Royal Caribbean Blog

Based on how 2025 is going so far, don't expect to see cruise prices drop any time soon.

Demand has been red hot for a Royal Caribbean cruise for a while, and there's no sign of things slowing down in 2025.

During an earnings call with investors on Tuesday, Royal Caribbean Group CEO Jason Liberty said the momentum of high demand for cruises continued into 2025 with, "the best five booking weeks in the company's history."

In fact, they reported seeing more bookings than last year and at higher fares.

Traditionally the first few months of the year are known as WAVE seasons, which is an industry term for the time of year when cruise lines tend to offer their best promotion.

But with such high demand right now, deals on a new cruise booking in 2025 aren't going to be far and wide, so waiting is probably not the best approach.

"Demand for 2025 is strong"

One recurring theme of the discussion was how well-booked things are already for a 2025 cruise.

Royal Caribbean Group is seeing people paying higher prices while the amount of cabins sold remains in line with prior years, "allowing for further pricing and yield growth as 2025 bookings continue to ramp up."

Reading between the lines, the company is looking to get the most they can from their fares. That's not the formula consumers would want to hear if they are expecting price drops later.

Moreover, if you're waiting on the sidelines to book a cruise, others are ready to take your place.

"We're seeing really good demand trends from Europe, as well as obviously the U.S.," Mr. Liberty explained. He went on to say 80% of their customers will be from North America.

In fact, Royal Caribbean Group uses AI to enhance its pricing and recommend things to its customers, as well as optimize (i.e. raise) prices.

Cutting the time to book a cruise in half

Speaking of AI, Royal Caribbean saw 2024 as a transformative year for them leveraging tech to make it easier on the consumer to get what they need.

Royal Caribbean Group executives touted the innovations introduced last year to improve ways its customers can book a cruise and its various add-ons.

"Guests have been seamlessly planning and booking their dream vacations, reducing the amount of time to book a cruise by half," Mr. Liberty said in his opening remarks.

"We launched over 300 new digital capabilities across channels in 2024, improving the overall experience and reducing friction points while increasing spend."

Many of those innovations were specifically for Icon of the Seas, which had so many new features added just for that ship.

Using AI has benefitted customer and company alike. The use of artificial intelligence has provided, "a better, more efficient experience, and more personalized service."

According to Mr. Liberty, the new in-app chat saw a 35% increase in guest adoption that led to a 20% reduction in the customer service lines onboard the ship.

Why you'll want to book a cruise earlier

Royal Caribbean prices its fares largely based on supply, with higher prices for a sailing as cabins sell out.

I've consistently found the key to getting a great price on a cruise is to book it as early as you can.

Plus, booking earlier assures you of the ship, itinerary, and stateroom you want to reserve. 

Suites and some of the higher in-demand cabins are the first to be reserved, and waiting to book usually results in far fewer choices. 

Cruise fares tend to be cheapest the further in advance you book, and despite a few last-minute deals here and there, it’s best to book in advance and lock-in the best price.

Royal Caribbean's WAVE season 2025 offer

If you book a cruise in January, you can take advantage of its WAVE offer.

If you book before January 31, 2025, you can qualify for Buy One Guest, Get Second Guest 60% Off & 30% Off on 3/4 Guest. Plus, there's a Kids Sail Free deal on select sailings.

There will undoubtedly be another promotion in February and March, and likely similar to the January offer in one way or another.

90% of cruises will visit a private destination

An absolutely fascinating statistic was shared by Royal Caribbean Group Chief Financial Officer Naftali Holtz during the call.

"Over 70% of guests on these [Caribbean market] itineraries sailing with the Royal Caribbean brand will visit a private destination this year and that percentage will increase to 90% in 2027, with the opening of the beach clubs at Paradise Island, Nassau, and Cozumel and Perfect Day Mexico."

Demand for Caribbean cruises has been among the strongest of all the markets a Royal Caribbean cruise visits, and it's also a reflection of the overall plan the cruise line has to offer its customers a better overall experience.

Part of the impetus to develop beach clubs and an additional Perfect Day location is to give guests exactly what they want: a fulfilling day on shore where they can make memories while making it easy because Royal Caribbean is taking care of everything.

Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley shared a few years ago that Perfect Day at CocoCay ranks as the number one destination among Royal Caribbean guests.

"CocoCay is the number one destination that Royal Caribbean goes to in the world out of 100 global destinations, because it’s a curated experience designed and built to deliver a high-level experience to the customer. At the end of the day that’s all that matters."

That's clearly the approach they want to extend to other places in the Caribbean through their private destination portfolio.

Could amplifications be coming back?

One interesting anecdote was shared during a discussion of costs that cruise fans might find interesting.

Mr. Holtz said, "we're also restarting our modernization program," in reference to the capital expenditures the company will make this year.

While Allure of the Seas is set to get major upgrades this spring, the question has lingered what about other ships.

"We have one ship this year and then we'll share more details going forward around our program, but we do see an opportunity around that," he added.  Presumably, the one ship he referenced is Allure.

There's going to be a new player in the river cruise market, and Celebrity Cruises is coming at it with a big plan.

Celebrity made headlines when it announced it will start offering river cruises in 2027, starting with a fleet of 10 ships. There's already hints that there's much more to come, both in expanding the fleet and destinations.

The expansion into river cruises is about offering more choices to customers, and giving its existing customer base a brand-friendly approach into a new way to cruise.

They believe already about half their guests have either tried a river cruise or would want to, and that's the impetus for branching out.

During Royal Caribbean Group's Fourth Quarter earnings call with Wall Street investors on Tuesday, executives shared additional insight into what we can expect in the coming years from the new venture.

New opportunities

Celebrity River Cruises is a bold plan to take advantage of a "fragmented market", according to Royal Caribbean Group CEO Jason Liberty.

