Royal Caribbean Blog

Royal Caribbean Group reported a $1.3 billion loss for the third quarter of 2020 as part of its financial results, and also provided a business update.

The cruise company is still in the midst of a global shutdown due to the health crisis. While limited cruise operations outside of the U.S. have been able to restart with its TUI cruises and Hapag Lloyd brands, the company is still dealing with being mostly shutdown.

Royal Caribbean highlighted the fact Quantum of the Seas will be able to restart operations in Singapore in December after receiving approval to sail from the Singaporean Government.

These initial cruises will most likely take place with reduced guest occupancy, modified itineraries and enhanced health protocols developed in collaboration with governments and health authorities.

In addition to the financial results, Royal Caribbean Group provided a business update to investors.

Healthy Sail Panel recommendations

Royal Caribbean's blue ribbon panel of health experts submitted 74 recommendations for how cruise ships could safely operate.

On September 21, 2020, the HSP submitted its recommendations to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in response to a CDC request for public comment that will be used to inform future public health guidance and preventative measures relating to travel on cruise ships. 

"The work of the Healthy Sail Panel has been thorough and comprehensive. We are grateful for its enormous dedication and passion, which has resulted in what has quickly become the seminal document in this arena. We are also grateful for the time the CDC and their observers have spent on this important topic with the Healthy Sail Panel," said Richard D. Fain, Chairman and CEO. "We understand the importance of getting this right and are preparing to put these plans to the test with a gradual and methodical return to service in the near future."

Cash on hand

In order to remain operational throughout the shutdown, Royal Caribbean Group made additional moves to bolster its financial situation.

Since the last earnings call, Royal Caribbean Group has taken further actions to enhance its liquidity, preserve cash and obtain additional financing. 

• $700M increase in liquidity through a 12-month commitment for a senior guaranteed 364-day facility
• Approximate $1.15 billion increase in liquidity through a combination of a convertible bond issuance and a common stock public offering

The current cash burn is on average in the range of approximately $250 million to $290 million per month during a prolonged suspension of operations. This range includes all interest expenses, ongoing ship operating expenses, administrative expenses, hedging costs, expected necessary capital expenditures (net of committed financings in the case of newbuilds) and excludes cash refunds of customer deposits, commissions, debt obligations and cash inflows from new and existing bookings. 

Cash burn will increase once cruises are able to start up again as a result of:

• Bringing ships out of their various levels of layup
• Returning the crew to the vessels
• Taking the necessary steps to ensure compliance with the recommended protocols
• Restarts sales and marketing activities

Jason T. Liberty, executive vice president and CFO said, "We are optimistic that with the gradual resumption of cruise operations, our cash flow from operations will sequentially improve, driven by an increase in the inflow of customer deposits."

As of September 30, 2020, the Company had liquidity of approximately $3.7 billion, including $3.0 billion in cash and cash equivalents and a $0.7 billion commitment from the 364-day facility, compared to $4.1 billion as of June 30, 2020.

The total cash spend for the third quarter was approximately $1.1 billion, mainly driven by ship operating expenses. 

Odyssey of the Seas

For those wondering about the fate of Royal Caribbean's next new cruise ship, Odyssey of the Seas is very much on the radar.

Royal Caribbean Group has allocated funds for delivery of Odyssey of the Seas during the first quarter of 2021.

2021 Bookings

Booking activity for the first half of 2021 is aligned with the Company's anticipated staggered resumption of cruises.

The cumulative booked position for sailings in the second half of 2021 is within historical ranges with prices that are down slightly year-over-year when including the negative yield impact of bookings made with future cruise credits ("FCCs") and about flat when excluding them. 

Since Royal Caribbean Group's last business update, more than 65% of the 2021 bookings are new and the rest are due to the redemption of FCCs and the Lift & Shift program. 

As of September 30, 2020, the Company had $1.8 billion in customer deposits of which approximately 50% are FCCs and $180 million correspond to fourth quarter 2020 sailings.

Approximately 50% of the guests booked on cancelled sailings have requested cash refunds.

