Royal Caribbean Blog

Royal Caribbean informed guests booked on Explorer of the Seas that it will cancel scheduled August 2020 sailings in order to get some of the scheduled work done on the ship.

Explorer of the Seas was scheduled for a $110 million Royal Amplification that would have added a number of changes from bow to stern. However, the closure of shipyards and disruption to the supply chain around the world has delayed the work from being done on time. 

Instead, Explorer of the Seas will undergo a technical dry dock only, where only routine maintenance work will take place. This is similar to what happened to Allure of the Seas as well, which is undergoing that work in Spain.

There is no word on if/when the other changes that were to be added to Explorer of the Seas will occur.

Emails were sent to travel agents and guests to inform them of the newly cancelled Explorer of the Seas sailings.

Guests on affected sailings have the choice of:

125% Future Cruise Credit to re-book a new cruise by December 31, 2021 for sailings departing on or before April 30th, 2022. This will automatically be issued by July 24th, 2020 via email if no action is taken.

Lift and Shift: If you prefer to move your existing booking to a 2021 sailing, you can take advantage of Royal Caribbean's new policy where the cruise line will price protect the original pricing and/or promotion on the same itinerary, length, product, and stateroom category as your original sailing within 4 weeks (before or after) of the original sail date in 2021.

You will need to contact your travel agent by June 25th to take advantage of this option.

100% Refund: if you prefer a full refund, you have until December 31, 2020 to request a refund and deactivate your certificate. You can expect to receive your refund 45 days after you submit your refund request.

If you made pre-cruise purchases, you can opt-in to receive an Onboard Credit in the value of 125% of the total Cruise Planner purchases on your reservation. Click here by June 25th, 2020 to request your higher value credit and we'll email you your credit by July 24th, 2020.

Royal Caribbean has updated its policies to allow guests to use a Future Cruise Credit towards the deposit on a new cruise booking.

The cruise line updated its policy on Monday to allow guests to use a Future Cruise Credit to pay for the deposit owed on a reservation.

As long as the value of the Future Cruise Credit covers the full deposit amount, no additional funds will be owed until Final Payment, at which time any cruise fare balance and taxes/fees will be required. 

If the value of the FCC does not cover the full deposit amount, additional funds will be required to meet the total deposit needs and, thereafter, the remaining balance due at Final Payment.

Prior to this policy change, guests with a FCC would be required to put a cash deposit down first on a new reservation, and then apply a FCC to the reservation.  

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

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

Free drink packages are rare

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

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

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

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

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

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

How to get a discount

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Photos by Meyer Werft

Odyssey is under construction in Papenburg, Germany.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Royal Caribbean News

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

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How much time will you really spend in your room?

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

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

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

Good idea if you are worried about getting sea sick

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

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

Inside rooms are not always tiny

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

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

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

The best room for sleeping!

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

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

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

The inside room X factor: virtual balcony

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

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

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

Save money!

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

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

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

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

The bottom line

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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