Matt shares advice for anyone that's new to cruising or just Royal Caribbean and how to get started.
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Royal Caribbean has been quiet on just about every detail of its new Icon Class cruise ships, but we now know she'll start cruising first in the UK.
The cruise line has reveled very few details about the ship, but it sounds like more information will be revealed sooner than later.
Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley confirmed when Icon of the Seas debuts, she will sail from the UK at the start of her career.
Speaking to TTG Media, Mr. Bayley emphasized how important the UK cruise market is by mentioning Icon of the Seas will sail from Southampton.
"I promise you will bring Icon of the seas into Southampton. The UK will be the first country and market that we will bring this incredible ship into [when it launches] in ’23."
This is not the first time a new Royal Caribbean cruise ship went to the UK first, before heading to the United States after.
Harmony of the Seas was the last Royal Caribbean cruise ship to do so. She started off with a series of short getaways to Northern Europe from Southampton, followed by cruises from Barcelona before heading to the United States shortly thereafter.
Royal Caribbean opted not to send Symphony of the Seas to the UK when she debuted because Harmony was poorly received by the British press.
Mr. Bayley went on to talk about just how impressed he is with Icon while not divulging any additional details, "This ship is unbelievable."
"What's fascinating about Icon is the sheer scale of the product."
He talked about the fact details of the new ship have been shared internally at a closed-door event in Miami recently among key marketing and sales and revenue people. This could point to more information coming soon.
Mr. Bayley also said Royal Caribbean is working out details for timing of an event in New York later this year to announce more information.
Last month, Royal Caribbean Senior Vice President and Chief Product Innovation Officer Jay Schneider said the public can expect to get more details on Icon between April or May.
It looks like Royal Caribbean's sixth Oasis Class cruise ship has a name.
At a steel cutting ceremony in Saint-Nazaire, France, the shipyard revealed the name of the next new Oasis Class cruise ship will be Utopia of the Seas and marked the official start of construction by cutting the first piece of steel.
The name Utopia of the Seas was trademarked in December 2021 among 23 other possible cruise ship names.
Photos by Véronique Savard
The order for the ship was originally placed with the shipyard in February 2019. Delivery is scheduled for the end of May 2024.
It will be 362 m long, with about 2,800 cabins. That is 50 less cabins because of the space that is needed to install the LNG tanks.
It is not yet known where Utopia of the Seas will sail from, nor what itineraries she will visit.
Do you like the name Utopia of the Seas? Share your thoughts on the name in the comments!
Royal Caribbean will keep a cruise ship based on the west coast of the United States for another season.
Royal Caribbean returned to offering cruises from Los Angeles in 2021 after more than a decade away from the region.
Navigator of the Seas will remain homeported from Los Angeles from Spring 2023 through early 2024.
The plan is to have Navigator of the Seas offer primarily 3- and 4-night cruises from Los Angeles, with scattered 7-night cruises down the Mexican Riviera.
The new sailings are available to book immediately.
Just like the cruises in 2021-2022, Navigator of the Seas will depart from Los Angeles' World Cruise Center in San Pedro.
If you've never taken a cruise on the west coast, you'll find a side of Mexico that's very different from Cozumel.
Cruises to the Mexican Riviera are known for a wide variety of things to do, including scuba diving, kayaking, days at the beach, and amazing food.
Just over the border from the United States, Ensenada is known for fishing and shopping.
It's also famous for a natural geyser, known as La Bufadora, where you can go to see and hear this natural wonder.
If you like more of a party vibe, check out Hussong's Cantina. This is the oldest and best known cantina in Baja California, Mexico. It's famous for being reputedly the place where the Margarita was created.
You'll also find a number of wineries in the area that you can tour and sample the local wines.
Across the bay from Los Angeles is a popular day spot for tourists, where you'll find shopping and restaurants to enjoy.
If you're looking for fun in the ocean, scuba diving is great at Catalina because of the clear waters.
Another popular activity is to rent a golf cart and explore the island on your own. You can take the cart around to visit different spots, like Descanso Beach or the Catalina Casino.
You'll find a 10-mile long seaside promenade in Mazatlan, where you can sample some great Mexican cuisine.
There's also the "old town" area of Mazatlan known as Plaza Republica, which has a number of historic sites from the cities origins.
Mazatlan has plenty of lovely beaches in the area, which is perfect for surfing, scuba diving, or just relaxing in the ocean.
