be made 75-90 days before the cruise departs, and if they haven’t sold enough cabins by this point, the price may drop.

The trick to finding a cheap last-minute cruise deal is to remain flexible. If you keep your mind open to a wide variety of destinations, ships, and sail dates, you can almost always find a great deal.

The good news is that finding cheap last-minute cruises is easy. Several websites provide detailed lists of cheap cruises you can book, and little effort is required in order to find the best and most affordable cruises.

Here are our favorite ways to find cheap last-minute cruises.

Royal Caribbean website

The most straightforward way to find last-minute cruises on Royal Caribbean is directly on the cruise line’s website. Royal Caribbean’s website has a Last Minute Cruises page where they list the best deals on cruises.

Last-minute deals are organized by port and destination, and you can search for last-minute deals to the Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexico, and Alaska. Royal Caribbean will list their best last-minute cruise deals on this page, so be sure to check periodically for any new sailings that pop up.

However, you can also use Royal Caribbean’s traditional search engine to find last-minute cruises. Filter the cruise dates to sailings within the next few months and change the results to populate from “Price lowest to highest.”

By doing this, you can see a list of the cheapest cruises departing in the next few months. You can also filter by departure port, destination, number of nights, and ships.

Going, Going, Gone

Another way to find cheap last-minute cruises on Royal Caribbean’s website is the Going, Going, Gone flyer. This flyer is published weekly (usually late Monday) by Royal Caribbean and lists cruise deals departing within the next few months.

You can find the flyer on Royal Caribbean’s website here.

The flyer lists the ship name, sail date, itinerary, embarkation port, and special rates for cabins. Not every cabin category will offer a great deal on the flyer—one sailing may offer a cheap deal on a balcony cabin whereas another has a promotion on interior or oceanview cabins.

Suite deals, however, are not found as often as standard cabin categories.

We recommend checking the Going, Going, Gone flyer late Monday night or early Tuesday morning. The flyer is not updated throughout the week, so certain sailings and cabin category promotions can sell out quickly.

Vacations to Go

Vacations To Go has what they call a 90 Day Ticker on their website, and this is one of the easiest places to find all last-minute cruise deals in one place. All cruises on the 90 Day Ticker set sail within the next 90 days, allowing you to make the most of any cheap cruise deals available.

On the ticker you’ll find a long list of sailings organized by destinations around the world. Destinations include Alaska, Antarctica, the Arctic, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East, the Pacific U.S., the Panama Canal, South America, transatlantic, and transpacific cruises.

Under each destination is list of cruises with the following details in each row:

Number of nights
Sail date
Embarkation and disembarkation ports
Cruise line and ship name
Ship rating
Price

The 90 Day Ticker lists cruises for a number of cruise lines, from mass market lines like Royal Caribbean to more upscale lines like Silversea. At the top of the ticker, you can click on each column name (Nights, Sailing Date, Cruise Line, etc.) to filter the results in alphabetical order.

Using Vacations To Go’s 90 Day Ticker is a valuable resource for those without a set plan for a last-minute cruise. Hundreds of cruise itineraries are on the ticker, which gives you the chance to discover the best deals much easier than you could by visiting each cruise line’s website individually.

You do not have to book a cruise through Vacations To Go in order to use the ticker. The resource is completely free, but you will have to provide your email to sign up and access the list of cruises.

Cruise Critic

Cruise Critic's website has a Find a Cruise page where you can easily compare prices from multiple websites. This is another great way to find cheap last-minute cruises, as you can filter the results by destination, departure port, departure month, cruise line, ship, cruise length, and more.

Once you click Find a Cruise, a list of cruises will populate. Cruises will be automatically sorted by the “Popularity” filter; to have cruises ordered by price, select “Price” in the dropdown menu instead.

Each cruise on the Find a Cruise search results lists the following:

Sail date
Number of nights
Name of cruise
Cruise line
Price per person
Price per person, per night

Not only is this tool helpful for finding cheap last-minute cruises, but it’s a fantastic way to find cheap cruises several months and years into the future as well. Although you can find the same deals on the Find a Cruise page as you can on Royal Caribbean’s website, the search and filter tools are a little more intuitive.

How to book a cheap cruise

In addition to the Royal Caribbean website, Vacations To Go, and Cruise Critic, you can find cheap last-minute cruises on a variety of other websites.

Popular travel websites like Expedia, Priceline, and Costco Travel all have extensive lists of last-minute cruise deals. You’ll also find many smaller websites and travel agencies with pages of cheap cruises you can book at the last minute.

Just because you find a cheap cruise deal on a particular website, though, does not mean you have to book the cruise from that website. If you find a cheap cruise deal on Vacations To Go, for example, you are not obligated to book the cruise from them.

Instead, you can search for the cruise directly on Royal Caribbean’s website or contact your travel agent to book the cruise for you. Because these tools are free, they provide an easy way to find cheap deals, but it’s up to you how you would like to book the cheap sailing you find.

As always, we recommend booking a cheap last-minute cruise with a travel agent. They can help to answer any questions you have about the sailing, organize ground transportation and pre-cruise hotels, and contact Royal Caribbean in case of any issues or concerns you encounter before, during, and after your cruise.

Travel agents cost nothing extra and are extremely helpful during the cruise booking process, especially when booking a cruise so soon in the future.

Is a last-minute cruise worth it?

Is booking a last-minute cruise worth it, or is it better to book a cruise further in advance?

In most situations, booking a cruise early is the better choice. Booking as early as possible means you can (usually) find the lowest prices and you can take advantage of repricing the sailing if you spot a lower price before final payment date.

Booking a cruise early also gives you the most choices in stateroom options. If you’re hoping to sail in a certain type of cabin—whether a suite or solo room—it’s better to book early before these categories sell out.

Not only that, but airfare tends to be cheaper when booked further in advance, and booking a cruise early gives you extra time to handle logistics at home, whether reserving a dog sitter or requesting vacation time from work.

This isn’t to say, however, that a last-minute cruise is a bad idea. Planning a spontaneous, last-minute vacation is exciting, whether you’re sailing to Florida or France. Instead of spending months (or even years) anxiously waiting for your cruise vacation, you’ll be heading to your cruise before you know it!

Moreover, even though booking far in advance usually means finding the best deals, it’s not guaranteed. It’s possible to find a cheap last-minute cruise for a lower price than the sailing was ever listed at before.

For those flexible on ship choice, embarkation port, itinerary, and cabin category, booking a cheap last-minute cruise can lead to a memorable, affordable vacation. Ultimately, being on a cruise ship is always better than being at home!

Planning a last-minute cruise? Check out more of our tips and tricks:

The Best Time To Visit Alaska

In:

Alaska

24 Mar 2023

When is the best time to visit Alaska? This is one of the first questions people ask when planning an Alaska cruise because they want ideal conditions for their trip.

For such an exciting vacation, it’s understandable to want to pick the best time to visit Alaska. After all, Alaska cruises put a focus on exploring the outdoors like no other cruise itinerary, and passengers want to make the most of their time amongst the state’s glaciers, mountains, and wildlife.

Most Alaska cruises occur from early May to late September each year, although some cruise lines may offer sailings from April to October.

The beautiful, wild landscape of Alaska is an ideal destination for a summer vacation. From mid-June to mid-September, the average temperatures are perfect for outdoor activities, ranging from 60°F to 67°F - cool enough to be comfortable in the warmer months. During this time of year, the long days and bright sunshine make lovely conditions for being outdoors.

