Royal Caribbean Blog

Spectrum of the Seas, Royal Caribbean's first Quantum Ultra Class ship, officially debuted in China as she sailed into Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal in Shanghai after completing a 46-night Global Odyssey cruise.

To celebrate Spectrum's arrival, the cruise line held a grand naming ceremony with Chinese celebrities and Royal Caribbean brand ambassadors, Xiaoming Huang and Angelababy, in attendance. Honored with the lifetime role of Godparents, the popular couple were on hand to name the ship and bestow a blessing of safekeeping over all those who sail on her.

Spectrum of the Seas was custom built for the Chinese market, and offers new experiences, such as Royal Caribbean's first enclave for suite guests, new stateroom categories, innovative dining concepts, and stunning features and experiences – many of which have never before been seen at sea. 

"Royal Caribbean has always been known for innovating and pushing the boundaries, and Spectrum of the Seas is a great example of this," said Michael Bayley, President and CEO, Royal Caribbean International. "Spectrum brings to life the best of Royal Caribbean along with curated experiences for our Chinese consumers."

Spectrum of the Seas innovative features include: 

•  A two-level, 2,809-square-foot Ultimate Family Suite, accommodating up to 11 guests. The three-bedroom suite features a master bedroom and a bathroom that extends over the side of the ship for unparalleled ocean views, along with two additional suites for grandparents and other family members. Kids have their own kid-friendly space on the upper level, complete with an in-suite slide that will transport them to the living area below. Everyone in the family can enjoy time together in the recreation room, featuring surround-sound equipment for a night of karaoke, movies or video games.
• Sky Pad, a virtual reality (VR), bungee trampoline experience, where guests can strap in, don a VR headset and be transported to another time and planet with three new games: Jump Rally, Sugar Leap and Bass Bouncer. 
• The Suite Club on decks 13 through 16 offers Royal Caribbean’s first exclusive suites-only area, which features 36 Golden Suites and 106 Silver Suites. The Golden Suites and Silver Suites have exclusive access, elevator, as well as a private restaurant and lounge. In addition to a range of amenities, Gold Suite guests may access The Balcony, a private outdoor space with the best views of the sea; and The Boutique, which can be reserved for private shopping, intimate parties and wine tastings. Travelers in suites are also provided with a dedicated team of Royal Concierges who provide excellent value-added services, including concierge services, Royal embarkation, enhanced food and beverage experiences, and exclusive room service.

Dining Options

• Sichuan Red, a brand-new restaurant debuting on Spectrum that features authentic cuisine from the Sichuan province of China.
• A traditional tea room and café parlor known as Leaf and Bean, where guests can enjoy a range of authentic Chinese teas, classic coffee drinks as well .as freshly baked Chinese and Western desserts and pastries.
• Teppanyaki, offering authentic oriental flavors cooked in Japan’s traditional teppanyaki style.
• Splashaway Café, near the kids’ pool area; and the Noodle Bar, which serves up freshly made noodles and live chef demonstrations.
• The main dining room has been combined into one awe-inspiring, three-level dining room with 1,844 seats. The complimentary venue also serves a variety of Chinese and Western a la carte options that rotate every day of an itinerary.
• The Windjammer Marketplace on Spectrum has been designed to be 20% larger than those on Quantum Class ships. The laidback option offers a wide selection of Chinese and Western dishes.

Entertainment

• Three new production shows developed in-house by Royal Caribbean – The Silk Road, The Effectors, and Showgirl! Past. Present. Future. are taking the stage.
  • Each full-scale production features unrivaled talent, immersive technology and unparalleled special effects to create spectacular entertainment experiences.  
• Battle for Planet Z, an epic glow-in-the-dark laser tag adventure for the whole family.
• Star Moment, a lively and energetic karaoke venue where family and friends can sing like stars.
• Expedition Two70, where guests can test their adventuring skills in four fully immersive augmented reality (AR) games.
• SeaPlex, the multipurpose indoor sports and entertainment complex that offers activities from various parts of the world including various indoor ball games as well as fencing and archery – activities never before seen at sea in the Asia market.

Technology

Spectrum of the Seas features a bold lineup of new digital experiences, from digital room keys and automated stateroom controls, to immersive AR games. The Royal Caribbean mobile app is also available for the first time for guests in China and supports both Mandarin and English language. Designed to seamlessly deliver unprecedented vacation experiences at sea, technology is prevalent throughout the ship, substantially increasing guest convenience and efficiency while offering new experiences that entertain and amaze.

