Royal Caribbean Blog

Our newest podcast episode is out to help give you a quick "audio escape" to a Royal Caribbean cruise!

Episode 296 is available for downloading, where Matt and Rebecca share tips and tricks for planning a Royal Caribbean cruise with a large group.

Going on a cruise with friends and family is a fantastic idea, but there are some logistical hurdles to overcome in the process. This week, Matt and Rebecca share some strategies for ensuring your group sailing goes off without a hitch!

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 296. And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Stitcher or on iTunes!

Take a listen and as always, let us know what you think! Please rate and review the podcast on iTunes and leave your comments below!

Royal Caribbean has cancelled the next three scheduled sailings of Oasis of the Seas, following an accident where a construction crane struck the ship at a shipyard yesterday.

After assessing the damage to Oasis of the Seas, the cruise line found damage to the Aqua Theatre and some suites. As a result, Royal Caribbean has begun alerting guests on affected sailings that the next three sailings have to be canceled in order to make repairs.

Yes, Barrie. Unfortunately, we'll need to cancel the next 3 sailings for repairs. Your sailing shouldn't be impacted.

— Royal Caribbean (@RoyalCaribbean) April 2, 2019

Guests on the affected sailings should be sent shortly to inform them about compensation due to the cancellation. According to one tweet, a full refund of the cruise fare and a 100% Future Cruise Certificate is being given.

I'm sorry to confirm we've had to cancel your sailing. You'll get a full refund of your cruise fare along with a 100% Future Cruise Certificate to apply towards another sailing. I'm very sorry about this and understand your disappointment. -Paula

— Royal Caribbean (@RoyalCaribbean) April 2, 2019

Oasis will head from Grand Bahama shipyard to be serviced at facilities in Cadiz, Spain. Oasis will resume her scheduled itineraries, beginning with the May 5 sailing from Barcelona.

In an email to guests, Royal Caribbean expressed recognition that personal injuries were limited, "We are very grateful that there were no life-threatening injuries and everyone is recovering, as the safety of our crew and guests is always our number one priority."

The cancellations come after Oasis of the Seas was hit by a construction crane while the ship was undergoing scheduled repairs in Freeport, Bahamas.

No passengers were on Oasis of the Seas at the time of the incident, and media reports indicate only eight non-life threatening injuries from the accident.

Oasis of the Seas was in the Bahamas for a short period of work. 

We have a RoyalCaribbeanBlog video today, discussing the merits of if The Key program is worth the money!

The Key offers guests premier access to unique experiences and special amenities during your vacation.  It includes a welcome lunch at Chops Grille, Jamie’s Italian or Giovanni’s Table; private hours at onboard activities like the Flowrider, Rock Climbing Wall; access to VIP seating section at shows and more.

Of course, The Key comes with a daily cost and we are discussing if The Key is worth it for your family to buy in our latest video!

If you love this video, we have lots of other great cruise videos to watch on our Royal Caribbean Blog YouTube Channel!

By the way, have you subscribed yet? Be sure to subscribe to our channel and never miss a single episode!

So check out the video and then let us know: What is your best advice for someone planning a Royal Caribbean cruise?

Royal Caribbean’s Australian 2020/21 summer cruise season sailings are now available for booking, which include four ships from two home ports – including Sydney and from November 2020, Brisbane’s brand new International Cruise Terminal.

More than 80 sailings are available to choose from, ranging from 2 to 19 nights to destinations in the South Pacific, New Zealand and Australia.

After a three year absence, Royal Caribbean will return to home porting in Brisbane with Radiance of the Seas, fresh from a multi-million dollar makeover. Radiance will offer 22 Brisbane sailings, focusing on 7-11 night South Pacific cruises, plus three sampler cruises. 

Serenade of the Seas will sail from Sydney’s Overseas Passenger Terminal for the first time from October 2020 to April 2021, offering 21 Sydney sailings ranging from 5 to 19 nights to a range of destinations, including the South Pacific, New Zealand and Australia. 

Ovation of the Seas, returns for her fifth season down under. Ovation of the Seas will offer 19 sailings from Sydney, ranging from 2 to 19 nights to destinations including the South Pacific, New Zealand and Australia. 

Voyager of the Seas returns to Sydney in October 2020. Voyager of the Seas will offer 22 sailings, focusing on South Pacific voyages of between 9 and 13 nights, plus three sampler cruises.

Video appears to show a construction crane has hit Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas while the ship was undergoing scheduled repairs in the Bahamas.

BP BREAKING| Bahamian police on Grand Bahama confirms an accident that occurred at GB Ship Yard.

Police nor our teams on the ground can confirm if anyone has been injured... pic.twitter.com/mQ6QXYa3Hw

— Bahamas Press (@Bahamaspress) April 1, 2019

No passengers were on Oasis of the Seas at the time of the incident, earlier today.

A video tweeted by Bahamas Press showed the construction equipment lying against the vessel at the Great Bahamas Shipyard near Freeport.

Oasis of the Seas was in the Bahamas for a short period of work. No passengers were onboard the ship at the time of the accident.

