Royal Caribbean Blog

Expect to find new choices the next time you dine in the main dining room on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship.

Royal Caribbean International CEO Michael Bayley announced in an email to repeat cruisers that the cruise line is working on an update to its main dining room menus.

While the cruise line is shut down due to the global health crisis, shore side teams are working on ensuring when the time is right to return to service, the guest experience can be improved.

Specifically, Mr. Bailey mentioned that Royal Caribbean's Food & Beverage team is working on a new main dining room menu.

"Our F&B team has been revamping the Main Dining Room menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as adding some unique experiences to our specialty dining venues."

There was no schedule or rollout date included in the announcement.

Linken D'Souza is Royal Caribbean's Global Vice President Culinary, Dining & Beverage, and he has been responsible for some of the big dining changes Royal Caribbean has rolled out over the last few years.

Since joining the company, Mr. D'Souza was responsible for the updated Sorrento's pizza recipe, revamped the culinary offerings at CocoCay, and introduced Portside BBQ specialty restaurant on Oasis of the Seas and Giovanni's Italian Kitchen & Wine Bar on Freedom of the Seas.

It looks like his next target is the venerable main dining room.

Based on older blog posts on this site, it appears the main dining room dinner menu was last updated in 2016. Royal Caribbean has a standardized main dining room menu across its fleet.

Specialty restaurant menus are also generally the same across the fleet, although sometimes new menus get rolled out with ship refurbishments, as is the case with Giovanni's Italian Kitchen & Wine Bar concept on Freedom of the Seas (and Allure of the Seas before the upgrade was put on hold).

Royal Caribbean's test kitchen is located at the cruise line’s Miami offices, and it is where they can come up with new ideas among the corporate team, test and just those ideas, and then roll them out to the fleet.

What do you want to see on Royal Caribbean's main dining room menu? Share your suggestions in the comments!

The parent company of Royal Caribbean International has made it official and officially changed its name from Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. to Royal Caribbean Group.

The announcement was made on Thursday, and reflects a desire to update its corporate identity.

Royal Caribbean Group henceforth will be the name of the company that manages the cruise line brands of Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Silversea, Azamara, TUI Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises.

In addition to the name change, Royal Caribbean Group's logo has also been updated.  The company's iconic crown and anchor emblem has been sharpened and made more symmetrical, and now resides inside a circle at all times.

Old name and logo

New name and logo

"The name is simpler, fresher and more modern. It's also more descriptive—Royal Caribbean Group sounds like a parent company name, reflective of our growth and evolution since we last updated our identity more than 20 years ago," said Royal Caribbean Group chairman and CEO Richard Fain.

The company's New York Stock Exchange symbol will remain RCL.

Slow changeover

The move from Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. to Royal Caribbean Group has been slow and steady.

Over the last few months, the new name has started to appear in various press releases and social media posts.

In May 2020, Royal Caribbean used the "Royal Caribbean Group" moniker to announce its first quarter 2020 earnings call with investors.

Since then, the name has made its way into more press releases, video updates, and most recently the company's social media and website presence.

Earlier this month, Royal Caribbean Cruise Group spokesman Rob Zeiger confirmed the change, "We felt switching to Royal Caribbean Group is a more modern expression. Modifying and updating the crown and anchor and the company name seemed practical and useful to us."

Do you like the new name? Or do you prefer the old one? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Norwegian Cruise Line announced on Wednesday it was extending its global cruise suspension by canceling all of its cruises through the end of October, and that has prompted a lot of Royal Caribbean cruise fans to wonder if their line will do that same.

During a webinar with travel advisors, Royal Caribbean's Senior Vice President, Sales, Trade Support and Service, Vicki Freed, clarified there was no update at this time for Royal Caribbean.

"The announcement that Norwegian Cruise Line came out today extending their pause, or their suspension of sailings, through the end of October, and people are asking, what is Royal Caribbean doing?"

"And at this point, we are suspended through the end of September. We are following the CDC guidelines. The CDC has extended through September. If the CDC extends that and of course, we will as well. But right now through the end of September."

