Royal Caribbean has emailed guests with sailings to CocoCay on or after May 2019 to let them know that the Perfect Day at CocoCay changeover is coming soon.

The cruise line has also began opening up bookings for some of the new activities and features coming to Perfect Day at CocoCay, which provides our first look at pricing. Thanks to Royal Caribbean Blog reader Kayla Hildebrandt for providing screenshots.

The email to guests indicated that May 2019 appears to be the date the cruise line is eyeing for the official opening and changeover.

It appears the booking options are available for select sailings with stops in Perfect Day at CocoCay that are at least in May 2019.

Perfect Day at CocoCay will open in phases and is a $200 million upgrade to the private island. 

The first aspect of Perfect Day at CocoCay is scheduled to open in September 2018 when the new pier is completed. Chill Island and Oasis Lagoon are planned for November 2018, while Thrill Waterpark and South Beach debut in April 2019.

The official Perfect Day at CocoCay Grand Opening, which will include CocoBeach Club and the Overwater Cabanas, is set for November 2019.

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!

Our first photo is by Angeline and it is the view from her Boardwalk Balcony stateroom on Allure of the Seas, while docked in St. Maarten.

Next up is a photo by Lisa from Pennsylvania, of Independence of the Seas as seen from the deck of Freedom of the Seas.

Leah Eden shared this photo from her Boardwalk Balcony on Harmony of the Seas, assuring anyone who wondered if this type of stateroom is a good choice or not that it is indeed, wonderful.

Here is a photo from Labadee, taken by Jared Murphy.

Here is Navigator of the Seas docked at the Manhatttan Cruise Terminal, as seen from The High line by Ken Jansen.

Kimberly Brown took this photo of Chops Grille on Oasis of the Seas.

Our final photo is by Jodi S. and it is of a terrific sunset in Cozumel, with some "other ships" docked in the foreground.  

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's newest cruise ship, Symphony of the Seas, is certainly an impressive and spectacular cruise ship with a ton to offer.  Just how impressive, you ask?  Check out these two brand new infographics to get a sense of just how much Royal Caribbean has packed into this amazing new ship.

Royal Caribbean's June sales offer begins today, with 50% off the second guest, kids sail for less and a bonus for cruises booked during the first week of the month.

The Splash & Save offer is valid on cruises booked between June 1- 4, 2018 on sailings departing on or after July 1, 2018.

The offer includes:

• 50% off cruise fare of second guest booked in the same stateroom as first full-fare paying guest.
• 25% off cruise fare for third guests and higher booked in the same stateroom as the first two qualified guests
• Splash & Save Sale offers instant savings of up to $100 per stateroom 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
  • Sailings 6 nights or longer
    • $50 savings for Interior and Ocean View
    • $75 for Balconies and $100 for Suites
• Deck the Holiday Deals
  • Valid on sailings between December 17, 2018 - January 1, 2019 and sailing between December 19, 2019 - December 31, 2019
  • Instant savings of up to $150 per stateroom determined by category booked and sailing length:
    • Sailings 5 nights or less
      • $50 savings for Interior and Ocean View
      • $75 for Balconies
      • $75 for Suites
    • Sailing 6 nights or longer
      • $50 savings for Interior and Ocean View
      • $100 for Balconies
      • $150 for Suites

BOGO and Deck the Holiday Deals are combinable with each other as well as with Splash & Save Sale, NRBD OBC, promotional OBCs, NextCruise offers, Instant Savings, restricted discounts (for example, Seniors, Residents, Military), Crown and Anchor discounts and Shareholder Benefits. Splash & Save Sale is combinable with NRDB OBC, OBC, instant savings, NextCruise offers, restricted discounts (for example, Senior, Resident, Military) but not combinable with Shareholder benefits and Crown and Anchor discounts. All 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.

Instant savings do not apply to China departures.

Offer available to residents of United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and select countries in the Caribbean. 

Summer vacation is right around the corner and we are kicking off the summer season with another Royal Caribbean Blog Video, where we are sharing 19 things you (probably) didn't know you could do on a Royal Caribbean cruise!

There are certain things you can count on doing on pretty much any Royal Caribbean cruise, such as lounging by the pool, enjoying some fabulous evening entertainment and eating some tasty food.  What you may not have been aware of is Royal Caribbean offers a lot more experiences that are not only incredibly fun, but also surprising that it is available on a cruise ship.

Did you know you could meet your favorite DreamWorks characters, take a tour of the bridge and galley, go zip lining on your ship or try an escape room?  We will tell you about all of those things, plus another 15 more really cool and fun activities you can do in our latest YouTube 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 episode!

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

Episode 252 is available for downloading where I will be reading more of your questions this week all about Royal Caribbean.

Matt is diving into the email bag this week to answer your emails all about taking a Royal Caribbean cruise, including Vision of the Seas, what to do in Port Canaveral, travel agents, and a whole lot more.

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 252. 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!

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. 

Royal Caribbean News

• Royal Caribbean will cut down on drink straws on its cruise ships.
• We posted a new photo update of Mariner of the Seas refurbishment progress.
• Royal Caribbean has committed itself to adopting a series of new requirements for how it breeds, raises and processes poultry.
• Majesty of the Seas skipped a stop in Cozumel due to Tropical Storm Alberto.
• Seven neat things Royal Caribbean will add to CocoCay that you might have missed.
• Royal Caribbean announced a Memorial Day cruise fare sale and a pre-cruise purchase sale.
• Everything you wanted to know about Royal Caribbean's water slides.
• Royal Caribbean released a new video that is all about the Adventure Ocean program.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

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.

New RCB Video: Full details about 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 – Full details about Perfect Day at CocoCay  — and don’t forget to subscribe here.

Royal Caribbean Around the Internet

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.