Royal Caribbean Blog

As part of the new digital entertainment coming to the Royal app on select ships, Royal Caribbean has introduced an interactive game called Expedition Two70 for Anthem of the Seas.

The game is free to play, and simply requires guests have the Royal Caribbean app installed on their mobile device.

Once on board the ship guests can visit the Two70° venue to begin the augmented reality adventure.

The game proceeds in a scavenger hunt fashion looking for masks with the beautiful Two70° venue on deck 5 aft.

Once a mask is found players scan the mask in the app to launch one of four augmented reality games. 

Each game session explain the objectives before launching into the augmented reality game using the camera and motion sensors of your device.

At this mask station a virtual mountain appears with light directed through a series of gems by moving your device and yourself around to focus the light on an object, destroying it and moving to the next level.   

Once you complete all levels in the challenge that mask is unlocked.

Masks are found in different areas around the Two70° venue.   Each offers a unique and challenging augmented reality experience.

As you progress through the adventure each mask is unlocked until you have unlocked all of the masks.  

It’s a lot of fun for kids of all ages and part of the digital entertainment experience that Royal is bringing to guests through the Royal app. 

Welcome to this week's round-up of all the Royal Caribbean news and happenings.  Hope you are staying warm and are ready to cozy up to some great Royal Caribbean fun.

Royal Caribbean cancelled five Liberty of the Seas sailings in 2021 in order to provide more time for the ship to be upgraded.

The cruise line confirmed that five sailings are being cancelled, beginning with the February 14, 2021 sail date.

Royal Caribbean has not announced what changes and upgrades are coming to Liberty of the Seas yet.

Royal Caribbean News

• Royal Caribean released the 2021-2022 deployment schedule.
• Despite an earthquake in the region, there were no changes to Royal Caribbean's cruise schedule.
• You can now update your check-in information much easier with Royal Caribbean's app.
• There is still time to take advantage of a pre-cruise sale and save up to 30% off things like drink packages, internet, excursions and more.
• Our eight Southern Caribbean cruise tips and secrets.
• If you were wondering: how far in advance to book a cruise to get the best price.
• A new line of enhanced retail offerings debuted on Oasis of the Seas.
• Check out our video of the most super expensive Royal Caribbean experiences.
• Answers to some of the most asked Royal Caribbean drink package questions.
• Sage advice on how to avoid getting sick on a cruise.
• We posted a photo tour of a two bedroom grand suite on Freedom of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 336th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, where Matt and Ken review the recently completed RoyalCaribbeanBlog group cruise on Freedom of the Seas.

Having just wrapped up a 7-night Southern Caribbean cruise on Freedom of the Seas, Matt and Ken share their experiences with the group, as well as in each port the ship visited.

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's coming to Royal Caribbean in 2020

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 — What's coming to Royal Caribbean in 2020 — and don’t forget to subscribe here.

Royal Caribbean Around the Internet

Travel Weekly wrote about the "whole truth" when it comes to cruise pricing.

JJ Cruise posted a behind the scenes tour of Portside BBQ on Oasis of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean has released a deployment schedule for the remaining 2021-2022 sailings, which will become available to book in February & March 2020.

• Week of February 24, 2020: China – Phase 2
• Week of March 2, 2020: Short Caribbean
• Week of March 16. 2020: Australia
• Week of March 23, 2020: China – Phase 3
• Week of March 30, 2020: Singapore & Transpacifics

These 2021-2022 sailings are in addition to the ones that were released in November & December 2019.

All itineraries and openings are subject to change without notice. 

Deployment schedules gives consumers an idea of when to expect particular cruise schedules to become available to start looking at future cruises.

A family looking for a combination of space and amenities are to enjoy the Two Bedroom Grand Suite on Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas.

I recently had the opportunity to stay in this rather large room. Photos of this cabin are from stateroom 8714.

This Grand Suite features two bedrooms, each with two twin beds that convert to a Royal King (one room with third and fourth Pullman beds). There is a private balcony, two bathrooms, and a living area.

It is essentially an inside room, along with a balcony room that as a common living room to share.

