Matt lists the must-do 5 Royal Caribbean cruises everyone should try at least once.
Share with me your thoughts, questions and comments via...
Spending the day on a beautiful beach in the Caribbean seems idyllic when you're at home planning it all, but multiple visits ended up feeling like a mistake.
I took my family on a 7-night cruise on Icon of the Seas to the western Caribbean, which included four port stops.
The sailing began with with three port stops in a row: Roatan, Costa Maya, and Cozumel. And there was a visit to Perfect Day at CocoCay at the end of the cruise.
I like spending time at each of these ports on their own, and even have a few must-dos in each port.
However, three beach days in a row is not only a "first world problem", it also felt like a missed opportunity. By the end of the cruise, we were all "beached out" and it felt like we overdid it.
I booked three separate beach days: Turquoise Bay, Maya Chan, and Paradise Beach.
Don't get me wrong, I had a good time at each of the beaches we visited. The issue was the getting up early, getting everyone ready, and then getting to and from the beach.
One of the top reasons I love to cruise are the places I visit, but I wish I had mixed up the activities instead of doing all beach.
Right after our second day in a row of beach time, the reality began to sink in.
It started with my kids asking what we had planned the next day because they were hoping for time to sleep in and rest after two early days in a row.
Ordinarily I don't take my kids complaining about getting up early seriously at all, but I had to admit they might have a point as I considered the ramifications of another early day.
My wife and I started talking about it and we realized that our plan made sense in a vacuum, but combining so many port days doing the same activity felt a bit tiresome.
Not only would have skipping a beach day been a way to relax more, it also would have been perfect on a ship as impressive as Icon of the Seas.
Royal Caribbean added so many fun things to do, including some of the best pools on any ship. I love the Swim & Tonic bar because it's a swim-up bar, but I never got a chance to go in.
The ship also has six different water slides to try within its water park.
Something experienced cruisers do often is stay onboard while a ship is in port to take advantage of these fun things without big crowds.
Those same pools and slides get crowded on sea days, and we only had two sea days on this itinerary.
In retrospect, we could have slept in and then hit the pools and waterslides in the morning.
Something else I considered was doing something different from a beach.
I could have skipped the beach in Cozumel and taken a taxi downtown for shopping and eating. Or tried an ATV tour in Roatan.
I think mixing up activities is equally important to the rate of when you are on or off the ship.
In thinking about this, I might have gotten off the ship in the morning with my wife to enjoy some time in Cozumel and get some food, before coming back to the ship to take the kids to the pools and waterslides.
The other idea was to try something different in our first port stop of Roatan so it wouldn't be beach right off the bat.
My advice to myself and anyone planning a Caribbean cruise in the future is look at the itinerary in totality, and not just in a silo.
If variety is the spice of life, it applies to shore excursions as well. I didn't regret any single beach I visited, rather, the combination in a short span of time added up quickly.
While some people might absolutely love nothing but beach day after beach day, don't forget to take into consideration wake up times, prep time, and travel distances to and from the beach.
This is especially important when you're cruising with kids, as multiple early starts in a row takes their toll. And that applies to aging adults too, who enjoy late nights around the ship.
If you're sailing on a big Royal Caribbean ship that has so many activities, it makes the decision to embrace skipping a port day a good plan.
When we repeat this itinerary in November on the soon-to-be-launched Star of the Seas, I'll be sure to change plans to avoid so many beach days while also taking advantage of what the ship has to offer.
Some Royal Caribbean policies tend not to be enforced consistently, but it looks like things may be changing with the wine you bring onboard.
Royal Caribbean allows its passengers to bring bottles of wine onto its ships, but the corkage fee that is supposed to be applied has largely been ignored for many years.
That could be changing now.
The official policy states guests can bring up to one bottle of wine per adult on embarkation day onto the ship. If that wine is opened in a bar, restaurant, or lounge, then it's subject to a $15 corkage fee.
The wine you bring onboard must be carried on and not put in your checked luggage.
In reality, that corkage fee has rarely been enforced. It's been my experience that the crew member will open it and not say anything.
However, reports are popping up of stickers being added to wine bottles to indicate if the corkage fee has been waived or not.
This applies to wine with twist tops, as the corkage fee is more a fee for bringing your own wine rather than the actual mechanics of opening it.
