Royal Caribbean Blog

Royal Caribbean International’s first barbecue restaurant, Portside BBQ, debuts on the newly amplified Oasis of the Seas with an authentic, meat-packed menu inspired by the best-in-class barbecue across the United States. Offering a variety of options, from smoked marbled brisket, pulled pork and turkey legs, to beef ribs and burnt ends, the casual eatery on the pool deck ties it all together with classic sides – think mac and cheese, homestyle cornbread, baked beans and coleslaw – and down-home desserts like the Banana Dream and a brownie-cookie mashup known as the Brookie.

There is a fair amount of Alaska cruise lingo, and you are very likely to hear about something called the Inside Passage.

The Inside Passage is usually what people refer to when they talk about an Alaska cruise.

Alaska’s Inside Passage is a water route between the Gulf of Alaska and Puget Sound.  It is a common route for cruise ships that depart from Seattle or Vancouver, and offers stops along Alaska's panhandle.

The term "Inside Passage" is commonly used to refer to the entire region of Southeast Alaska, as well as British Columbia. This area spans 500 miles of shoreline, with the of the best wildlife and landscape viewing you can see from a ship.

Nearly all Royal Caribbean's Inside Passage sailings are 7-nights, although the cruise line does offer land-tours that you can add onto your cruise to expand your exploration inland.

In addition to the ports, the Inside Passage features fantastic animal viewing opportunities, with whales, orcas, sea lions, seals, eagles, bears, raptors and more along the way.  This is usually why many people that have cruised to Alaska before recommend bringing a good pair of binoculars to be able to see it all from your ship.

Of course, this area is also know for its glaciers and quiet towns your ship may visit. The ports of Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, Sitka and more are along the Inside Passage, and known for the natural beauty and incredible history you can discover.

In addition, you may have the opportunity to visit some well-known state and national parks and preserves, including Tongass National Forest, Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, Misty Fjords National Monument, and Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve.

Cruises to the Inside Passage are available between May and September. The best time to take an Alaska cruise is somewhere between those months, depending on a your budget and availability.

Inside Passage Tips

Bring a sleep mask: During the summer, Alaska enjoys up to 19 hours of daylight, which means it is light out most times of the day and night. A sleep mask is a necessity if you want it dark when you sleep.

Best time to spot bears: According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game there can be as many as one grizzly bear per square mile in parts of southern Alaska.

Your best bet for seeing a bear is in the spring and summer, primarily around dawn and dusk, when they hunt for food. It’s also common to see them along the shoreline, scouting fish and other food that may have washed ashore.

Buy an all-weather jacket: The weather in Alaska will change throughout the day, from chilly to rainy to warm to rainy and chilly again. You want to invest in a waterproof, breathable jacket that can handle all of these weather changes, while keeping you comfortable.

There is no best side of the ship for an Alaska cruise: A lot of readers are curious if the starboard or port side is a superior choice for viewing glaciers, animals, scenery or anything on a cruise. 

There is fantastic scenery to see on both sides of the ship while sailing the Inside Passage.  When your ship enters the fjords, you will find equally good viewing from either side of the ship.  In short, you will see scenery from both sides of the ship.

Best port for hiking: Juneau offers more than 250 miles of hiking trails, with a variety of skill levels. You can see the beauty of  Nugget Falls, the gleaming face of Mendenhall Glacier, or sweeping views of the Inside Passage islands from the summit of Mount Juneau.

Best time to spot whales: June and July are the best months to see the humpback whales when they migrate to Alaska’s Inside Passage. 

With so many cruise tips and advice out there, which ones are the best of the best to trust and use?

Our readers recently shared their number one, favorite cruise tip that they always use, and we're sharing them all in our brand new video!

And if you love this video, there’s plenty more for you to enjoy over 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 video!

So check out the video and then let us know: What is one cruise tip that you always use when cruising?

Multiple media outlets are reporting Royal Caribbean has canceled at least the next two Spectrum of the Seas sailings out of concern over the spread of Coronavirus.

The Spectrum of the Seas sailings from Shanghai scheduled for January 27 and January 31 have been canceled.

So far, we've canceled two sailings, Spectrum that was set to sail today and the sailing that was set to sail on 1/31/20.