You will find some of the best food in Western Mexico in Puerto Vallarta, which is great for foodies. El Centro, which is the name of the downtown region, features churches with charming colonial detail.
The beaches are a major draw in Puerto Vallarta that offer all sorts of activities.
You'll take a tender into town where you can choose from golf, swimming, or zip-lining.
Whale watching is a hot activity in Cabo, as humpback whales migrate to the area from December through April.
The construction of Royal Caribbean's first Icon Class cruise ship reached an important milestone this week when the keel was laid for Icon of the Seas.
At a ceremony held at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland, the official start of construction was celebrated.
Icon of the Seas will be the first of three Icon Class cruise ships, which the cruise line says will have a bold new design. The cruise line has not yet released details on what the new ship looks like, or any of the features onboard.
Royal Caribbean Group President and CEO Jason Liberty was joined by Chairman Richard Fain, along with Meyer Turku senior executives and teams on Tuesday for the keel-laying.
The ship's keel is the first block, and it is maritime tradition to commemorate this phase of a new ship construction. Icon's first block required a 3,000-ton crane lifting the block into place on top of freshly minted coins, which represent the shipyard and cruise line.
The coins are meant to bring luck during construction, and they will be retrieved and given to Icon’s captain and crew before setting sail.
Royal Caribbean President and CEO Michael Bayley shared his excitement for the new ship, "Five years ago, we began dreaming of Icon of the Seas, and now the next phase of this iconic adventure is beginning."
"As this game-changing ship takes shape, the excitement from families and travelers alike, travel advisors and our partners continues to build. Later this year, we’ll reveal the lineup of firsts and favorites that will set a new standard for vacations come fall 2023."
Icon of the Seas will be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG).
It's expected we will get more information on Icon of the Seas' deployment and ship details beginning later this spring.
Read more: A look at Royal Caribbean's plans now that cruises are back
It's official, you'll be able to serve yourself at the buffet on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship again.
Royal Caribbean confirmed to RoyalCaribbeanBlog that beginning with cruises that departed on or after April 2, 2022, guests can serve themselves instead of crew members doing so at the buffet locations.
The statement added that while guests can serve themselves, the cruise line will still offer single-serve foods that do not require passengers to handle any serving utensils.
"On cruises departing on or after April 2, 2022, Royal Caribbean International will bring back self-service dining in guest-favorite venues on board, including the Windjammer Marketplace, Solarium Bistro, and at private destinations."
"Grab-and-go dishes and single serving portions will continue as a permanent offering – they have become popular options, and keeping them is among the top requests from our guests."
Photos by Matt Rearick on Symphony of the Seas
It looked like Royal Caribbean had made the change almost two weeks earlier when select cruise ships start seeing self-service resume in the Windjammer, but Royal Caribbean said that was a one-off test.
They've now decided to go with the self-service buffet.
Having crew members serve passengers instead of guests was one of the early changes cruise lines made during the Covid-19 pandemic in order to limit the spread from person to person.
Crew members handled the serving tongs or serving spoons and would place the food on the guest's plate.
The buffet serving change is one of many changes Royal Caribbean has made following the cruise line joining the CDC's voluntary Covid-19 monitoring program and electing to join the "highly vaccinated" program.
Drink stations were already changed to self-service earlier this year, where passengers could grab coffee, water, and juice.
While Royal Caribbean has changed to self-service just now, other cruise lines had already done so prior to this.
Carnival Cruise Line had self-service buffets back in July 2021.
Disney Cruise Line said that as of April 1, their ships would resume self-service buffets.
In checking the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) operations manual for cruise ships sailing in the U.S., the rules for how food can be served has changed to be up to the cruise line.
According to the CDC, "food and beverage stations may be operated as self-service at the cruise operator’s discretion."
Cruise lines must encourage distancing through physical guides to direct the flow of passengers, provide signage for social distancing, and provide an appropriate number of staff to monitor distancing.
In addition, cruise lines must provide hand sanitizer at the entrances to food and beverage stations, ensure adequate supply of high-touch materials (serving spoons, tongs, etc.) to minimize sharing of the utensil by many guests, limit seat capacity at the buffet, and install physical barriers where it is difficult for guests to maintain a proper physical distance.
Two major cruise lines have raised their daily gratuities this year, which could be an indicator of what Royal Caribbean may do as well.
CruiseRadio reported Carnival Cruise Line will raise its gratuity beginning on sailings that depart May 1, 2022.