Perfect Day at CocoCay is filled with some incredible new additions, like water slides, the largest fresh water pool in North America, expansive beaches and zip lines.  With all these new additions, you might want to share these experiences with friends and family. 

Before you put your smart phone at risk to capture all these memories, here are the top picks for waterproof cases for your phone.

iPhone XS

Though the iPhone XS has an IP68 rating, which guarantees protection in water up to 1.5m deep for 30 minutes, I know I don't want to risk dropping it into a swimming pool completely unprotected. Not only do waterproof cases protect them from potential water damage, but also from dust and debris. 

Catalyst iPhone Xs Waterproof Case

iPhone XR

The iPhone XR has an IP67 rating and can survive submerged in water for up to one meter for up to 30 minutes. Just like the iPhone XS, better to be safe than sorry with a waterproof case.

JUSTCOOL iPhone XR Case

Samsung Galaxy S10

Whether you bought the small (S10E), medium (S10) or large (S10 Plus), there are plenty of cases out there for it. 

Catalyst Case

Samsung Galaxy Note 9

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 has an IP68 water resistance, whcih means it s completely protected against dust "ingress" and it can withstand being in up to 1.5 meters of water freshwater for up to 30 minutes, but it is not indestructible.

Temdan Heavy Duty Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Waterproof Case

This post may contain affiliate links. 

Is there a particular waterproof case that you are absolutely love? Share your top picks in the comments

Royal Caribbean is bringing back its popular Kids Sail Free offer during the month of June, in addition to 50% off second guest.

The June offer runs between June 3-30, 2019 and is valid on sailings departing on or after July 3, 2019.

It 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
  • 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 September 1, 2019 – May 15, 2020.
  • Offer excludes 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).
  • In addition, Kids Sail Free applies to all Serenade of the Seas Alaska 2020 sailings.
• Deck the Holiday Deals:
  • provides instant savings of up to $100 per stateroom on select sailings departing between December 2 – 31, 2019.
  • Savings amount determined by category booked and sailing length:
    • Sailings 5 nights or less, $25 savings for Interior and Ocean View, $50 for Balconies and $50 for Suites
    • Sailings 6 nights or longer, $50 savings for Interior and Ocean View, $75 for Balconies and $100 for Suites. 

BOGO50 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. BOGO50 and Deck the Holiday Deals 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.  Kids Sail Free and Deck the Holiday Deals are combinable with each other for sailings departing December 2-14, 2019 only; not combinable for holiday sailings departing December 15 – 31, 2019. 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.

Happy Sunday! It is getting hot outside these days, and the Royal Caribbean news this week is equally heated.  

Spectrum of the Seas arrived in Hong Kong earlier this week, marking her entry into the Asian cruise market.

Spectrum of the Seas docked at the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in Hong Kong on Thursday, making her inaugural call to the city.

Spectrum of the Seas will spend the summer season out of her homeport of Shanghai, and will sail from Chinese homeports year-round.  The ship was designed with the Chinese cruise market in mind.

Royal Caribbean News

• Royal Caribbean signed an agreement with Antigua to increase visits.
• Royal Caribbean's CEO hinted at what the cruise line will do with its recent resort purchase in Freeport, Bahamas.
• Here is how to check instantly for Royal Caribbean stateroom upgrades.
• We posted a new video with a list of the 8 things people do on Royal Caribbean that make absolutely zero sense!

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 304th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, where Matt features a listener's recent review of his Freedom of the Seas cruise.

In this episode, Derek shares his experiences on Freedom of the Seas to the Southern Caribbean and talks about why he booked this sailing and everything he did onboard and onshore.

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: Things I wish I knew before visiting Perfect Day at CocoCay

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 – Things I wish I knew before visiting Perfect Day at CocoCay  — and don’t forget to subscribe here.

Royal Caribbean Around the Internet

Two Drifters listed their favorite activities for couples.

Cruise Fever reported on Royal Caribbean's top cruiser reaching 8,000 points.

We3Travel shared their list of 11 must-dos on Perfect Day at CocoCay.

Orlando Sentinel reported on a day at Port Canaveral where six cruise ships were docked.'

This week's batch of beautiful Royal Caribbean photos is here and it's always fun to share with all of you the great photos our readers take while on their cruise vacation.

The photos we have to show this week are fun and of course anyone can send us their Royal Caribbean photos to use as well!

We kick things off this week with a photo by Traveler of Rhapsody of the Seas, as seen from Mykonos.

Our next photo is by Khadijah Ahmad, and it is of Harmony of the Seas meeting her sister Oasis ships for the first time.

Our first photo from Perfect Day at CocoCay to grace Friday Photos has arrived, with Matthew Giangreco taking this photo from Adventure of the Seas.

