Royal Caribbean Blog

There is a saying in the stock market of, "buy low" and airfare prices right now are one silver lining to the current global situation.  While there are no cruises sailing right now, it might not be a bad idea to buy flights for when sailings return in order to take advantage of some great pricing.

Just like the cruise lines, airlines have been scrambling to deal with a precipitous drop in demand and the result has been some pretty good airfare prices for later this year.

If you have a cruise planned in the second half of this year, or even next year, I have five reasons this might be a good time to snatch up an airline ticket.

Cheap prices for fall and winter 2020

Anecdotally, prices for cruises in the fall and winter are very low, even for usually high-demand holiday times.

With the airlines struggling to deal with very low demand to travel, there are some pretty good prices out there for flights, especially flights this year.

It seems many experts believe demand for flights will be low in the short-term, and that means airlines slashing prices in order to make up for the drop in demand.

Booking now is a good opportunity to take advantage of any flight deals for the months ahead, especially for the holidays. The general rule of thumb when booking flights to get the best deal has always been booking three weeks ahead of your departure—and six weeks ahead for most major holidays—booking now may put you ahead of the pack of people still cautious about travel.

Very flexible cancellation terms

If putting money down for a non-refundable flight sounds crazy right now, you should know most airlines have altered their change and cancellation policies to be incredibly flexible.

In order to convince the public to not wait to buy flights, many airlines are waving change fees for new bookings. The Points Guy has an ongoing list of airline policies for you to keep track of as you consider booking travel.

• JetBlue: Fees are waived through June 30 if you cancel or change your flight before Jan. 4, 2021. If you cancel, you'll get a travel waiver to use within 24 months of when it was issued. If you rebook, you may have to pay the difference in fare costs.
• Southwest: You can cancel or change your flight for no fee. If you have a nonrefundable ticket you'd like to cancel, you'll receive a travel credit. Unused travel funds are available until Sept. 7, 2022, but when you book, the standard expiration date -- 12 months -- will go into effect (even if it's before Sept. 7).
• Delta: Change fees are waived on all flights through Sept. 30, 2020, and any tickets purchased from March 1 and May 31. If you book a new flight, you might have to pay the difference in fare costs. If your new flight is cheaper, you'll receive a credit for the difference.

Some airlines are even providing free cancellation on new bookings.

This provides a great deal comfort in knowing if more cruises are cancelled, or local travel restrictions are in place, you can get a refund or credit for the flight.

New cleaning and passenger safety policies added

Airplanes have never exactly been known as the least sanitized places to be, so the airlines are taking extra steps to keep their passengers healthy.

New cleaning procedures on planes that use electrically charged disinfectants sprayed throughout the cabin are an example of one new method.  JetBlue announced the airline will be the first in the U.S. to require all customers to wear face coverings while onboard a flight. 

On some airlines, including Alaska, American, Delta and Spirit, you’ll see empty middle seats in an effort to keep passengers apart.

Airports are also doing their part, with new social distancing procedures. At Orlando International Airport, enhanced cleaning procedures and social distancing measures were put in place last month.

Prices are expected to go up soon

There is no hard evidence, but many travel experts think as the public becomes more comfortable with flying (and traveling) again, prices will go up to match demand.

Airfare prices can change at any point, so with the lower prices now, it makes more sense to lock in the price. As mentioned earlier, the more flexible flight cancellation terms provide added comfort in booking now.

The global cruise suspension has seemingly put all plans in flux, but Vice President EMEA at Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Ben Bouldin expects Anthem of the Seas to follow through with her 2020 visit to the UK.

Cruise Trade News quoted Mr. Bouldin from a webinar saying that he expects Anthem of the Seas to come to the UK in 2020 and to have her refurbishment once shipyards are open.

"This is the focus of a lot of my time right now trying to work out when Anthem of the Seas will come back. Nothing’s guaranteed but I do use the word when rather than if because I do expect Anthem to come to the UK."