The master bedroom features a large porhole window that looks into the balcony.

The master bathroom features a full bathtub. The second bedroom's bathroom is a standard standup shower.

The two bedroom grand suite offers 587 square feet of living space. A coffee maker and mini-fridge is found in the living room.  There are mini-fridges in both bedrooms as well.

The balcony features 270 square feet of space.

Looking down, you have a view of the lower part of the aft of Freedom of the Seas.

Balcony cabins offer some great views of the sunrise or sunset.

Get your weekend started with our readers' favorite Royal Caribbean cruise photos! Each week, we show off Royal Caribbean photos that our readers submitted.  It is a great way to enjoy lovely photos, as well as take a "virtual trip" back on a cruise.

Our first photo this week is by KristiZ, and it is from the North Star on Spectrum of the Seas while in Chan May, Vietnam.

Next up is a photo by Colleen Hanson of the pool deck on Enchantment of the Seas.

Here is a great shot of the sunet from the aft of Symphony of the Seas, taken by Selson.

Jim & Elaine snapped this photo of the former Monarch of the Seas in Curacao.

Jenni took this photo of Oasis of the Seas in Labadee.

Michael Kho snapped this beautiful photo during a sea day.

Our final photo this week is by Tyler Ryan, and it is of the Flowrider on Navigator of the Seas (note Mariner of the Seas docked next to the ship while in Nassau).

Thank you to everyone for this week's fabulous photos. If you would like to send in your own Royal Caribbean photos to be featured here, use this form to have them included in a future edition!

Royal Caribbean is offering bonus instant savings of up to $350 on cruises booked this weekend.

The New Year New Thrills sale applies to new bookings made between January 9 – 12, 2020 on select sailings departing on or after February 9, 2020.

It includes:

• 60% off second guest
• Instant savings
  • Sailings 5 nights or less, $25 savings for Interior and Ocean View, $75 for Balconies and $75 for Suites
  • Sailings 6 nights or longer, $50 savings for Interior and Ocean View, $100 for Balconies and $200 for Suites
• Kids Sail Free
  • Guests 12 & Under sail free on a select 4-night or longer Alaska, Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada, Caribbean, CaribNE, Coastal, Europe, Hawaii, Repositioning and all 2020 Serenade of the Seas sailings
  • Offer excludes 2020 President’s Day sailings (Sailings between February 14 – 17, 2020), 2020 Spring Break sailings (Sailings between March 14 – 23, 2020), 2020 Holy Week/Easter sailings (Sailings between April 3 – 17, 2020), Peak Summer (Sailings between May 15 – August 31, 2020), 2020 Thanksgiving sailings (Sailings between November 21 – 28, 2020), 2021 President’s Day Sailings (Sailings between February 12 – 15, 2021), and 2021 Spring Break and Easter sailings (Sailings between March 13 – April 4, 2021).
• Do Something Cool Alaska Bonus
  • Applies to new bookings made between December 27, 2019 – January 31, 2020.
  • Applies to select sailings departing between May 15, 2020 – September 11, 2020 on Ovation of the Seas, Radiance of the Seas and Serenade of the Seas.
  • Instant savings amount is per stateroom and determined by category booked: $25 savings for Interior and Ocean View, $50 for Balconies and $100 for Suites.

BOGO60 is combinable with Kids Sail Free and Alaska Kicker, as well as promotional OBCs, NextCruise offers, instant savings, restricted discounts (for example, Seniors, Residents, Military), Promo Code driven offers, Free Upgrades, Crown and Anchor discounts and Shareholder Benefits. Alaska Kicker is combinable with Kids Sail Free as well as well as with promotional OBCs, NextCruise offers, Instant Savings, restricted discounts (for example, Seniors, Residents, Military), Promo Code driven offers Free Upgrades, Crown and Anchor discounts and Shareholder Benefits. New Year – New Thrills is combinable with BOGO60, Kids Sail Free and Alaska Kicker as well as with promotional OBCs, NextCruise offers, Instant Savings, restricted discounts (for example, Seniors, Residents, Military), Promo Code driven offers, Free Upgrades and Shareholder Benefits, but not combinable with Crown and Anchor discounts.  Offers are not combinable with any other offer or promotion, including, but not limited to, Standard Group, Interline, Travel Agent, Travel Agent Friends and Family, Weekly Sales Events, and Net Rates. Promo Code driven offers are based on select ships and sail dates and must be applied at time of booking; limit one promo code per booking.