Ms. Freed is referring to the CDC's recently extended "No Sail" Order, which forced all cruise lines to cancel their U.S. sailings through September 30, 2020. As a result, two weeks ago Royal Caribbean extended its cruise suspension through the end of September.

Typically, when one of the big three cruise lines (Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian) has suspended sailings, the other two lines follow sooner or later.

In recent months, some cruise lines have cancelled cruises ahead of the CDC's guidance, while other times the lines mirror the CDC's action.

Royal Caribbean's current target date to resume operations is October 1, 2020.

Will they or wont they cancel?

While Ms. Freed's comments today provide confirmation no decision has been made yet to cancel more cruises, but the question remains if more will occur.

There is no indication on what to expect in terms of if more cancellations will occur, nor when Royal Caribbean will actually resume sailings.

At the heart of the concern for many is if the cruise they booked will actually sail, and there is no answer, just conjecture.

In short, there is not enough information available and too many variables to know what to expect.

When Royal Caribbean cancelled cruises through September 30, it was matching the CDC guidelines, whereas the cancellation period before that preemptively cancelled sailings through the end of mid-September, even though the CDC had not extended its No Sail order.

Royal Caribbean International CEO Michael Bayley sent an email to past cruise guests that provided an in-depth update of the cruise line's current status.

In an over 2,600 word email, Mr. Bailey touched on a number of topics that have been frequently asked by guests during Royal Caribbean's global cruise shutdown.

Crew update

Chief among the concerns of guests have been the hard working crew members and where they are now.

Mr. Bailey characterized their main focus on reuniting crew members with their families. Each country has rules and regulations for who can travel home, how and when.    

To date, Royal Caribbean has repatriated more than 43,000 crew members. By the end of this month, Royal Caribbean will have more than 97% of crew members back home.

For crew members still onboard, a great deal of special offerings have been rolled out in order to take care of them. 

"Our F&B team has introduced seafood nights, our culinary teams have been celebrating birthdays and anniversaries with surprise cakes for crew members, and we have also added a variety of activities and entertainment designed with physical distancing in mind. While nothing can beat being home with their family and friends at this time, we want our crew members to be in the best of spirits during this time."

In addition, Royal Caribbean has rolled out a new support program called RCL Cares: Employee Edition, which offers free and confidential counseling, assistance with legal and financial matters, and much more.

In addition, crew members can apply to receive financial assistance if they or their family have been severely impacted by the pandemic with hardships, such as death, hospitalization and the potential loss of their home.

Where are the cruise ships?

During the shutdown, Royal Caribbean's ships have visited more than 40 countries around the world, including Anthem and Ovation of the Seas in India, Voyager of the Seas in Manila, and three ships in Europe.  The remainder of our fleet is in the Caribbean.

In order to keep the ships ready to resume service when the time is ready, each ship has a small number of marine and repair crew members staying on board to prep our ships and keep everything running smoothly.

There was also a link to the videos of the Sovereign class ships being beached at the scrapyard.

New Main Dining Room menu

Mr. Bailey indicated a revamp of the main dining room menu is one activity that is being done during the shutdown.

"Our shoreside teams are also taking this opportunity to think about how we can continue to improve the guest experience. Our F&B team has been revamping the Main Dining Room menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as adding some unique experiences to our specialty dining venues."

Cruises starting again

Mr. Bailey also touched on the work being done to get cruises back operating again, which falls under the cruise line's Healthy Return to Service program.

This new program will focus on four key aspects:

• Upgraded screening prior to boarding
• Enhanced processes on board
• A special focus on addressing the destinations
• Procedures for addressing any reports of exceptions

The recently announced Healthy Sail Panel will coordinate efforts to ensure cruise ships are as sanitized and clean for guests and crew.  This group will review all of cruise line health and safety protocols and provide third party validation of their efforts. 

