In just a matter of weeks, I will be going on my next Royal Caribbean cruise, and I want to take you along for the planning of my cruise with what my plans are for shore excursions.  I hope this will give you some insight into my thought process and perhaps this will assist you for planning your next Royal Caribbean cruise too.

Today, we are going to look at excursion ideas for one of our stops on Quantum of the Seas 8-night cruise, Royal Caribbean's private island of Labadee.

Background

Labadee is a private "island" that Royal Caribbean leases from Haiti and it's one of my favorite places to visit for it's sheer beauty.

Labadee was designed to be the perfect destination relax and enjoy the beach.  There's a little shopping and some quaint cultural options but if you're going to Labadee, it's for the beach experience.

I've been to Labadee three or four times now and it seems like I always do the same thing: grab a spot on the beach and enjoy.  There's nothing wrong with that but I would like to try something else besides just a swim and getting a tan.

When I began doing research into what's available to do besides just swimming, I quickly remembered why I primarily just did the beach thing and that's the cost of the other activities. I would not characterize the options as prohibitively expensive but it does give me pause.  

The Options

After some looking around Royal Caribbean's Cruise Planner app, I came up with these excursion ideas.

Dragon's Tail Coaster

A few years ago, Royal Caribbean built an alpine coaster that descends down to the beach from a 680-foot height.  

Photo by drum881

It's set on Santa Maria's lookout mountain and promises a 30 miles per hour ride with 360-degree turns.  There's a great view at the top and along the way, along with a little thrill.

A single ride costs $26 and an all-day pass costs $36, so if I were to ride more than once I would "break even" on the cost.  Of course, the question is how many times would I really want to ride.  If I were to ride three times, would I just be riding three times to get my money's worth or would I genuinely find it something I'd want to do again and again.

Pros: Something new to try; Fairly inexpensive

Cons: All-day pass may not be worth it

Dragon's Splash Waterslide

I actually was not aware this was an option until I looked over the excursions.  Dragon's Splash Waterslide is an almost 300-foot slide that drops you into an 18-foot splash zone.  

Photo by TravnKC

It's hard to describe this anymore than I have, after all, it's a waterslide! They are fun but is it something I really need to try?  I've also heard that the metal can get hot in the sun (it's made out of stainless steel).

Pros: I haven't met a waterslide that wasn't fun to go down

Cons: $24 for one ride is rather pricey. 

Dragon's Breath Flight Line Tour

If you ask me, this is the pièce de résistance of Labadee. This 2,600 foot zip line gives you arguably the best view of Labadee as you zoom over the beaches of Labadee.

Photo by kbmay1

Custom-made safari vehicles bring you 500 feet above the beach to the zip line that will take you over Labadee at a speed of up 50 50 miles per hour and end up at Dragon's Breath Rock.

I've always wanted to try this but the primary reason I have not is because this excursion costs $96.  

Most people I've talked to that have tried it have said it was not worth the money but they did think it was something you had to try once.

Pros: Always wanted to try this: Unparalleled views of Labadee

​Cons: Expensive

Labadee Parasailing Experience

As I was thinking about that zip line tour, I ran across the parasailing option that offers a similar experience form slightly less money.

Photo by Leandro Rizzi dos Santos

The Labadee Parasailing Experience will bring you 400 feet above the ocean to enjoy a bird's eye view of Labadee and the surrounding area.

Unlike the zip line, there's a wider angle of Labadee to enjoy and you also get a speed boat ride in addition to just parasailing.

My primary concern is because of a bad parasailing experience I had once.  I have gone parasailing twice and one time the seas were rather rough and the speed boat was rocking quite a bit and a few people got sea sick to the point of "feeding the fishes".  It was miserable despite the fun time in the air.

Pros: Slightly cheaper than zip line

Cons: Bad prior experience; Parasailing happens away from Labadee

Labadee Cataway at Malfini

In an effort to consider something much different, I ran across another option I had no idea existed with a beach break at a remote beach near Labadee.

Photo by Colleen Travis

Royal Caribbean offers a quiet getaway at Malfini, which evidently far enough from Labadee to offer a private beach experience but close enough to be convenient.