— Royal Caribbean (@RoyalCaribbean) January 27, 2020

A cruise line spokesperson said: "In light of the latest developments with the coronavirus outbreak in China, we are suspending the January 27 and January 31 sailings of Spectrum of the Seas, currently our only ship homeported in China. We are working with our guests to provide full refunds for the cancellation. The health and safety of our guests and crew is our primary concern, and we continue to work with the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control, and government health authorities to monitor the situation."

Royal Caribbean is also assuring its guests it is taking other proactive steps to ensure guest safety, such as special sanitizing of high traffic areas, adding additional medical staff onboard, and providing consultations with medical experts.

Hi there. At this time, that sailing will continue as planned. We continue to closely monitor any developments related to the coronavirus and new government-mandated travel bans. We'll notify impacted travel partners and guests immediately if any changes are made. -Yami

— Royal Caribbean (@RoyalCaribbean) January 27, 2020

As of January 27, 81 people have been killed from the virus, along with another 3,000 infected. Forty-four cases have been confirmed outside of China. 

Guests sailing on a Royal Caribbean ship in the last couple weeks have reported non-alcoholic frozen drinks have been added to the Diamond member happy hour drink menu.

RoyalCaribbeanBlog reader John Durland first reported the change and readers Eileen & John Triplett shared a photo of the new drink menu.

Diamond Drink menu from Mariner of the Seas, January 2020

Diamond drink menu from Independence of the Seas January 2019

The updated menu adds juices and virgin frozen beverages to the menu, along with new wines added to the Wine By The Glass menu and Heineken 0.0.

Each evening, Royal Caribbean offers complimentary alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages in its Diamond lounges for Diamond, Diamond Plus and Pinnacle members. In addition, Diamond members and above receive three complimentary drink vouchers to use at bars and lounges around the ship during the same time.

Royal Caribbean has expanded its new app to include support for Rhapsody of the Seas.

Rhapsody now appears in the list of supported ships that can be found from within the app.

The new app is being actively developed, which means not all features area available on the app yet.  Moreover, the cruise line is slowly rolling out support for more ships.

The app is available on the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store.

Hope you had a great week (maybe one week closer to your next Royal Caribbean cruise?) and you had a chance to keep up with what's new with Royal Caribbean this week. But if not, here's a roundup of this week's news.

Royal Caribbean put a new set of Jewel of the Seas sailings from Galveston on sale.

The new sailings were added as Jewel of the Seas will go to Galveston in December 2020 to temporarily takeover for Liberty of the Seas while Liberty undergoes her Amplification in January.

Jewel of the Seas arrives early with new itinerary options from Galveston, including two transatlantic options, two sailings to Colon, Panama, plus two new sailings to Perfect Day at Coco Cay, Nassau, and Key West.

Royal Caribbean News

• A man jumped to his death from Oasis of the Seas.
• Spotted: Royal Caribbean ship scheduled to sail from Los Angeles in 2021.
• Do cruise prices drop?
• How to add custom events to the Cruise Planner.
• What I wish I'd known before I went on Harmony of the Seas.
• What is the best location on a cruise?
• There is still time to take advantage of a pre-cruise purchase sale.
• How to make towel animals just like on a Royal Caribbean ship.
• What should I expect on my first Royal Caribbean cruise?

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 338th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available and we take an in-depth review of Brilliance of the Seas.

Matt and Billy review their 4-night Western Caribbean sailing on Brilliance of the Seas, with the focus on Billy's first Radiance Class experience.

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.

New RCB Video: Why you don't need to buy Royal Caribbean's The Key

Have you subscribed to the Royal Caribbean Blog YouTube Channel? We share some great videos there regularly, all about taking a Royal Caribbean cruise! This week, we are sharing our latest video — Why you don't need to buy The Key — and don’t forget to subscribe here.

Royal Caribbean Around The Internet

The Points Guy previewed the 8 most exciting new cruise ships of 2020.

Cruise Habit shares a look at Coronavirus and what to be aware of right now.

Cruise.Blog reported on the latest with the lawsuit related to the grandfather that dropped a toddler to her death.

Have you booked a Royal Caribbean cruise (or about to book one) and wondered if the price of the cruise could drop later? 

Prices of Royal Caribbean cruises have a tendency to fluctuate quite a bit, very similar to airfare pricing, and that kind of fluid price changes may concern some cruisers with fears of not getting the lowest price.

