Royal Caribbean Blog

Royal Caribbean is offering 60% off second guest, kids sail free and up to $450 instant savings on cruises booked this weekend.

The Dive Into Deals sale runs between February 21 - 23, 2020 and is valid on select sailings departing on or after March 21, 2020.

It includes:

• Instant savings of up to $300 USD per stateroom 
  • Sailings 5 nights or less, $50 savings for Interior and Ocean View, $75 for Balconies and $150 for Suites
  • Sailings 6 nights or longer, $75 savings for Interior and Ocean View, $100 for Balconies and $300 for Suites
• BOGO60 provides 60% savings off the price of cruise fare of the second guest booked in the same stateroom as first, full-fare paying guest.
  • BOGO60 also provides 30% cruise fare savings for third guests and higher booked in the same stateroom as the first two qualifying guests. BOGO60 savings applied to cruise fare at checkout.  
  • In addition, BOGO60 offers up to $150 instant savings per stateroom on select sailings. Instant 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 $75 for Suites
    • Sailing 6 nights or longer, $50 savings for Interior and Ocean View, $75 for Balconies and $150 for Suites.
    • Instant savings do not apply to China departures. 
• Alaska Kicker
  • Applies to new bookings made between February 1 – March 3, 2020.
  • Alaska Kicker applies to select sailings departing between May 15, 2020 - September 11, 2020 on Ovation of the Seas, Radiance of the Seas and Serenade of the Seas.
  • $25 savings for Interior and Ocean View, $50 for Balconies and $100 for Suites.
• Kids Sail Free applies to new bookings made between February 12, 2020 – March 31, 2020.
  • Kids Sail Free provides free cruise fare for 3rd guests and higher who are 12 years old or younger as of cruise departure date, booked in the same stateroom as the first two qualifying guests in a triple of quad-occupancy stateroom.
  • Kids Sail Free applies to select 4-night or longer Alaska, Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada, Caribbean, CaribNE, Coastal, Europe, Hawaii, Repositioning and all 2020 Serenade of the Seas sailings departing between March 1, 2020 – December 17, 2020 and January 8, 2021 – May 17, 2021.
  • Offer excludes 2020 President’s Day sailings (Sailings between February 14 – 17, 2020), 2020 Spring Break sailings (Sailings between March 14 – 23, 2020), 2020 Holy Week/Easter sailings (Sailings between April 3 – 17, 2020), Peak Summer (Sailings between May 15 – August 31, 2020), 2020 Thanksgiving sailings (Sailings between November 21 - 28, 2020), 2021 President’s Day Sailings (Sailings between February 12 – 15, 2021), and 2021 Spring Break and Easter sailings (Sailings between March 13 – April 4, 2021).
  • Taxes, fees, and port expenses are additional and apply to all guests.

BOGO60, Kids Sail Free and Alaska Kicker are combinable with each other as well as 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. Dive into Deals Sale is combinable with BOGO60, Kids Sail Free and Alaska Kicker as well as with promotional OBCs, NextCruise offers, Instant Savings, restricted discounts (for example, Seniors, Residents, Military), Promo Code driven offers Free Upgrades and Shareholder Benefits but not combinable with Crown and Anchor discounts. Offer 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, and 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 is known for building some of the world's largest cruise ships in the world, so I have a look at the top 10 biggest ships in Royal Caribbean's fleet today and in the future!

Size is not everything, but it sure is impressive! Our newest video has a ranking of the largest Royal Caribbean ships based on gross tonnage.

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: Which of these big ships is your favorite? 

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

Episode 342 is available for downloading, which focuses on one aspect of the cruise experience many of us can use some improvement with... packing!

Matt shares what you absolutely need to pack on a Royal Caribbean cruise.

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 342. 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!

The highly anticipated next release of new Royal Caribbean sailings for May 2021 - April 2022 has been pushed back a couple weeks.

Royal Caribbean has shared a new schedule of when the new sailings will go on sale.

• Week of March 9, 2020: China – Phase 2
• Week of March 9, 2020: Short Caribbean
• Week of March 16. 2020: Australia
• Week of March 23, 2020: China – Phase 3
• Week of March 30, 2020: Singapore & Transpacifics

Essentially, China Phase 2 and Short Caribbean will now both be released the week of March 9, instead of the week of Week of February 24 and March 2, respectively.

These 2021-2022 sailings are in addition to the ones that were released in November & December 2019.

All itineraries and openings are subject to change without notice. 

Deployment schedules gives consumers an idea of when to expect particular cruise schedules to become available to start looking at future cruises.

Has it been a few years since your last Royal Caribbean cruise?

If so, welcome back! This video is all about sharing some of the big changes Royal Caribbean has made in the last couple years that ought to get you up to speed on where things stand today.

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's the most exciting change to happen on Royal Caribbean in the last few years?

Royal Caribbean is quietly testing a brand new family activity that could be coming to a cruise ship near you soon.

The Steel Pan Family Jam is being tested on select ships, that allows families to learn how to play the steel drums while on their cruise.

Royal Caribbean's Senior Vice President of Entertainment, Nick Weir, shared a video of one of these lessons and mentioned it is in pilot mode, but "will go fleetwide soon."