"I do expect it to have a marine dry dock in Europe although we are of course at mercy of when they open up currently. When that’s done, we can evaluate what’s left in the season and the opportunities we have in terms of sailings."

The refurbishment work scheduled for Anthem of the Seas is not part of the Royal Amplified program. Instead, it is related to the continuous maintenance all Royal Caribbean ships undergo about every five years.

Anthem of the Seas was scheduled to sail from Southampton beginning in May 2020, and offer cruises to destinations in Europe through October 2020.

In addition, Anthem of the Seas is scheduled to sail from Southampton again in the summer of 2021.

Mr. Bouldin also touched on the fact he thinks Odyssey of the Seas and Wonder of the Seas are both still on schedule for delivery.

"Odyssey will happen for sure. We are still seeing what her delivery date will be with the slow down in the shipyards, but she’s on her way for sure and we look forward to her being in Rome next summer."

"The same is true for Wonder of the Seas, which has plans to go to China and significant work is underway on that. Projects are in various degrees of process, but we hope to stay on course for the huge and exciting pre-development that we had."

Mr. Bouldin's comments echo comments made by Royal Caribbean earlier this week that also indicated Odyssey is on target.

There are so many great options on the main dining room menu that have become favorites over the years, including the Traditional Caesar Salad.

Caesar salads are not unique to Royal Caribbean, but the version served up in the main dining room are usually a must-order every night appetizer.

Did you know: Contrary to popular belief, Caesar Salad is not named after Julius Caesar, the famed leader of the Roman Empire, but for Chef Caesar Cardoni, famed Italian restaurateur, who created the dish in Tijuana, Mexico in 1924. The original dish called for coddled whole eggs. 

Traditional Caesar Salad Ingredients

Serves 6

Croutons

• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup sourdough bread, cubed
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper 

Ingredients

• 3 heads romaine lettuce, washed, dried and cut lengthwise
• 1/4 cup shaved Parmesan cheese 

Salad

• 3 cloves garlic
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 5 anchovy fillets, drained or 2 teaspoons anchovy paste
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Salt 

Suggested music while preparing your Traditional Caesar Salad

• Marshmello ft. Bastille - Happier

Traditional Caesar Salad Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 380°F
2. To prepare croutons, place bread on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Toss well to coat evenly. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Bake for 10 minutes or until crisp and golden brown. Set aside to cool on a paper towel. 
3. To prepare Caesar dressing, combine all ingredients except oil in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. While processing, slowly add oil. Adjust seasoning, cover, and refrigerate.
4. Place romaine hearts on chilled plates, drizzle with Caesar dressing, and garnish with Parmesan shavings and croutons. Serve immediately. 

With there being no actual Royal Caribbean cruises to go on currently, Royal Caribbean is inviting cruisers to have a virtual portrait of them taken from its private islands.

Royal Caribbean Crown and Anchor posted on its Facebook page the opportunity for anyone to post an at-home selfie, and have the digital team at Royal Caribbean create a picture of them enjoying a day there.

You can choose between Perfect Day at Cococay or Labadee, Haiti, and this is totally free.

All you have to do is share a photo of yourself in the comments on the post, and the staff will transform you into a digital photo shortly thereafter.

Royal Caribbean sent an email to guests who are still waiting for a refund from a canceled cruise in order to apologize for the longer than expected time it has taken to process these requests.

Thousands of guests received emails expressing the cruise line's apology for how long it has taken, along with an explanation of why things have taken longer than expected.

Refunds were expected to take 30 days to process, but some refunds are taking up to 45 days.

In addition, Royal Caribbean has promised an update by May 6th, unless a refund has already been issued by then.

Currently, some refunds are taking up to 45 days. Please know that each and every request is receiving the same level of care and dedication. And rest assured, your refund will be honored and it is coming – it’s just taking a little longer than expected and we’re very sorry about that.

Royal Caribbean has cancelled dozens upon dozens of sailings since mid-March due to the global cruise suspension. Each time sailings have been canceled, guests have had the choice of a 100% refund or 125% Future Cruise Credit.