A number of cruisers who have gotten bottles of wine gifted onboard the ship are reporting stickers on their bottles.
Pattycruise wrote on the Royal Caribbean Blog message boards, "I just saw another photo from a group I’m in that said corkage fee waived on the sticker."
These stickers are appearing on bottles of wine that passengers receive from Crown and Anchor Society or Casino Royale as an incentive for their loyalty.
What cruisers needs to be aware of is they may be charged for wine they bring onboard.
What this means is if you're someone that has been bringing bottles of wine on your cruise and skated by without paying the corkage fee, this could be changing.
Essentially, the policy hasn't changed at all, but it may now be enforced. That could be confusing to someone who wasn't aware of the corkage fee being applied before.
If you buy a bottle of wine on your cruise ship, there is no corkage fee.
After a bottle of wine is opened for you, you can either take any unfinished wine in the bottle with you or have it stored for you to be used on another day and time.
It's quite convenient to have your bottle opened in the Main Dining Room, have the crew store it, and enjoy the rest on another day in the same or a different restaurant.
The crew marks your name and stateroom number on the bottle, and any crew member around the ship can retrieve it to serve you elsewhere.
One way to get around the corkage fee is to open the wine and keep it in your cabin.
The corkage fee is for wine that's opened in public venue onboard, but there's no such application if you have it in your room.
In fact, your stateroom attendant can provide a wine opener upon request for no fee.
You could enjoy the wine in your cabin, or opt to take a glass with you around the ship. In either of those scenarios, there would be no fee.
One of the oldest hacks for saving money is to bring your own bottle of wine.
Not only will you pay less for wine if you buy it retail while at home, but you'll have a far greater selection of choices.
Even with the corkage fee, you'll probably come out ahead with your own bottle of wine than buying a bottle onboard the ship because of the markup with wine offered for sale by Royal Caribbean.
Bringing your own bottle of wine can save you money, but no one wants to end up with a bottle that breaks.
Instead of buying the bottle of wine at home, you could wait to buy it at your embarkation city. This avoids packing a bottle in your luggage and hoping it doesn't break during transit.
Not only could you buy it at a store near your hotel, but you could leverage a shopping app like UberEats and have it delivered to your hotel.
If you are going to pack your own wine, a wine diaper could do the trick (this is an affiliate link that costs you nothing extra to use). These are reusable, protective and absorbent wine bottle bags designed for traveling.
If you prefer a DIY approach, try putting your wine in a 1.5 gallon ziplock bag and pad the wine with clothing around it, such as socks.
You can save a lot of money if you know when to buy a Royal Caribbean drink package, even as much as 40% off the total price.
One of the most popular cruise add-ons available are beverage packages because they offer a flat fee for unlimited drinks.
It's a convenient way to avoid a high bar tab, but enjoy drinks on your vacation without worrying about bills later.
Unfortunately, they aren't cheap if you pay the regular price onboard the ship. The onboard price for the Deluxe Beverage Package costs typically around $115 per person, per day.
The good news is there are sales offered throughout the year to get a significant discount, but you need to know when to book.
Many of these sales are tied to major holidays, such as Black Friday, July 4th, and New Years. But there are other sales too, and each has the potential to save money.
Without a doubt, buying a drink package early could save you as much as 40% off the onboard price of a drink package.
The secret to getting a discount on a Royal Caribbean drink package is to buy it before your cruise begins.
The highest price you'll pay is if you buy a drink package on the ship, so avoid that mistake by booking it early.
To see how much of a discount is being offered on a drink package, you can log into your Royal Caribbean account in the cruise line app or on their website. Navigate to your sailing and you can spot check the price there.
On any day, the price will be cheaper online, but the price can fluctuate in the months before your cruise begins.
Depending on the sale, there could be no discount on your sailing, or truly deep savings. Royal Caribbean usually advertises "up to 40% off", which means it may not be exactly that sort of a discount.
Moreover, there are different drink packages. So depending on the promotion it could be the Deluxe Beverage Package or the Evian Water Package that has a 40% discount.
Royal Caribbean uses variable pricing, and that means drink packages cost differently from sailing to sailing, and ship to ship. Plus, there can be deeper discounts offered on select days.