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

Whether you have money burning a hole in your pocket, or you enjoy day dreaming about spending oodles of cash, we have a look at the kind of things you can spend plenty on during a Royal Caribbean cruise.

Royal Caribbean offers things to see and do at every price, including the super expensive.  I have picked five of the priciest things you can do on a Royal Caribbean cruise in today's brand new RoyalCaribbeanBlog video!

And if you love this video, we have lots of other great cruise videos to watch on our Royal Caribbean Blog YouTube Channel!

By the way, have you subscribed yet? Be sure to subscribe to our channel and never miss a single video!

So check out the video and then let us know: Which of these super splurges would you want to buy?

Royal Caribbean informed guests on five sailings in 2021 that their cruises have been cancelled in order to provide extra time for the ship's scheduled dry dock next year.

The cruise line confirmed that five sailings are being cancelled, beginning with the February 14, 2021 sail date.

An extended dry dock is necessary in order to perform the upgrades and enhancements the ship will receive as part of Royal Caribbean's more than $1 billion Royal Amplified fleet modernization effort.

Guests on the affected sailings received emails to inform them of their options, which include being rebooked on other Liberty of the Seas sailings later in 2021, or Jewel of the Seas during the same time period. Alternatively, guests may choose to re-book on a different Royal Caribbean International sailing or cancel the cruise all together.

Royal Caribbean has not announced what changes and upgrades are coming to Liberty of the Seas yet.

Royal Caribbean recently updated its app to make it easier for guests to return to edit their information after checking-in online to help qualify for Expedited Arrival.

One of the most useful offerings in select embarkation ports is Expedited Arrival, which moves guests quicker through the check-in process in the cruise terminal.

In the past, once a guest completed online check-in, it was difficult to get back to update the information.

With the 1.23.0 release, Royal Caribbean added a new link below the SetSail Pass to easily get back and update information.

Here is how to get Expedited Arrival for your next sailing:

1. Create a guest account with Royal Caribbean before the cruise.

2. Download the Royal Caribbean app from either the iTunes App Store or Google Play Store.

3. Begin check-in and make sure you do a few steps:

a. Fill out all the questions in the short form provided.
b. Scan your passport with the app (do not manually enter the passport information).
c. Take a security selfie photo. Make sure you do not have a hat on or sunglasses, and have as muted a background as possible.

The app is available on the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store.

When Royal Caribbean spent $165 million in upgrades to Oasis of the Seas, along with new water slides, restaurants and activities, the ship debuted a much enhanced and upgraded retail offer.

In coordination with Starboard Cruise Services, eight retail areas on three decks were refurbished and expanded across more than 7,000sq ft. These cover key categories including fine watches & jewellery, fashion jewellery, beauty & fragrance, a destination shop, branded merchandise, apparel and leather, plus a dedicated John Hardy location.

Among the retail highlights is What Goes Around Comes Around, featuring curated luxury brands from around the world, including Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Gucci.

The destination-inspired Island Market aims to bring “the spirit of the Caribbean” to life. Encouraging discovery, the space’s vibrant props and colourful cards tell the stories of the talents behind brands such as Debbie Katz with coastal-inspired beachwear; Tagua, a colourful modern jewellery line; and Marcela Cofre, known for crafting colourful glass designs and jewellery.

In fine watches, the Swiss timepieces offer includes Hublot, TAG Heuer, Breitling and Longines, among others.

The first dedicated John Hardy shop in the Royal Caribbean fleet features the jeweller’s handcrafted collections inspired by Balinese jewellery-making traditions. Adding an experiential twist, John Hardy’s Sail to Bali is a hands-on workshop where guests learn the eight-step Balinese jewellery-making traditions that John Hardy employs.