Royal Caribbean Group's legal team was busy this week with a variety of new trademarks that sound like it could be names for new venues on its cruise ships.

Trademark registrations may not end up being used by the cruise line, but it does provide insight into what may be currently planned.

Four new trademarks have been filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office earlier this week:

Vue Bar

On October 23, a trademark was made for "Vue Bar" under the category of "cruise ship services".

Cask & Clipper

Another registration made on October 23 is for the "Cask & Clipper", which is filed under two categories:

• Cruise ship services
• Restaurant and bar services

Royal Caribbean's English-style pubs on its cruise ships tend to have names that combine two words in a similar style to Cask & Clipper.

Wonder Playscape

The trademark filing for "Wonder Playscape" sounds a lot like the name of a new play area on Wonder of the Seas cruise ship.

Wonder of the Seas will be Royal Caribbean's fifth Oasis Class cruise ship, which is set to debut in 2022 and sail from China.

The description for Wonder Playscape says, "Entertainment services in the nature of children's dry playscape attractions".

The trademark might correlate to a series of renderings for a newly imagined concept for families that popped up online. Or it could be something completely unrelated.

Cantina Fresca

The last trademark filing was made for something called "Cantina Fresca" and is described as "restaurant and bar services".

The name infers a Mexican inspired venue, of which Royal Caribbean has targeted this particular cuisine in the past with Sabor Modern Mexican and El Loco Fresh.

What do these trademarks mean?

Trademark applications are usually quite vague and do not indicate exactly how the cruise line will utilize them, if at all.

In fact, a lot of trademarks never get used for many reasons.

It is also worth noting these registrations are filed on behalf of the Royal Caribbean Group, which means they could be intended for a subsidiary cruise line that is not Royal Caribbean International.

Read more: Who owns Royal Caribbean?

Royal Caribbean has two cruise ships under construction set to debut in the next few years, Odyssey of the Seas and Wonder of the Seas. With new ships comes new opportunities to potentially introduce new venues that will help market a ship and differentiate it from other vessels.

In addition, the Icon Class cruise ships are also on the horizon in the next few years.

Royal Caribbean has released the deployment schedule for initial 2022-2023 sailings.

The opening deployment for summer 2022 will include Alaska, Europe and 7-night Caribbean sailings.

The deployment schedule corresponds to when certain itineraries will go on sale to the public.

• Week of November 9, 2020 Alaska Summer 2022
• Week of November 9, 2020 Europe Summer 2022
• Week of November 16, 2020 7-Night Caribbean Summer 2022

Royal Caribbean says the remainder of the deployment will be "coming soon"

All itineraries are subject to change without notice.

What does a deployment schedule mean?

The deployment schedule is when Royal Caribbean intends to put certain sailings on sale to the public.

It is important to note the key words, "week of", which means it could actually go on sale on any day that particular week.

A common mistake is for guests to read the date, and assume that will be the first day the sailings on on sale.

Moreover, Royal Caribbean's booking system tends to lag, where the new sailings get entered into the booking system first, and the website second. This means in some cases cruises are bookable earlier if booked over the phone or with a travel agent, even if they do not appear on the website.

What should you do now to prepare?

If you are in the market for a cruise during one of these new deployments, you will want to keep an eye out for once cruises go on sale.

Royal Caribbean typically allows Crown and Anchor Society members a 24 hour head start on the general public, but since anyone can sign up for Crown and Anchor Society, there is no excuse for waiting.

Talk with your travel agent in the days leading up to the new deployments coming online so you can jump on specific bookings and book them.  

One of the best strategies for the lowest prices is to book a cruise as soon as it goes on sale.  Hard-to-find staterooms are also available during this period, so now is the time to lock in a studio room or a suite.

Planning on booking a cruise in 2022-2023? These stories will help:

• What is the best time to cruise to the Caribbean?
• 7 tips for a great Mediterranean cruise
• What is the best time to cruise to Alaska?
• What is the cheapest month to go on a cruise?

Royal Caribbean often trademarks words or phrases that it thinks may have a business use down the line, but these trademarks do not always get used.