While the Healthy Sail Panel work has not been announced yet, Mr. Bailey also touched on some of the other key efforts being done to keep guests safe, including Muster 2.0.

Read the entire email

If you want to read the entire email from Mr. Bailey, click here to view it at your leisure.

It has been over four months since Royal Caribbean stopped cruising, and everyone is still wondering when cruises might resume.  

When cruises do start up again (like they have in Germany), would repeat cruise fans feel comfortable going on a Royal Caribbean cruise immediately.

I posed this question back in April, just a few weeks after the cruise shutdown occurred.  Since then, a lot has happened, including a greater proliferation of the global health crisis across the United States.

I wanted to know if cruisers felt as strongly now as they did in April about wanting to go back.

In April, about 61% of the people that responded to the poll answered "yes" to the question if they would feel comfortable going on a Royal Caribbean cruise right away once it resumes.

About 28% responded "no", and another 10% responded with "maybe".

Fast-forwarding back to today, I posted the exact same poll question for a little over 24 hours to get a sense of if attitudes have changed in regards to cruising again immediately.

At the time of writing this post, 1,181 responses were received, and an overwhelming 775 people answered yes, they would feel comfortable going on a Royal Caribbean cruise right away. This amounts to 65% of the votes, which is a slight increase compared to the last poll.

Two hundred ninety-two people voted "no" (24%), and 114 voted "maybe" (9%).

Many of the comments in the poll covered the gamut of emotions involved with their desire to cruise again, along with concerns over their safety.

"I feel they will make sure everything is sanitize and kept clean while everyone is onboard. They don’t want to take any chances. And if I have to get my temperature checked prior to boarding and periodically getting it checked, I am fine."

Many of the comments were in favor of getting back onboard, and there was a lot of enthusiasm about having the opportunity to sail again.

"As much as I would love to cruise, I'm not ready to shell out all of the money only to have the virus in the back of my mind."

The line between "no" and "maybe" seemed to be blurred, as some would feel more strongly about the potential negatives than others. Worry and concern were are the forefront of those that indicated they were not ready to sail again.

"Comfortable? Yes. But do I really want to? Probably not.... until the "party vibe" can get back to normal without the stress levels being associated with virus being hiked up...... the real question is...Would we Enjoy it? I just don't know, and with the amount of money we shell out, we don't want to risk it being wasted."

This was interesting comment that tried to balance the willingness to cruise again, with caution over if it is the right thing to do.

"I want to go - but I can not say its a "yes" until I see and understand "the new world of cruising" at the start; I went with maybe".

Many more of the "maybe" votes added comments why they felt that way, indicating they were torn between their love of cruising and concern over how safe things can ever really be onboard.

Your thoughts

If you missed out on the poll, let us all know in the comments below what you think. Will you be ready to cruise as soon as Royal Caribbean resumes? Or will you be waiting a few weeks or months before getting back onboard?

Royal Caribbean Group has hired someone to oversee all health concerns and initiatives on its cruise ships, including keeping crew and guests safe from COVID-19.

On Tuesday, the parent company of Royal Caribbean International announced it has hired Dr. Calvin Johnson as the Global Head, Public Health and Chief Medical Officer.

This new role will tackle the needs of the global health and wellness policy, manage its public health and clinical practice, and determine the strategic plans and operations of its global healthcare organization.

In addition, Dr. Johnson will  collaborate with the Healthy Sail Panel to ensure the company establishes and implements its protocols and recommendations. 

Dr. Johnson, most recently Principal at Altre Strategic Solutions Group, is the former Chief Medical Officer for Corizon Health, then the largest provider of correctional health care in the United States, and for Temple University Health System. He served as Secretary of Health for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from 2003-2008 and was Medical Director for the New York City Department of Health from 1998-1999. He earned his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, and a BS in Chemistry from Morehouse College.

Royal Caribbean Group Chairman and CEO Richard Fain commented in a statement on the hiring of Dr. Johnson, "Calvin's extensive experience in public health and clinical care will help us raise the bar on protecting the health of our guests, crew and the communities we serve. Calvin will also work closely with the newly announced Healthy Sail Panel to ensure we establish and implement leading health protocols and procedures."