"Beginning in 2027, Celebrity River Cruises will provide yet another opportunity for guests to explore even more destinations with our leading brands," said Liberty during the call.

"That's the driving force behind this change. Give people familiar and happy with Celebrity an opportunity to try something different."

When the river ships will be ready

AI generated concept

Mr. Liberty was asked when the new ships will be ready, and he laid out the plan.

"A couple of ships" will be ready for service sometime in 2027, and then we can expect an additional four ships each year to be ready.

He also strongly hinted that 10 ships is only the initial order, and more are likely, "I'd also point out because we are very intentful in our words. The word put in front of it was initial order was 10 ships. And so this is not a hobby for us."

Each ship holds about 180 passengers.

He also said more ships will be ordered before 2027, "you're not going to wait till 2027 to order more. This is our initial order."

The river ships will be designed to look like Edge Class ships

The 10 river ships that Celebrity has ordered so far will be designed with their ocean going Edge Class ships in mind.

The Edge Class ships are the latest class of ship design for the brand, and they've re-defined Celebrity in a lot of ways.

Having first debuted in 2018 with Celebrity Edge, they are stylish ships that incorporate modern technology, and a focus on immersive experiences. They are best known for its outward-facing design connects passengers more closely to the ocean.

"There's an incredible opportunity to take these beautiful small ships and through design, improving in culinary and entertainment staterooms, etc., and really bring it up to the level of what you see on Edge," Mr. Liberty commented.

That design difference is one factor in why the company believes Celebrity will succeed in the river space because having Edge Class level design is "far superior to anything else that's in that space."

All inclusive fares?

River cruises today tend to be all-inclusive, and Celebrity might be headed in that direction with their river cruises.

Mr. Liberty talked about that issue in a round-about way in comparing a Celebrity River Cruise to a luxury river cruise, "I think it's important when you're comparing what Celebrity gets today versus what you might see what Viking gets today as an example, it's important to note that on the Celebrity side, it's not an all-inclusive product."

"So as you start adding in some of the inclusivity that comes with river, we expect those APDs to also elevate."

Celebrity to start, maybe SilverSea in the future

Wall Street analysts were curious if it makes even more sense for Royal Caribbean Group's luxury cruising brand, SilverSea, to get in on the river cruise market.

Mr. Liberty didn't rule it out, but did say they would need to wait and see, "as we build up this kind of engine for river under Celebrity, it will certainly provide opportunity for our ultra-luxury guests to consider a river experience under Silversea."

"We're going to start off with Celebrity. We're going to see that's where we think that there is great scale opportunity. And then of course, we'll be looking to see if there's other ways to expand it for our other brands as it sees fit."

River cruises will not operate year-round

One thing Mr. Liberty was quick to note was that the river cruise market is seasonal, unlike the Caribbean.

"[It] will be a little bit different is usually the river boats do not operate year-round. So there will be parts of the year where the ships are laid up."

He then went on to say, "that's under the kind of the current model," so it's possible Celebrity is envisioning something different.

"We will obviously be studying that to see how we can make them as productive as we can during the off-season when it's cold."

Celebrity's ships may not just be in Europe

The focus of many questions centered around European river cruises, but Mr. Liberty tossed in a quick mention there are river cruises elsewhere.

"I also think that sometimes we always think about certain rivers inside of Europe, but there are also rivers around the world. And we're trying to make sure that we are being able to provide the experiences that our guests are looking for," he said.

Celebrity isn't going after Viking River Cruises

From the start of the call, many Wall Street analysts began making comparisons to the market leader, Viking River Cruises.

Royal Caribbean Group respects the product Viking offers, but said they have a different intent.

"We feel very confident that this isn't about chasing Viking customers or another customer," Mr. Liberty said.

He sees this as a way to getting more people who cruise with the Royal Caribbean Group brands to try a river cruise too, "this is about leveraging this incredible sort of business that we have, this incredible flywheel, this incredible leading brands in each one of their segments and making sure that we keep them inside of our ecosystem."

He believes because of the attractive nature of the ocean going cruises they have, they have a built-in audience that's ready to try a river cruise.

In the announcement of Celebrity River Cruises, the company said half of their customers have expressed an interest in trying a river cruise or already have, and when you combine that with the strong customer loyalty program that allows loyalty matching between each brand, it's a strong case for getting people onto a river ship.

"We're adding more and more things like enterprise loyalty on the reciprocity and so forth. So it really incentivizes our guests and recognizes our guests to stay inside of our ecosystem."

Construction is going so well for Royal Caribbean's next new cruise ship that it is moving up the first sailing.

The plan was for Star of the Seas to debut with a 7-night cruise on August 31, 2025.

Guests booked on that sailing received an email to inform them that the new ship will enter service sooner than expected.

"We have an updated timeline for the arrival of Star of the Seas at Port Canaveral! Constructing such a large and amazing ship is challenging, and while delivery can sometimes be delayed, there are other times where we get to sail our new ship earlier."

Royal Caribbean is adding two shorter sailings before the August 31st sailing, calling them "showcase sailings."

There will be two additional 4-Night Perfect Day Cruises on August 23rd and August 27th, 2025.

According to the cruise line, the August 31, 2025 sailing will still take place, "as the first full sailing and inaugural with all of the events and goodies."

What this means is the two four-night cruises that are being added are being treated as pre-inaugural cruises, but the August 31st sailing is the official inaugural sailing.

Those that were originally booked on the August 31, 2025 sailing received an email on Tuesday to inform them of the addition, and to get first dibs on booking rooms on the new cruises.

What's interesting about the addition of the two new sailings prior to the official inaugural, is Royal Caribbean previously pushed back the inaugural sailing in February 2024.