Royal Caribbean recently filed a trademark for something called a "tracelet", and while it remains to be seen what that registration might be for, it is a good opportunity to look back at some notable trademarks that were never used (yet).

These trademarks are filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and Royal Caribbean typically registers a couple dozen over the course of a year.

Here is a list of 8 trademarks Royal Caribbean filed recently, but I have not found anything that they have done with them.

Seaface

The current health crisis lead Royal Caribbean to trademark a name for its own brand of sanitary masks named "seaface".

The trademark was filed on April 8, 2020 and is intended for cruise ship services. The trademark lists it as a "medical apparatus".

In June, Royal Caribbean Group Chairman and CEO Richard Fain said they would not go ahead with any plans for a seaface mask, "that was one idea that was thrown out of which we're not pursuing."

Anchors Up

On February 15, 2020, Royal Caribbean trademarked "Anchors Up" and it sounds like it might have been their own brand of wine.

The registration says it is intended to cover the categories of wine; Red wine; White wine.

Thus far, I have yet to hear or see any reference to a cruise line branded wine.

Floating Vistas

Trademark registrations are always vague, and "Floating Vistas" registration matches that, with simply a description of being for "cruise ship services".

It is possible this is/was intended for the floating cabanas at Perfect Day at CocoCay.  The Coco Beach Club features floating cabanas, and perhaps Floating Vistas sounded like a better marketable name.

Cox & Kings

In January 2020, Royal Caribbean filed a trademark for "Cox & Kings", which sounds like perhaps its own type of British pub.

However, the trademark almost sounds like a hotel brand name.

"Trademark registration is intended to cover the categories of hotel and motel services; restaurant and catering services, arranging and booking of facilities for meetings, conferences, and for exhibitions; reservation services for hotel accommodation, arranging and booking of temporary accommodations, booking agency services for hotel accommodation, arranging and booking of campground and caravan facilities, arranging and letting holiday accommodation, letting of and reservation of tourist accommodation, tourist agency and tourist office services, namely, booking accommodations for others."

The filing was rejected because of a likelihood of confusion between it and three existing trademarks.

Rec Room

Also registered in January was a trademark for "Rec Room", which is described as "intended to cover the category of cruise ship services".

The registration also listed as for use with "night club services", indicating perhaps it would be the name of a new club.

Like Cox & Kings, it was rejected as well for likely confusion with three other trademarks.

Bohio Beach Bar

Royal Caribbean made two different trademark registrations for "Bohio" and "Bohio Beach Bar", and once again fell under the catch-all category of "intended to cover the category of cruise ship services".

The word "bohio" is Spanish, and refers to a small timber dwelling with thatched roof in the Caribbean.

The registration lists it as under an additional category of "bar services", and the words "beach bar" later appear in the registration as well.

Both registrations were approved.

Thrillamanjaro

A play on words for the famous mountain in Africa, "Thrillamanjaro" was registered by Royal Caribbean as the name of a water slide.

"Recreational services in the nature of a water slide."

While no water slide has been announced with that name, the trademark was approved in April 2020 and could still be used later.

Cruise ship names

The most well-known examples of Royal Caribbean filing a trademark but not doing anything with it are cruise ship names.

Royal Caribbean regularly trademarks names of cruise ships that it might use later. Part of the process for coming up with cruise ship names is brain storming new names, and finalists get trademarked.

Here are some recent cruise ship names that never got used (yet):

• Metropolis of the Seas
• Eon of the Seas
• Gallant of the Seas
• Phenom of the Seas
• Emblem of the Seas
• Passion of the Seas
• Pulse of the Seas
• Joy of the Seas
• Apex of the Seas
• Valhalla of the Seas
• Sunrise of the Seas

Royal Caribbean is offering up to 45% off cruise extras you can add-onto your vacation, such as drink packages, shore excursions and more.

The Sale Before You Sail begins today, and runs between October 27 - November 2, 2020 and is valid on sailings from December 1, 2020 - October 31, 2021.