Royal Caribbean describes it as a "secret paradise" with white sands in a remote cove.  There's floating mats available and "Malfini Punch" to try.

This sounds interesting but I keep wondering why I would go to a beach when Labadee is a great beach and free.  

Pros: Remote beach experience away from the crowds

Cons: Extra cost to do something I can do at Labadee for nothing extra

The Decision

After considering my options, I've ended up choosing: Dragon's Tail Coaster & Dragon's Breath Flight Line Tour.

Despite my earlier assertion that I wanted to try new things, I also wanted to have time to actually sit on Labadee and have a Labadoozie (or two) and enjoy the beach in addition to what I picked.  

I feel like the zip line and coaster are good choices of things to try at least once and are also of greatest interest to blog readers, who may be interested in trying the same thing.

If money wasn't a concern, I would probably include the water slide too but I just can't justify the cost for one ride.  

I think my choices will give me a taste of something different while still leaving me plenty of time to enjoy the wonderful beaches Labadee offers.

Cruise fans can now explore Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas without leaving home thanks to Google's Street View.

By using Google Maps Business View, anyone can take a 360-degree tour of Royal Caribbean's newest ship, thanks to over 20,000 still images that were taken aboard the ship over the course of five days.

The virtual tour of Quantum of the Seas covers various spaces across the decks of the massive ship, including the SeaPlex, North Star, Gym, Solarium, all of the restaurants, kids clubs and even select staterooms.

This is the second Royal Caribbean ship to get the Google Street View coverage.  Royal Caribbean initially partnered with Google Maps Business View for Allure of the Seas back in July 2014.

You can tour Quantum of the Seas with Google Street View right here.

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

Episode 76 is available for downloading where we look at bringing toddlers on a Royal Caribbean cruise.

Children as young as six months old can cruise on Royal Caribbean but going with kids that young presents its own challenges.  Matt offers tips and advice for how to have a great Royal Caribbean cruise vacation with the youngest of kids.

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 76. 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 dropped the cover charge for passengers who wish to dine at Devinly Decadence aboard Quantum of the Seas.

The move adds another complimentary restaurant to the options guests can choose from within the new Dynamic Dining program.  

Devinly Decadence is the restaurant created by "Biggest Loser" chef Devin Alexander, where all dishes in the restaurant are 500 calories are less.  It's located in the Solarium.

Prior to the change, Royal Caribbean charged cruisers $15 per person for lunch and $25 for dinner.

There's speculation that this change was done to increase available options for complimentary restaurants on Quantum of the Seas and hopefully reduce the waits across all complimentary restaurants, which have had reports of long lines during dinner time.

Get a thrill while bumping around SeaPlex in the all new, first at sea, bumper cars onboard Royal Caribbean's Quantum-class ships. Music, lights and the giant LED screen set the mood for a Royal Caribbean party you won’t want to miss!

Royal Caribbean offers cruises that begin in San Juan, Puerto Rico that offer some great Southern Caribbean itineraries to try.  If you're considering going on one of these cruises, here's what you need to know about embarkation day in San Juan.

It's not where you think it is

If you've ever taken a cruise that stops in San Juan for the day, you've likely been to the San Juan Cruise Port, but that's just for cruise ships that are in the city for the day.

Royal Caribbean cruises that originate in San Juan will dock at the Pan American Pier, which is across the channel from the San Juan Cruise Port.  It's adjacent to the Isla Grande Airport and is about a 5 minute taxi drive from Old San Juan.

As you're driving in, you should be able to see the ship docked since there isn't much around there.  As of the writing of this blog post, Jewel of the Seas and Adventure of the Seas are offering cruises out of San Juan.

Getting checked in

Once you arrive at the pier, the check-in process is similar to other ports but we've also noticed a few differences too.

There will be porters at the pier to help take your luggage and load it onto the ship.  In addition, there is a special line to enter the building for Platinum and above Crown and Anchor Society members.  Everyone else will wait in a separate line.