Dr. Johnson has a strong background in protecting public health through service delivery innovation, policy development and analysis, and leadership training and development. He has successfully led significant response efforts during active infectious disease outbreaks and was responsible for ensuring all aspects of patient care while overseeing a clinical operation with 1,300 caregivers and more than 300,000 individuals.  

This is not the first time Royal Caribbean created a corporate role to address a sudden need to protect guests and crew.

Royal Caribbean created the role of Chief Meteorologist and hired James Van Fleet, following a high profile weather incident involving Anthem of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas is currently undergoing scheduled maintenance work in France.

In addition to the high profile Royal Amplifications, about every 5 years, Royal Caribbean ships undergo routine maintenance to address preventative upkeep of the ship.

Anthem of the Seas is at the Damen Shiprepair Brest, which is located in Brest, France photos of the ship undergoing the work was shared in a Facebook post.

Anthem of the Seas had her maiden voyage in April 2015, and she is due for scheduled maintenance this year.

There are no major aesthetic upgrades to Anthem of the Seas announced, so this is purely a traditional dry dock to take care of "under the hood" work, such as painting and engine work.

The Damen shipyard is no stranger to Royal Caribbean vessels. In October 2014, Oasis of the Seas arrived for maintenance work att their Rotterdam shipyard for a 14-day drydock that focused on modifications to her three Azipod main propulsion units and the four bow thrusters.

In addition, the Kvaerner Masa-Yards (now Meyer Turku) was where Enchantment of the Seas went for her lengthening, where the ship was cut in half and a new section added in the middle.

Last week, Royal Caribbean announced its new approach to the mandatory safety drill aboard cruise ships that seeks to reinvent a traditionally tiresome requirement.

This brand new approach to eMuster was so innovative, that Royal Caribbean actually filed a patent for Muster 2.0, and the patent details a great deal of how it will all work.

In digging through the 9 pages of the patent, I found a few tidbits of interest that did not make the press release.

Muster 2.0 was invented by Royal Caribbean's head of entertainment

Interestingly enough, this new approach to the safety drill was not conceived of by a special blue ribbon panel, tech company or computer named Deep Thought.  Instead, it was the brain child of the same person responsible for creating the shows and live entertainment on the cruise ships.

Royal Caribbean Senior Vice President of Entertainment, Nick Weir is listed on the trademark as the inventor of the "Distributed Muster for Ocean-Going Vessels".

Mr. Weir, along with Royal Caribbean's Senior Vice President of Digital Jay Schneider, came up with the eMuster idea and formulated the patent for the new way of providing safety information to passengers.

Royal Caribbean filed for the patent months before the pandemic began

After hearing about Muster 2.0, many people thought this was the perfect solution to a problem that exists in a world affected by a pandemic. Howe ever, the idea came about months before COVID-19 ever got started.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office records the patent filed on September 12, 2019 (with the filing approved and issued on March 3, 2020).

This means this revolutionary idea was in the works many months before the cruise industry would be shut down and innovations to promote social distancing were ever needed.

There could be a quiz (so pay attention)

If you think you can start the eMuster app and take a nap while it plays, think again.

The patent paperwork details the functionality behind Muster 2.0, and it sounds like the user could be required to answer a series of questions to ensure they understood what was presented.

Thereafter, as each one of the mobile devices is sensed within the geographically defined area of the corresponding one of the muster locations, a presentation is displayed within the user interface of a set of questions pertaining to the muster drill video in the user interface.  Finally, for each mobile device sensed within the geographically defined area, answers received for the set of questions are scored. 

Optionally, it may be determined that the scored answers for one of the mobile devices exceeds a threshold value, so that a voucher for a reward may be transmitted to the one of the mobile devices.

While taking notes may be overdoing it, you definitely do not want to ignore the important safety information you are hearing on your mobile device or television.