Most sales last just a few days, so you'll need to act quickly before the price goes back up.
The best sale of the year is typically on Black Friday, when the cruise line has the deepest discounts.
The lower you can buy the drink package, the easier it is to get your money's worth from the drink package.
The Deluxe Beverage Package includes a lot of different beverages, such as beer, wine by the glass, liquors, premium coffees, juices, and sodas. There are so many possible combinations of drinks you could order during your sailing.
In looking at Royal Caribbean drink prices, it's easy to see how quickly your bar tab would be if you paid for drinks a la carte.
If you bought the Deluxe Beverage Package at $65.99 per person, per day, you could "break even" if you ordered 3 cocktails, 1 premium coffee, 1 beer, and 1 bottled water per day.
That's fairly easy to accomplish on a sea day, but port days make it more difficult because you're usually off the ship on a shore excursion. That reduces the amount of hours to take advantage of your drink package benefit.
It's much easier to make the value proposition work in your favor if you are a social drinker, specialty coffee lover, or like to try a a lot of drinks.
In short, a drink package is worth it if you drink enough every day to have it save money.
Be sure to look at drink package prices as soon as possible. There's usually an ebb and a flow to pricing, so getting in on the lowest price is easier the earlier you start looking.
My advice is book the drink package as soon as you can because you can always cancel or reprice later.
There's no penalty for cancelling a beverage package purchase before the cruise begins, whether you change your mind or want to take advantage of a lower price.
Adding the drink package to your cart does not lock the price. You must buy it to get it at the given price.
You can also take advantage of onboard credit and stack the savings.
If Royal Caribbean is offering 30, 35, or 40% off the drink package, you can lower the price further by applying any onboard credit you have.
Even after you buy it, you can always cancel and rebook at a lower price.
If you bought it at 35% off, and then a few months later a 40% off deal appears, you can cancel and immediately re-book under the new price.
There's no penalty for cancelling and rebooking, and the refund from the original purchase will come back to your original form of payment in about a week or less. Any onboard credit you used for the purchase will become available immediately.
Royal Caribbean has important rules about its drink package you'll want to know before you buy any.
The most important rule is you cannot share drinks if you buy any of the three unlimited drink packages: Deluxe, Royal Refreshment, or Soda packages. Sharing will get you in trouble and loss of a drink package without refund.
If you want to buy the Deluxe Beverage Package, all adults in the same stateroom are required to purchase the same package.
Any drink package you buy adds gratuities on top of the cost. It's called a "service fee" in the line item, but it covers tips when you order a drink. Be sure to factor this cost into your package price, especially when re-pricing packages.
Lastly, your drink package works almost everywhere, but it doesn't cover room service or Starbucks drinks at a Starbucks kiosk.
Let's welcome spring with Royal Caribbean! It was a busy week with Royal Caribbean news, and we have a summary of all of the news from this week to make certain you did not miss any of it.
One of the biggest cruise ships in the world is getting a lot of major changes and upgrades.
Allure of the Seas is at a shipyard in Spain, and we have new photos of the work in progress.
Changes include the addition of water slides, the Pesky Parrot Bar, a revamped pool deck, new staterooms, an Ultimate Abyss slide, and many updates around the ship to make it look refreshed.
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 — My best and worst Royal Caribbean cruises last year, RANKED — and don’t forget to subscribe to our channel.
Matt went back on Icon for a week-long cruise and the ship is easily still his favorite ship.
Icon of the Seas had a lot of hype when it launched, but does the ship live up to it all now?
Not only is the ship the biggest in the world, but it has the best features in the industry.
After coming across a cheap, last-minute cruise fare on Carnival Firenze, Jenna gave it a try.
Jenna has taken 22 Royal Caribbean cruises, and she was curious how it would compare to Carnival.
Some aspects of the cruise were great, but she missed four key aspects of a Royal Caribbean ship.
Ready to spend less on food during your cruise?
On any ship, there's a mix of included and extra cost restaurants. But that doesn't mean you have to overspend to enjoy it all.
Matt shared five Royal Caribbean food hacks that will save you money.
Did you know there's a food menu at Trellis Bar that you can't find on any other ship?
Icon of the Seas has one change from all other bars in that it offers food, and it's really darn good.
Matt tried the food and was surprised how good the offerings were, and it's worth trying.
