Royal Caribbean Blog

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

Episode 181 is available for downloading, which provides an overview of Royal Caribbean's private destination of Labadee.

There is so much to see and do in Labadee, and Matt has a guide to what to expect when visiting Labadee and a look at the various popular options and activities onshore.

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 181. 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!

It looks like the name of Royal Caribbean's fourth Oasis class cruise ship may have been leaked by a partner company that works with the cruise line.

FlowRider touted the work it is doing with its largest client, Royal Caribbean, and repeatedly referred to the fourth Oasis class ship as Symphony of the Seas.

The blog post mentions the new ship in reference to the the fact it will have a FlowRider onboard, "But what does all of this have to do with music? Well, Symphony of the Seas®, that’s what. This is what RCCL will call their fourth OASIS Class cruise ship and it’s due to be commissioned later this year! Translation: we are super busy building #17 and 18 on the beautiful Ms. Symphony. With even more in the pipeline, can we ask for a better advertisement for repeat business? For customer AND consumer satisfaction? And if it is “good to great” enough for RCCL, shouldn’t it be for you?"

Royal Caribbean has not officially announced the name of its fourth Oasis class ship yet.

Oasis 4 is under construction in STX France and will join Royal Caribbean's fleet in spring 2018.

Credit for spotting this news goes to Harmony of the Seas Facebook group first.

Did you know Royal Caribbean offers discounts on its very popular unlimited alcohol drink package?

Too many people buy a drink package on their ship and pay full price having missed out on the chance to save a lot of money.

In order to get a discount, you just need to do a little bit of work before your cruise to snag a lower price. The good news is anyone can get a lower price for a drink package with very little effort!

Many folks want to know how to get a drink package discount, so here's how to pay less.

Pre-cruise

Generally speaking, Royal Caribbean offers discounts on its drink packages that are pre-purchased via the Cruise Planner site before the cruise begins. 

The exact discount will vary, although it is common to see a 20% discount off the daily rate. No matter what discount you see online, it will be cheaper if you buy it before your cruise compared to waiting to book it onboard.

Royal Caribbean has been known to run even more lucrative discounts from time to time. The intriguing aspect to that discount is the daily price for a drink package seems to vary from ship to ship, and sailing to sailing.  If you have more than one cruise booked on different ships, you may find different sale prices.

To find the discounted rates, log into the My Cruises section of the Royal Caribbean web site, and navigate to the Cruise Planner section for the sailing you are interested in.

Once logged in, navigate to the Beverage section and look for advertised rates. You will likely see something similar to this: 

If you are comfortable with the price, you can purchase it for as many (or as few) guests as you like.  Keep in mind that you will be charged in full for the drink package at the time of purchase.

It is also worth noting beverage package purchases made online can be canceled and full refunded at any time, up until about 3 days before your sail date.

You can buy a drink package up until 48 hours before your sailing.

Ignore the percentage off

Here's a secret about the pre-cruise sale you see for your drink package: the percentage off is meaningless.

Instead of comparing how much off the drink package is today versus another day, look for the bottom line price.

Essentially, you'll want to do a mock booking in the Cruise Planner to get the total price to determine if the actual price.  Royal Caribbean advertises percentage off the onboard price, but we will never know the onboard price until you're actually onboard.

Book now to protect yourself

A common mistake is for someone to wait to book their drink package to see if the price will go lower.

The reason waiting to book a drink package until closer to your sail date is a mistake is because the price could go up, and then you would end you paying more than you originally saw it listed for online.

Instead, you should book the drink package at whatever price you see it for online before your cruise.  Remember, you can always cancel it if you change your mind later, up to 48 hours before your cruise begins.

If later the price goes down, you can cancel and rebook the drink package and take advantage of the lower price.

By booking the drink package now, you lock in the price and protect yourself against a price increase while still being able to take advantage of a price drop.

What is the cheapest price for a Royal Caribbean drink package?

If you're new to cruising, how do you know if you're getting a good deal or not?

Before we get into pricing, it's important to note that what someone else paid for their drink package has no bearing on how much you should expect to pay. Drink package prices vary from ship to ship, and sailing to sailing.

Unlike a retail store where you could price match what someone else paid, there is no such mechanism on cruises.

Remember, no matter what the price you see online, it will be cheaper than onboard the ship if you were to wait!

These days, a per-day drink package cost of below $65 is about as cheap as it gets for the deluxe beverage package.