The weather, activities, and cost of an Alaska cruise can vary greatly from month to month. Certain times of the year may see little rain and higher prices whereas others may have chillier temperatures and fewer crowds.

Here’s the best time to visit Alaska if you want to encounter the most favorable weather, cheapest cruise fares, fewest crowds, and best wildlife viewing opportunities.

The best time to visit Alaska for good weather

One of the main considerations people make when planning an Alaska cruise is the weather. Alaska’s weather can be unpredictable, but with the right preparation (and packing), you can have an amazing cruise at any time of the season.

May is the driest month during the southeast Alaska cruise season, but spring temperatures can be a bit uncertain. You may encounter sunny days with relatively warm temperatures or you can experience cold, rainy days. Generally speaking, the later into May you cruise to Alaska, the better chance you have at nicer weather.

Mid June to late July tends to bring the most favorable weather for an Alaska cruise. During these months, temperatures are usually in the mid 60s and days are long, with between 14 and 18 hours of daylight. Like May, June and July tend to encounter less rain compared to late summer and fall.

August can still offer comfortable temperatures for exploring Alaska cruise ports, but rain is much more common. More than half the days of the month in August experience rain, so packing appropriate water-resistant clothing is recommended.

It’s important to note, though, that rain can occur during any month on an Alaska cruise, so you shouldn’t let the possibility of rain deter you from booking your sailing during August. Plus, August still offers plenty of daylight, especially during the first half of the month.

As fall approaches in September, weather is more volatile. You should expect temperatures with a high in the mid 50s and more rain than any other month of the cruise season. Despite the weather, this can be a fantastic time to book an Alaska cruise, as cheap cruise deals are common and the start of fall foliage and snow makes scenic cruising days particularly beautiful.

The best time to visit Alaska for wildlife

You can spot wildlife at any time of the year in Alaska. Truthfully, there’s no “best” time to see wildlife, and it varies greatly from month to month.

The best time to visit Alaska if you want to see bears is from July to September. During these months, bears are commonly spotted along Alaska’s streams.

These months coincide with Alaska’s annual salmon run, so many bears are feasting on the abundance of salmon in the streams and creeks. This makes your chances of spotting a bear higher than other times of the year.

If you’re hoping to spot whales in Alaska, you’re in luck, as whales call Alaska home from late April to September each year. You have a great chance at spotting whales at any time on an Alaska cruise, but certain months have a higher chance at spotting one species of whale over another.

Gray whales are some of the earliest to arrive in Alaska each year, and they can be spotted in late spring. Orcas are more likely to be seen in May and June, whereas humpback whales are most common in June and July.

Other wildlife, including sea lions, otters, and eagles, can be spotted year-round in Alaska.

The best time to visit Alaska on a budget

If you’re looking for a cheap cruise deal to Alaska, you’re almost guaranteed to see the lowest prices during shoulder season. Alaska’s shoulder season runs from May to early June and from mid August to late September.

During these months, there is less demand for Alaska cruises due to more unpredictable weather, shorter hours of daylight, and the fact that these times of year coincide with the school calendar.

Because of less demand, you have a great chance at finding a cheap cruise deal to Alaska, especially if you’re flexible on the ship, embarkation port, and sail date. You can often find deals for under $600 per person, including taxes and fees. At less than $100 a day, visiting Alaska during the shoulder months offers an amazing value.

That’s not to say you can’t find cruise deals to Alaska during the busy season in June, July, and August. The further in advance you book your Alaska cruise, the better chance you have at scoring a lower price.

Plus, when you book an Alaska cruise far in advance, you have more opportunities to reprice your cruise before it begins. Royal Caribbean allows you to reprice your sailing up to final payment date. If you spot a lower price, you can readjust your cruise fare to the new, lower price. This can save you money on an Alaska cruise whether you sail in May, July, or September.

The best time to visit Alaska’s interior

When you book an Alaska cruise, you can choose between a round trip and one-way cruise itinerary. Round trip cruises depart and return to the same cruise port—either Seattle, Washington or Vancouver, British Columbia.

One-way itineraries, on the other hand, start in Vancouver and end in Seward, Alaska and vice versa. There are two main advantages with a one-way Alaska cruise:

The opportunity to visit more ports, including those more remote such as Hubbard Glacier
The ability to start or end your cruise in Alaska’s interior, making destinations like Denali National Park & Reserve just a short drive away

Most passengers who book one-way Alaska cruise itineraries tack on several days in interior Alaska before or after their cruise. You can book these cruises from May to September each year, and each month comes with its own set of advantages.

Traveling interior Alaska in May is fantastic for wildlife viewing. It’s also one of the driest months, and there will be fewer crowds compared to the peak summer season.

June and July are also great months to spot wildlife in interior Alaska. Visiting Denali National Park & Reserve during this time brings long days (up to 20 hours of daylight!) and temperatures in the mid 60s. The mountainsides and meadows spark a wonderful green color during these months.

As fall approaches, colors begin to change and temperatures lower. Days tend to be comfortable whereas nights are chilly; there’s even the possibility of snow in these months.

However, as the school year begins, there will be fewer crowds in Alaska, leading to more competitive pricing on travel and lodging. You may even see the aurora borealis (northern lights) during the fall as well.

The best time to visit Alaska for fewer crowds

Alaska cruises are extremely popular. It’s estimated that around 1.5 million passengers visited the state by cruise ship in 2022! As cruises to the Last Frontier continue to increase in popularity, many people are wondering how to avoid crowds on an Alaska cruise.

The best time to visit Alaska with fewer crowds tends to be in either the very early or late cruise season. Sailing to Alaska in early May or mid to late September brings far fewer crowds compared to June, July, and August.

Most people want to cruise to Alaska during the warmest months of the year, whereas the shoulder season sees less demand. Not only will you encounter fewer passengers in the very beginning or end of the season, but you’ll see fewer ships in port.

Royal Caribbean, for example, sends four ships to Alaska each year. The first ship to arrive starts offering cruises in late April, but other ships don’t start offering cruises until the second week of May.

People watching glaciers on Alaska cruise

Therefore, with only one Royal Caribbean ship sailing in late April as opposed to four, there are over 10,000 fewer passengers cruising in Alaska each week.

Even if you sail to Alaska during the most busy time of year, there are a few ways to avoid the crowds. We recommend getting off the ship as early as possible on port days to begin exploring before the crowds arrive. Walking around Alaska’s cruise ports is much calmer at 8AM compared to later in the morning and afternoon.

Likewise, exploring ports on your own can give you more flexibility with avoiding crowds. Without a tour, you are free to explore anything of interest, whether it means doing a quiet day hike or renting a car with your travel party. Getting off the beaten path is a sure-fire way to enjoy Alaska without as many crowds.

Finally, booking a balcony cabin is an excellent way to enjoy extra privacy on an Alaska cruise. Instead of watching Alaska’s scenery on a busy pool deck, you can enjoy the views from the comfort of your own balcony.

When should I cruise to Alaska?

As you can see, there’s no correct answer as to the best time to visit Alaska. Your budget, interests, and travel preferences can all influence your decision on the best month to book an Alaska cruise.

For most travelers, however, we recommend cruising to Alaska in June or July. The warm temperatures (for Alaska standards), long hours of sunlight, and ample wildlife viewing opportunities make these months hard to beat.

Sure, cruising to Alaska in the peak summer months may be more expensive, but you can still find great cruise deals by booking far in advance and repricing your cruise often.