Here is what is included during the sale:

BEVERAGE: Up to 50% off

• Classic Soda Beverage Package: 40% off onboard prices.
• Classic Soda Beverage Package + VOOM Surf & Stream 1 Device: Discount varies by ship.
• Dasani Water Cans: 40% off onboard prices.
• Deluxe Beverage Package: Discount varies by ship.
• Deluxe Beverage Package + VOOM Surf & Stream 1 Device: Discount varies by ship.
• Refreshment Package: 40% off onboard prices.

SHORE EXCURSIONS: Up to 40% off

• Shore Excursions: Discount varies by ship. 

INTERNET: Up to 65% off

• The Key: Discount varies by ship. (Excludes MJ)
• VOOM Surf + Stream Voyage Package 1, 2, 3, 4 Device(s): Discount varies by ship.
• VOOM Surf Voyage Package 1, 2, 3, 4 Device(s): Discount varies by ship. 

DINING: Up to 55% off

• Unlimited Dining Package on 3N – 9N sailings: Discount varies by ship. (Excludes Majesty of the Seas)

ACTIVITIES: 20% off

• All Access Ship Tour: (Sailings from 12/1/20 – 12/31/20, Excludes BR, JW, NE, OV, OY, QN, RD, SR, VY)

GIFTS & GEAR: Up to 20% off

Excludes Ovation of the Seas, Quantum of the Seas , Voyager of the Seas

• Anniversary Decorations with Champagne
• Happy Birthday Decorations with Chocolate Cake & Strawberries
• Happy Birthday Decorations with Vanilla Cake & Strawberries
• Inky Beach Set
• Inky Beach Towel (TicTacToe)
• Inky Travel Set
• Red Wine and Cheese
• Royal Caribbean Beach Towel
• Strawberries with Champagne
• White Wine and Cheese

PHOTO PACKAGES: Up to 70% off

•  Photo Packages: From 5 - 100 print and/or digital options: discount varies by ship. (See full terms for exclusions)
•  Photo Package: Private Photo Session: discount varies by ship. (See full terms for exclusions)

SPA & FITNESS: Up to 30% off (Only on AL, HM, ID, MA, NV, OA, SY) 

• Spa & Fitness: 30% off onboard prices

To check if your sailing has this new offer available, log into the Cruise Planner on Royal Caribbean's web site look for any available offers. Keep in mind that not all sailings may see the sale applicable, nor are all offers significantly cheaper than previously posted.

If you spot a better discount on something you already pre-purchased, you should be able to cancel the purchase and then re-purchase the same item under this promotion.

Royal Caribbean Group will release its third quarter financial results later this week, which could shed light on a number of ongoing questions.

Between the financial results and the subsequent call with Wall Street investors, the public gets a certain level of insight into what the cruise line company is thinking, as well as what story the numbers tell.

The shutdown of the cruise industry has left so many concerns and questions about the short-term and long-term state of cruises. Earnings calls earlier this year have helped answer some of these issues.

While we will not know exactly all topics to be covered, here are the top issues cruise fans are curious about (and Wall Street too).

Any restart hints

There is no doubt the third quarter was another bad loss for Royal Caribbean Group, but anyone that is buying the cruise stock is fixated on the long-term gains the company has the potential to deliver.

To that point, the sooner Royal Caribbean can start cruising again, the sooner revenue can start flowing back in again.

Both investors and cruise fans are equally eager to know when cruise ships will be able to start sailing again.

While Royal Caribbean may not have a definitive answer, their conjecture and attitude may provide a glimpse of how they see cruises restarting.

New protocols

Assuming Royal Caribbean Group does not have all the answers on a firm restart plan, the next best thing to assuage investors is a plan for cruises to be able to restart in a safe manner.

While the Healthy Sail Panel has provided key recommendations on what it says cruise lines should do, Royal Caribbean has not specified exactly which of its Royal Promise rules are intended for Singapore sailings versus the entire fleet.

The new rules have an additional effect on the psyche of the public prior to cruises starting, by adding confidence that the operations are indeed safe. Similar to how airlines and local businesses added new protocols to keep guests safe, the cruise lines are looking to demonstrate the lengths at which they will go to in order to keep everyone healthy.

