Royal Caribbean has posted some new photos that showcase the construction progress being made on Spectrum of the Seas
Spectrum of the Seas will be debuting in 2019. Spectrum of the Seas will be the cruise line's first Quantum Ultra class ship.
These photos were taken at the Meyer Werft ship yard in Papenburg, Germany. All photos are copyright Royal Caribbean International.
Happy Sunday and happy unofficial start to summer, as the Memorial Day weekend here in the United States marks the start of the season for many.
Some cruise fans may have made plans for summer 2019 when Royal Caribbean announced this week its 2019 Cuba and short Caribbean itineraries for Majesty of the Seas and Empress of the Seas.
The new sailings are available for booking now, and run from April 2019 through the end of December 2019.
Both ships will offer cruises to Cuba that include stops at ports of call all around the Western Caribbean and the Bahamas.
The 251st episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, which offers an overview of Royal Caribbean's Crown and Anchor Society.
In this episode, Matt talks about why you should join Royal Caribbean's customer loyalty program and what you get at each tier of benefits.
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.
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 – Full details about Perfect Day at CocoCay — and don’t forget to subscribe here.
Bloomberg is reporting Havana's cruise terminal will triple in size by 2024.
Touring Plans shared their ten favorite things to do in port on your own.
Skift reported on the closure of Royal Caribbean's tour venture.
WFLA wrote about Majesty of the Seas beginning her inaugural sailings from Tampa.
Cruise Law News reported on a power loss that occurred on Vision of the Seas.
Marine Industry News met with an eleven-year-old who has been chosen to help shape the future of cruise ships.
Royal Caribbean's Majesty of the Seas will skip a scheduled stop in Cozumel due to the effects of Tropical Storm Alberto.
Guests were informed of the change while onboard the ship by the Captain. Royal Caribbean Blog reader Paul Crow reported Majesty of the Seas will spend the night in Havana, Cuba, which is where she is currently docked.
Majesty of the Seas was scheduled to visit Cozumel on Saturday as part of a five night sailing from Tampa, Florida.
Tropical Storm Alberto is the first named storm of the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season, although the storm is not expected to become a hurricane.
Happy Memorial Day weekend! We're starting this weekend with our readers' favorite Royal Caribbean cruise photos. Each week we invite our readers to share their photos with us!
We begin wtih this photo of Oasis of the Seas, taken by Dennis E. Nichols while in Jetty Park at Port Canaveral.
Allyson Yoshida took this beautiful photo of Legend of the Seas anchored in the Bay of Kotor.
As many of you know, I am a sucker for sunset photos and we have a great one by Sara Hiller that was taken after leaving Labadee.
Marc vanNiekerk sent in this photo of the Pilot boat near Empress of the Seas, with Miami in the background.
Robert Boik shared this photo of Enchantment of the Seas docked in Key West.
Next is a photo of the Golden Gate Bridge, as seen from onboard Explorer of the Seas. Photo by Curt P.
Our final photo this week is by Darrell Mullen as he sailed away on Majesty of the Seas from Port Canaveral.
We want your Royal Caribbean photos too! Use this form to send us your favorite photos and we will include it in an upcoming blog post.
Royal Caribbean International's parent company announced today it is adopting a series of requirements for its poultry providers to meet when it comes to how they breed, raise and process poultry.
This announcement furthers the company's progress in its animal welfare sourcing program. Royal Caribbean has already committed itself to using cage-free eggs and gestation-crate free pork.
“Royal Caribbean takes seriously our responsibility to ensure improved animal welfare in our supply chain,” said Mike Jones, Senior Vice President, Supply Chain, Travel, Port Services and Workplace Solutions, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. “This is why we we’re working to transition to products like cage-free eggs and gestation stall-free pork. We are proud to now also move the needle when it comes to the poultry we purchase for our business.”
The company is extending these commitments to include comprehensive broiler chicken welfare policies. By 2024, in the United States, Royal Caribbean will responsibly purchase 100 percent of chickens from Global Animal Partnership (GAP) certified sources. RCL will require these chickens to be processed in a manner that avoids live-dumping and live-shackling, instead utilizing a pre-shackle, multi-step controlled atmosphere processing system that is widely known as more humane.
