Royal Caribbean Blog

Royal Caribbean's Spectrum of the Seas completed her Suez Canal crossing on her way to to Asia.

According to a statement by the Suez Canal Authority, Spectrum of the Seas crossed the canal from north to south as part of a 46-night Global Odyssey from Barcelona, Spain to Shanghai, with the next stop to be Jordan’s Aqaba port.

The reported crossing fees were $964,000.

Accommodating 4,246 guests at double occupancy and 1,551 international crew members, Spectrum will be the largest and most expensive ship in Asia when she arrives to her new home in Shanghai on June 3, 2019.

Can you believe the weekend is here?

When the calendar reaches "Friyay", we are sharing great Royal Caribbean cruise photos that have been sent in by our readers!

We begin with a photo that you will never be able to re-create again.Adventure of the Seas anchored off CocoCay by Michelle McCann.

Blake Baldwin sent in this photo of Independence of the Seas off the coast of Grand Cayman.

Kinny Lee shared this photo from Labadee.

Next up is a photo of Grandeur of the Seas by Gwendolyn Salzman.

Check out this beautiful photo of the waterslides on Adventure of the Seas by Justin Dudek.

Vicki Sheppard shared this photo of Empress of the Seas arriving in Cienfegos, Cuba for the first time.

Ruth Williams Moles wins the "I need a cruise now" award with this photo. Note her license plate.

Thank you to everyone for sharing their photos this week. If you would like to share your best Royal Caribbean cruise photos, use this form and them on in! Have a great weekend!

Royal Caribbean is offering bonus instant savings on new cruise bookings made this weeked.

The Dive & Discover Deals offer is valid on Royal Caribbean cruises booked between April 25 – 28, 2019 on select sailings departing on or after May 25, 2019.

The offer includes:

• 50% off cruise fare of second guest booked in the same stateroom as first, full-fare paying guest
• 25% cruise fare savings for third guests and higher booked in the same stateroom as the first two qualifying guests
• Up to $150 instant savings per stateroom determined by category booked and sailing length:
  • Sailings 5 nights or less, $25 savings for Interior and Ocean View, $50 for Balconies and $75 for Suites
  • Sailings 6 nights or longer, $50 savings for Interior and Ocean View, $75 for Balconies and $150 for Suites
• Kids Sail Free 
  • Provides free cruise fare for 3rd guests and higher who are 12 years old or younger on select 4-night or longer Alaska, Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada, Caribbean, CaribNE, Coastal, Cuba, Europe and Hawaii sailings departing between May 1, 2019 – May 15, 2020.
  • Offer excludes Summer sailings (Sailings between May 15 – August 31, 2019), 2019 Thanksgiving sailings (Sailings between November 23 – 30, 2019), Holiday sailings (Sailings between December 15, 2019 – January 3, 2020), President’s Day sailings (Sailings between February 14 – 17, 2020), Spring Break sailings (Sailings between March 14 – 23, 2020) and Holy Week/Easter sailings (Sailings between April 3 – 17, 2020).

BOGO and Kids Sail Free are combinable with each other as well as with Dive & Discover Deals Sale, promotional OBCs, NextCruise offers, Instant Savings, restricted discounts (for example, Seniors, Residents, Military), Promo Code driven offers, Free Upgrades, Crown and Anchor discounts and Shareholder Benefits. Dive & Discover Deals Sale is combinable with promotional OBCs, NextCruise offers, Instant Savings, restricted discounts (for example, Seniors, Residents, Military), Promo Code driven offers and Free Upgrades but not combinable with Crown and Anchor discounts and Shareholder Benefits. Offers are not combinable with any other offer or promotion, including, but not limited to, Standard Group, Interline, Travel Agent, Travel Agent Friends and Family, Weekly Sales Events, Net Rates. Promo Code driven offers are based on select ships and sail dates and must be applied at time of booking, limit one promo code per booking.

Offer available to residents of United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and select countries in the Caribbean. 

Royal Caribbean began construction of its fifth Oasis Class cruise ship today with a steel cutting ceremony.  