Rarely do we see prices go below that threshold, and it is extremely rare to see the deluxe beverage package priced below $60 per person, per day.

Realistically, you can expect to pay between $65 - $90 per person, per day for the unlimited alcohol package.

The Royal Refreshment package will cost between $22.99 - $29.99 per person, per day.

The soda package should range between $8.99 - $10.99 per person, per day.

If you aren't seeing prices as low as what's listed here, there really isn't anything you can do to change that.  Keep checking back for price drops, as there's usually a sale every 4-6 weeks.

Onboard

Getting a drink package onboard is only an option if you are higher up in Royal Caribbean's customer loyalty program.

Royal Caribbean includes drink package discounts onboard the ship to its Crown and Anchor Society members who are Diamond, Diamond Plus or Pinnacle level.

We have seen discounts offered at 20% off for Diamond, 30% off for Diamond Plus, and 40% off for Pinnacle.  As with all onboard discounts available to Crown and Anchor Society members, it is up to you to ask the crew member for the discount to be applied at the time of purchase.

If you are not a Diamond or above member in Crown and Anchor Society, there are no discounts available for drink packages.  

Unfortunately, you cannot combine your Crown and Anchor discount with the price you see online.  You have to choose between one or the other.

If you are brand new to Royal Caribbean, there is no discount onboard and the price will be sold to you at the prevailing rates. In this scenario, you want to pre-purchase it online before your cruise.

Regardless of which method you use to take money off the cost of your drink package, one of these strategies will save you a good amount of money on your next Royal Caribbean vacation. Enjoy!

From Asia to the Caribbean, in the summer or in the winter, guests on Royal Caribbean's Quantum class ships can luxuriate by the pool no matter the weather. The smart ships fully retractable roof can open or close to suit all climates.

Today we are docked in Port Canaveral, Florida offloading passengers and picking up new ones. I ended up waking up pretty early, so I watched us pull into the pier. If you have never done this I highly recommend it. I think it is a different way to end the cruise; it's peaceful and a nice way to end the cruise.

My friend Nick decided to do express disembarkation at 7:30am. If you want to get off the ship first, I recommend getting down to the Centrum between 7am-7: 15am.

Once he left me it was time to pack up for me cabin change. I have sailed back-to-back sailings before and they have always provided me with a one-pager of information on the process. This sailing, I didn't get anything, so I asked the Loyalty Officer and he said to show up at his desk at 9:30am. My cabin change process was uneventful but the hallways were packed with everyone trying to depart.

My new cabin is on deck 4, standard Ocean View cabin. This cabin is a great location because it’s right beside the Centrum, #4098. I did have them put the beds together, but as you can tell there is plenty of room with them apart. I like that there is space by the window for storage, a built in shelf against the wall for more storage.

Around 10am they walked the six of us off to US Customs. I decided to leave the group and head over to grills for breakfast once we were cleared. Grills is only a 3-5 minute walk from terminal 1. The restaurant is a lot of fun because it's right beside the ship and they often have live music.

At 12:30, I headed back to the ship to enjoy the perfect weather we were having.

Once I went through security, I just headed right to the gangway since I already had my sea pass card in hand. I grabbed a 20% off Johnny Rockets coupon at their table in the centrum and off I went. I went with the same smoked house burger I got the other day. Again the restaurant was empty and the service was great.

Sailaway party was great because the weather was so perfect and everyone was out on the top decks. I didn’t go to the spa raffle today, because I wanted to enjoy the views as we sailed away. 

Evening on board 

For dinner, I had My Time Dining, which lets you eat whenever you want. However, if you do not want to wait you can request a time you will come each evening. I sat at a small table that was for two. The table was very close to the table beside me, so I ended up talking to them the whole meal.

For tonight, I just went for the main course, no starters or desert. And it’s a good thing, because look at the size of this prime rib! It was almost the same size as my plate!

They wanted to bring me desert, but I just couldn’t eat anymore. 

Tonight was the 70’s party, and I had thought it would be in the centrum, but it was actually held in the boleros lounge. The party was epic, the activity’s director Moe was the host and seeing him dressed up like that was so funny! I’ve known Moe for many years now; he used to be on Enchantment but switched over to Majesty last year. 

Well that’s a full day, and after the 70’s party it was almost midnight so off to bed I went. Tomorrow we are back in Coco Cay! This is one island I’ll never get tired of visiting.