The 558th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, where Matt reviews his recent Icon of the Seas cruise.
Matt went back on Icon a year after she debuted to see if it lives up to the hype.
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.
It's been six months since Royal Caribbean implemented a new policy prohibiting certain travel items, but we're still seeing the wrong ones piling up.
In September 2024, Royal Caribbean announced it would not allow multi-plug outlets on its ships. It was a major shift, as these had been a very popular item to bring on a cruise ship.
Power outlets in cruise ship cabins are quite limited, especially on older ships. With the proliferation of phones, smart watches, tablets, and other electronics, the need for power outlets has grown tremendously.
While the cruise line has long banned surge protectors because they were a fire hazard, "Multi-Plug Outlets" were added to the list too.
After a few weeks of confusion, it became clear passengers can no longer bring anything that turns a single outlet into multiple outlets.
Adding more USB outlets is fine, but electric outlets cannot be extended.
It's important to know which devices you can bring on your cruise, and which are going to get taken from you as you try to board the ship.
Because Royal Caribbean's rule is still fairly new and other lines allow them, it can be confusing which items to bring.
On a recent Adventure of the Seas cruise, a person posted a photo on Facebook the confiscated items table strewn with the banned outlet extenders.
While we can't see the specific model of each one, it's clear they all resemble power strips that offer additional power outlets and USB outlets.
A quick search of Amazon shows many of these labeled as being for use on cruise ships.
To be fair, they are allowed on other lines. As an example, Carnival Cruise Line has not banned these items.
It's also not very clear on Royal Caribbean's prohibited items list which type of outlet extenders are permissible.
This is what the cruise line lists:
We do allow consumer type power conversion device USB charger (multi-plug blocks on which the outputs are for USB cables). Note: Devices must be stamped with US/Europe recognized Conformance Marking to demonstrate compliance with Electrical Safety standards.
While not a new policy, it's also worth noting you still cannot bring surge protectors or power strips either.
To avoid having your things taken away from you, we have a list of USB chargers and power blocks you could bring on Royal Caribbean.
Depending on your power needs, any one of these should work well. All of these links contain affiliate links, which means I make a small commission if you buy it, but it costs you absolutely nothing extra.
Anker 543 Charger (65W)
This is an ultra slim desktop charger that adds four USB ports, including a USB-C outlet.
This will work well for Apple devices, and it's small. It has a 0.7-inch design and weighs just 5 oz (about the same as a baseball).
EPICKA Universal Travel Adapter
This is my favorite travel adaptor because it's small, and works well on the ship and overseas.
It has just one electric outlet, so you don't lose the outlet you're plugging into. Plus, it can be used with UK or EU outlets. This not only makes it useful around Europe, but also in your cruise cabin because there's usually an EU outlet in there.
It has four USB-A outlets on the bottom, and a single USB-C outlet as well.
Anker Power Bank
Our readers have recommended a workaround to the power outlet issue all together with a power brick.
You charge the power brick, and then plug in whichever device you need to have charged. This frees up the outlets in your cabin, and there's no issue with how many outlets there are.
I'd recommend getting a travel-friendly, but beefy power bank so it can keep multiple devices going.
Depending on your needs, you might not need to buy an adaptor at all if you go on relatively new ship.
Royal Caribbean began adding more power outlets, and even USB plugs to ships that were built in the last ten years or so.
Ships such as Icon of the Seas, Wonder of the Seas, and Utopia of the Seas all have many outlets and I never used my power adaptor on these ships.
The Quantum Class ships may be in the "gray area" of if you need a power adaptor or not.
Cabins have more than the usual assortment of power outlets, but if you're sharing a room with more than one person, there may not be enough outlets for your needs.
I've seen some confusion among cruisers that need a C-PAP machine and thinking they need to buy a power adaptor for their cruise.
Royal Caribbean will assist with a special need, such as a C-PAP machine, but you do need to take one extra step.
Using the Special Needs Form before your cruise begins, you can request an extension cord and distilled water for a CPAP machine. There's no extra cost, you just need to make the request pre-cruise.
Matt went back on Icon a year after she debuted to see if it lives up to the hype
Share with me your thoughts, questions and comments via...