Pictured from left to right: Jean-Yves Jaouen, SVP, Operations, Chantiers de l’Atlantique; Florence Mauduit, Oasis Contract Director, Chantiers de l’Atlantique; Laurent Castaing, General Manager, Chantiers de l’Atlantique; Beatrice Siri, Associate Vice-President, Architectural Design and Outfitting, Royal Caribbean; Joseph Pineau, Directo,r Newbuid, Royal Caribbean

Photo Rights : Bernard Biger/Chantiers de l’Atlantique

The steel cutting, marking the official start of construction, took place at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France.

Royal Caribbean says the fifth Oasis Class ship will "combine the iconic seven-neighborhood concept that her sister ships feature with a bold and unexpected lineup of thrilling experiences, imaginative dining, unparalleled entertainment and the latest technology."

The unnamed Oasis-class ship is scheduled to be delivered to Royal Caribbean in 2021. She will be delivered following Odyssey of the Seas, which will debut in 2020.

Royal Caribbean has added a new specialty dining option where you can reserve a dinner at Chops Grille specifically, plus an additional dinner at a different specialty restaurant.

Dubbed the Chops + 1 Dining Package, it is available on select cruises to be booked via Royal Caribbean's Cruise Planner site. One dinner must be redeemed on the  the first or second night of the sailing. The second dinner can be redeemed any other night of the sailing.

Second dinner of package may not be redeemed in Chops Grille. For venues with a la carte pricing, package includes a $35 food credit. 

Not valid for premium experiences including Chef’s Table, wine pairings dinners, Izumi Hibachi experience, Mystery Dinner Theater and Holiday Dinners. 

The cost of the package ($75 per person) includes a  40% discount on bottles of wine under $100 and 20% on bottles above $100 during your meals.

Children between the ages of 0-5 are complimentary and ages 6-12 are $10.

Royal Caribbean's new weekend sale on pre-cruise purchases begins today, with select pre-cruise purchases discounted up to 30% off onboard prices.

The Sale Before You Sail promotion runs between April 23, 2019 - May 1, 2019 and is valid on select sailings May 4, 2019 – November 15, 2019.

The offer is valid on certain shore excursions, drink packages and internet packages.

Royal Caribbean states guests can expect to see:

• Beverage Packages: Up to 30% off onboard prices
  • Deluxe Beverage Package + VOOM Surf & Stream 1 Device: Discount varies by ship. (Excludes Charter Sailings).
  • Deluxe Beverage Package. Discount Varies by Ship. (Excludes Charter Sailings).
  • Refreshment Package: 30% off onboard prices. (Excludes Charter Sailings).
• Shore Excursions: Save up to 25% on select tours on select sailings. Discount varies by ship. (Excludes Charter Sailings).
• Internet: up to 60% off on select sailings
  • VOOM Surf + Stream Voyage Package 1, 2, 3, 4 Device(s): Discount varies by ship. (Excludes Charter Sailings).
  • VOOM Surf Voyage Package 1, 2, 3, 4, Device(s): Discount varies by ship. (Excludes Charter Sailings).
• Dining
  • 3 Night Dining Package. Discount varies by ship. (Excludes MA, MJ, NV, OA Interporting + Master Sailings and Charter Sailings).
  • Unlimited Dining Package on 3 Night,4 Night and 5 Night. Discount varies by ship. (Excludes AD, AL, EX, FR, HM, LB, MJ, OA, OV, QN, RH, SY + Charter Sailings).
• ACTIVITIES: Up to 10% off on select sailings
  • All Access Ship Tour. 10% off. Discount varies by ship. (Excludes Charter Sailings).

To check if your sailing has this new offer available, log into the Cruise Planner on Royal Caribbean's web site look for any available offers. Keep in mind that not all sailings may see the sale applicable, nor are all offers significantly cheaper than previously posted.

If you spot a better discount on something you already pre-purchased, you should be able to cancel the purchase and then re-purchase the same item under this promotion.

Royal Caribbean will hold a conference call on May 1, 2019 at 10am to discuss its first quarter 2019 financial results.

The call will be available on-line at the company's investor relations website, www.rclinvestor.com.  To listen to the call by phone, please dial (877) 663-9606 in the US and Canada.  International phone calls should be made to (706) 758-4628. There is no passcode or meeting number. A replay of the webcast will be available at the same site for a month following the call.