There are a few tips and strategies you can use to lock in a great price, and protect yourself in case there is a price drop later.

Royal Caribbean's best price guarantee

In most countries, Royal Caribbean will allow you to re-price the cost of your cruise up until the final payment date.

It's up to you to spot the price drop and then request a change in price. Royal Caribbean will not do this for you automatically.

If you spot a lower publicly advertised rate available to the general public for the cruise fare you booked, Royal Caribbean will honor the lower rate by refunding you the difference in price. 

If you are past final payment date, then you will not be able to re-price the cruise any longer. There was a policy during the Covid-19 pandemic that allowed for price checks after final payment date, but that policy has since ended.

Group rates, membership programs, charters or other Travel Agent promotions not offered by Royal Caribbean to the general public, including but not limited to travel agent rebates are ineligible.

The lower rate must:

• Be for the same ship, sail date, stateroom category and number of guests.
• Be available for reserving at the time Royal Caribbean reviews your submitted Royal Caribbean Best Price Guarantee claim form

If you booked your cruise on your own, call the cruise line to request the lower rate. You will be asked to provide the lower rate amount and where the rate can be found.

If you booked with a travel agent, request your travel agent to handle it for you.

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.

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).

Don't forget your booking incentives

If you spot a lower price and want to re-price, make sure you consider the perks included in your original booking reservation versus what is included with the new price.

Any onboard credit, instant savings or booking promotions can be lost if you rebook at the lower price. Weigh the value of your perks before pulling the trigger on a price drop.

How to check for price drops

The tried and true way to check for price drops is to periodically make a mock booking on Royal Caribbean's website and see if the price has changed. This is the most straightforward approach and works quite well for verifying the current pricing. 

Of course, manually checking the price means you have to take the initiative to regularly verify current pricing. Some cruisers make this easier by joining a Facebook group for their specific sailing and sharing information when a price drop is observed.

Some travel agents (the great ones) will check for price drops on your behalf.  In our experience, travel agents that take the extra step to check for price drops on behalf of their clients tend to do this when new sales and promotions are announced. Here is one such recommended travel agency that specializes in Royal Caribbean. If you are not convinced using a free travel agency that is recommended by Royal Caribbean is right for you, read our post discussing the benefits they offer.

There are websites that claim to check for you as well, but I have not used any of these to verify their claims. CruiseFish.net and Ship Mate offer price tracking tools, that may be worth investigating.

What if there is a price drop after final payment?

Once you are past the final payment date, price adjustments are not allowed.

The only exception is if you booked your cruise while under the Cruise with Confidence program before it ended. Check with your travel advisor on if your sailing qualified for that.

Welcome to our weekly showcase of great Royal Caribbean photos that our readers have shared with us.  Let's dive into this week's batch of photos!

Let's kick start this week's edition with a photo by John of Symphony and Empress berthed together in St. Thomas.

Jorge shared this photo of the Solarium on Anthem of the Seas.

Michael Kho snapped this photo of Allure of the Seas at sunrise.

This is a great look from the top of Dragon's Breath zipline at Labadee by Travis Alexander.

John Trivedi took this selfie from North Star on Ovation of the Seas.

I love the colors in this sunset photo from Aruba while visiting on Explorer of the Seas. Photo by Terri Floyd.

Our final photo this week is by Spiralqueen, and it is of the sunset as seen from the pier at Perfect Day at CocoCay.

Thank you to everyone for their photos this week! You can use this form to share your favorite Royal Caribbean photos with all of us.

Readers living on the West Coast of the United States should probably sit down before reading this post, but the Port of Los Angeles cruise schedule lists regular sailings for Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas in 2021.

Beginning in June 2021, Voyager of the Seas is listed as offering regular 3- and 4-night sailings. Regular sailings extend through December 31, 2021. The Port of Los Angeles schedule does not have the 2022 schedule online yet.

Royal Caribbean has not made any announcement about returning to Los Angeles, but in the past port schedules have been good indicators of what Royal Caribbean intends to do.

Royal Caribbean's website currently has no sailings available to book on Voyager of the Seas past April 2021.

The return of Royal Caribbean to offer regular sailings from Los Angeles, or anywhere in California, has been highly anticipated for many years.

Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas left Los Angeles back in 2011 due to violence in Mexico as well as to find bigger profits.