The new gratuity rate for Carnival will be as follows:
Carnival will allow anyone with a cruise booked right now to lock in the old gratuity rate if they prepay gratuities before May 1, 2022. Cruises booked after May 1 will be subject to the new rate.
According to Carnival, 100% of gratuities are distributed to the crew members, such as stateroom attendants, dining and culinary services staff, as well as others who work behind the scenes.
Carnival's change comes just weeks after Norwegian Cruise Line announced they would increase the daily gratuities.
As of April 1st, NCL increased their gratuity amount as follows:
NCL says their gratuities compensate crew members in tandem with a salary for crew members such as complimentary restaurant staff, stateroom stewards and behind-the-scenes support staff.
With two of Royal Caribbean's biggest competitors changing the daily gratuity amounts, Royal Caribbean cruisers may be wondering if a change is coming soon for them as well.
Royal Caribbean hasn't touched their gratuity rate since the end of 2017, when they announced a change to the gratuity to begin in 2018.
The current gratuity for Royal Caribbean is: $14.50 per guest per day in non-suites. For guests in a Grand Suite or above, the amount is $17.50.
Just like the other cruise lines, the daily gratuity is shared among dining, bar & culinary services staff, stateroom attendants and other hotel services teams who work behind the scenes.
Read more: Should you prepay gratuities for a Royal Caribbean cruise?
Royal Caribbean has not announced or said anything about changing the gratuity rates, but it's not unusual from a historical perspective for cruise lines to match each other with changes like this.
When Royal Caribbean announced a change in gratuity in 2017, they mentioned keeping up with other cruise lines, "Royal Caribbean is constantly reviewing our competitive environment and this adjustment positions us in-line with our competitors. The additional gratuity collected will be disbursed to our onboard crew".
The good news is Royal Caribbean has in the past done exactly what Carnival is doing now, by offering passengers booked with an existing reservation to lock in the old rate if they pre-pay before the new rate goes into effect.
There are a handful of cruise tips that are so important, I feel everyone should follow them, and anyone who went on a cruise this weekend was likely reminded of how critical they are.
Thanks to severe weather, technical issues, and air traffic control problems, it was a messy weekend for flying to Florida.
Over 3,500 flights were cancelled this past weekend, including a lot on Sunday on JetBlue and Southwest. JetBlue cancelled 25% of its schedule on Sunday, and 15% cancelled on Saturday. Southwest cancelled more than 500 flights on Saturday and almost 400 on Sunday due to the bad weather. Flights on American Airlines, Spirit, and Allegiant Airlines all saw their fair share of cancellations as well.
Regardless of your airline, Orlando and Miami International airports were the top two airports in the world by origin and destination to see flights cancelled and delayed on Sunday.
In light of all the recent delays and cancellations, this is a good opportunity to remind everyone of three core planning tips for your cruise that everyone should consider.
In short, flying to your cruise ship the same day the ship embarks passengers is playing with fire.
You've spent a lot of time and money planning your perfect cruise vacation, so why let a cancelled flight or delay possibly jeopardize your plans?
Flying in the same day of your cruise leaves very few options if something like what happened this past weekend were to occur. Remember, this happened in early April, which is not even hurricane season.
The smart move is to fly in at least one day before your cruise is set to depart, and this includes anyone driving to their cruise ship.
Coming in at least one day early gives you a buffer against any flight delays or cancellations impacting your ability to get onboard the ship.
Yes, this means paying for a hotel, but peace of mind is worth something, and losing money on your vacation because you didn't want to spend a little extra for a night at the Holiday Inn Express seems like a worthwhile expense.
As a nice side effect, coming into your city early also starts your vacation a little sooner!
The truth about any type of insurance is it's likely money spent for something you won't need, but if you do need it, it feels great having it.
Travel insurance covers a lot of costs if you were to find yourself in a scenario where your travel plans prohibited you from making the cruise.
As we move away from the Cruise with Confidence program and the ability to cancel at the very last minute, having a good travel insurance policy makes a lot of sense once again.
If your flight gets delayed or cancelled and you are unable to make the cruise, travel insurance pays you back for the cruise you missed, along with incidental costs along the way.
Depending on your age, residency, and exact plan you pick, the costs will vary, but figure on spending around $100-170 per person for travel insurance.
Ask your travel agent for suggestions, but here are a few popular travel insurance providers:
There are also a few travel insurance comparison websites out there, such as Insure My Trip or SquareMouth.
There is no more frustrating endeavor right now than trying to call Royal Caribbean due to their extremely long hold times.
