We now know when Royal Caribbean will open up the first set of new 2025-2026 bookings.
Royal Caribbean has posted most of its new sailings and when they will go on sale.
As per usual for Royal Caribbean, they will post new sailings in the fall and again in the spring.
The deployment schedule will cover Alaska, Europe, Caribbean, and West Coast sailings.
- Week of October 30, 2023: Alaska
- Week of November 6, 2023: Europe
- Week of November 13, 2023: 7-night Caribbean (Phase 1)
- Week of December 4, 2023: 7-night Caribbean (Phase 2)
- Week of February 12, 2024: Short Caribbean, Los Angeles & Northeast
- Week of February 19, 2024: Long Caribbean
Keep in mind the sailings could be released at any point within that week, and not necessarily on the first day of the listed week.
Australia, China, Singapore and other deployments will be forthcoming at a later date.
This is in addition to the Icon of the Seas sailings already released for 2025-2026.
All itineraries are subject to change without notice.
Rumored Star of the Seas release date
In case you're wondering when Royal Caribbean will open up new bookings for Star of the Seas, there's a rumor of when that might occur.
Star of the Seas will be Royal Caribbean's second Icon Class cruise ship.
When a new cruise ship goes on sale, it's not usually included in other deployments. Rather, it gets posted as its own deployment.
A travel agent posted on Cruise Critic's message boards that Star of the Seas will go on sale December 5, 2023. This has not been officially announced or confirmed by Royal Caribbean.
This travel agent also indicated it looks as though Star of the Seas could be homeported from Port Canaveral.
Other rumored deployments posted by the same person include:
- Wonder of the Seas will offer short Caribbean cruises, in addition to Utopia of the Seas
- Alaska's cruise season will have four ships: Grandeur of the Seas, Radiance of the Seas, Ovation of the Seas & Anthem of the Seas.
- Anthem of the Seas is listed as well under the "Short Caribbean and Los Angeles" deployment.
Keep in mind none of this has been officially announced by Royal Caribbean.
What is a deployment schedule?
The deployment schedule is the plan for when Royal Caribbean will open select sailings for sale.
There is no indication of which day, just the week the new itineraries will become available to book, but it could be on any day of the noted week.
Guests will commonly misconstrue the new cruises to come out on the exact day, rather than at some point during the week.
When the new sailings are available, it is common for the new itineraries to be entered into the booking system first, and the website second. This means in some cases cruises are bookable earlier if booked over the phone or with a travel agent, even if they do not appear on the website.
What can you do now before the new bookings are posted?
If you are in the market for a cruise during one of these new deployments, you will want to keep an eye out for once cruises go on sale.
Royal Caribbean typically allows Crown and Anchor Society members a 24 hour head start on the general public, but since anyone can sign up for Crown and Anchor Society, there is no excuse for waiting.
Talk with your travel agent in the days leading up to the new deployments coming online so you can jump on specific bookings and book them.
One of the best strategies for the lowest prices is to book a cruise as soon as it goes on sale. Hard-to-find staterooms are also available during this period, so now is the time to lock in a studio room or a suite.
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