You can ask for help during the drill

No matter how smart or efficient an app Royal Caribbean develops, there are bound to be guests with questions or concerns.

Baked into the logic of Muster.20 is an option for guests to get help and make it easy for the crew to locate these guests.

During the period defined by the timer, a button control is displayed within a user interface of each of the mobile devices . The button control is configured to transmit a message requesting assistance during the muster drill . Consequently, during the muster drill, the message may be received from one of the mobile devices, a position located of the mobile device, and a crew member mobile device nearest to the position identified .

Finally, the position and an identity of a passenger corresponding to the mobile device may be transmitted to the crew member mobile device 

They could send messages to anyone who missed the muster drill

Making the muster drill self-service lead some to wonder what happens to those who skip it in.  While Royal Caribbean has indicated anyone that skips it will still have to do it later, they could also let those naughty people know they are in trouble.

The patent wording says the app has the ability to contact those guests who missed the drill.

Targeted instructions may be transmitted to specific ones of the passengers after the completion of the muster drill

There are a couple ways Royal Caribbean could determine when you complete the drill

How exactly Royal Caribbean (or any cruise line that leverages Muster 2.0) will conduct the new muster drill will depend on the implementation.

After a guest finishes the self-service component, they still need to report to their muster station to satisfy the maritime law requirement that they know where their muster stations is located.

The patent lists a few ways the drill could mark a guest as having successfully completed it. This could allow for different ships in Royal Caribbean's fleet to implement in different ways, or it is accounting for flexibility in how other cruse lines may implement the concept.

Detecting a guest entering the muster station

In this regard, during the period defined by the timer, as each mobile device is sensed within a geographical area corresponding to an assigned one of the muster stations, an entry in the muster drill table is provided indicating that a corresponding one of the passengers has completed muster.

For instance, the mobile device may include short range wireless communications adapted to communicate with a receiver disposed within the geographical area so as to indicate a presence of the mobile device at the assigned one of the muster stations .

Scanning the app in the mobile device

Alternatively, a bar code displayed in the user interface can be scanned at a kiosk disposed within the assigned one of the muster stations. 

Scanning the SeaPass card

As yet another alternative, an identification card or bracelet can be scanned at a kiosk within the assigned one of the muster stations. 

Are you thinking about buying WiFi access on your Royal Caribbean cruise, but wondering if it is worth it?

Royal Caribbean sells onboard internet access (known as Voom Internet) that is good for the duration of your cruise, but is it a good idea to buy a plan for your sailing?

Royal Caribbean's onboard internet is effectively the only option for being connected while at sea (you definitely do not want to be roaming with your cell phone on your ship), but some people opt to forgo the internet all together in an effort to disconnect from the world during their vacation.

For those that do purchase a package, the experience can very depending on the ship, location, and other factors.

If you are wondering how well (or not well) Royal Caribbean's wifi performs, here is what you should know before you buy.

What does Royal Caribbean wifi get you access to?

When you buy an internet package for your cruise, you'll be able to connect to the internet for things like web surfing, email, social media, video streaming and more.

We haven't seen Royal Caribbean filter out any content, but then again, we haven't tried to accessing nefarious websites.

Please note that you do not need to buy an internet package to use Royal Caribbean's app. Access to the app is free without an internet package.

How much does wifi cost on a Royal Caribbean cruise?

Royal Caribbean offers two tiers of WiFi packages on its cruise ships: Surf or Surf & Stream.

Surf & Stream internet access is the faster option, and allows for internet access without any hindering of the connection.  The regular Surf package throttles the connection down so that it can only be used for basic internet usage, and not streaming of any kind.

In addition, you can choose between a 24-hour pass (only available onboard) or unlimited use packages. The unlimited plans are sold onboard, or online.

Here is a look at onboard pricing for Voom packages:

Royal Caribbean sometimes offers WiFi packaged with other popular cruise add-ons, such as an unlimited drink package or The Key.  