The delay in receiving refunds has prompted frustration among some guests, with plenty expressing their dissatisfaction with the delays online.

There are plenty of questions among cruisers in this time of a global cruise suspension, and Royal Caribbean shed a bit of light on some of these topics.

Earlier on Tuesday, Royal Caribbean Senior Vice President of Sales and Trade Support & Service Vicki Freed took questions from travel agents about a variety of topics that many guests are wondering about.

In addition to announcing a doctor's note is no longer needed for guests who are over 70 years old, a number of hot topics were hit during the question and answer session of the call, and here are the answers provided to concerns many readers have had as well.

Changes to buffets

One agent wanted to know how Royal Caribbean will handle guests going to the buffet once sailings start back up.

Royal Caribbean Director, Post Cruise Guest Relations & Shared Services, Laly Rodriguez, commented, "We're still ironing out some of the different details, as to whether there'll be folks serving. We might have different shifts for our buffets, and have different options taking place in our main dining venues. Those are still being worked out, but as soon as we know, you'll know."

Refunds

A very hot topic is when guests can expect to receive refunds for canceled sailings.

Ms. Rodriguez provided an explanation on the current refund situation, "When we first started with our global suspensions, we anticipated that refunds would take us about 30 days, but given the volume and being able to handle all the volume that we are receiving, it seems that we are closer to a 45 day window."

"We've been able to modify some of our processes, add things that we didn't have in the past, like bots processing the refunds; we've added resources to accounting; we've always been looking to speed this up"

"Your clients should be seeing their refunds in about 45 days, and hopefully with the next batches of suspensions that we've announced, the timing should get tighter and tigher."

In addition to the refunds being processed, Royal Caribbean will be sending a proactive apology communication to guests in order to explain how long it has been taking to get through all of the refunds promised.

"Seaface" mask trademark

Last week, I broke the news of Royal Caribbean's trademark of a name for a sanitary mask, and Ms. Freed was asked if there was any update on what this was all about.

There was not much information to share, but Ms. Freed had this to say, "Other than what I read on the RoyalCaribbeanBlog that we have a patent for it, I don't know anything else about it. I'm sure it will be adorable with Crown and Anchors, and whatever else designs we can come up with."

Ms. Rodriguez elaborated, "This whole situation has made us as a cruise line take on a bunch of other innovations that we've never thought we'd been in the business of taking on."

"This is one of a number of innovations that our team's are exploring as we look forward to safe and healthy and a fun return to cruise. So keep your eyes peeled for more hopefully."

Alaska cruises in 2020

When asked about cruises to Alaska this year, Ms. Freed offered an optimistic attitude, "Alaska's certainly a real possibility that we will be sailing there. The end of July, certainly I'm optimistic.

Pushing back final payment dates

Another question asked was if Royal Caribbean would shorten or change the final payment date due to the current situation.

Royal Caribbean Account Executive Brittany Yochum spoke to this concern, "At this time, we're not pushing back any of our final payment dates, especially because we do have the Cruise with Confidence policy out through the end of August."

Odyssey of the Seas update

Just like readers here, travel partners were curious if Odyssey of the Seas has any kind of update on the progress being made.

Ms. Yochum provided a brief update, "She is still being built, and we are definitely working on our way to still having her be delivered."

President's Cruise

Another question asked as if there would be any changes to Royal Caribbean's President's Cruise on October 25 out of Barcelona on Allure of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean's manager of the Sales Training Team, Renee Didier, answered, "The President's Cruise is still in our scope, and of course we're going to look forward to welcoming our guests onboard. So right now, we are still planning that cruise."

Following a swirl of rumors online about policies guests can expect once cruising resumes, Royal Caribbean spoke briefly to travel agents about the issue of guests needing a doctor's note in order cruise.