The original Star of the Seas inaugural was scheduled for August 17th, 2025, but then had to be delayed until August 31. 

Sister brand Celebrity Cruises did something similar with new cruises prior to the inaugural with the launch of Celebrity Ascent.

Before its official inaugural sailing, Celebrity Ascent added "pre-inaugural sailings" before its official maiden voyage.

New choices

Guests booked on the original sailing have the choice to book either (or BOTH) of the new showcase sailings, or to move their existing booking to one of the new inaugural 4-Night Perfect Day Cruises as of January 30, 2025.

They could also do nothing and remain as-is on the 7-night sailing to take place on August 31, 2025 as previously scheduled.

Those that were booked in a suite on the original inaugural sailing will have their same suites held as courtesy until February 6, 2025 to make a decision.

Guests in the Interior, Oceanview, and Balcony staterooms will have like-for-like staterooms available to choose from.

If you opt to transfer your reservation to the new sail date in the same room originally booked, Royal Caribbean will prorate the cruise fare for the change in sailing nights, meaning, they'll adjust the cost of your cruise fare to reflect 4 nights instead of 7 nights.

Those that already prepaid will get a refund for 3 nights worth of the cruise fare.

This complimentary transfer covers the cruise fare for the new sail date only and does not include taxes, fees, gratuities, and other non-cruise fare items.

Guests have until next week to decide

If you want to move reservations, you need to act quickly.

Royal Caribbean is giving everyone about a week and a half to contact the line to make the change. Change requests must be made no later than February 06, 2025.

If you do not make a change by February 06, 2025, anyone booked on the August 31 sailing will remain booked on that sailing, and you can still choose to add the new Star of Seas showcase sailings based on availability.

What you can expect on Star of the Seas

The new cruise ship is under construction at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland, and it's expected to be a sequel to Icon of the Seas.

It will be the second in the Icon Class, so she should be right around the same dimensions as Icon of the Seas, so it should be about 250,800 gross tons and carry approximately 5,610 passengers at double occupancy or up to 7,600 passengers at maximum occupancy.

When you add crew members, that brings the theoretical total amount of people up to 10,000.

Beginning with the August 31 sailing, the new ship will sail 7-night cruises to the Caribbean. Her placement with a homeport in Port Canaveral is a shot across the bow of the mega theme park market a short drive away in Orlando.

Star is designed to be a floating family resort, just as compelling (if not better) than a theme park vacation.

"Icon will be the best family vacation in the world," is what Royal Caribbean's Senior Vice President and Chief Product Innovation Officer Jay Schneider said about the plans for this ship.

It's going to have an entire area designed for just families, plus it will have a water park, thrill attractions, multiple shows, more pools than ever, and plenty more.

By 2027, almost every Caribbean cruise will visit one of Royal Caribbean's beach clubs or private islands.

In fact, Royal Caribbean said 90% of Caribbean passengers will visit one of their private destinations in 2027.

The company plans to grow its portfolio of private destinations in the Caribbean and Bahamas. The expansion will kick off with the Royal Beach Club Paradise Island in December 2025. Additionally, a second private beach club in Cozumel, Mexico, is slated to open sometime in 2026. 

That's not all, either. Last year, Royal Caribbean Group announced Perfect Day Mexico in Costa Maya to compliment the wildly popular Perfect Day at CocoCay in the Bahamas. 

"With the introduction of Star of the Seas and Celebrity Xcel in the second half of the year, we continue to differentiate in the Caribbean market with our incredible ships and private destinations driving very strong performance," said Naftali Holtz, Royal Caribbean Group's Chief Financial Officer, during RCG's Q4 earnings call on Tuesday, January 28.

"Over 70% of guests on these itineraries sailing with the Royal Caribbean Brand will visit a private destination this year, and that percentage will increase to 90% in 2027."

Other lines simply can't match Royal Caribbean's private island experience and innovative ships

It's hard to believe that it has been over one year since Icon of the Seas welcomed her first paying guests onboard. That's right: Icon officially set sail on her maiden voyage on January 27, 2024. 

Icon of the Seas redefined the average family cruise with amenities like the Category 6 Waterpark, AquaDome, Surfside Neighborhood, and more. 

Currently, Icon sails exclusively from Miami, Florida, to the Eastern and Western Caribbean, calling at Perfect Day at CocoCay weekly. This means that once the private destinations in Mexico are complete, guests will have three exclusive destinations to choose from on their cruise vacations. 

Star of the Seas will follow in Icon's footsteps, making her debut later this year and further expanding Royal Caribbean's fleet of innovative ships sailing to a range of private islands and beach clubs. 

"The greatest weekend in the history of cruising"

Additionally, Royal Caribbean's Utopia of the Seas takes a unique approach to cruising, offering short voyages on a brand-new ship to Nassau and CocoCay. 

In essence, it's designed to draw in new cruisers by showcasing the best of what Royal Caribbean has to offer, whether immersive dining experiences or the company's private island. 

When the Royal Beach Club Paradise Island opens in December, Utopia's experience will be even more valuable because guests will finally have a new way to explore Nassau, a less-than-desirable destination that ranks in the bottom 10% of cruise ports. 

"It's going to be a great guest experience. [Royal Beach Club Paradise Island is] also incredibly complimentary with CocoCay because we'll have a lot of short product that goes to Perfect Day on one day, and the next day it'll be in the beach club, so it's like the greatest weekend in the history of cruising," said Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley during RCG's Q4 earnings call. 

Celebrity Cruises adding to the hype

Perfect Day at CocoCay's $250 million renovation has proved to be successful. The demand for the private island is so high that RCG began to deploy Celebrity ships to CocoCay. 