A new activity we are working on, (& quietly piloting on select ships). This will go fleetwide soon. It’s the perfect family activity, and a great addition to our award winning #AdventureOcean programming. The #SteelPanFamilyJam combines #LiveMusic, #TheCaribbean and our #Guests! pic.twitter.com/39Ucq9yZT4

— Nick Weir (@NickWeirShowbiz) February 12, 2020

In addition, the cruise line filed a trademark for the "Steel Pan Family Jam" name with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Royal Caribbean added a mini steel drum set to the bar area of the Lime & Coconut on Oasis of the Seas, with example sheet music. This was offered without musical instruction.

Is this an activity you want to try on a Royal Caribbean cruise?

Happy Sunday and we hope you had a great week. It was a busy week of Royal Caribbean fun, and we have a round-up of all of it in this hand-dandy blog post.

After weeks of news related to the coronavirus and its impact on canceled cruises, lower revenue, and fear among guests, we got a positive out of it when Royal Caribbean announced it will move Spectrum of the Seas to Australia and offer free cruises to first responders there.

The free cruises are a gesture to thank the humanitarian efforts put forth to combat the wildfires.

Spectrum of the Seas will travel to Australia and be deployed on complimentary cruises sailing from Sydney in support of Australia's first responder community, who worked tirelessly over many weeks of the bush fire crisis.

Royal Caribbean News

• The first Royal Beach Club in Antigua is officially go for construction.
• Royal Caribbean lifted the ban on Chinese passport holders due to coronavirus.
• Royal Caribbean issued earnings guidance on how coronavirus is impacting its bottom line.
• Eight things you should know about the Coco Beach Club.
• Our newest video shares 12 things you can only find on Royal Caribbean.
• In case you are wondering, how early can I board my Royal Caribbean cruise?
• Our list of the things you should book before they sell out later.
• 8 tips for your first Royal Caribbean cruise.
• You can now book a NextCruise certificate from Royal Caribbean's app.
• Here is a list of Royal Caribbean's travel partners of the year in 2019.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 341st episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available and this week, Matt answers emails our listeners have sent in.

This week's podcast episode is dedicated to you, as Matt doubles down on listener emails to answer as many as he can on this week's episode.

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: 10 Things People Don't Realize About Royal Caribbean's Alcohol Package

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 — 10 Things People Don't Realize About Royal Caribbean's Alcohol Package — and don’t forget to subscribe here.

In light of the ongoing Coronavirus issues in China, Royal Caribbean has announced it will move Spectrum of the Seas to Australia as a gesture to thank the humanitarian efforts put forth to combat the wildfires.

Spectrum of the Seas will travel to Australia and be deployed on complimentary cruises sailing from Sydney in support of Australia's first responder community, who worked tirelessly over many weeks of the bush fire crisis.

"We are in a fortunate position to offer these brave and selfless members of the Australian community the opportunity to join us for a few days and let them relax and unwind in the company of other volunteers and first responders," said Michael Bayley, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International. "By welcoming and accommodating them aboard Spectrum of the Seas, we hope to recognize their contribution and offer them our hospitality."

Bayley made it clear Spectrum of the Seas has not been in China for more than two weeks, which makes the ship safe from possibly transporting Coronavirus.

Royal Caribbean intends to also thank those that are currently combating the spread of Coronavirus. When the situation in China improves, as it relates to Coronavirus, Royal Caribbean International will dedicate a ship in China to a series of complimentary sailings to thank first responders and medical personnel for their heroic efforts to defeat the virus.

Further details of the cruises will be shared as final itineraries are developed.

Happy Valentine's Day! We are showing the love by sharing our readers' favorite Royal Caribbean cruise photos with all of you.

Our first photo this week is by Jarrod Quantrelle, and it is of Voyager of the Seas docked in Sydney, Australia.

Michael Kho shared this photo of just another lovely sunset at sea.

Here is another photo from Australia, this one of Ovation of the Seas in Sydney. Photo by Don L.

Shanna took this photo from her day at Perfect Day at CocoCay.

Jim Bonaventura sent in this photo of Symphony of the Seas sailing into the sunset near Cozumel.

Check out this photo from Perfect Day at CocoCay by Nicole Waite.

Our final photo this week is by Matthew Carr, and it is of Mariner of the Seas pool deck during sunset.

Thank you to everyone for sharing photos.  You can submit your own questions by using this handy dandy form.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. officially commented on the Coronavirus situation, and how it is impacting the company's bottom line.

Thus far, a total of 18 sailings have been canceled, along with several other modified itineraries.

Taken together, these measures have an estimated impact on the company's financial performance for 2020 of approximately $0.65 per share.  

Royal Caribbean also provided a financial performance forecast if they were to cancel all of its remaining sailings in Asia through the end of April, which would impact 2020 financial performance by an additional $0.55 per share.  Canceling the remaining sailings in Asia through the end of April is not currently planned.

"It is important that every organization acts responsibly, and we have already taken aggressive steps to minimize risk through boarding restrictions and itinerary changes," said Richard D. Fain, chairman and CEO.  "Our shipboard and shoreside teams have been working tirelessly through these circumstances and I want to thank them for all of their extraordinary efforts. We appreciate our responsibility to our guests and to each other, and our focus on public health is unwavering."

Mr. Fain also mentioned that while the early impact due to concerns about the Coronavirus is mainly related to Asia, recent bookings for our broader business have also been softer.

If the travel restrictions and concerns over the outbreak continue for an extended period of time, they could materially impact the company's overall financial performance.