The internet is great for learning and planning your cruise vacation, but I've stopped using Facebook as a way to learn about my sailing.
There are a number of good things you should do before your cruise begins to plan and prepare for it, but one of them was to join a Facebook group for the sailing.
It's likely someone else from your specific sailing will set up a group so others can join and start discussing the cruise.
In the past, this was a great way to learn about what others are doing, meet other cruisers, and otherwise get excited about the cruise. There can be hundreds of people in one group, especially on Royal Caribbean's biggest ships.
I cruise a lot each year, trying to squeeze in at least one per month. Last year I took 15 cruises, so I joined plenty of these groups.
Unfortunately, I've noticed a trend in cruise Facebook groups of bad information, trolling, and arguments over very silly things. As a result, I'd think twice before you join a group.
Facebook groups for cruises used to be such a helpful way for new cruisers to learn about their sailing.
People would join and ask questions about what to do, how to prepare, and what not to miss. And because it was specific to your sailing, it was easier to get firm answers.
Like a lot of social media, more of the negativity has creeped into them.
Quite often new cruisers ask basic questions, but the answers get heated when they're more subjective responses than objective.
Some of these groups are run by spammers who are looking to sell merchandise to unsuspecting cruisers.
Equally bad are the groups that get created but are completely unmoderated because the admin either stops caring or disappears.
Then there's the bickering about things that end up in name calling, or worse. Arguments about what the actual policy is versus someone's opinion, sharing out dated information, and trying to circumvent rules are all commonplace now in the groups I've been a part of.
If you book a particularly popular sailing, the drama gets real quickly.
As an example, Royal Caribbean added a series of short pre-inaugural cruises for Star of the Seas in August. As soon as the announcement was made, a flurry of cruise groups were created for each voyage.
It can quickly become confusing which group to join, and I've seen in past one group hating on another group based on who thinks which one is the "legitimate" group or the one that was started first.
This really only applies to inaugural sailings or a President's Cruise, but I've resisted joining any group until perhaps the last few weeks before the actual sailing begins.
Besides the arguing and misinformation that can often be shared in a Facebook group, it's clear some groups are created with ulterior motives in mind.
Some groups are run by travel agents who are clearly using the group to source new clients with unsolicited sales pitches.
As mentioned before, some groups are run by people overseas usually trying to sell t-shirts or swag related to the sailing.
And even if the group admin isn't bad, there are often people within the group that are working an angle.
A new trend has been the selling of rubber ducks to people in the group. A fake account tries to sell unwanted rubber cruise ducks due to "a change in plans," but there's nothing to be sold.
Another is the slot pull scam, where someone asks you to pay money to participate in a group slot machine tournament.
Finally, there's the typical Facebook spam from fake accounts that share links with the intention of catfishing you into hacking your account.
To be fair, not all Facebook groups for a sailing are like this.
You might still find a group that has "normal people" and the members far less worrisome. It's a crapshoot as to who will join your sailing's group and how knowledgeable they are.
If you're going to join a Facebook group for your sailing, I'd recommend exercising a great deal of caution. Don't take every answer as the gospel truth.
Take any answer or statement made as something to consider, but go and verify the answer elsewhere.
If you want something else outside of Facebook, I'd recommend a roll call thread.
Well before Facebook groups became a thing, message board communities had well-established communities with roll calls for each sailing.
Cruise Critic pioneered the idea with their roll call forum, even going as far as getting recognition of them by Royal Caribbean on some sailings.
We have our own roll call area within the Royal Caribbean message boards that you can join (or start) a thread for your cruise.
The advantage of a forum is it's far better moderated than Facebook, and there's a history to the members that goes beyond a single sailing.
However, it's unlikely you'll get as many people joining a roll call as a Facebook group. Facebook is so ubiquitous that it has a much larger pool of users to draw from.
Ultimately, I've decided to stop joining the group to avoid the unnecessary drama that comes with it.
Of course, I'm in a different situation than most given my knowledge of cruising. But I hope this article serves as a warning these groups have changed a lot over the years and not to trust everything you read in them.
There's still value in finding a well-moderated group for your sailing with people that bring different experiences and background. Heck, you might even make a new friend before you board.
Just don't get too invested into them.
Two of Royal Caribbean's biggest cruise ships are undergoing upgrade and maintenance work at the very same time.