Like any cruise vacation, cruising to Alaska is all about keeping an open mind and about keeping your expectations in check. If you expect to see whales every day, encounter little rain, and have every Alaska cruise port to yourself, you’ll likely end up disappointed.

No matter the month you sail, it’s important to be flexible when planning an Alaska cruise. Going with the flow allows you to make the most of your time in this beautiful destination whether it’s early May, late June, or mid September.

Best Fort Lauderdale hotels near the cruise port

In:

Port Everglades

21 Mar 2023

Planning a cruise from Fort Lauderdale? If so, you’ll need to book a hotel in the city the night before your cruise begins, and we’re sharing our top recommendations.

Port Everglades—Fort Lauderdale’s cruise port—is one of the busiest cruise ports in the United States. Nearly 4 million passengers sail from the port each year, the majority of whom cruise to the Eastern, Western, and Southern Caribbean.

Regardless of where your cruise visits, it’s important to allocate enough time to reach the cruise port before embarkation day. We always recommend arriving in Fort Lauderdale the day before your cruise begins, as this gives extra wiggle room in the case of any unexpected travel delays.

Arriving a day early means booking a hotel near the cruise port. Luckily, Port Everglades is located just a few minutes from Fort Lauderdale’s main attractions, from Dania Beach to Las Olas Boulevard.

Here’s our list of the best hotels near Fort Lauderdale to book before your cruise.

Where to stay in Fort Lauderdale before your cruise

Near the airport/Dania Beach

If your flight arrives anytime after 7PM the day before your cruise, we recommend staying near the airport. Although there are many activities and sights to see in Fort Lauderdale, arriving late means you just need a place to sleep, shower, and change before your cruise begins.

Luckily, there is an extensive selection of hotels to choose from near the airport. We recommend staying in the Dania Beach neighborhood, which is located near the airport and cruise port.

Many hotels in Dania Beach are situated along Dania Pointe, an outdoor shopping plaza with restaurants, bars, retail stores, and a movie theater. Due to its location and the variety of dining and shopping to enjoy near your hotel, Dania Beach is a great choice for a pre-cruise stay near the airport.

Las Olas

Las Olas is the downtown district of Fort Lauderdale. It’s an exciting place to spend the night before your cruise, as it’s lined with restaurants, bars, art galleries, and shopping.

The neighborhood is situated along Las Olas Boulevard, a major thoroughfare street which runs from downtown to the beach. The walkability of this neighborhood makes it an excellent place to spend the night before your cruise, as you can enjoy dining and entertainment options close to your hotel.

Not only that, but Las Olas Boulevard is near Fort Lauderdale’s Riverwalk, a district with ten parks and a walking path adjacent to the New River. If you stay in Las Olas, the Riverwalk makes a nice option for a morning stroll while waiting to head to the cruise port on embarkation day.

You should stay in Las Olas before your cruise if you arrive early the day before and want to enjoy dinner and drinks in an exciting, culturally-rich neighborhood.

Fort Lauderdale Beach

Why not start your vacation early? Staying at Fort Lauderdale Beach is the perfect way to enjoy the city’s gorgeous beaches and resort atmosphere before your cruise.

Fort Lauderdale Beach is the center of tourism in the city. It’s lined with hotels, resorts, and restaurants and offers a relaxing pre-cruise stay. Many of the city’s most luxurious hotels are in this neighborhood, but you can find budget-friendly options as well.

You should stay in Fort Lauderdale Beach if you arrive in the city with enough time to enjoy the area. Many guests choose to stay at the beach for a multi-day stay before or after their cruise, thus extending their vacation by several days.

Marriott Fort Lauderdale Airport

Average nightly price: $200 to $325
Address: 166 N Compass Way, Dania Beach, FL 33004
Location: Near airport and Dania Beach

The Marriott Fort Lauderdale Airport is a new hotel within walking distance to the outdoor shopping center of Dania Pointe. Launched in 2021, the hotel boasts modern amenities and decor.

Hotel amenities include a fitness center, outdoor pool, free wi-fi, convenience store, and an on-site bar and restaurant. The restaurant, Radiant 166, features an international menu with its own list of signature drinks.

Due to its proximity to the airport and variety of restaurants at Dania Pointe, the Marriott Fort Lauderdale Airport hotel can be an excellent choice for those arriving the night before their cruise.

Crowne Plaza Ft. Lauderdale Airport/Cruise Port

Average nightly price: $215 to $350
Address: 455 FL-84, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316
Location: Near airport

The Crowne Plaza at Ft. Lauderdale Airport/Cruise hotel is one of the most convenient hotel options near Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. It's located less than ten minutes from both the airport and cruise port, making traveling to and from the hotel as easy as it can be.

Hotel amenities at the Crowne Plaza include an outdoor pool, fitness center, business center, and outdoor patio. The hotel also has an on-site restaurant, Kiki’s Restaurant, serving contemporary Latin and American fare.

This hotel is best for those with a flight arriving late in the evening. There are not a ton of options near the hotel for dining and activities and the hotel is not in the most walkable environment.

However, if you’re arriving late and need a convenient place to rest before ordering a Lyft to Port Everglades in the morning, the Crowne Plaza is a solid option.

Hyatt House Fort Lauderdale Airport - South & Cruise Port

Average nightly price: $200 to $375
Address: 90 SW 18th Ave, Dania Beach, FL 33004
Location: Near airport and Dania Beach

Looking for more space? The Hyatt House Fort Lauderdale Airport is an all-suite hotel with modern, spacious rooms. Studio, one bedroom, and two bedroom suites are available to book at the hotel, all of which feature a living room, fully equipped kitchen, and bedroom(s).

While such a large hotel room may seem like overkill for a pre-cruise hotel stay, the Hyatt House offers competitive pricing. It’s not uncommon to find nightly stays priced the same as nearby hotels with much smaller rooms. Plus, the Hyatt House Fort Lauderdale Airport offers free breakfast, which is definitely a plus when waiting to head to the cruise terminal in the morning.

Other hotel amenities include an on-site restaurant, fitness center, outdoor pool, electric vehicle charging, and business services. The hotel is located in the Dania Beach neighborhood within walking distance to shopping and dining at Dania Pointe.

Wyndham Garden Ft. Lauderdale Airport & Cruise Port

Average nightly price: $180 to $350
Address: 129 N Federal Hwy, Dania Beach, FL 33004
Location: Near airport

The Wyndham Garden Ft. Lauderdale Airport & Cruise Port is an excellent pre-cruise hotel stay near Fort Lauderdale’s airport. The hotel is a five minute drive from the airport, yet it’s along the North Federal Highway with plenty of dining and shopping opportunities.

Amenities at the Wyndham Garden include an outdoor pool, fitness center, free parking, a convenience store, and an on-site restaurant and cafe.

The hotel isn’t in the most exciting area, especially when you could stay in Dania Pointe, Fort Lauderdale Beach, or Las Olas, but it’s a comfortable, clean, and relatively affordable place to spend the night before your cruise.

Fairfield Inn and Suites Fort Lauderdale Airport-Cruise Port

Average nightly price: $150 to $330
Address: 2081 Griffin Rd, Dania Beach, FL 33312
Location: Near airport

The Fairfield Inn and Suites Fort Lauderdale Airport-Cruise Port is one of the most budget-friendly hotels on our list. When booking several months in advance, it’s possible to find nightly rates between $140 and $180.

Amenities at the Fairfield Inn include an outdoor pool and hot tub, fitness center, and convenience store. Free grab and go breakfast is available each morning as well.