If a delay means your cruise plans are in trouble, the last thing you want to do is spend an hour or more on hold waiting for someone at Royal Caribbean to answer. While I love cruising with Royal Caribbean, their phone centers have been inundated with calls recently, and that's lead to very long hold times.
The way around this problem is to book your cruise with a good travel agent.
Anyone can book a cruise, but a good travel agent is worth using every time for everything that occurs after booking.
And no, a good travel agent should not cost you anything extra to use their services for booking and managing your cruise fare reservation.
In a situation where you are not going to make the cruise, or find yourself stuck in a connecting airport, a good travel agent can be a lifesaver in getting you answers and resolutions.
While a good travel agent can't magically make your flight on time, they can save your sanity as you explore other options.
Read more: Top 5 things to look for in a good travel agent for your cruise vacation
They say April showers brings May flowers, but Sundays bring you a round-up of all of this week's Royal Caribbean news!
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) removed its travel warning against going on a cruise ship this week.
The federal agency dropped its risk advisory all together for cruise ships, thanks largely to the industry's steadfast dedication to effective health protocols.
The change was celebrated by the cruise industry, who see this as a major change to level the playing field between cruise ships and other forms of leisure travel.
The 448th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, sharing Deb's review of her Harmony of the Seas cruise.
In this episode, Deb talks about her first cruise back since cruising restarted in 2021, and how her experience went while exploring Harmony.
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 — Oceanview vs Balcony cabin on a cruise ship — and don’t forget to subscribe here.
Ever thought about trying Royal Caribbean's largest cruise ships, the Oasis Class?
Not only are Oasis Class cruise ships the largest in the world, but they stand out for just how much you can do onboard, with seemingly endless activities, dining options, and entertainment.
There are five Oasis Class ships in the fleet, with a sixth coming soon. Here's what to expect on these mega ships.
If you ever spend the money to stay in a Star Class suite, the Royal Genie is going to be your top benefit. Maximizing the value of your genie can make a big difference in the cruise.
Every Genie has their own approach to the position, and having tried Star Class twice, I've found there to be a bit of a learning curve to getting the most out of the experience.
I wanted to share my best advice for someone trying a Star Class suite for the first time.
With spring here, that means warmer temperatures and changes across Royal Caribbean's fleet in the month of April.
Whether you are sailing on a spring break cruise, or taking a transatlantic to Europe, I wanted to share the important things to know about taking a Royal Caribbean cruise in April.
In-between all the cruise news of this week, there's other tidbits of changes and news to share beyond the major headlines.
There's plenty of other changes and developments you should be aware of from this past week, so here's a look at a few of them that you should know about.
If you ever have a news tip, feel free to email it to [email protected] for possible inclusion in a future update!
The big cruise news this week was when the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) took down its warning against going on a cruise ship due to Covid-19.
In a nutshell, the CDC eliminated its travel warning of contracting Covid-19 on a cruise ship. The warning had been in place for two years.
Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley shared his thoughts on the change during a panel at the Cruise360 conference this week.
Cruise360 is an annual travel agent conference, and Mr. Bayley was speaking on a panel when the topic came up.
As you might imagine, Mr. Bayley was quite happy with the warning being removed, "This is great news. The fact that they removed the warning is a very positive step for our industry."
"We’ve been on a very long journey with the CDC."
"Now when a consumer wants to find out about COVID-19 on cruise ships, they can go to the CDC’s websites and get the facts without being scared away by a warning."
Royal Caribbean added Radiance of the Seas to Royal Caribbean's app, which means now every ship in the fleet has app support.
Ever since Royal Caribbean's app debuted, the company has systematically been adding app support to each ship. Since 2021, more ships have gotten app support correlating to restart plans.
Getting emuster and check-in support necessitated having the app ready for when a ship would start sailing again.
Read more: Royal Caribbean app walkthrough and tips
When Royal Caribbean announced its Alaska cruise health protocols, it noted passengers will need to use the ArriveCAN app for all sailings from Seattle, Seward and Vancouver.
All travelers to Canada, or their legal guardians, must download the ArriveCAN app or complete the mandatory travel information via the ArriveCAN website prior to your entry into Canada.
In the 2.27.2 update to ArriveCAN, the app now supports "marine travelers".
According to the app update, cruisers can enter their date and time of embarkation from their country of origin no earlier than 72 hours prior to departure. In addition, cruisers can make ArriveCAN submissions 30 days prior to arrival.
The ArriveCAN app can be downloaded on the Apple App Store or Google Play.