“Royal Caribbean shows yet again that doing good is part of doing well,” said Matthew Prescott, Senior Director of Food and Agriculture for The Humane Society of the United States. “Our partnership with the company dates back almost a decade, and we welcome this latest move to animal welfare.”
Royal Caribbean is offering up to 30% off certain Cruise Planner purchases during its Memorial Day Sale.
Offer applies to select sailings departing June 4, 2018 - December 15, 2018.
Guests can check which discounts, if any, are available for their upcoming sailing by visiting the Cruise Planner site. Keep in mind that not all sailings may see the sale applicable, nor are all offers significantly cheaper than previously posted.
To check if your sailing has this new offer available, log into the Cruise Planner on Royal Caribbean's web site to view any available offers.
If you spot a better discount on something you already pre-purchased, you should be able to cancel the purchase and then re-purchase the same item under this promotion.
Based on the countdown timer, the sale expires at midnight on Monday, May 28, 2018.
Amid the glitz and glamour of the mega announcement that Royal Caribbean will invest $200 million to upgrade its private destination of CocoCay in the Bahamas, it is easy to overlook some of the smaller details.
Sure, there will be incredible water slides, over the water cabanas, an impressive wave pool, and plenty of beach fun to go around, but scouring the various concept art, we came up with seven smaller details that are part of the plans for Perfect Day at CocoCay that we think are worth mentioning...and looking forward to trying out.
It is worth mentioning that we found these details by looking closely at artist renderings. This artwork may not necessarily represent what will actually be the final product, nor what may actually be something offered at CocoCay.
It is safe to say a lot of people are excited for Royal Caribbean to add a pier to CocoCay for the sole benefit of increasing the likelihood of being able to go to CocoCay. Tendering is dependent on ideal sea and wind conditions, which has resulted quite often in ships having to skip scheduled stops in CocoCay due to poor conditions.
While a pier makes it a whole lot easier to get to the island, anyone that has walked on a pier can tell you one thing that you quickly notice while walking down the pier is how hot it can get there. There is no shade, as it is often a concrete walkway in the middle of the shore.
Royal Caribbean appears to have remedied that issue by providing a covered pier walkway for guests to enjoy, which means less of that "surface of the sun" heat!
With all the excitement of Perfect Day at CocoCay, it is easy to overlook a new feature that is sure to be the focus of plenty of photos.
At the Arrival Plaza, there appears to be a geyser, or some other sort of water spouting semi-natural phenomena.
Up until now, Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas was the only place to try out the Tidal Wave water slide, which is a fun raft ride that features a Boomerang style slide.
CocoCay will offer its own Tidal Wave slide at the Family Tower area of Thrill Waterpark. It looks like Royal Caribbean will call it The Twister, and describes it as, "takes two riders down its winding tubes on a tandem raft."
Royal Caribbean made a name for itself years ago when it added rock climbing walls to its cruise ships. Back then, that was a revolutionary change. Now, all Royal Caribbean ships offer this signature activity and it appears CocoCay will take the idea one step further with a rock climbing wall... over water!
Thrill Waterpark will offer a rock climbing wall that is built over the pool, which means "falling off" is just as fun as going up!
Speaking of pool fun, there will be twin rope swings at Thrill Waterpark, where you will be able to practice your back flip/summersault combo.
The renderings appear to show two rope swings on either end of the pool.
You have heard of beach cabanas, bungalows and beds, but prepare yourself for beach teepees!
Located on South Beach, Royal Caribbean describes them simply by saying, "Kick back in your own beachfront glampsite."
South Beach will also be home to a new kind of activity, called zorbing.
Basically, you enter an inflatable zorb ball and, uhh...., zorb around! From what we understand from hours of scouring the internet, zorbing involves entering these giant inflatable balls in a hamster ball-like activity.
Which of these under the radar activities are you most excited about? Is there something else you spotted in the artist renderings worth mentioning? Let's talk about it in the comments for this post!
Royal Caribbean started its Memorial Day Sale, with 50% off the second guest, kids sail free on select sailings and up to $150 instant bonus savings.
Memorial Day Sale cruise must be booked between 5/24/18 – 5/29/18 and applies to select sailings departing on or after 6/24/18.
It includes:
Offer is combinable with select promotions.
Offer open to residents of US, Canada, Puerto Rico and select countries in the Caribbean.
In recent years, Royal Caribbean has begun offering water slides on select Royal Caribbean ships and that has a lot of families excited to race down them.