The hotel is located just west of the airport and is a ten minute drive to Port Everglades. The Fairfield Inn is best for those arriving in Fort Lauderdale late at night who aren’t interested in the trendy restaurant, bar, and beach atmosphere elsewhere in the city.

The Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort

Average nightly price: $375 to $600
Address: 321 N Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304
Location: Fort Lauderdale Beach

Starting your vacation early at the beach? The Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort may be your best bet for a pre (or post) cruise stay.

The Westin offers both standard rooms and suites, the most coveted of which have sweeping ocean views.

Amenities at the hotel include the Heavenly Spa, an outdoor infinity pool, fitness center, and a skywalk bringing guests directly from the pool to the beach. The hotel’s resort fee includes additional amenities including bike rentals, non-motorized water sports, seaside yoga, and beach chairs.

Five dining venues are located at the restaurant:

Lona Cocina & Tequileria
Waves Bar & Drill
Tinta (breakfast)
Starbucks
Grab & Go Cafe

The Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort is a great hotel choice for those looking to splurge on their pre-cruise hotel stay. Because the hotel puts a focus on enjoying the beach, outdoor pool space, and on-site restaurants, you may want to book a stay longer than just one night.

Hilton Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort

Average nightly price: $335 to $650
Address: 505 N Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304
Location: Fort Lauderdale Beach

The Hilton Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort, like the Westin, is another nice choice for those looking for a more elevated hotel experience on the beach. The property is an all-suite resort, and most suites have a kitchen, living room, and one or two bedrooms. Suites also feature private balconies with ocean views.

Amenities include a spacious outdoor pool, fitness center, spa, beach access, and electric vehicle charging. There are four dining venues at the Hilton, from the Le Marché Gourmet Market for casual fare to the Sun, Surf, and Sand Restaurant for seafood.

The Hilton Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort is one of the premiere hotel options for a pre-cruise stay in Fort Lauderdale. If your flight doesn’t arrive until 10PM the night before your cruise, it’s probably not the best choice, but if you arrive with enough time to enjoy the hotel’s amenities, you can’t go wrong with a stay at the property.

Hyatt Centric Las Olas Fort Lauderdale

Average nightly price: $230 to $400
Address: 100 E Las Olas Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
Location: Las Olas

Near the hip neighborhood of Las Olas is the Hyatt Centric Las Olas Fort Lauderdale, and this hotel is the perfect choice for those in search of an exciting evening in the city. The hotel has both standard rooms and suites and offers an outdoor pool, fitness center, and on-site restaurants.

We recommend arriving with enough time to enjoy the property’s colorful pool space, which features a pool bar and rooftop yoga sessions in the morning.

The hotel even features a reservations-only speakeasy. Named Room Nine01, the experience transports guests back to the 1920s and offers an array of cocktails and a gourmet food menu.

Staying at the Hyatt Centric Las Olas is best for those hoping to enjoy Fort Lauderdale’s evening and nighttime scene. Bars and restaurants dot Las Olas Boulevard and offer a fantastic way to get your vacation started the night before your cruise begins.

Embassy Suites by Hilton Fort Lauderdale 17th Street

Average nightly price: $220 to $400
Address: 1100 SE 17th St, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316
Location: Harbordale (near cruise port)

The Embassy Suites by Hilton Fort Lauderdale is located just about as close as you can get to the cruise port, making it a popular choice among cruisers.

Amenities at the property include an outdoor pool and patio, fitness center, on-site restaurant, and complimentary evening reception. A made-to-order breakfast is also included, which is served daily in the hotel’s courtyard.

All rooms are suites, and both two and three room suites are available.

While the hotel may not be located in the most interesting neighborhood in Fort Lauderdale, it offers a convenient pre-cruise hotel stay. The hotel is located near a shopping plaza, too, which can be helpful for picking up any last-minute items you need for the cruise.

Holiday Inn Express Ft. Lauderdale Cruise-Airport

Average nightly price: $215 to $330
Address: 1500 SE 17th Street Causeway, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316
Location: Harbordale (near cruise port)

Located just down the road from the Embassy Suites is the Holiday Inn Express Ft. Lauderdale Cruise-Airport.

The Holiday Inn Express has 147 rooms, although it doesn’t have any suite options. Amenities at the hotel include complimentary breakfast, an outdoor pool, and fitness center.

Like other hotels in close proximity to the airport and cruise port, the Holiday Inn won’t offer a luxurious resort experience. Instead, it serves as a place to catch up on rest after a long flight or drive before starting your cruise vacation in the morning.

11 reasons to get as early a check-in time as possible for your cruise

In:

Planning

20 Mar 2023

As your Royal Caribbean cruise approaches, there is one important step you shouldn’t overlook: selecting an early check-in time.

45 days prior to your cruise, you can check in to your sailing via Royal Caribbean’s website or the Royal Caribbean app. During the online check-in process, you'll upload identification documents, provide credit card information, and, most importantly, select a check-in time.

Your check-in time is the time at which you can enter the cruise terminal on embarkation day. The earliest check-in time is around 10:30AM and the latest in mid afternoon, and we always recommend reserving the earliest time available.

The earlier you get onboard your cruise, the more quickly you can start the vacation you’ve been dreaming about for so long. Beyond just starting your vacation earlier, though, are a range of other benefits you can experience by boarding earlier than most other passengers.

Here are the top 11 reasons to get as early a check-in time as possible for your cruise.

Fewer crowds at the cruise terminal

Allure of the Seas in Galveston cruise terminal

One of the best reasons to get an early check-in time is to avoid crowds at the cruise terminal. The embarkation process is fairly straightforward, but it entails going through several lines before you can board your ship.

First you’ll enter a line outside the terminal for other passengers with your same check-in time. Then, as you enter the terminal, you’ll enter a line to have your documentation checked. Finally, you’ll enter a line to go through security.

Waiting in line is not anyone’s idea of a fun vacation, so make sure to get an early check-in time to be among the first in the cruise terminal.

Best parking spots at the port

If you have an early check-in time, you’ll be among the first to arrive at the cruise terminal. Even though 1,000 other passengers may have your same check-in time, there will be far less competition for a great parking spot compared to later in the day.

If your check-in time isn’t until 1PM and you plan to park your car in the lot, you’ll be stuck with the worst spots. Getting an early check-in time means you can snag the coveted spots near the entrance of the closest garage to the terminal.

Avoid parking garage delays

It’s an all too common scenario: you’re ready to park your car but are stuck in a long, slow moving line of traffic. No one likes being stuck in traffic at any time, but especially when you’re ready to board your cruise!

Depending on your cruise ship, between three thousand and seven thousand people will board the ship on the same day. Managing thousands of people is never easy, and this can lead to crowds not only in the cruise terminal, but also in the parking garage.

Avoid delays to park your car by selecting an early check-in time. If you’re lucky, you’ll be among the first to park your car, which will surely be quicker than later in the afternoon.

Start your vacation sooner

Who doesn’t want to start their vacation as soon as possible? Having an early check-in time for a Royal Caribbean cruise means you can get your vacation started earlier than other passengers.

The earlier you check-in and board your ship, the faster you can explore your ship, order your first cocktail by the pool, and hang out in a jacuzzi. With the earliest check-in times, it’s feasible to be onboard before 11:30AM, allowing you to make the most of your first day onboard.