It's commonplace for cruise ships to take a break from service every few years to get work done, but having two giants out of commission is a bit unusual.
Allure of the Seas is in Navantia ship yard in Cadiz, Spain, while Anthem of the Seas is in a shipyard in Singapore.
Here's what we know about the work Royal Caribbean has ordered for both ships.
The biggest upgrade to any Royal Caribbean ship over the last five years is happening with Allure of the Seas.
Allure of the Seas launched in 2010, instantly capturing the attention of the world alongside Oasis of the Seas. The 225,282 gross registered ton vessel was the largest cruise ship in the world until the launch of Harmony of the Seas
Due to the cruise industry shutdown of 2020, Allure never got upgrades that were originally planned.
Nonetheless, Royal Caribbean is making them on Allure now, and they'll be ready for the ship to resume service in April.
The new features are called a "Royal Amplification", and it goes well beyond a simple drydock refurbishment.
Over $100 million is being spent on upgrades, including:
One change to Allure that has just been revealed is there will be a new aqua show onboard.
The fans have been asking — and Allure of the Seas℠ finally delivers a sequel to the fan-favorite show, Aqua80. Sit back and get into the 80s groove. The decade’s biggest hits set the tempo as high divers, slackliners and 3D aerialists deliver the stunts, the energy, the drama, the action and the fun. All rolled into one AquaTheater spectacular — Aqua80Too.
Instead of OceanAria Aquashow, Royal Caribbean will add Aqua80s Too.
This is an aqua show dedicated to the music of the 1980s decade. It's a copy of the show from Utopia of the Seas, although early reports are it will not have flying performers or a slack line.
Another change that could be forthcoming is the implantation of destination elevators.
The company tested retrofitting destination elevators already on Allure of the Seas last year, and Utopia of the Seas has it onboard. We'll have to wait and see once passengers get onboard.
Allure has been in drydock since February, but should be complete with the work next week before resuming service on April 11.
The ship will sail from Barcelona and Rome (Civitavecchia) on 7-night cruises that visit Spain, France, and Italy.
In the fall, Allure returns to the United States to sail 6- and 8-night Caribbean cruises.
On the other side of the world, Anthem of the Seas arrived at Tuas shipyard to begin her scheduled work.
Unlike Allure, Anthem isn't getting a major upgrade. All cruise ships go in for maintenance every 5 years or less, and it's akin to bringing your car in for a tune up.
Anthem arrived at the shipyard March 22, and will remain at the shipyard until mid-April.
Royal Caribbean has not made any announcements of what type of work will happen while Anthem is out of service, and that usually means the ship is going in simply for maintenance work, and not to get major upgrades.
Typically this sort of work sees fixes and replacements for public spaces, such as carpeting, floors, and more.
A lot of the work is focused on the ship's engines and propulsion systems to ensure they stay in good working order for an additional five years.
Without any official statement, we'll have to wait and see what changes occur onboard once the ship restarts cruises.
Anthem of the Seas is scheduled to resume sailings April 13, 2025 with a 12-night repositioning from Singapore to Japan.
A transpacific sailing is also planned, as the ship will move to Alaska for the summer cruise season.
In the fall, Anthem moves back across the Pacific once again to offer cruises from Australia.
Going on a cruise ship is unlike other kinds of vacations, especially when it comes to preparing and packing for the trip.
In truth, it's easy enough to go on a cruise and plenty of people go on cruises without much planning and have a good time. However, the difference between a "good vacation" and a "great vacation" lies with good prep.
Royal Caribbean cruises are an inviting family vacation choice that packs so much for families to enjoy, both onboard the ship and ashore in the places you'll visit.
While I don't think you need to spend a fortune on a new wardrobe, accessories, and travel add-ons to have a really good cruise, there are some things I'd recommend to anyone going on their first Royal Caribbean cruise to get started. Think of these as a starter pack for your first cruise.
Grab your online shopping cart, as I share the seven things I'd recommend anyone going on a Royal Caribbean cruise for the first time should buy.
You probably won't get seasick on your cruise, but just in case, it's smart to have things with you to combat it.
A lot of first time cruisers worry about getting seasick, but the reality is the ship won't move as much as you think. But just like anytime you've ever been motion sick in the past, it was probably a surprise that it happened.