Ship status

If the cruise industry shutdown continues, will Royal Caribbean put any cruise ships into cold lay-up or even sell any of them?

While Royal Caribbean International has not seen any of its ships sold, Pullmantur Cruises (a Royal Caribbean Group partial subsidiary) did sell its fleet due to financial insolvency.  Moreover, rival Carnival Corporation has sold a number of vessels in order to cut costs.

Royal Caribbean Group Chairman and CEO Richard Fain said in July there are no plans to sell ships, but it is a consideration.

New cost-cutting measures

Big losses are to be expected, but they are not sustainable.  To that point, it is possible more cuts could be announced in order to reduce the company's monthly cash burn.

The longer the shutdown continues, the more likely Royal Caribbean is to try to save cash and reduce its expenditures.

Royal Caribbean Group recently said they have a monthly cash burn of $200-290 million, but any way they can bring that number down is going to help in the long term.

Financial analysts seem to think Royal Caribbean Group has enough liquidity (cash) to deal with a prolonged cruise suspension, however, the road back to recovery is going to be a long one.

On the plus side, Royal Caribbean Group announced a couple financing transactions in the past week aimed at improving its balance sheet.

Royal Caribbean is using an abundance of caution in how it conducts its business. At the end of its 2019 fiscal year, it had cash and cash equivalents of $243.74 million. By the time the second quarter this year ended, this figure surged to $4.15 billion. Gross debt over this timeframe jumped from $11.04 billion to $18.83 billion, though net debt rose more modestly, climbing from $10.79 billion to $14.68 billion. With so much cash on hand already at quarter-end, it’s clear management is planning for an extended period of pain.

2021 bookings update

The silver lining to the entire cruise shutdown has been bookings for 2021 cruises (and beyond) have been pretty solid.

Essentially, a lot of people opted to defer their cruise vacations to next year instead of outright canceling plans, and the question is if this trend is holding up.

Wall Street has been skeptical of any cruise line's ability to lure customers back once cruises resume, so positive feedback on how 2021 (and beyond) is looking would put a lot of concerns at ease.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) updated its warning last week to travelers to defer all cruise travel worldwide.

The Level 3 warning was updated on October 21st due to, "widespread ongoing spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been reported in some countries. Other countries have reported sustained community spread."

The warning comes just days before the CDC will announce if the No Sail order that bans cruise ships from operating in North America will be lifted or extended.

The warning itself is not new, but rather an update to an existing warning the agency issued in the spring.

Thanks to CruiseHive for discovering this announcement.

Details on the warning

The CDC noted it typically does not post advisories for forms of transportation (trains, ships or airplanes), but because of the unprecedented nature of the novel coronavirus pandemic, and the increased risk of transmission of COVID-19 on cruise ships, the U.S. government is advising U.S. travelers to defer all cruise travel.

In addition to the CDC's warning, the agency recommends anyone with a cruise booked reschedule for a future date.

The rationale for the elevated warning is rooted in an increased risk of infection to passengers and crew members.

"As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, there remains a risk of infected passengers and crew on board cruise ships."

According to data from Johns Hopkins University, the United States reported more than 83,000 new infections on both Friday and Saturday after outbreaks in Sun Belt states, surpassing a previous record of roughly 77,300 cases set in July.

No update yet on No Sail order

The fate of the cruise industry remains hinged on what will happen to the cruise ship ban that has been in place since March.

Last month, the CDC took until just hours before the No Sail order was set to expire before extending it another 30 days.

A report that came out just days earlier indicated the CDC and the White House are fighting over how much longer the No Sail order should be extended.

Just like last month, there is no advanced warning when the CDC might announce anything and the cruise lines have not commented on possibilities either.

Healthy cruise plan

Over the last few months, Royal Caribbean and the entire cruise industry has been focused on coming up with a plan to keep passengers and crew safe, while operating crew ships.

The industry as a whole adopted a broad new set of health protocols that exceed the rules and regulations imposed by other sectors of travel, such as calling for 100% testing.