Passengers with late check-in times—think 1:30 or 2PM—will feel a lot more rushed on embarkation day. After they get onboard and eat a quick lunch, they’ll have to rush to their eMuster safety drill station and get ready for dinner.

Why rush when you can relax? Reserve an early check-in time to kick your vacation off the right way.

Best selection of dining times

Royal Caribbean’s dining packages can offer a great value on specialty restaurants, but they come with one major disadvantage: you can’t make dining reservations until you board the ship.

This means you may be limited on dining times and restaurant availability compared to those who paid full price for each restaurant by booking their reservations without a dining package. And since dining packages are extremely popular, many other passengers will be rushing to make dining reservations on embarkation day.

Popular dining times—from 6 to 7:30PM—can book up quickly. One way to snag the best dining times is by getting onboard early and immediately heading to a specialty restaurant. Luckily, you can make reservations for all specialty restaurants at a single location, so there’s no need to visit every single restaurant to book your dining time.

Note: The exception is with Izumi Hibachi. If you plan to make hibachi reservations, be sure to head to Izumi once onboard.

Beyond specialty dining, though, you can be among the first to head to the Main Dining Room to confirm or request reservations. If you have any questions about your dining time or would like to request a new table, you can do so before other passengers arrive.

Shorter lines for the buffet

Nothing screams “first day of a cruise” quite like rushing to the Windjammer for embarkation day lunch. Royal Caribbean’s buffet gets extremely busy on embarkation day as thousands of hungry passengers search for a quick lunch to start their vacation.

One of the best advantages to having an early check-in time is getting onboard before most other passengers, and this also means getting to the Windjammer more quickly. If you’re one of the first to board your cruise ship, you’ll encounter fewer lines and crowds at the buffet, making the start to your vacation much less hectic!

Alternatively, you could choose to dine elsewhere instead of the buffet. Other restaurants are open on embarkation day, from specialty dining venues like Chops Grille to quick grab and go spots like Park Cafe. While the Windjammer is convenient, it can be uncomfortably busy on the first day of your cruise.

Register kids at Adventure Ocean more quickly

Cruising with kids? If you plan to drop your kids off at Adventure Ocean, you can register them for the program on embarkation day.

Adventure Ocean, Royal Caribbean’s children's programming, is complimentary for ages 3-17, but all children must be registered. The best time to register kids for Adventure Ocean is on embarkation day, and registration opens around 12:30PM.

Registration only takes a few minutes, but you’ll want to avoid the lines you might find later in the afternoon. The earlier you register your kids at Adventure Ocean, the less you have to worry about, and the sooner you can start trying fun activities onboard.

Try activities before everyone else

Speaking of fun activities, the sooner you get onboard, the sooner you can try signature activities like the FlowRider, rock climbing wall, Skypad, and waterslides.

Not all passengers know that these activities are open as soon as you board the ship, leading to far fewer lines and wait times.

If you’re eager to try the zip line, head to the sports deck right after lunch. Unlike on a busy sea day, you might be one of the only passengers in line, allowing you to fly across the zip line several times in a row with no wait!

Be sure to confirm activity times in the Royal Caribbean app’s daily schedule to make sure the activity you’re interested in is open. We also recommend wearing tennis shoes on embarkation day if you plan to participate in sports activities.

Reserve entertainment and activities before other passengers

There are certain activities and production shows that must be reserved in advance, and spots can fill up quickly. Comedy shows, the escape room, and the North Star observation pod are all examples of activities that require a reservation.

Luckily, you can pre book some entertainment and activities ahead of time on Royal Caribbean’s Cruise Planner website. Broadway shows, for example, can be reserved at no extra cost starting 30 days before your cruise. We recommend doing this to ensure you can reserve the best day and time that work for you.

Some activities, though, can only be reserved once onboard. If you’re sailing on a Quantum Class ship and want to try RipCord by iFLY, the ship’s indoor skydiving simulator, you’ll need a reservation. While you can reserve the paid option of this activity before your cruise (a 2 minute flight), the complimentary option (a 1 minute flight) is only available to book onboard.

The limited amount of complimentary flights will fill up more quickly than you think, so having an early check-in time gives you a head start on reserving these activities.

Be the first at the pool

Crowded pool decks are a common sight on a cruise ship, but not on embarkation day. If you want to avoid crowds, pack your swimsuit in your carry-on bag and head to the pool right after you get onboard.

Embarkation day is perhaps the most empty you’ll see a cruise ship pool during your entire vacation. With so much happening on the first day, from exploring the ship to unpacking, many cruisers wait to use the pool until later in their cruise.

Plus, most passengers don’t think to bring a bathing suit in their carry-on bag. If they dropped off their luggage with the porters at the cruise terminal, they’ll be swimsuit-less for the majority of embarkation day.

Even so, you can still encounter crowds at the pool on embarkation day, especially if you’re on a short weekend cruise. Having an early check-in time means you can eat lunch and change into your bathing suit before most other passengers have boarded the ship!

Hotel check-out

Many passengers stay at a hotel the night before their cruise begins, especially if they fly to the cruise port. Most hotels require you to check out around 11AM, which coincides perfectly with the earliest check-in times for a Royal Caribbean cruise.

If you need to check out of your hotel at 11AM but your check-in time at the terminal isn’t until 2PM, this could lead to several hours waiting around with your luggage.

Getting the earliest check-in time possible means you can wake up, have breakfast, and head to the cruise terminal as soon as you check out of your hotel.

Celebrity Cruises Captain's Club loyalty program info, tips & secrets

In:

Celebrity Cruises

20 Mar 2023

Booking a Celebrity Cruise? Be sure to join the Captain’s Club—the cruise line’s loyalty program—which provides exclusive perks and events to loyal cruisers.

Although there are dozens of cruise lines to choose from, many people prefer staying loyal to one brand. Staying loyal to one cruise line allows you to rack up loyalty points more quickly, leading to not only money-saving rewards, but an enhanced onboard experience.

One of the best aspects of Celebrity Cruises’ loyalty program is the reciprocity with Royal Caribbean’s Crown & Anchor Society. You can easily match your status between the two brands. This means that, even if you’ve never sailed with Celebrity before, you may be eligible for one of the top tiers in their loyalty program as a Crown & Anchor Society member.

Everything from onboard discounts to free cruises are rewarded to Captain’s Club members, and we’re sharing everything you need to know about the program.

How do I earn Captain’s Club points?

You earn points in Celebrity’s Captain’s Club based on the stateroom you book and number of nights you sail. Because of this structure, the speed at which you move up tiers in the loyalty program can differ greatly from one passenger to the next.

Here is how many points you will earn per night on Celebrity Cruises:

Inside or ocean view: 2 points per night
Veranda: 3 points per night
Concierge Class and AquaClass: 5 points per night
Sky Suites and Aqua Sky Suite: 8 points per night
Celebrity, Signature, Royal, and Sunset Suites: 12 points per night
Penthouse, Reflection, and Edge Villa: 18 points per night
Iconic Suite: 24 points per night

Staying in the Iconic Suite—the cruise line’s most luxurious suite—earns a whopping 12x more points than an inside or ocean view cabin. Of course, earning more points per night comes at a higher price point.

At 12 points per night, the Iconic Suite can cost over $30,000 per person on a 7-night cruise! You can find deals on inside cabins, on the other hand, for under $600 per person.

Power Up Points with Celebrity Cruises

Don’t have a cruise booked? You can still earn Captain’s Club points with Celebrity through their Power Up Points program.