Traditionally, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity attract different clientele, with Celebrity focused on providing an upscale experience. In comparison, Royal Caribbean's newest ships are packed with jaw-dropping amenities like FlowRider surf simulators, record-breaking waterparks, and more. 

With Celebrity now calling at CocoCay, guests who want to enjoy the premium experience while also visiting the award-winning private island can do so. 

Tickets for Royal Beach Club Paradise Island go on sale in April

Royal Beach Club Paradise Island is one of the most anticipated additions to Royal Caribbean's portfolio. Details about the new experience have been revealed over the past few months; however, during the Q4 earnings call, Bayley said guests can expect tickets to finally go on sale in April. 

"We'll be launching the product into the market, opening for sale in April, so we'll be able to talk about our pricing in about two months time," he remarked. 

Though the pricing hasn't been revealed yet, we do know that the beach club is all-inclusive, meaning that everything from the first water taxi ride to food and drinks is included. Other amenities include at least two food halls, three Snack Shack locations, a zero-entry pool, the world's largest swim-up bar, and plenty of beach space. 

Bailey added, "Our expectation is in the first full year of the operation of the beach club, we'll have approximately 1 million guests going into the beach club for the experience." Compartively, Royal Caribbean expects around 3.5 million passengers to visit CocoCay in 2025. 

Perfect Day Mexico is expected to be a smash hit

Perfect Day Mexico and the Royal Beach Club Cozumel are expected to become a major draw for passengers cruising from Galveston, Texas. 

The combination of easy access and new amenities will expand Royal's presence in the Western Caribbean even further, with Royal Caribbean thinking that the passenger volume will eventually surpass CocoCay! 

"We think that, ultimately, the volume that we will take to Perfect Day Mexico will far exceed what we're taking into CocoCay," said Bayley. 

Royal Caribbean has pushed back once again its plans to release new cruises in 2026-2027.

Just two weeks after revising its deployment schedule, the cruise line has done so again and even delayed one deployment until further notice.

The most recent change affects three specific releases: short Caribbean, seasonal Caribbean, and Australia.

Royal Caribbean's deployment schedule is a plan for when it will put new sailings on sale for the first time, with each release tied to a specific region that will take place in 2026 or 2027.

Some new 2026-2027 sailings were announced already in November and December, but there's been a break for Christmas and New Years.

Here's what's changed and what you can expect.

The revised deployment schedule

The new deployment schedule has changes to three regions, with one now paused until a new date can be found.

• Week of February 3, 2025: Singapore
• Week of February 10, 2025: Europe 2.0
• Week of February 17, 2025: West Coast
• Week of February 24, 2025: Short Caribbean
• Week of March 3, 2025: Seasonal Caribbean
• Week of March 10, 2025: China
• TBD: Australia

Revised schedule

First revision

What's changed is short Caribbean has been pushed back to February 24,  and seasonal Caribbean has been pushed back to March 3. 

In addition, Australia has been placed in "TBD" until a new release window can be identified.

Plans to release new Europe, West Coast, China, and Singapore cruises remain unchanged.

Previously released 2026-2027 cruises

Royal Caribbean has released some of its 2026-2027 cruises in fall 2024, and they're available to book immediately.

• Alaska 2026
• Europe 2026
• Summer & Yearlong Caribbean 2026-2027
• Northeast 2026-2027

Expect more changes

As we've seen twice so far, the deployment schedule could be altered again. In fact, it will given the pause on Australia releases.

The release of new sailings is part of the cruise line's annual tradition of systematically putting new cruises on sale in the fall and spring.

It's also important to note that when the schedule says a release will occur during "the week of" a certain date, it could be any day that week and is rarely actually on the exact date.

As an example, when Europe 2.0 comes out during the week of February 10, 2025, it almost certainly will not be available on February 10. Rather, it will be posted at some point during that week.

Usually new sailings start appearing on the website around midnight GMT, and usually fill out the schedule by the next morning.

Icon 3 announcement is still forthcoming

Something else probably not included in this latest revision to the deployment schedule is when we can start booking cruises on Royal Caribbean's third Icon Class cruise ship.

We know Icon 3 will start sailing sometime in 2026, but the cruise line has not revealed where in the world the new ship will sail, or any other details about it.

The reason why I believe Icon 3 is not part of this updated deployment schedule is because Royal Caribbean usually puts sailings on a new ship out for sale on its own. It's kind of like its own launch event.

It's likely where Icon 3 gets inserted has an effect on other ships. Deployments tend to have a domino effect, where one ship gets moved to a new homeport and other ships get shifted around as a result.

Make plans now before the new cruises are released

While we all wait just a little bit longer for these new sailings, you'll want to start planning to get a jump start on it.

One of the best ways to get a lower price on a cruise is to book as early as you can, and the day new cruises go on sale is the perfect time.

I recommend alerting your travel agent to your desire to book a new cruise when these deployments go live. That way, your agent can get a hold of a cabin immediately.

Of course, we don't yet know which ships will sail from which ports or when they will depart, but having a plan in place now ensures you'll get a room booked quicker when they do release.

As an example, if you want to cruise during a major holiday, there's bound to be a weeklong cruise offered that week.  So you could tell your travel agent to book a balcony cabin on whichever ship is sailing from a certain port over a given holiday.

The other really good reason to book something immediately is if you want a suite.

Suites are almost always the first category of stateroom to sell out on any sailing because they are the fewest types of rooms on any ship.

Celebrity Cruises is about to get into the river cruise market.

The announcement was made on Tuesday morning that Celebrity Cruises, as the company will add a fleet of 10 river ships.

The first river cruise will begin in 2027, and the idea is to bring the cruise line's vision for ocean going vessels to river cruises.

Introducing Celebrity River Cruises

Celebrity has placed an order for 10 ships, and all of them will operate in Europe.