The Healthy Sail Panel that created these new rules is chaired by Governor Mike Leavitt, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Recommendations include testing, the use of face coverings, and enhanced sanitation procedures on ships and in terminals. 

The Healthy Sail Panel identified five areas of focus every cruise operator should address to improve health and safety for guests and crew, and reduce the risk of infection and spread of COVID-19 on cruise ships:

• Testing, Screening and Exposure Reduction
• Sanitation and Ventilation
• Response, Contingency Planning and Execution
• Destination and Excursion Planning
• Mitigating Risks for Crew Members

In each category, the Healthy Sail Panel created practical and actionable recommendations to address specific safety concerns. Among the recommendations are key strategies such as:

• Taking aggressive measures to prevent SARS-CoV-2 from entering a ship through robust education, screening and testing of both crew and guests prior to embarkation
• Reducing transmission via air management strategies and enhanced sanitation practices
• Implementing detailed plans to address positive infection on board, including contingencies for onboard treatment, isolation and rapid evacuation and repatriation
• Closely controlling shore excursions
• Enhanced protection for crew members

Furthermore, the CDC has been made aware of the panel and even invited to observe the planning and creation of procedures.

Happy Sunday! We are so happy that you stopped by and hope you are having a wonderful weekend. Grab a mug of your favorite hot beverage, sit back, and check out the latest in Royal Caribbean news.

Royal Caribbean announced it will redeploy six cruise ships in winter 2021-2022 for the Caribbean and Australia regions.

The changes encompass six ships, which offer new ships, as well as new itineraries, from a few different ports.

Royal Caribbean issued a statement that elaborated on the changes, "Our new deployment line-up provides guests with greater variety, including new itineraries in the Caribbean and Australia that will help strengthen the cruise line’s footprint globally."

Royal Caribbean News

• Royal Caribbean trademarked something called a tracelet
• Royal Caribbean added new Odyssey of the Seas cruises from England & Spain in 2021
• Where Royal Caribbean cruising is right now in October
• A look at Royal Caribbean's upgraded cruise ship health facilities
• 50 things everyone should do on a Royal Caribbean cruise at least once
• Royal Caribbean Group scheduled a conference call for business update & third quarter
• 8 things some cruisers do that annoy everyone else
• Cruise ports workers held rallies in support of cruise ships restarting sailings
• Odyssey of the Seas construction photo update - October 20, 2020
• Why you shouldn't avoid older and smaller cruise ships
• The best reasons to get a Royal Caribbean drink package on your cruise
• A Carnival Corp. cruise ship did not let a guest back onboard after breaking a health protocol
• Royal Caribbean CEO warned crew members of a new e-mail scam
• Why you should skip the elevator on your cruise
• What is a group rate for a cruise?

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

Groups large and small will book cruises, and in one such instance, Jeff discovered he was going on a Freedom of the Seas cruise with a large group of bikers.

This week's podcast episode looks back on Jeff's cruise, and discusses how Jeff and his family enjoyed his cruise alongside a large group onboard.

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: Why nobody knows when cruises will restart

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 — Why nobody knows when cruises will restart — and don’t forget to subscribe here.

Royal Caribbean offering double loyalty points for all cruises in 2021

Guests who have a 2021 cruise booked will be able to take advantage of perhaps the most lucrative bonus offer ever offered, double Crown and Anchor points.

The Loyalty 2X Points enhancement applies to an existing or new booking that is made prior to December 31, 2020, for sailings departing January 1 – December 31, 2021.

If you have an existing reservation made before December 31, 2020, there is no need to re-book in order to get this benefit. You just need to make certain that a valid Crown & Anchor Society membership number is included in the reservation.

The newest cruise ships will offer the latest and greatest developments that a cruise line has, but older and smaller ships in the fleet should not be overlooked as a great choice.

If you see a Royal Caribbean  television commercial, it probably shows off the newest amazing things you can do on one of its newest ships. While they do look amazing, other ships in the fleet that are a bit older are still a great choice for a cruise vacation.