Over the weekend, Royal Caribbean expanded its Perfect Day at CocoCay soft opening by providing guests access to Splashaway Bay and Skipper's Grill restaurant.

With the official opening of Perfect Day at CocoCay coming up next month, Royal Caribbean opened up the two new venues a bit early. Both Splashaway Bay and Skipper's Grill are located close to the pier.

Splashaway Bay is a complimentary aqua park for kids that shares the name of the aqua park available on select Royal Caribbean ships. 

Skipper's Grill is another complimentary dining option on the island that provides lunch and snacks to guests.

In addition to the newly opened venues, it appears Royal Caribbean has expanded its Voom internet access to the island, marking the first time any of its private destinations offer internet access on the island.  Guests with a Voom package purchased for their cruise can use the Voom at Perfect Day at CocoCay.

These new openings builds on the soft opening that began in March 2019 when Royal Caribbean opened the Oasis Lagoon pool and a couple dining venues.

The first phase of Perfect Day at CocoCay is officially scheduled to open in May with Thrill Waterpark, the Zip Line, Splashaway Bay aqua park, Up, Up and Away helium balloon, Captain Jack’s Galleon, Skipper’s Grill dining, Captain Jack’s dining, Chill Island, Chill Grill dining, and Oasis Lagoon freshwater pool slated to open. 

South Beach, Coco Beach Club and the overwater cabanas will open in December 2019.

Please note that these dates might be subject to change depending on the progress of construction.

Perfect Day at CocoCay is a $200 million upgrade to the cruise line's private island in the Bahamas that was first announced in March 2018.

Spring is here and it is also Sunday, which means we are celebrating warm(er) temperatures and Royal Caribbean news from this week!

Royal Caribbean announced this week it intends to rennovate and expand its corportate headquarters in Miami.

The $300 million plan will expand the company’s workforce capacity from 2,200 to 4,200.

When finished, the renovated and expanded headquarters would include a fitness center, a daycare, a cafeteria, an auditorium and a maritime innovation center for the design development and renovation of cruise vessels.

Royal Caribbean News

• A new souvenir drink cup design has been introduced on Royal Caribbean ships.
• Royal Caribbean will expand facial recognition to more ports to speed up disembarkation.
• So far, no changes to Cuba sailings despite newly announced regulations.
• Here are the waterslide and experiences height, age and weight restrictions at Perfect Day at CocoCay.
• Spectrum of the Seas is now added to the new Royal Caribbean app.
• Virtual reality tours are available for some staterooms on Royal Caribbean's website.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 298th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, featuring the important things to know about staying in a suite.

Before you book a suite, here are some important things to consider and distinctions to be aware of when it comes to Royal Caribbean's suite rooms.

Please feel free to subscribe via iTunes or RSS, and head over to rate and review the podcast on iTunes if you can! We’d appreciate it.

Royal Caribbean Around the Internet

In The Loop Travel shares a look at the changes to Navigator of the Seas.

The Points Guy looks at the largest cruise ships in the world.

ZDNet wrote about how to work remotely from a Royal Caribbean ship.

We love any opportunity to take a virtual escape on a Royal Caribbean cruise, and that is why every Friday we share our readers' favorite Royal Caribbean cruise photos. It is a showcase of cruising fun, and you are invited!

Without further ado, we present this week's edition of Friday Photos. Enjoy!

Our first photo is by John Marmet of Adventure of the Seas, as seen from CocoCay.

Lendy Collins snapped this photo of sunset over Havana as her Empress of the Seas ship departed the city.

Here is a look at the sunset over Florida, as seen by Henry Greenfield.

You can see Adventure of the Seas in the distance from atop Cadillac Mt. in Acadia National Park. Photo by John Estok.

Bonnie was able to capture a rainbow from a waterfall in Geraingerfijord

Marc Linsey shared this photo from Oasis of the Seas.

Our final photo this week is by Ken Janson, and it is from the FlowRider on Ovation of the Seas.

Thank you to everyone who shared their photos this week, and we invite everyone to send in their favorite Royal Caribbean photos by using this form.