 No matter how many times I have been to Coco Cay, I just never get tired of it. Coco Cay is Royal Caribbean’s private island, which requires a tender ride to get there.

Majesty of the Seas was ready for tenders around 8:00am, and were off the ship by 8:30am. The tender process is not as painful as many report. I think the key to avoid all the crazy lines is go early right when they start the process.

For those that have never been over to Coco Cay before they have a towel station right before you get off, so that you are able to check-out (with sea pass card) some beach towels.

They also have a full lunch set-up on the island that you can enjoy, so that you don’t have to go back to the ship for lunch. 

Once we arrived over to the island all we did was explore and check out all the new changes that are happening. Coco Cay is undergoing quite a bit of changes if you compare it to a few years ago. They have added beach cabana beds for rent and the floating bar has returned since the recent hurricane.

If you are wanting to spend a lot time at the floating bar, I would recommend renting the beach shells for $45, as they are right in front of the floating bar now.

We ended up laying in a beach cabana for around an hour, since we were over there so early. I really enjoyed them and these might be really great for families so the kids have some shade.

Lunch on the island 

We were invited to have lunch on the patio over beside the jet skis and boat area. They had some lite options, which is good since I’ve felt like all we have done is eat! I had 8 or so shrimps and that’s about it, they were so yummy.

I also enjoyed my favorite island drink, a Coco Loco. If you ever visit the island they have a signature frozen drink on the island called a Coco Loco. After some snacks we deiced to head back over to the ship and enjoy some pool deck sunshine. 

Afternoon on board 

Once we were on board I experienced my first issue with Voom internet. They were conducting some maintenance and it was offline for around an hour. I suppose they conduct these maintenance when most of the guests are off the ship. Since we are talking about Voom Internet, this is the fastest internet I’ve ever experienced on a ship. 

The pool deck ended up being very busy as the afternoon went on. Everyone was watching the football games in the water. The Majesty of the Seashas a new pool deck TV that was installed during her last dry dock. The quality of the TV looked very clear just like watching HD at home, so they are using an upgraded TV now compared to other ships. 

Evening on board 

Tonight we started our evening in the Crown and Anchor Diamond event like every evening.

I went early so I could watch the sunset from the Viking lounge. This ship is the only ship in the fleet that has wide-open 360-degree views that’s open for all. We talked with a lot of new friends about their day and experience on board since it was the last night of the cruise.

At 7:30pm we decided to see our first show on board called Boogie Wonderland. This is the longest running show in the fleet and was outstanding. It was the singers and dancers last performance of the ship, as a new crew boards tomorrow. They even had the CD get up there and dance with them as a farewell. 

Tonight in the dining room it was Italian night, so you know what that means… Lasagna! We asked them to use a red sauce on the lasagna vs their standard white sauce and it made it taste that much better. We also ordered chicken marsala and this was a first for me.

The chicken was very tender and gravy on top really brought the flavor out. I think I’m still stuff as I write this, no breakfast for me tomorrow. 

 After our dinner we said our goodbyes to the staff and I let them know I was staying on board the next sailing too. 

Random Thoughts on Majesty of the Seas

• Ship is in great condition: new carpet everywhere, new chairs in schooner bar, and doesn’t have that “older” feeling like Monarch did when I was on her.
• Voom Internet works great, no issues at all, stayed connected throughout the day.
• Crew: They really make this ship, everyone always smiling and always looking happy.
• Entertainment was great; my only wish is there was a venue to listen enjoy the centrum music in the evenings. 

 This wraps up my first 3-day cruise, but we still have 2 more to go. My next cruise leg is the 4 days sailing going back to Nassau and Coco Cay!

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 highlighted what is new and notable for 2017, including new several new itineraries.

While there is no new cruise ship joining the fleet this year, Royal Caribbean fans will be delighted to see changes to offerings in many different markets.

Chief among the changes for 2017 are cruises to Cuba (finally!). Empress of the Seas will provide vacationers with the opportunity to discover the timeless sights, sounds and culture of this island nation. The newly revitalized Empress of the Seas will make history for the cruise line with its first visit to Cuba during a 5-night sailing departing Miami on April 19, 2017.

In addition, Royal Caribbean will operate the three largest cruise ships in the world out of the state of Florida.