Waiting to check in for our Jewel of the Seas cruise #cruise #JewelOfTheSeas #cruiseship #travel

A photo posted by Royal Caribbean Blog.com (@royalcaribbeanblog) on Sep 21, 2013 at 7:48am PDT

We've gotten to the pier as early as 10:30am and we've generally heard passengers are let into the embarkation building around 11am.  One potential issue is the check-in building is not very large and the staff will only allow batches of passengers in at a time, so you may get stuck outside waiting to get in.  Given this is Puerto Rico, the temperature and humidity outside can be quite high.

Since most Royal Caribbean ships do not leave port until later in the evening (usually around 8pm), so getting to the port early in the morning is not as critical but lines outside the building are possible.  The good news is, often the lines outside are infrequent.

Embarkation

Once inside the building, you will find lines for Crown and Anchor Society members and lines for everyone else.  

You will be subjected to a security check that consists of an x-ray machine and metal detector.  Once through there, you will enter your line and get checked in.

We should also note there is a duty-free liquor store inside the check-in area, which is a great place to pick up a few bottles of wine to bring onboard your cruise. Remember, Royal Caribbean allows up to two bottles of wine per stateroom to bring onboard.

After check-in, it's just a short walk onto your Royal Caribbean cruise!

Boarding #jeweloftheseas!

A photo posted by Royal Caribbean Blog.com (@royalcaribbeanblog) on Sep 21, 2013 at 8:11am PDT

Have you embarked in San Juan?

Did you have a chance to take a Royal Caribbean cruise out of San Juan?  Share your tips and suggestions for embarkation day in San Juan in our comments below!

Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas has a lot of different staterooms to choose from and today, we will look at the Grand Suite with Balcony (GS) stateroom to give you an idea of what to expect if you book this category.

On our Quantum of the Seas cruise, we had a chance to see the Grand Suite while on a stateroom tour. Like all staterooms on Quantum of the Seas, entry to the room is by RFID scanner, which is above the door handle.

The Grand Suite is essentially two main rooms, a living room and a bedroom.  The Grand Suite measures 351 square feet in size and can sleep up to four people.

You will walk into the living room area, which has a full sized sofa and some chairs that are position perfectly to watch television. The sofa does open up to a double bed.

There's a small writing desk that features electrical and USB outlets too.

Connecting to the stateroom is the bedroom, with two twin beds that convert to a Royal King, measuring 72.5 inches wide by 82 inches long, and separate dressing area with entrance to bathroom.

Also in the bedroom is a closet.

The bathroom is much larger and fuller than other bathrooms in stateroom categories below the Grand Suite, and offers a tun, two sinks and a second entrance to the living room.

Marble and mosaics are a big decor motif for the bathroom and just like all suites, there's a lot more space to enjoy here.

Of course, no suite is complete without a balcony and the Grand Suite features a 109 square foot balcony with seating and private dining area.

After many weeks of waiting, Royal Caribbean has released its Royal iQ app for Android devices on the Google Play store.

Royal iQ is the brand new smartphone app that was created for the launch of the Quantum-class cruise ships but until now was available only on iOS devices.

Royal iQ's current functionality allows passengers to see their plans via a calendar, book dining reservations as well as text and call other guests onboard their ship for a nominal fee.  There's also an option to make ship-to-shore and shore-to-ship calls billed at a per-minute rate.

Royal iQ is currently only compatible on Quantum of the Seas, but Royal Caribbean will roll the app out to sister ships Anthem of the Seas and Ovation of the Seas when they debut in 2015 and 2016, respectively.  Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas will get access to Royal iQ in 2015.

Royal Caribbean is offering a quick weekend "WOW deal" on all Caribbean and Bahamas sailings.

The new deal runs on January 10 & 11, 2015 and is valid on all all Caribbean and Bahamas sailings between January 11 – March 31, 2015, excluding Quantum of the Seas.

Boooking a qualifying cruise this weekend will net you

• $25 onboard credit per stateroom – Interior
• $125 onboard credit per stateroom – Ocean View
• $250 onboard credit per stateroom – Balcony / Suite

This promotion also inlcudes the current deal of 50% off the second guest's cruise fare.