Royal Caribbean Senior Vice President of Sales and Trade Support & Service Vicki Freed spoke at the beginning of her webinar by addressing the need for a letter from a doctor for guests who are 70 years old or older, or have a pre-existing chronic medical condition.

"We found out that CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association) did actually change this requirement on April 3rd. So a health form is no longer required for those travelers ages 70 plus, nor are there restrictions for those guests with underlying health conditions."

"In our current environment, everything can change at a moment's notice, so this is very fluid. But as of today, there are no requirements for doctor's notes."

"We are working on our return to service protocols, and they may look very different in the next couple weeks or months. Until that's finalized, we can't say for sure this is never going to happen, but we will keep you informed."

Ms. Freed's comment comes less than a day after a few travel agents spotted an updated list of boarding & health protocols, which was quickly taken down after being prematurely posted.

The post sent ripples through social media as guests and travel advisors began to wonder if these policies would indeed enter into practice.

Prior to Royal Caribbean suspending global sailings in March, the cruise line issued a notice it would deny boarding to any person age 70 or older, unless the guest provides written verification from a qualified treating physician that certifies the person has no severe, chronic medical condition and is fit to travel.

"According to CLIA," Ms. Freed reiterated later in the call, "a health form is no longer required for those travelers ages 70 plus, nor are there restrictions for those guests with underlying health conditions."

The Meyer Werft shipyard has released a brand new photo of the progress being made on Odyssey of the Seas.

Odyssey of the Seas is under construction in Hall 6 of the shipyard in Papenburg, Germany.

Meyer Werft updates a new photo around once a week with a look at the general progress being made.

Odyssey of the Seas had her last block added earlier this month, and purely from these webcam photos, it looks like progress is steadily being made to the ship.

Odyssey of the Seas will be the cruise line's second Quantum Ultra Class ship, and is scheduled to debuts in November 2020 when she sails out of Port Everglades, Florida.

The Port of Galveston met on Tuesday to approve Royal Caribbean's proposal to delay construction of its new cruise terminal by a year.

The Galveston Wharves Board Meeting took place on April 28, where the Board of Trustees took a vote on item E10 of the agenda, and voted 6 to 1 to approve Royal Caribbean's amendment to allow Royal Caribbean a one year delay in building Cruise Terminal 3.

The new target completion date for the terminal is September 1, 2022. Neither the Port nor Royal Caribbean wanted to cancel the contract and felt the best option was the one year delay.

The one dissenting vote expressed a desire to explore other options before committing a one year delay in the project.

In late March, Royal Caribbean asked the Port of Galveston to delay the start of the new cruise terminal by one year.

Terminal 3 will be built on 10 acres of land at Pier 10, and will be used by Royal Caribbean.

The plan for Terminal Three was announced in December 2019, with the added bonus of Allure of the Seas moving to Galveston to begin sailings shortly after the terminal opened in November 2021.

There was no verbal mention or discussion of one presentation slide indicating Anthem of the Seas possibly moving to Galveston at the current Cruise Terminal 2.

Regardless of if you are going on your first or fiftieth Royal Caribbean cruise, maximizing the experience is something everyone wants to do.

I love to share cruise tips, tricks, and advice, so that everyone can benefit from saving time or money (or both). With that in mind, I have some of my favorite expert-level Royal Caribbean cruise hacks that repeat cruisers swear by.

More storage with magnetic hooks

While storage space on Royal Caribbean's newer ships has gotten better, you will find somewhere to stuff all of your things still at a premium.

One great trick is to invest in magnetic hooks that hold up things like jackets, dresses, hats, swimsuits and pretty much anything you may have.

Since the cabin walls are all made of metal, you can stick magnetic hooks pretty much anywhere and greatly expand your storage options.

Here are some magnetic hooks you can order. (This link contains an affiliate link, which means I get a commission for purchases made. There is no additional cost to you)

Plan for signature activities on embarkation day

One easy way to tell who has cruised before is to spot which guests are already hitting up the FlowRider, pools and water slides on embarkation day.