Royal Caribbean Group CEO Jason Liberty says half of their guests have experienced or intend to vacation on a river cruise.

Celebrity Cruises President Laura Hodges Bethge spoke about the significance of the announcement in a statement, "Celebrity River Cruises will bring the quality and sophistication of our Edge Series ocean ships to the most iconic rivers, starting with Europe."

"We've redefined travel on the ocean with our best-in-class hospitality, award-winning food and beverage experiences, and elevated design and style. We are thrilled to bring these experiences to the river and combine them with authentic, destination-rich itineraries that will give our guests an experience unlike any other."

By getting into river cruises, Celebrity wants to offer more culturally enriching travel experiences.

Celebrity River Cruises will focus on offering premium experiences, local cuisine, interesting shore excursion opportunities, and 360-degree views of historic cities. 

Plus, the 10 new ships will incorporate design elements from Celebrity's Edge Series ships.

Specific details about destinations, fleet specifications, and excursions will be announced in the coming months.

Disrupting the river cruise market

Celebrity's entry into river cruising is a major move, and it's a sign that demand for river cruising is big enough that Royal Caribbean Group wants in on it too.

Plus, offering river cruises in addition to its ocean going sailings could attract new travelers who prefer smaller ships and land-centric itineraries.

Celebrity has built a reputation for itself offering an upscale, premium ocean going cruise.  They call it "modern luxury" and their Edge Class ships have been exemplary in how their ships emphasize service, design, and innovations.

Bringing this approach to river cruises is how the company hopes to differentiate itself from the market. Plus, they could infuse younger travelers into a traditionally older river cruise demographic.

The river cruise market is currently dominated by companies like Viking, AmaWaterways, and Avalon Waterways. With Celebrity now coming in, it not only grows their own offerings, but also shakes up the traditional river cruise market.

Keeping customers within the brand

Royal Caribbean Group hinted at the possibility of river cruises back in April 2024, when it told Wall Street analysts, "that could be something that we would consider at some point in the future."

Back then, they acknowledged they saw potential to grow their business in the river cruise market.

"River is an area where we do see some overlap, not a lot of overlap, but we do see some overlap occurring," said Mr. Liberty.

The idea behind it was to offer more to their customers so there was less reason to try a different company or vacation.

Mr. Liberty talked about retaining customers during the call, "We remain intensely focused on attracting and keeping guests within our unique portfolio of brands, and providing experiences for all of life's moments."

"We have been very thoughtful about having the right brands and the right segments," he explained and gave an example of how customers can dip between the different companies.

Mr. Liberty indicated they're always looking for ways to get better at what they do, and making their customers aware of ways to cruise within the company ecosystem is one component to their plan.

Royal Caribbean's annual profit largely above analysts' expectations

Royal Caribbean Group also reported its fourth quarter 2024 and 2024 full year financial results on Tuesday.

In 2024, the company had total revenues of $16.5 billion and Net Income of $2.9 billion.

2025 is off to a stellar start with WAVE season off to a record start, according to company spokespeople. Essentially, their bookings are where they've been in prior years, but at higher prices.

In fact, the company expects expected adjusted earnings growth of 23% in 2025.

Robust demand

Net Income for the fourth quarter of 2024 was $0.6 billion compared to Net Income of $0.3 billion for the same period in the prior year. 

Royal Caribbean Group has seen bookings accelerate since the last quarter, resulting in the best five booking weeks in the company's history. 

Guest spending onboard and pre-cruise purchases continue to exceed prior years driven by more customers opting to buy add-ons and at higher prices. Royal Caribbean Group says that's due to their "robust commercial engine."

If thou wants a great vacation, thou shalt follow the most important pieces of travel advice.

I'm asked every week for cruise advice when I host a YouTube live video every Monday night. It's an opportunity to give recommendations to specific situations, but there are certain truths that are applicable to just about everyone.

While some advice is going to vary on how effective or useful it is based on the person, there are a core set of travel guidelines I think everyone should follow because the consequences could be dire for your vacation.

The beauty of a cruise vacation is you don't have to plan a lot to have a great time. However, the more you do plan ahead, the better your experience will be overall and you'll probably save money too. Plus, you're far more likely to avoid common pitfalls.

In thinking about the breadth of cruise advice I can provide, I came up with the 10 most important cruise tips possible that apply to just about everyone. 

I hope these tips will save your sanity, reduce your vacation cost, and get you time back during your vacation.

1. Book your cruise early to get the lowest price

There are a lot of approaches to getting a better price on your cruise, but the one that seems to work the best is to book as early as you can.

Prices tend to go up over time, so if you can book a cruise a year or more in advance, you'll probably get a better price.

Cruise lines price their sailings based on a few factors, but how quickly a ship sells and the amount of remaining unsold cabins are among the top considerations. As more people book a cruise, there are less cabins left and the price goes up.

If you can book a cruise more than 12 months early, you'll be able to take advantage of a wider selection of cabins and competitive prices. 

There are last-minute cruise deals out there, but they rarely line up with the exact week you want to vacation. Worse yet, the choice of staterooms is likely going to be crummy.

For residents of the United States, Canada, Australia, and other select countries, you can re-price the cruise up until final payment date if there's a price drop.

2. Book your flight a day early and your flight home late

One of the worst mistakes you can make is to book your flight the same day your cruise begins.

You never want to fly the same day your cruise is scheduled to depart because a flight delay or cancellation means you could miss your cruise vacation, and there's no refund when you no-show for it.

Instead, fly in at least one day before the cruise begins. For international cruises, I'd bump that up to two or three days ahead of time.

Yes, coming in earlier means extra hotel and incidental costs, but it's better than risking your entire vacation on flights being on time.