Power Up Points are points that can be earned online and converted to Captain’s Club points at a 10:1 ratio. For every ten Power Up Points you earn, you’ll receive 1 Captain’s Club point.

You can earn Power Up Points through participating in online activities like surveys and social media content. Completing an online survey may be worth 20 Power Up Points, for example, so 2 Captain’s Club points will be automatically added to your loyalty account.

To sign up for Celebrity’s Power Up Points program, you can enroll on Celebrity’s website.

Captain’s Club Tier Overview

There are six tiers to the Captain’s Club loyalty program, each of which offers increasingly more coveted benefits:

Preview (0 Club Points)
Classic (2-149 Club Points)
Select (150-200 Club Points)
Elite (300-749 Club Points)
Elite Plus (750-2,999 Club Points)
Zenith (3,000+ Club Points)

The first level, Preview, is for first-time cruisers on Celebrity. Beyond access to the Captain’s Club newsletter, loyalty desk access, and eligibility for Captain’s Club promotions when booking onboard, this tier does not offer any other benefits.

It acts as a starting point for those cruising for the first time to encourage these guests to continue cruising with Celebrity.

More benefits are included in the Classic tier. Starting at 2 Club Points, all cruisers will be at this level after their first Celebrity cruise. Benefits include:

Special Captain’s Club Welcome Celebration Night
Access to exclusive events on specialty sailings
One pre-cruise category upgrade up to AquaClass
10% discount on wifi packages
25% discount on digital or print photo package
$100 off The Studio photo packages
10% discount on a drink package or premium drink package
10% discount at The Spa
10% discount off one-time use laundry services
10% off any bottle of wine
5% discount on small group discovery shore excursions
5% discount on Hollywood Hot Glass
Complimentary scoop of gelato
Complimentary specialty coffee when dining in a specialty restaurant

Select is the next tier up from the Classic level. The Select level brings additional discounts and freebies, but it doesn’t offer the exclusive benefits you’ll see as you move further up the Captain’s Club.

Nonetheless, in addition to the benefits of the Classic tier, you’ll receive:

Captain’s Club Wine Tasting
Captain’s Club Backstage Tour
15% off any bottle of wine
25% off wifi packages
30% off digital or print photo packages
$150 off The Studio photo package
Two complimentary pressed laundry items
One discounted bag of laundry for cruises 12 nights or longer

If you always cruise in inside or ocean view rooms, it will take around eleven 7-night cruises to reach the Select tier. Staying in standard veranda rooms drops this to just seven cruises, whereas cruising in a Sky Suite would have you reaching the Select tier after just three cruises.

Elite Tiers in Celebrity’s Captain’s Club

Preview, Classic, and Select are the three lower tiers in the Captain’s Club. Once you reach 300 Club Points, you join the Elite tier and start to see many more benefits.

Celebrity has two elite tiers: Elite and Elite Plus. If you only booked 7-night cruises, reaching the Elite tier would require:

22 cruises in an interior room
15 cruises in a veranda
9 cruises in Concierge Class or AquaClass
6 cruises in a Sky Suite or Aqua Sky Suite
4 cruises in a Celebrity, Signature, Royal, or Sunset Suite
3 cruises in a Penthouse, Reflection, and Edge Villa
2 cruises in an Iconic Suite

Exclusive access

Elite members and above in the Captain’s Club are invited to two daily events: the Coffee Lounge and Elite Cocktail Hour.

Each morning for two hours, a private continental breakfast is held in either the Tuscan Restaurant or Tuscan Grille specialty restaurant. Although the breakfast does not have as much variety as the Oceanview Cafe or main dining room, it offers a quieter breakfast option. As a plus, smoothies, mimosas, and other boozy breakfast drinks are complimentary!

Additionally, a cocktail hour is held each evening from 5-7PM, excluding embarkation day. The cocktail hour is not held in a specific venue; instead, guests can order drinks from the cocktail hour menu at most bars and lounges across the ship.

Elite members and above also have complimentary access to the Persian Garden on one port day. The Persian Garden is a thermal suite—available only on Millennium and Solstice Class ships—that features steam rooms, saunas, and hot stone loungers.

Private events

Elite members have access to additional private events compared to those in lower tiers, such as Music + Mixology, which features exclusive cocktail offerings and a live band. The Senior Officer Party is offered as well, where Elite members and higher can mingle with senior officers onboard their cruise ship.

As another plus, those sailing on the Celebrity Apex or Celebrity Beyond can participate in Create & Pour, a paint and sip event led by one of the ship’s artists. If you’re looking to let your creative side shine during a Celebrity cruise, this can definitely be a fun event.

Additional benefits

In addition to the exclusive events and benefits found in the Preview, Classic, and Select tiers are several other perks for Elite members.

If your cruise itinerary includes tender ports, Elite members get priority tender access, which can be a nice benefit when you’re hoping to get on shore as early as possible.

Other benefits include a complimentary dry clean item, one complimentary bag of laundry, and a private shipboard departure lounge.

Discounts increase with the Elite tier as well:

20% off any bottle of wine
15% discount on drink package or premium drink package
30% discount on wifi package and 90 minutes of premium wifi
40% off digital or print photo packages
$200 off The Studio photo package

Elite Plus

The next tier up from Elite is Elite Plus, which you will reach with 750 Captain’s Club points. In comparison to the jump from Select to Elite, there are not nearly as many additional perks given upon reaching Elite Plus status.

One new event Elite Plus members receive access to is the Spa Wellness event. This event includes enjoying sailaway on the Spa Veranda, a guided meditation, and an overview of wellness treatments and mini massages.

Additionally, Elite Plus members receive several increased discounts:

15% off specialty dining cover charge
20% off regular drink package
35% discount on wifi and 240 minutes of premium wifi
$250 off The Studio photo package
Two complimentary bags of laundry

Zenith: The Ultimate Tier

The highest tier in Celebrity’s Captain’s Club is Zenith, which you can reach with an impressive 3,000 Club Points.

To put this into perspective, reaching Zenith would require spending 1,500 nights on a Celebrity cruise in an inside room! While this number goes down a bit when staying in a veranda (1,000 nights) and Sky Suite (375), there is no denying that you have to cruise a lot to reach Zenith.

Unsurprisingly, the top tier of the Captain’s Club delivers impressive benefits, including:

Complimentary unlimited premium wifi package
Complimentary laundry
Complimentary premium drink package
50% discount on digital or print photo package
$300 off The Studio photo packages
25% off specialty dining cover charge
20% discount at The Spa
Priority seating in the theater
Access to Concierge Lunch in the Main Dining Room
Upgraded bath amenities
Charitable donation on your behalf made by Captain’s Club
Complimentary 7-night Caribbean or Bermuda cruise upon reaching Zenith
Complimentary 7-night Caribbean or Bermuda cruise at 6,000 points, and every 3,000 points thereafter

Loyalty matching with other cruise lines

Celebrity’s Captains Club has reciprocity with Royal Caribbean’s Crown & Anchor Society and Silversea's Venetian Society. Though Royal Caribbean and Celebrity previously had a status-matching program in place, it was limited. Those within the highest tiers of each line could only match to Diamond and Elite, respectively.

The status matching between these three brands means you can match your Captain’s Club tier level to the Crown & Anchor Society and Venetian Society.

Those holding Pinnacle Status with Royal's C&A Program can now benefit from Zenith perks when cruising on one of Celebrity's ships. Similarly, Zenith Captain's Club members will hold Pinnacle Status while sailing on a Royal Caribbean cruise.