It may not occur to new cruisers that these activities are open on embarkation day, or that lines for them are nearly non-existent.

In order to take advantage of the rock climbing, ziplining,or mini golf, be sure to pack (or wear) sneakers and athleisure wear.

If you are interested in aquatic activities, pack a bathing suit flip-flops and sunscreen in your backpack. You can typically find a bathroom near the pool areas to change in if your room is not ready yet.

Skip a port day

Visiting the ports of call your ship will take you to can be a real highlight, but if you have been to these before, or perhaps do not see anything tremendously appealing, you could always stay onboard.

Royal Caribbean's ships offer a ton to do onboard, and long lines can make it difficult to "do it all" during sea days.

Long time cruisers will often stay onboard during a port day in order to take advantage of discounts at the spa, wide-open pool decks and short lines for signature activities.

Book early and reprice often

The tried and true strategy for cruisers who live in a country that allows price adjustments (United States, Canada and others) is to book a cruise as soon as they know they want to go on that sailing, and then re-price if the fare drops.

Royal Caribbean allows cruisers to reprice their cruise at the lower cruise fare if the price for that cruise goes down at any time before final payment date. As long as the price drops for the same ship and sail date that has been booked previously, and it is before final payment date, guests can reprice their cruise as many times as they want.

Unfortunately, residents of the United Kingdom cannot use this strategy since local laws prevent price adjustments.

The final payment date for Royal Caribbean cruises is 75 days prior to the sailing date for 1 - 4 night cruise vacations and 90 days prior to the sailing date for 5-night or longer cruise vacations. The payment schedule for groups is different from that of individuals. 

The strategy of booking early and then taking advantage of price drops ensure you always have the lowest price, as opposed to trying to time a price drop later (which may or may not happen).

Arrive to the cruise terminal early

Royal Caribbean provides everyone with a boarding time in the afternoon, but many veteran cruisers will say in practice, boarding times are much earlier than what is stated. Royal Caribbean does this to help break up crowds.

When boarding does commence, Royal Caribbean will board their ships with Suite guests firsts, followed by guests based on their Crown and Anchor Society status, and finally, all other guests.  Regardless of your status, the earlier you check-in, the sooner you will board the ship.

The advantage of arriving to the cruise port early is you will likely find shorter lines, and board the ship sooner.  That means your vacation begins sooner, and you will have more time on embarkation day to explore and have fun. 

Use breakfast room service as a wakeup call

While room service has a fee, there is still a complimentary continental breakfast option.

Not only does it mean you get coffee, Danishes and some fruit to start your morning delivered to your room for nothing extra, a lot of cruisers will order breakfast room service as a sort of wake up call.

Prior to the breakfast being delivered, room service will call ahead to ensure someone is awake and that provides a good impetus to get up and ready and start the day.

Special requests at the main dining room

One of my favorite tips for the main dining room is not to assume that what you see on the menu is what you are limited to ordering.

The menu is a starting point, but the wait staff is willing and able to accommodate many different special requests.

Whether customizing menu items, coming up with allergy or dietary preference friendly options, you should feel free to inquire about other options.

Most dietary requests can be handled onboard the ship, and with 24 hours notice, the waiters can usually accommodate most needs.

If you have a dietary restriction, then you may want to let Royal Caribbean know about them up front. 

Royal Caribbean can accommodate dietary needs such as food allergies, gluten-free, Kosher, low-fat, and low-sodium.

In additional, vegetarian meals (including Indian-style vegetarian) are available on all menus in the main dining room.  Guests do not need to make a special request for these meals.

Lactose-free/soy milk, Ensure, and Kosher meals are available no extra charge. All you have to do is notify Royal Caribbean at least 45 days prior to sailing (90 days for European/South American Itineraries).

You may also send an e-mail request to [email protected]; please include in the e-mail the guests' names, booking number, ship name and sail date.  It's best to make requests like this at least 90 days in advance of your sailing.

What are some of your favorite Royal Caribbean vacation hacks? Let us know in the comments!