Royal Caribbean News

• Guests can support the World Wildlife Fund while on their Royal Caribbean cruise.
• Royal Caribbean announced their top travel partners of 2016.
• We spotted a new drink menu design.
• 10 ways to save money on your 2017 Royal Caribbean vacation.
• Michael Poole is LIVE blogging from Majesty of the Seas this week (and next week too).
• How to eat healthy while on a Royal Caribbean cruise.
• 6 cool things for kids to do on your Royal Caribbean cruise.
• Our photo tour of the Grand Suite on Oasis of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 180th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, where we take an in-depth look at going on a Royal Caribbean cruise with young children.

Bringing toddlers and babies on a Royal Caribbean cruise is something many families choose to do, but there can be some unique challenges associated with traveling with kids of that age.  This week, Matt and Christy discuss their strategies and share tips for parents looking to cruise with the very young.

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.

Royal Caribbean Around the Internet

Porthole Magazine has a full review of Harmony of the Seas in this month's edition.

Everything Zany shared a helpful list of cruise ship terms that you should know.

Cruise Critic shared their list of favorite drinks on Harmony of the Seas.

Chris Cruises shares an ode to sunsets at sea.

Eat Sleep Cruise has a list of the best hotels near Port Everglades.

Morning on board 

Today was our first stop in Nassau, Bahamas from noon-midnight. So this morning we had our “sea morning” as we made our slow approach into the Bahamas.

I started my day in the main dining room with breakfast. I am sad to report I forgot my camera in the cabin, so no food porn of my ham & cheese omelet. We sat in the Diamond section, which the only real perk does not have to wait for a table; you just simply walk in and seat yourself. Breakfast was fast and we were on our way to start enjoying our day. 

After breakfast, we attended the top-tier Crown and Anchor event, which started at 10:30am. The on board officers introduced themselves and what their role was on the ship.

They also presented some guests receiving their loyalty cruise block. Once you reach 140 C&A points, you receive a crystal block and again every 70 points after. During the event they have free cocktails, champagne, and wine so that’s reason enough to attend right? 

Nassau, Bahamas 

At 11:45am we made our approach to the pier in Nassau. I noticed while we were docking a tug boat was pushing us, so the high wind didn’t take us off course.

Around 12:30pm we made our way down to exit the ship for our day in Nassau.

I was really looking for something new while we were here, since I’ve been coming here a lot recently. We walked past Senor Frogs, down to McDonald’s to catch the local city bus. For $1.25 per person each way this public transportation will take you all over the island.

My friend Nick wanted to visit one of his favorite places called The Daiquiri Shack over on Cable Beach. The bus ride over took 8-10 minutes and was a unique experience to say the least. Once we arrived we quickly noticed the shack was closed down for a few days. We were so excited by the time we arrived it was a little let down. That being said, we were across the street from a beautiful resort Melia. We decided to walk over to the resort to check it out, since we already made our way out here. The resort was absolutely breathtaking when we walked in.

We inquired about their day passes and it seems it’s $45, but doesn’t include anything with it just access to the property and their free Wi-Fi (which works great). 

After we explored the resort we decided to head back to the port area and visit one of my favorites Pirate Republic Pub. If you have read my live blogs recently you know I’ve been coming here every visit in Nassau. It’s the only craft brewery on the island and it’s the first thing you see coming off the ship. We had a few beers before we got back on board, average price here for beers are $5-$8 each.

As we were walking back to the ship we decided to check out this restaurant we have been hearing a lot about. The place is called Café Matisse and I’ve often heard about it from crew members eating here. They were very inviting and let me come in to take pictures. 

Evening on board 

Tonight around 5pm I watched the Empress of the Seas and Enchantment of the Seas dock in Nassau. I really love both of those ships and the excitement level was pretty high watching them dock during sunset.

Dinner this evening is at the Captain’s table at 8pm. I was lucky enough to get an invite due to my friend going, so a new experience for me. 

Our invitation for dinner said to meet at 8:15pm at the Schooner Bar. Once we arrived they had a section reserved for us, with card note that said VIP on the tables.

I have never been called a VIP before but I will pretend I am one! We had a round of drinks with the hotel director and then headed to our table at 8:30. During dinner I actually thought, "how am I going to explain this dinner in the blog post."

Of all my dinners at sea, I will remember this one forever. The level of service was outstanding. Even when they brought our food over it we always received it at the same time. I ordered the filet, think Chops Grille but better! I won’t go on and on about the dinner, but I felt so lucky to experience that meal. 

After dinner we went up to the pool deck party for our sail away out of Nassau. I can’t remember a sail away party this packed before, but I had a blast. 