According to police, there were several injuries – none of them thought to be life-threatening. It is unclear if there will be any impact on scheduled Oasis of the Seas sailings.

Royal Caribbean is offering kids sail free offer once again, along with 50% off the second guest.

The April Offer is valid on new bookings made between April 1 – May 7, 2019 on select sailings departing on or after May 1, 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. 
• Kids Sail Free
  • 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 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. 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 UK teased the public with the "announcement" of its new airplane, Master of the Skies.

Posted across the UK social media channels, the cruise line touted the mock-launch of its first aircraft in 2022, which includes features as such as:

• "Slide in the Sky"
• Bionic Bar
• Ultimate Family Suite
• Ripcord by iFly skydiving simulator

Ben Bouldin, Managing Director Royal Caribbean International UK & Ireland, said: “We believe that every step of our guests’ holiday should be extraordinary and when the sky’s the limit, launching an aircraft was the natural next step! Some of our well-known and much-loved favourites have been ingeniously integrated, including the world’s first slide in the sky, and we look forward to the latest addition to our fleet taking to the skies in 2022.”

This was a busy week with Royal Caribbean news, and we have a summary of all of the news from this week to make certain you did not miss any of it.

Royal Caribbean moved forward with the acquisition of the Grand Lucayan resort, which appears to be part of its plan to redevelop Freeport Harbor.

The letter of intent was signed and an initial $195 million investment. The development will take place over a 24-month period, with $65 million of the purchase price for the Grand Lucayan Resort.

The Bahamas government reports a theme park and five-star hotel will be part of the redevelopment effort.

Royal Caribbean News

• Royal Caribbean received permission to sail to Glacier Bay in Alaska.
• New 2020-2021 Royal Caribbean sailings from Dubai went on sale this week.
• We answered the question if is The Key is worth it.
• Check out a video of Spectrum of the Seas conveyance to the North Sea.
• Royal Caribbean pledged support for United Nations Global LGBTI Standards Of Conduct For Business.
• A look at the new venues in CocoCay that are now open.
• Twenty new shore excursions were added for Royal Caribbean cruises in the South Pacific.
• We reviewed a flight simulator shore excursion in the Bahamas.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 295th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, and we are reviewing Matt's cruise on Mariner of the Seas.

In this episode, Matt sailed Mariner of the Seas for a back-to-back group sailing and talks with friends on the sailing about what they thought of the ship, the changes to CocoCay and nore.

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

Miami's Community Newspapers reported on Royal Caribbean Day at FIU’s Biscayne Bay Campus.

Seatrade News remembered a former Royal Caribbean executive that passed away.

CNET shared how artificial intelligence has made facial recognition work better, with a Royal Caribbean example.

Reader's Digest provides a look at what Symphony of the Seas looks like.

Cruise Critic interviewed the head of Royal Caribbean's head of food and beverage.

The National Park Services has awarded a new ten-year concession contract to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd to provide cruise ship services in Glacier Bay National Park, beginning October 1, 2019.

Royal Caribbean has been awarded access to Glacial Bay for the upcoming 2019-2029 cruise seasons by the National Park Service (NPS).  Every ten years NPS contracts are awarded allowing selected cruise lines to operate with the the Park.  Each cruise is allowed a specific number of visits in the Alaska summer cruise season plus additional visits in the Alaska shoulder cruise season, including May and September.

The Parks Service asked each cruise line detailed questions about the impact its ships would have on the park's ecosystem. A panel of technical experts reviewed each proposal package submitted by various cruise lines, and Royal Caribbean was among seven cruises lines that were awarded a contract.

"We are excited to welcome seven cruise lines to Glacier Bay. The very competitive process resulted in some of the highest cruise tourism environmental standards and best visitor experience quality seen in the world," said park superintendent Philip Hooge.

Covering 3.3 million acres of rugged mountains, dynamic glaciers, temperate rainforest, wild coastlines and deep sheltered fjords, Glacier Bay National Park is a highlight of Alaska's Inside Passage and part of a 25-million acre World Heritage Site—one of the world’s largest international protected areas. 

Friday is here and we are sharing our readers' favorite Royal Caribbean cruise photos so that we can all get into a "cruise mood" for the upcoming weekend!

Our first photo this week is by f1guynz, and it is of the sunset behind Sydney harbor as seen from Explorer of the Seas.

Andrew sent in this photo of Harmony of the Seas docked in Labadee.

Here is another sunset photo, this one from Justin York taken on Liberty of the Seas.

Adam Hall took this photo of his family on the Royal Promenade of Liberty of the Seas.

Michael Kho snapped this photo of Grandeur of the Seas overnighting in Nassau.

Bill Barber took this photo at night of Rhapsody of the Seas.

Our last photo this week is a beautiful shot of Sydney Harbor, as seen by Jan on Explorer of the Seas.

Thank you to everyone who shared their photos with us this week. As always, we welcome all of our readers to share their favorite Royal Caribbean photos by using this form to submit them. Have a great weekend!