There are horror stories of travelers who failed to heed this advice and ended up missing their cruise. It's something I unfortunately see all the time, and it's easily preventable.

3. Buy everything you need before the cruise begins, and re-price it along the way

There are lots of add-ons for a cruise, and you'll want to buy them all before it begins.

Instead of waiting to buy it on the ship, you should buy it before it begins on the Royal Caribbean app or website for two important reasons.

First, you'll save money because Royal Caribbean regularly discounts its offerings before the sailing.

There are sales and pre-cruise discounts offered on drink packages, shore excursions, wifi, and more. So book it when you know you need it and lock in the price.

The second reason to pre-book is if there is a new sale that lowers the price, you can always cancel and rebook it.

If you're thinking why not wait until closer to the cruise to actually book the add-on, the issue is prices can go up.  

By booking early and re-pricing later, you assure you always have the best price.

Moreover, some things will sell out before the cruise begins, such as shore excursions or dining packages.

4. Buy travel insurance for any cruise you take

I know travel insurance is an extra cost, but it's worth protecting your family vacation with it.

Insurance is super useful for many scenarios you never expect to run into, and then it's the best money you ever spent.

Travel insurance covers your medical needs, as well as travel delays, injuries, family obligations, and all sorts of reasons why you need to end your vacation early.

I've see too many situations where a family encountered bad luck and it could have made the issue better with travel insurance to back them up.

5. Do the entire online check-in

The last thing you want to do when you arrive at the cruise terminal on the first day is waste time instead of being on the ship.

Just like an airplane, you can complete the online check-in via the cruise line app to expedite the process when you arrive on embarkation day.

Royal Caribbean wants to get you on the ship as fast as possible, so they've enhanced the app to speed up boarding. 

If you take a few minutes at home to do all the check-in steps, you'll spend less time in the cruise terminal and get on the ship faster.

That means filling in all your personal information, scanning your passport, taking a selfie, and entering your credit card information.

6. Use a travel agent to book the cruise

Do you want to save money and time? Using a good travel agent is a must-do, in my opinion.

The value of a travel agent goes beyond booking the cruise, because anyone can do that.  It's the depth of experience they bring, and ability to find the lowest possible price that are why they're so useful.

While travel agents aren't as popular in other forms of travel as they used to be, they remain quite useful with cruises because a cruise vacation is such a personalized vacation.

There are many decisions related to fare types, cabin selection, discount, ship choice, and more. New cruisers can easily miss an important factor, while those that cruise a lot could benefit from wasting less of their own time going back and forth with the cruise line.

If you've tried a travel agent but didn't like that, that just means you haven't found the right one yet.  It's like a good restaurant, you can't give up eating out completely because you went to one bad restaurant.

Ask friends and family which travel agents they use and recommend, and work with one.

7. Pick your ship based on what you want to do

Too many cruisers pick a cruise based on it being the newest, biggest, or cheapest, without realizing they're picking the wrong ship for them.

There isn't an inherently bad Royal Caribbean ship to sail on, but there might be a better ship for your family.

Every cruise ship is not the same, and they don't all include the same activities, dining choices, or things to do onboard.

So what you want to do is research what the ship has to do, and what it doesn't have, and then pick one based on your needs.

When you chase the lowest price and end up on a small, old ship, it's not going to have many restaurants and very few top deck attractions.

Likewise, the newest ship is going enormous and sail to places you might not care about.

I can't tell you how many times I hear someone was disappointed in a cruise ship because it didn't measure up to the one they expected or sailed on previously. Having the right expectations is important.

8. Find and book excursions before the cruise begins

There are going to be dozens of things to do in any port your ship visits, and it's so much easier to find the right one when you research it from home.

The destinations a cruise go to are among the top reasons anyone books a cruise vacation. With only a few hours in each port, that leaves little wiggle room for disappointment.

My advice is take some time and look up ideas for what to do, and the right tour operator. You can book shore excursions with Royal Caribbean or with a third-party company. There are advantages to both, but you need to do your homework.

9. If your ship allows you to pre-book entertainment, do it

On Royal Caribbean's biggest cruise ships, you'll be able to book tickets to the shows onboard and you really should do it as soon as possible.

There is limited capacity for these shows, and no cost to pre-book, so you'll want to do so.  Usually entertainment opens up about 30 days before a cruise begins, and it's only available on the Oasis, Icon, and Quantum Class ships.

If you're sailing on other classes of ships, you can't and don't need to book entertainment.

Reservations will sell out, but don't let that stop you from going anyway. There's a standby line for each show, and you can usually get in if you arrive at least 30 minutes before the show begins.  Moreover, there can be additional tickets you can book once you get on the ship and connect to the ship's WiFi and then open up the Royal Caribbean app.

10. Be flexible

You can follow every commandment so far and still run into a problem or unexpected issue during your cruise, so it's critical to be flexible.

The spontaneity of a vacation is part of it's appeal, but it's also why sometimes things don't go as planned. 

The key is roll with the punches and not let an issue ruin the rest of your trip.

You'll want to mitigate the problem and speak to a crew member to help, depending on the severity of it.  

But if it's out of your hands, like bad weather, choosing the wrong tour, or wasting money on something onboard, you should chalk it up to bad luck and move on. Grab a drink, sleep it off, or laugh about it and try to make the rest of the trip better.

I've run into very frustrating experiences over the years while I've cruised, but I've made an effort to never let it get to me and become a major disaster. 

Royal Caribbean has given a proper send off to one of its most beloved ship captains.

Captain Johnny Faevelen announced he would be retiring after 50 years of working in the maritime industry, and Royal Caribbean wanted to make sure he was recognized for his hard work.

Executives and friends were on Symphony of the Seas when he was invited to a gathering where the Captain got an official thank you.