Well friends, that was my full day in Nassau, tomorrow we tender in Coco Cay.

Suites on Royal Caribbean cruise ships are a wonderful way to indulge with extra space and level of service. The Grand Suite stateroom category on Oasis of the Seas is a popular choice for guests that want to enjoy the Sky Class level of benefits in the Royal Suite Class.

Royal Caribbean Blog reader Michael C. shared with us these photos of his stateroom from his recent cruise.

Photos of this room come to us from stateroom 12660.

This Grand Suite can accommodate up to 3 guests and features a spacious living room with desk, drawer space, vanity, sofa bed, and chairs.

Each suite also has its own flat-screen LCD television with stereo and DVD/CD player, thermostat controlled air-conditioning, internet access, direct-dial telephone, radio, mini bar, individual safe, 24 hour room service, and concierge service.

Grand Suites have floor-to-ceiling glass doors that lead to your private veranda with lounge chairs and tub, two twin beds that convert to a queen-sized bed, large closets, marble entry, private bathroom with tub and shower,

The Grand Suite measures 371 square feet in size, with a 114 square foot private balcony.

Pre - Cruise 

My cruise day is finally here, and as much as I wanted to sleep in that just did not happen. I always wake up very early on cruise morning with so much excitement, usually watch the ships pull in on webcam.

Since I live in Tampa, Florida now, I decided to drive the 120 miles over to the port the morning of the cruise. My travel over to the port was uneventful, I arrived at 10:00am and many people were still getting off the ships.

I was in no rush really, so I drove through the drop-off section and dropped my one backpack off. Then I parked at the terminal for $64 (you pre-pay when you park here). After parking I walked over for some pre-cruise drinks at Grills, which is right beside the terminal. Once I sat down, I thought to myself that was the easiest arrival I’ve ever had, from dropping bag off, to parking and my walk over all took less than 10 minutes. 

Embarkation 

At noon I decided to walk back over to the terminal, which was almost the same distance as walking to your car from leaving a restaurant.

The line to check-in for security was extremely long, however the Diamond and up Crown and Anchor line was completely empty, so off I went. Since I am on board for 3 sailings, I could have brought on board up to six bottles of wine. After thinking about it, I decided to only bring four bottles. When I went through security they question me a little, called a supervisor over, but he said no problem taking them all now! 

Lunch 

I explored around the ship for an hour then off for some lunch at Johnny Rockets. On Majesty of the Seas they have Johnny Rockets in the back of the Windjammer. Here is a tip, when you arrive they have a table set off handing out 20% off the cover charge, it will save you a few dollars. The standard cover charge here is $6.95 per person and that covers everything you would want to eat.

The service was outstanding, but to be honest we were the only ones in there. They showed us some card tricks that just blew us away, just really enjoyable lunch.

The food was also great, they put so much bacon on my burger, need I say more! 

 Cabin 

For the first leg, on deck 9 superior ocean view cabin - #9500. This cabin is all the way forward and very quiet. I have never stayed in a larger ocean view cabin and it’s quite nice. Often I will see them for a little more than the standard ocean view cabins, and always wondered if it was worth the few extra dollars, after now I would say so.

I had pre-purchased the bottle of rum and cokes for $40 online in the cruise planner and it was in my cabin waiting for us. 

Sailaway 

For sailaway we went to the spa for the raffle they hold to give out prices. My cruise count is at 33 now, and this was the first time I’ve ever been in the spa for sailaway. It was actually pretty fun to see people win prizes, though we only won a NextCruise bag.

If you are ever looking for a different activity or if you have a rainy sailaway, I’d recommend this as an option, hey someone has to win! 

Evening 

This evening we went up to the Diamond lounge, which on Majesty is the Viking Crown Lounge. They had new large menus at the table explaining what was included for free diamond drinks and what is not included.

Since I did not have a drink package on this cruise, I made sure to take full advantage of this benefit. Tonight was a full moon and we just looked at the moon for quite some time, really a beautiful site to see at sea. 

 Dinner 

We have my time dining for dinner, and reserved a table for 6:45pm each evening. Dinner was fun because my friend is on this ship almost every weekend, so people kept coming up to him to say hello. The quality of the food seems to have greatly improved since my recent sailings. The prime rib was so tender, just an amazing cut of meat.

For desert for had the carrot cake and it reminded me of the cake in Chops Grill. 

That wraps up day one on board Majesty of the Seas. Tomorrow we are in Nassau from noon-midnight.