There are a few exclusions, however, as certain loyalty benefits are reserved for members who attain the status based on accumulated points and nights sailed within each brand. If you're a Pinnacle Club C&A cruiser, you won't, for instance, qualify for a free Zenith cruise through Celebrity.

Moreover, points are earned at the individual level and cannot be combined with other loyalty programs, so any cruise points accumulated onboard a Celebrity ship won't help you ascend the ranks of the Crown & Anchor Society.

Captain’s Club Partnerships

Celebrity Cruises has partnerships with entertainment, hotel, and retail companies throughout the United States. These partnerships provide additional benefits to Captain's Club members, from free upgrades at resorts to discounted production shows.

Celebrity Cruises Night Out

Members of the Captain’s Club have access to discounts at a variety of Broadway shows, production shows, and sporting events across the United States. Depending on the show, you can save between 10-40% off standard ticket prices.

Some offers even include a $25 dining credit to be used at STK Steakhouse at their locations in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Denver.

Upcoming shows can be viewed at the Celebrity Cruises Nights Out page here.

MGM

Celebrity has a partnership with MGM Resorts and offers a tier-matching program. This leads to great benefits at many MGM Resorts locations, which include waived resort fees, free room upgrades, priority check-in at resort properties, complimentary valet parking, and more.

Preview members are matched to MGM’s Sapphire tier whereas Classic members are matched to the Pearl tier. These tiers don’t give as many benefits as higher tiers in the program, but you can still see benefits like discounts on entertainment and car rentals.

Select, Elite, Elite Plus, and Zenith are matched to MGM’s Gold tier, and this is where most of the benefits kick in.

Hertz Rental Car

Celebrity’s partnership with Hertz gives additional benefits to Captain’s Club members. Depending on your tier level with Celebrity, you will receive a Hertz Gold Plus Rewards membership in addition to weekly rental discounts and free upgrades.

1-800-Flowers.com

As a Captain’s Club member, you get up to 20% off any purchase from 1-800-Flowers.com and its brands, including:

Harry & David
Cheryl’s Cookies
Simply Chocolate
The Popcorn Factory

Just use the code "CAPTAINSCLUB" when making your purchase.

Captain’s Club questions

Do Captain’s Club points ever expire?

Captain’s Club points will never expire as long as you have an active account in the loyalty program. Unlike most airline loyalty programs, you won’t have to worry about reaching a certain level of cruising each year to keep your benefits.

How many points do I need for a free cruise on Celebrity?

To earn a free cruise through Celebrity Cruises' Captain’s Club, you must reach the Zenith tier at 3,000 points. Once you reach Zenith, you can book a complimentary 7-night Caribbean or Bermuda cruise. Zenith members are given a veranda stateroom for this free sailing, although they must pay taxes and fees.

You can receive additional free cruises with Celebrity Cruises after every 3,000 Club Points you earn. At 6,000 points, for example, you receive a complimentary 7-night Caribbean or Bermuda cruise, but this time in an AquaClass stateroom.

You would continue receiving complimentary cruises when you hit 9,000 points, 12,000 points, 15,000 points, etc.

Can I link my account to a spouse or partner?

You can link your Captain’s Club account to a spouse or partner, and both members will take the tier level of the spouse/partner with more points.

However, points are still earned by each member individually, so if the accounts are separated, the members will only have access to the points they earned individually.

What is the Captain’s Club phone number?

If you have additional questions about the Captain’s Club, or need to inquire about points that have not yet posted to your account, you can call Celebrity Cruises.

United States and Canada: 1-844-418-8624
United Kingdom: 0844 481 7505 (costs 7p per minute)
Ireland: 1800 932 662 (costs 7p per minute)

Planning a Celebrity cruise? Start here:

Is it a boat vs ship? What's the difference?

In:

Ships

18 Mar 2023

Referring to a cruise ship as a boat is one of the biggest faux pas when it comes to cruising. We’ve all heard a first-time cruiser exclaim “Look how big that boat is!” without realizing that they should be calling it a ship.

Cruise ships are massive vessels that can weigh over 200,000 tons—the polar opposite of a small sailboat or canoe—but what is the difference between a boat and a ship?

Generally speaking, a boat refers to a small vessel whereas a ship refers to a large vessel. This may seem obvious, but it’s the easiest way to classify a boat versus a ship. A common way to compare the two is that a boat can be carried on a ship, but a ship cannot be carried on a boat.

However, the exact definition of a boat versus a ship cannot be determined by just size. At what size does a boat become a ship? Does having a certain number of engines turn a boat into a ship? Or does the body of water a vessel travels through determine if it is a boat or ship?

Unfortunately, there’s no standard, internationally-accepted definition of a boat versus a ship. Nonetheless, there are a few ways in which you can usually tell the difference between a boat and a ship.

Size of a boat versus a ship

The most obvious difference between a boat and a ship is size—boats are smaller than ships. Depending on the source, a water going vessel could be considered a ship when it is over 100 feet in length, although by some definitions it must be even longer.

Length is not the only factor that determines whether it is a ship or boat, though. Some definitions require a vessel to weigh over 500 tons to be considered a ship. For reference, the average sailboat weighs a little over four tons while the smallest Royal Caribbean ship has a gross tonnage of nearly 80,000!

Ships also have the potential to transport boats. The largest cruise ships, for example, carry around twenty lifeboats, but you'll never see a lifeboat carrying a ship (hence why it’s a lifeboat and not a lifeship).

Powering a boat versus a ship

Powering a ship is a complex operation. Ships have much more complex technology onboard, with modern navigation systems and operational equipment.

Allure of the Seas—one of Royal Caribbean’s biggest ships—has six engines that provide 13,500 horsepower, making the 225,282 ton vessel sail smoothly through the seas. In addition to engines are tunnel thrusters, stabilizers, gas turbines, wastewater treatment systems, and large galleys.

Boats, on the other hand, don’t require such complex mechanics. Small boats, such as canoes and kayaks, can be powered by a single paddle, whereas sailboats move with the wind. You certainly won’t see a Royal Caribbean ship powered by wind!

Boats can also be powered by motors, but they aren’t nearly as powerful as the engines you’ll find on a ship.

Crew, passengers, and cargo

Powering a ship requires much more technology compared to a boat. Most Royal Caribbean cruise ships have over 1,000 crew members working onboard, and most of them are not even involved in the technical operation of the ship.

Sure, you have crew working in the engine room, but there are chefs, stateroom attendants, entertainers, and musicians onboard as well, something you won’t find on most boats.

Other ships, such as cargo ships, may only have 20 to 30 crew members onboard. This is still much more than you’ll find on most boats, especially those built for only two or three people. Even most luxury yachts, which are considered large for boat standards, almost always have a crew under 15 people.

Some people classify a ship as a vessel that has a permanent crew whether the ship is in use or not. A boat may only be manned when it’s in use (i.e. traveling on the water instead of docked).

Furthermore, ships often carry passengers to travel long distances from one place to another. While small boats like water taxis may also carry passengers, it’s typically only for a short distance and there aren’t private cabins for each passenger onboard.

Another way to distinguish between a boat and a ship is in the ship’s cargo. Today’s largest container ships can hold nearly 25,000 containers, with the average somewhere around 15,000. A boat could never compete with the cargo capacity of a cargo ship, with each container weighing over 5,000 pounds when empty!

Boats don’t usually carry cargo, unless it’s a small fishing boat carrying the day’s catch.