You should also be aware complimentary WiFi access is provided to all guests in Star or Sky Class suites on Oasis Class or Quantum Class ships only. Suite guests on other ships do not get free internet access.

You will almost always find deeper discounts offered before the cruise on Royal Caribbean's Cruise Planner site. If you know you want to buy internet for your cruise, be sure to pre-purchase it online.

Voom internet performance

While Royal Caribbean's onboard internet prices are reasonably priced, the real question is how well does it work.

A number of factors can influence how fast the ship's internet is, including how many guests are using it, natural barriers and the ship's latitude. Internet is transmitted over satellite, so it is not perfect or exactly like at home, but for ship internet it is usually pretty good and often better than hotel internet.

Royal Caribbean labels its onboard internet access as Voom, and says it is the fastest internet at sea.  Depending on the ship you sail on, this promise is sometimes true.

Freedom, Oasis and Quantum class use newer satellite technology, which means better speeds overall and you will likely find it performing well.

Older ships use older satellite technology.  You can still stream but will likely see some more buffering at times on the older ships. 

How do I get free wifi on Royal Caribbean?

If you just want to use the Royal Caribbean app, you can connect to the "royal-wifi" network and use the app without any extra cost.

However, there is no free wifi for access the regular internet, including email, social media or anything else online.

As mentioned before, if you are in a Sky Class or Star Class suite on an Oasis or Quantum Class ship, then wifi access is free for all suite guests. Each guest will get a single device Surf and Stream package with their own login.

Your best bet to get free wifi would be to wait until you get to a port of call on your cruise and try finding free internet access at a shop or bar.

The future: Starlink?

Something to keep an eye on is a potential partnership between Royal Caribbean and Starlink.

Royal Caribbean is testing SpaceX's Starlink internet aboard Freedom of the Seas presumably as a real-world sample case for expanding the service to other cruise ships.

In limited testing, the speeds Starlink provide are substantially faster than anything Royal Caribbean had offered on its ships in the past.

Royal Caribbean has not publicly commented on if Starlink will be added to other ships, or even if a deal will be signed between the two companies.

If Starlink does make its way on Royal Caribbean cruise ships, it has the potential to bring the kind of internet speeds we are used to on land to a cruise ship.

Is a Voom package worth it?

In general, Royal Caribbean's internet works just fine for basic web browsing, email and even keeping up with social media.

There are many factors that impact the speeds of internet access, but I generally find it more useful than not to have purchased internet access.  For most people's needs, Royal Caribbean's wifi works quite well.

You should expect periodic slow downs due to weather, location on the ship, and how many other people are using the internet at that time. Moreover, speeds are better on some ships than others, but a good rule of thumb is the newer the ship, the better the performance.

Considering how incredibly expensive cell phone roaming can be on a ship, as well as spotty internet access in places your ship may visit, buying a Royal Caribbean internet package is the easiest way to stay connected while on your ship, and it works fine most of the time.

Do you think Royal Caribbean's WiFi is worth it? Tell us why in the comments!

On Friday, German cruise line TUI Cruises started cruising once again and it might offer a preview of what a Royal Caribbean could look like when they restart.

Royal Caribbean is a 50% owner of a joint venture that operates TUI Cruises, and the Mein Schiff 2 set sail on Friday with about 1,200 passengers onboard.

The ship sailed with about 60% capacity onboard in order to promote social distancing, a concept Royal Caribbean has said they will initially implement on its ships when they start sailing again.

USA Today reported passengers and crew onboard are required to stay five  feet away or wear protective masks and won’t serve themselves at the ship’s buffet. All passengers filled out a health questionnaire before boarding and had temperature checks.

In addition, TUI Group (parent company to TUI Cruises) noted they had "implemented comprehensive health and safety protocols on board."

The itinerary for this sailing was a departure from Hamburg, Germany that would sail to no ports, before returning to Germany on Monday. This is an intentional move to stick to short and restrictive sailings.

Germany is now in the process of reopening its economy, with strict guidelines on social distancing, mask use and personal hygiene measures.