"Bittersweet day as we celebrate the legendary Captain Johnny’s retirement," wrote Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley on Facebook.

"50 years of your dedication and leadership at Royal Caribbean will always be honored! We will greatly miss you and your Harley but not too long until we’ll see you cruising on Star of the Seas!"

As part of the celebration, he was awarded his own glitzy "Royal Bling" necklace.  

The crew members chipped in and bought him a personalized motorcycle helmet that he can wear on shore to remember his time as Captain.

The significance of the motorcycle helmet is Captain Johnny is an avid Harley Davidson motorcyle fan and would keep a motorcycle onboard his ships to take on shore for joy rides.

Captain Johnny's favorite cruise memories

After 50 years of working on cruise ships, anyone would be curious what stands out.

He's spent so many years at the helm of the world's biggest cruise ships and been a very prominent figure within the fleet.

Captain Johnny was asked what his top cruise memory was and he picked one from when he was Captain of Mariner of the Seas.

"Top one would be we sailed Mariner of the Seas around Cape Horn," he reminisced in a video.

Cape Horn is the southernmost point  of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and it's a challenging and dangerous place to sail because it's where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans meet. It's considered one of the most difficult yachting challenges in the world.

His second favorite memory was about being the Captain on a brand new cruise ship, "Number two would be taking out seven of the biggest cruise ships in the world."

Among the ships in the list include Symphony of the Seas, Allure of the Seas, and Harmony of the Seas.

But one memory he treasures a lot is a personal one, "Top memory I have from 50 years is actually when I gave away my daughter. You know, a Captain can marry people, and my daughter and future son-in-law contacted me and said, 'Daddy, can you marry us?'."

"And in doing that, have a Captain's hat on one minute, and then being the father the next one and I could marry them, that's the pinnacle of my life as a Captain with Royal Caribbean."

Cruise fans share their favorite Captain Johnny memories

News of Captain Johnny's departure from the fleet spread quickly, and it seems many cruise fans will miss him.

Many of them shared anecdotes and stories on Facebook.

Chris Birdsong wrote, "My first captain I ever had on Royal! Well deserved retirement, will miss seeing him around the ship."

Fabian Rodriguez posted, "I was fortunate and honored to sail alongside Captain Johnny for several years, sharing wonderful moments as part of the Freedom and Mariner crew. You will be missed Captain. Stay safe and take good care of yourself."

"That Around The Horn cruise on Mariner was also our favorite memory of our own 35 years of cruises... Well done, Captain Johnny," wrote Robert Lorrey.

A career spanning decades of incredible ships

Looking at Captain Johnny's resume, you'll quickly discover an impressive array of ships he has worked on.

He began his journey with the company in 1975 as an Ordinary Seaman aboard the Song of Norway, Royal Caribbean's first purpose-built cruise ship. 

He spent some time working on cargo ships in order to move his career forward, but eventually returned to Royal Caribbean and achieved the rank of Captain in 1994, with his first command on the Nordic Prince. 

Over the years, Captain Faevelen helmed several notable ships, including the Monarch of the Seas, Voyager of the Seas, Allure of the Seas, Harmony of the Seas, and Symphony of the Seas. 

One thing that always set him apart from other Captains was his style and outgoing personality. He drove a motorcyle, had a Segway that he used around the ship, and even had a pet parrot for a time.

In recent years, he has been open about his battle with melanoma, sharing updates on his treatment and recovery. 

As he steps into retirement, Captain Faevelen looks forward to dedicating time to his family, including his wife, two children, and soon-to-be five grandchildren.

I have to admit I avoided going on Royal Caribbean's old and small ships for a while, but I was persuaded to go on one for a long weekend and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

I had sailed on one Vision Class ship back in 2018, and can't say it was my favorite ship. It felt fundamentally different from the rest of the fleet, and I mostly avoided these ships.

Friends invited me to go on Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas and I eventually agreed to go, but I was leery of what awaited me because I was worried the ship would be disappointing.

Out of 29 Royal Caribbean ships, Enchantment is the third smallest ship in size, and also among the oldest. She was built in 1997 and has a passenger capacity of just 2,416 people.  By today's standards, that's really small.

Nonetheless, it had been six years since my last sailing on a Vision Class ship and my cruising style has changed since then.  Plus, I wasn't cruising with my kids, so I wouldn't be as dependent on family offerings.

This sailing departed from Tampa, Florida for a 4-night voyage to Cozumel, Mexico.  

The right mix of ways to relax

I knew going into this cruise to temper my expectations for what was going to be offered onboard. On any ship you sail on, you have to be realistic about what it offers and doesn't offer. 

While Enchantment of the Seas doesn't have as many bars, lounges, pools, or top deck activities as the bigger ships, it has just enough.

It has a rather large adults-only Solarium, one of the best Schooner Bars in the fleet, and an impressively large casino.

Because this ship was actually stretched by 73 feet (meaning they cut it in half and inserted a new section), the pool deck feels quite massive.  I was impressed how many hot tubs they had for a ship of this size.

Speaking of the pool deck, it has a bar with one of the best views on any Royal Caribbean ship at the Oasis Bar.

The Oasis Bar faces the ocean, which is a rarity on other ships. 

For indoor relaxation, I thought the Viking Crown Lounge was impressive too. 

This is a feature that has changed a lot on other ships, but is mostly true to its original vision on Enchantment.  You should go up here to read a book, people watch, or just watch the world pass by.

Plus, at night this is where the club scene happens.  It's not my thing, but people love it and it's easily overlooked given where it's located.

What you should expect on the smallest Royal Caribbean ships

No matter which cruise ship you pick, you have to go in with the right expectations.