The good news is even if you do get seasick, it's easy to treat.
I'd recommend buying over-the-counter medications that you can take either proactively or once seasickness symptoms begin.
Bonine and Dramamine are the two brands most people buy, and I've used them too. They work quickly and the only side effect is usually feeling sleepy. (This link contains an affiliate link)
There's also kids formulas that have less of the active ingredient.
Be sure to look at the various forms, especially if you want to drink alcohol.
There are other alternatives, such as seabands or even a prescription from your doctor to take.
I bet this will end up being a waste of money, but it's smart to have some, just in case.
It's easy to overlook a beach bag as something you can use on a cruise.
Having a beach bag or small backpack is so helpful getting all your stuff on and off the ship in port. You'll need to bring towels, identification, books, spare clothing, and electronics with you and a bag is so much easier than pockets.
Plus, you can use this bag when you're going to the pool deck as well.
You don't need to go crazy with buying something expensive, because it's going to accumulate sand and water as you use it. It's merely a vessel to easily organizing all your stuff into one bag.
There are some good and inexpensive beach bags you can buy for your cruise that you'll be able to re-use on many future sailings. (This link contains an affiliate link)
I think a lot of first time cruisers are concerned with having the right clothing with them for the cruise.
While Royal Caribbean does have dress codes, they're rarely enforced and pretty casual. However, a lot of families love to get into the spirit of things with the theme night attire.
Every evening there will be a theme night, and it's up to you if you want to dress up for it or not.
Of course, it helps to know before the cruise begins what clothing you'll need. You can figure out the theme nights before you board and then shop appropriately to have the right stuff.
Remember, these themes are optional. So if you see Caribbean night or Red night listed, it's up to you if you want to get matching outfits for the entire family.
If you plan to eat in the Main Dining Room or a specialty restaurant, you will need to pack nicer clothing for those meals. Don't worry, it doesn't have to look like a black tie affair.
There are lots of outfit ideas, but something nicer than what you'd wear to the pool deck is pretty much the minimum.
If you don't have sunscreen, you're asking for a problem later.
Even in the winter months, the Caribbean sun is very strong and there's always a few passengers that are burnt by the second day.
Be sure to bring sunscreen and apply it early and often. I'd recommend re-applying every couple of hours because it washes off easily in the water.
Sunscreen is a good start, but also buy aloe vera for when the inevitably sunburn occurs. (These links contains an affiliate links)
Aloe vera makes the pain and discomfort that comes with sunburn more bearable, and it's a good backup in case you do get burnt.
Ask anyone that cruises a lot what they always pack, and the answer is probably going to include magnets.
Your cruise ship cabin is a lot smaller than most hotel rooms, and definitely smaller than your bedroom at home.
Storage space can be at a premium on a cruise, but magnetic hooks are so helpful. These magnets can be placed just about anywhere in your room because the walls and ceiling are made of metal.
It's great for keeping clothes off the ground. Plus, you could also get magnets that have clips to help with papers and receipts.
Be sure to get heavy duty magnetic hooks so that it can handle the weight of wet clothes. (These links contains an affiliate links)
Older Royal Caribbean cruise ships (anything built before 2010) don't have nearly as many power outlets as you'll need.
In fact, only the newest ships even have USB outlets onboard, and most are USB-A plugs.
I'd recommend buying an outlet extender, but be sure it's one that is permissible by the cruise line.
Royal Caribbean recently restricted the type of outlet extenders you can bring, and they'll confiscate it if it doesn't adhere to the requirements.
Essentially, you can bring any outlet extender that only has one A/C outlet, but as many USB outlets as you like. This is one such device I recommend, and is allowed on Royal Caribbean ships. (Yes, another affiliate link!)
Buying a USB hub means you can keep all your devices charged without fighting over outlets.
There are no clocks in your cabin, so a travel alarm clock is quite helpful.
I use my phone for an alarm, but it's so much more useful to have a clock you can open one eye and check the time.
This is especially helpful in an inside cabin. Interior rooms have no natural light, so you'll have no idea if it's 4am or 4pm.
A fun idea is to buy a sunrise alarm clock, because it has a gradual light that mimics the sun rising. Plus, it even has noise you can sleep to: birds, running water, white noise, and more.