Where they sail

Ships and boats typically sail in different bodies of water. Ships usually sail in the ocean, traveling far distances to carry cargo or passengers. You won’t find a ship traveling in a small lake or river, but you will find ships traversing the world’s oceans from one continent to another.

Examples of ships include cruise ships, container ships, tankers, offshore vessels, naval ships, and large ferries.

Boats most commonly sail in smaller bodies of water, including ponds, lakes, and rivers. Most boats only travel close to the coast, as they aren’t designed to travel long distances across the open ocean.

Examples of boats include small ferries, water taxis, towing vessels, sailboats, kayaks, and canoes.

What about sailboats and submarines?

It’s common to classify a boat as a vessel that does not travel long distances in the ocean, but what about a sailboat?

Most sailboats are considered to be boats instead of ships. They are significantly smaller than vessels like cargo ships and cruise ships, hold fewer passengers and crew, and are usually used for short-term travel near the coast.

However, there is a difference between a sailboat and a sailing ship. Sailing ships are larger vessels with at least three masts, and with square sails on each mast. These ships were the standard vessels used for ocean travel during the Age of Discovery in the 15th century.

Yet submarines, which should be considered ships, are considered boats. This is due to the history of submarines. Early submarines were carried on ships, so they were classified as boats. As submarines became bigger and bigger over time, the name stuck, and they are still called boats today.

The bottom line

If you’re looking for a concrete definition of a ship versus a boat, you won’t find one. More often than not, it’s easy to distinguish between the two by comparing the size of the vessel, its mechanics, and the body of water the vessel travels through.

As you can see, there are many exceptions, such as with submarines and large sailing ships. If there’s one thing we know for certain, however, it’s that you should never call a cruise ship a boat!

Tipping on a cruise ship: What you should and shouldn't do

In:

Gratuities

17 Mar 2023

An important part of planning a Royal Caribbean cruise is knowing what is and is not included in your cruise fare. While your cruise fare includes accommodation, food, and activities, it does not include gratuities for crew members.

Many first-time cruisers are confused about how tipping works on a Royal Caribbean cruise. Who do you need to tip onboard? Should you carry cash or tip on your SeaPass card? Do you need to tip on shore excursions?

Luckily, it’s easy to understand the ins and outs of tipping on a cruise ship. From prepaying gratuities to carrying small bills, here’s what you should and should not do when tipping on a Royal Caribbean cruise.

You SHOULD know what gratuities cover

Each passenger on a Royal Caribbean cruise pays a daily gratuity to cover the services of hard-working crew members onboard. These gratuities are shared among the dining, bar, and culinary teams, stateroom attendants, and the hotel service team.

Royal Caribbean crew members work extremely hard throughout their multi-month contracts, and gratuities are a way to reward them for providing amazing service.

Because they are charged on a daily basis, you do not have to worry about tipping each crew member yourself. Many passengers, however, still like to leave extra tips for their stateroom attendant and dining room waiters at the end of the cruise.

An envelope will be delivered to your stateroom for any extra (optional) tips. You can pick up more envelopes at Guest Services if there are additional crew members you would like to tip.

You SHOULD know how much gratuities cost per day

Gratuities on a Royal Caribbean cruise are priced per day, but the amount owed depends on your stateroom category.

Guests in non-suite staterooms (including Junior Suites) pay $18 USD per person, per day for gratuities. Those in Grand Suites and above pay $20.50 USD per person, per day.

Therefore, for a 7-night cruise, you will pay $126 per person for gratuities in a standard cabin and $143.50 per person in a suite. It’s important to account for gratuities when budgeting for a Royal Caribbean cruise. When sailing with a family of four on a 7-night cruise, gratuities can add nearly $500 on top of your cruise fare.

Depending on where you book your cruise, gratuities may already be included in the price of your cruise fare. Australians booking cruises from Australia, for example, will not incur gratuities on top of their cruise fare, but the cruise fare reflects the price with gratuities added.

You SHOULD pay gratuities in advance

There are two options when it comes to paying gratuities on a Royal Caribbean cruise: prepaying gratuities or waiting to pay them once onboard.

Prepaying gratuities means you can include the current daily gratuity rate in your cost of the cruise when booking. When paying for your cruise, the daily gratuity will be added to the overall cost, and you will not owe any gratuities once the cruise begins.

If you elect not to pay gratuities in advance, a daily charge will appear on your SeaPass account every day of the cruise. If you are on a 3-night cruise, for example, and don’t pay gratuities in advance, you will see a $16 (or $18.50) charge on your account each day of the sailing.

We almost always recommend prepaying gratuities before your cruise begins. This allows you to pay off your cruise balance early, so that by the time you get onboard, you won’t have to worry about extra charges.

Paying in advance also locks in the current gratuity rate in case it were to increase. It’s not uncommon for cruise lines to increase daily gratuity by $1 or $2 every few years. If you prepay gratuities and the price increases before your cruise, you won’t have to pay the new daily rate.

You can prepay gratuities at any time up to 48 hours before your sail date. If you booked with a travel agent, contact your travel agent and they can add gratuities to your booking. If you booked with Royal Caribbean directly, your best bet is to call or access your account online to prepay gratuities.

You SHOULD bring small bills

Bringing small bills is recommended on a cruise, as it allows you to tip crew members easily throughout the sailing. Having $1 and $5 bills handy is helpful when you want to give a bartender a small tip with your drink or tip a porter for handling your baggage on embarkation day.

If you don’t have small bills, you can ask Guest Services to break down larger bills. Simply bring a $20, $50, or $100 bill to Guest Services and they will be happy to give you change.

How much cash should you bring on a cruise? Ultimately, it depends on your travel style. Most payments on your cruise vacation will be completely digital, so most passengers only use cash onboard to give additional tips to crew members.

You SHOULDN’T remove gratuities once onboard

Technically, you can visit Guest Services once onboard your cruise ship and opt to remove gratuities from your account. Some passengers like to do this in order to give tips to crew members directly whenever they see fit.

While this may seem like a good idea in theory, it comes with one major drawback.

It’s unlikely you will meet every crew member onboard who would otherwise receive a percentage of gratuities. Although details on how gratuities are allocated are not shared with the public, it’s likely Royal Caribbean has a pool of gratuities that is split amongst the crew members.

By giving tips to crew members individually, you may be taking potential gratuities away from other hard-working crew members you don’t meet in person.

It’s totally fine to give extra tips to crew members who go above and beyond during your sailing, but we recommend doing this in addition to the automatic gratuities.

You SHOULDN’T forget cash on shore excursions

It’s customary to tip your shore excursion tour leader, driver, and guides, so don’t forget to bring cash with you in port. Most passengers tip their guides between $5-10, but there is no right or wrong amount to tip on a shore excursion.

Aside from tipping, you should bring cash on shore excursions to purchase extras like souvenirs, drinks, and snacks. We recommend bringing around $100-200 USD with you in port each day.

You SHOULD expect an 18% gratuity on certain purchases

Certain onboard purchases are subject to an 18% gratuity on top of the listed price, including beverages, mini bar items, and spa and salon purchases.

In addition, when you reserve specialty restaurants, dining packages, drink packages, and spa services on Royal Caribbean’s Cruise Planner website, the gratuity will be added upon checkout.

Because gratuity is already included in the price of these purchases onboard, it’s not necessary to tip extra. However, many passengers still like to tip a few dollars with a drink or specialty restaurant dinner to show their appreciation.

Tipping on a cruise what you should and shouldn't do

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