If you are wondering which Royal Caribbean ships offer water slides and what types of slides are offered, here is an overview of everything you need to know.
While Royal Caribbean has been adding water slides to existing and new new ships, much of the fleet still does not have them yet. Here is a list of which Royal Caribbean ships do offer water slides onboard.
Royal Caribbean's Radiance Class ships offer a single water slide for children on the back of the ship that is meant for younger kids. This includes
Majesty of the Seas does not have a full water slide, but its Splashaway Bay area (children's aquatic park) has a small water slide for kids to enjoy.
The most common type of water slide is something Royal Caribbean refers to as The Perfect Storm slides. This is typically two racer water slides that intertwine and offer a fast-paced plunge down.
In addition to the racer slides, Harmony of the Seas and Symphony of the Seas offer a champagne bowl slide known as "Supercell". This slide starts off as a typical water slide, but guests enter a large bowl area, where they can loop around a few times before exiting the slide.
Liberty of the Seas is the only ship in the fleet to offer the Tidal Wave slide, which is a boomerang style raft slide.
Navigator of the Seas also has a unique assortment of water slides.
The Blaster, the cruise line’s first-ever aqua coaster and the longest waterslide at sea, is a two-person raft that propels riders through more than 800 feet of hills, drops and straightaways, which includes extending over the side of the ship for a rush of ocean air.
Riptide offers a headfirst plunge down the industry’s only headfirst mat racer and reach an exhilarating finish through a translucent tube with endless ocean views.
As mentioned earlier, Radiance Class ships offer a small water slide for younger children that includes a small splash area at the end.
In order to ride any of Royal Caribbean's water slides, there are a few restrictions you should be aware of to ensure you can ride.
The Tidal Wave slide on Liberty of the Seas has a max per passenger weight of 250 pounds, and a combined raft weight of 450 pounds. Guests need to be at least 100 pounds and 52 inches tall to ride.
The Perfect Storm water slides require guests to be 48 inches tall to ride. There are weight maximums as well, which seem to vary depending on the ship. On Liberty of the Seas, guests may weigh a maximum of 300 pounds. On Adventure of the Seas, guests may not weigh more than 250 and 220 pounds (depending on the slide).
Splashaway Bay's water slides require kids to be at least 42 inches to ride.
On Radiance Class ships, children under the height 46 inches must be accompanied by an adult.
Guests may enjoy all of the water slides across Royal Caribbean's fleet of ships without any additional cost.
Labadee, Royal Caribbean's private destination in Haiti, offers guests the opportunity to race down the Dragon's Splash Waterslide. It features a 300-foot slide that drops you into a 18-foot splash zone.
This slide has an additional cost to it, where you can purchase a single ride down the slide or an all day pass.
Royal Caribbean's Perfect Day at CocoCay includes Thrill Waterpark, where for an additional fee, guests can enjoy a wide variety of water slides.
There are 13 slides in total (with five kid-size water slides), which is the most slides found in any waterpark in the Caribbean.
Key features of the Thrill Waterpark include:
Lines for the water slides are to be expected, but you can beat the crowds if you are flexible in your time. Check the Cruise Compass for exact times of operation, but try to ride the water slides in the morning when they first open and/or in the evening when many guests are having dinner.
Both of these times will result in much shorter lines. The late-morning and afternoon are the peak times for the water slides, so expect a longer wait if you want to ride during those times.
On the racer slides, if you have a need for speed, here is how to go down the fastest.
The secret to going down the racer slides the fastest is to wear as little clothing as possible. Clothing means friction between you and the slide. Rash guards, t-shirts and "ornate" bathing suits are all the kind of swim wear that will slow you down.
Regardless of what you may think of them, Speedo swimsuits for men are the ideal bathing suit for attaining top speed on the racer water slides.
Of course, be sure to cross your arms and and legs to get maximum velocity.
Great news, Episode 251 of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available for your listening pleasure.
This week, Matt explains what Royal Caribbean's Crown and Anchor Society is and why you might want to join. Royal Caribbean's customer loyalty program offers guests a lot of rewards and opportunities and this week's episode is an introduction into what Crown and Anchor Society is all about.
We also have a lot of your emails, voicemails and messages to share with everyone.
Here’s the podcast page for Episode 251. And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast via RSS 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!