I think part of why I enjoyed Enchantment as much as I did was because I went into it not expecting a ship remotely like Utopia of the Seas or Icon of the Seas.

You won't confuse a ship as old as Enchantment with the newer ones, but that doesn't mean you can't have a good time on it.

The core cruising experience is still here, which means a lot of time in the day hanging out by the pool, watching the ocean go by, and taking in some music or a trivia event along the way. In the evening, there's dinner, a show, and music all around the ship.  

These aren't things that you'll see heavily advertised in a commercial, but I think it's exactly the relaxing long weekend a lot of people want.

On our sea days, I embraced this mantra by grabbing a chair near the pool. 

One evening, I decided to go into the hot tub in the Solarium and found it all to myself. 

The reality is a ship this old is going to have dated decor, basic production shows, and some signs of age here and there. It is what it is, but I try to focus on the things the ship does well rather than look for every piece of rust I can spot.

Enchantment has the basics and it does it well. If your idea of a fun cruise is spending your day at the pool, having a drink at night with a show, music, or gambling, it will deliver on that.

You'll probably save money on a small and old ship

One other important reason to pick a ship like Enchantment of the Seas is the price.

Unlike Royal Caribbean's glitzy new and immensely popular ships, older ships have attractive prices that keep them a compelling option.

In general, cruise prices tend to be lower on older ships.  Newer ships come join the fleet and command premium pricing.  Since the older ones don't have as much to do, there's a tendency to see lower prices for these vessels.

In my case, I was able to get onboard for just $70 thanks to a free cruise offer from Royal Caribbean's casino. 

Friends paid around $600 for a single person in an inside cabin, and those kinds of low rates are typical with Vision Class ships.

While Enchantment doesn't have the top deck attractions newer ships have, it also doesn't (usually) have a high price tag.

Lack of dining options is its downfall

If there's one area Enchantment of the Seas is notably lacking, it's in the dining choices.

Small ships don't have many options to begin with, but Enchantment has far fewer than even other Vision Class ships.

There's only one specialty restaurant on Enchantment, Chops Grille. Other Vision Class ships have an Italian and Japanese restaurant.

On a four night cruise, that doesn't bother me much because it's a short cruise. But the lack of dining variety would be an issue on a longer cruise.

The other issue is the Windjammer is pretty small, and doesn't have any cooking stations.

I liked the food quality in the Windjammer, but I wish there was a greater variety of options.

I certainly didn't go hungry on this cruise, but compared to other ships, the lack of restaurant choices stands out.

Never bored

I found enough to do every day to keep me entertained, and I was never bored.

There was enough going on around the ship, including shows, music, the casino, and of course the pools. The production shows weren't great, but I managed to stay entertained even without them.

Something Enchantment of the Seas has that other Vision Class ships do not is Boleros, and that's because it was added as part of the stretching process.  

And of course the crew members were fantastic.  There are crew members from all over the world, and I love getting to meet them and interact. They're so friendly and welcoming, it makes the cruise fun.

I wouldn't dismiss small ships like Enchantment purely based on its age or size, and I'll look for ways to get back on a Vision Class ship again much sooner than six years.

Happy weekend! We hope you are enjoying a wonderful and relaxing weekend and managing to stay warm. Now it is time to sit back with a cuppa tea or java, and check out the latest in Royal Caribbean cruise news.

Royal Caribbean has really big plans for the next few years with new ships, places to visit, and brand new ways to vacation.

With its business doing incredibly well, Royal Caribbean is poised to add new cruise ships and private destinations to its roster.

Not only will these new offerings bring in new business, but the cruise line wants to further distinguish itself from other vacation choices as something truly unique.

Royal Caribbean News

• Royal Caribbean is re-opening an attraction with a new idea
• Royal Caribbean cancels a sailing of one of its cruise ships to complete maintenance work
• What to expect on Royal Caribbean theme nights
• 10 hacks to maximize the cruise casino perks
• 10 things I'd recommend if someone is new to cruise ship travel
• 12 things I always look forward to on every sailing
• Survey says 50% of cruisers dress up for formal night
• Celebrity Cruises just spent $1 billion to order another new cruise ship
• Celebrity Cruises will let everyone vote on the look, food, and entertainment on its next new cruise ship

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 554th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, all about what people that have never cruised before get wrong about cruises.

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: What you need to know about Royal Caribbean's Oasis Class ships

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 — Guide to Oasis Class ships — and don’t forget to subscribe here.

5 things crew members hate when cruise passengers do

Crew members on a ship see a lot, but a few things truly irritate them when passengers do it.

Occasionally, there's something a passenger does during their cruise that can be frustrating for a crew member to deal with.

A list appeared on the internet, and it's a good reminder of what not to do.

Royal Caribbean cancels more cruise ship visits to San Juan, Puerto Rico

It appears repairs to the pier in San Juan, Puerto Rico are not yet complete.

Guests booked on sailings in February 2025 received emails to inform them their scheduled visit has been replaced with other plans.

This is an ongoing issue with the port due to damage to the pier, which prevents Royal Caribbean's Oasis Class ships from docking there.

A $20 DIY hammock transformed this cruise ship balcony

The best balcony hack might be bringing your own hammock onboard.

One cruiser shared photos of how he brought a cheap $20 hammock on his cruise to add more value and enjoyment from his balcony.

He was able to attach it easily to the beams because there are holes in each beam, which was the perfect size for clamping the hammock onto it.

17 mistakes you can avoid making on cruise ship sea days

A sea day is when you have all day to enjoy everything your ship has to offer, but you certainly don't want to waste them.

I think most people want to get as much out of their vacation as possible, and sea days are when you get the most time on the ship to eat, see, and enjoy it all.

If you want to take advantage of what your ship has to offer, I'd avoid these 17 sea day mistakes.