Brett Oresky took a panoramic photo of Harmony of the Seas.

Grease is the word with this photo by Brad Leonard.

Here is a look from the top, down to the Royal Promenade on Independence of the Seas by Vanita Redstar.

Our final photo this week is by Kendra Richard, and it is of Allure of the Seas docked in St. Thomas.

Thank you to everyone that sent in their photos this week and if you have Royal Caribbean photos, well, we want to see them!  You can use this form to send us your photos and we will feature them on an upcoming Friday Photos blog post!

Royal Caribbean signed a ten-year agreement with the Ministry of Tourism of Antigua and Barbuda that will increase the amount of cruise passengers that will visit the port, as well as development of the port facilities.

The Antigua Observer reports the agreement establishes a partnership between Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited and Global Ports Holding Plc.  Under the terms of the agreement, passenger volume will double and increase to 500,000 annually within five years.

The government release spells out specifics related to the exact numbers and timing, "The increase will commence annually upon completion of the fifth berth; throughout the summer months, a strategy to schedule at least 30,000 passengers, in addition to the regular winter schedule upon completion of the fifth berth; executives will travel to Antigua, to explore several locations, to potentially establish, invest and develop experiences to enhance the destination offerings; upon completion of the fifth berth, Royal Caribbean will schedule its Oasis class vessels to call regularly into Antigua. The Oasis class ships carry approximately 6,000 passengers and 2,100 crew members, making the Oasis Class Ships the largest in the world; an increase in Head Tax starting in October 2019; and Royal Caribbean will partner with the Antiguan government to develop job opportunities for Antiguans and Barbudans on their vessels."

Royal Caribbean International CEO Michael Bayley signed the agreement with Minister of Tourism, Investment and Economic Development, Charles Fernandez.

Spectrum of the Seas, Royal Caribbean's first Quantum Ultra class cruise ship, arrived in Hong Kong earlier today.

Royal Caribbean shared photos of the ship's arrival into the city.

Photos copyright Royal Caribbean International.

Visiting Royal Caribbean's Perfect Day at CocoCay soon? Looking for some good tips and helpful information before you arrive? We are sharing things that are great to know before your Royal Caribbean cruise stops at Perfect Day at CocoCay.

Do you have a Royal Caribbean vacation that includes a stop at Perfect Day at CocoCay in your future? If so, then you will want to find out all the cool things to know about Royal Caribbean’s private island — from things to do to things to eat! So pull up a hammock and join us in paradise today as we make a stop at Perfect Day at CoocCay!

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 video!

So check out the video and then let us know: what is your favorite thing to do at Perfect Day at CocoCay?

We are back with another RoyalCaribbeanBlog video, and we are talking about eight things people do on their Royal Caribbean cruises that make absolutely zero sense!

We are hoping that this topic helps you avoid doing some things during your cruise vacation that make no sense. These are mistakes that will impact your overall cruise experience and ensure you have a smoother vacation.

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 video!

So check out the video and then let us know: what is the best reason to go on a cruise?

Royal Caribbean International CEO Michael Bayley made comments recently that hint at what the cruise line has planned for its recent purchase of the Grand Lucaya resort in Freeport, Bahamas.

In March 2019, Royal Caribbean signed a letter of intent with the government of The Bahamas for the purchase of the Grand Lucayan resort and redevelopment of the Freeport Harbor.

Tribune 242 reports Michael Bayley spoke to members of the Bahamian press at an opening ceremony for Perfect Day at CocoCay, "telling members of the press his company was positioning itself to spearhead a multi-million dollar, multi-phased project on par with CocoCay in Freeport if negotiations with the government are successful."

Mr. Bailey went on to say, “Just the fact that we are going to redevelop those hotels and beach, that whole area, it is going to be in the hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars. The amount of work that will be underway to regenerate that destination, it is going to be a few years, hundreds of millions of dollars, massive project work, and I think the economic impact is going to huge.”

State Minister for Grand Bahama Kwasi Thompson said the joint venture between RCI and its investment partner, the ITM Group, will not only combine the redevelopment of the Freeport Harbor as a cruise port of choice but will also transform the Grand Lucayan resort into a theme park, featuring water-based family entertainment, with dining, gaming and entertainment options and five-star hotel accommodations.

The development will take place over a 24-month period, with $65 million of the purchase price for the Grand Lucayan Resort.

Mr. Bayley did note RCI’s full project specs could not be revealed publicly until a finished deal is worked out between the two sides, and there is another 30-40 days of negotiations remaining.