Royal Caribbean sails 26 ships, and while new cruise ships will always get the most attention, here are some important reasons to not skip out on older and smaller cruise ships.

Upgrades

Just because you do not book the newest cruise ship does not mean you have to compromise on what there is to do onboard.

Royal Caribbean recognizes that a lot of cruisers look for the fun new activities and things to do on a cruise ship.  And if a certain feature or activity does really well on a new ship, it makes a lot of sense to add that to other ships.

Over the years, Royal Caribbean has systematically upgraded and enhanced their older ships with new features, including water slides, new restaurants, escape rooms and more.

Even ships that are 15-20 years old offer many more things to do than when those vessels first entered service.

A smaller ship does not mean there is nothing to do or it will feel dated.  Royal Caribbean does a fantastic job at maintaining their cruise ships and keeping them relevant.

Read more: What was added to each Royal Caribbean ship during its Royal Amplified refurbishment

Exotic itineraries

If you want to cruise to some of the more distant ports of call, you will probably be doing so on a smaller cruise ship.

Certain itineraries are always going to be relegated to smaller cruise ships, and being able to visit far-off ports of call that are not just another cruise port is something you cannot do on the big ships.

Cruises to places like Venice, Key West, Iceland, Bora Bora and others are usually only serviced by smaller cruise ships.

Read more: Best Royal Caribbean ships and cruise guide

More relaxing pace

While new ships are packed with so many things to do, it can often lead to "FOMO" (fear of missing out) and that can lead to a faster pace of cruising in order to work it all in.

Older ships still have plenty of luster to them, but you will not feel like you are missing out on as many signature activities if you decide to sleep in, spend the day at the pool, or read a good book.

Smaller cruise ships offer a more "classic cruise experience", which means it is less about going from one whizz-bang feature to another. Rather, you feel more at liberty to do more relaxing and enjoying time at the pool deck and enjoying the cruise ship atmosphere.

As stated earlier, do not confuse a relaxing pace with nothing to do. Those upgrades over the years that were mentioned earlier still offer plenty to do after you finish napping.

Read more: Everything you wanted to know about Royal Caribbean's pools

Easier to get a last-minute cruise

New cruise ships attract so much attention that their sailings tend to sell out much faster than older ships.

If you are looking to book a cruise at the last minute (less than 120-90 days before sailing), you will find better prices and options with older cruise ships.

Essentially, anyone in the market for a last-minute cruise is likely to find a great stateroom on older ships simply because they do not sell out as quickly as new ones.

Read more: Last minute Royal Caribbean cruise trip planning

Lower price

The best reason to cruise on a smaller and older ship is the lower price.

Newer ships come with a premium price tag, but you can find fantastic values in the older ships.

Sometimes, the rates are between 30 and 40 percent cheaper than for new-builds, depending on the itinerary and season. 

Similar to how a used car is sold at a significant savings compared to a new car, new cruise ships command the higher prices and every new ship that joins the fleet tends to drive down the price of existing ships.

If you compare the price per-night on a new ship versus an older ship, it is usually significant. Moreover, these savings can mean moving up to a higher stateroom category.  Instead of a balcony on an Oasis Class ship, maybe you can afford a suite on a Voyager Class ship.

Read more: How to cruise on the cheap

Old ships or new ships?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with sailing on an Oasis or Quantum class ship, but consider every class in the fleet for your next Royal Caribbean cruise.

You should not disregard a certain cruise ship simply because of its size or age. New ships are often larger and offer so many things to do, but they can also be expensive and not nearly as intimate an experience.

Older ships are not forgotten by the cruise line, and outfitted with modern amenities and popular attractions that keep them relevant.

If you have only cruised on the newest and biggest ships, trying a Radiance or Voyager Class ship means you can experience something new.

The value these older ships provide make them a compelling choice for just about anyone.

Read more: Which is the best Royal Caribbean cruise ship?

Some are wondering how Royal Caribbean closely will enforce new health protocols, and rival Carnival Corporation showed they mean business.

One passenger on Carnival brand cruise ship AIDA was not allowed to come back on their cruise ship after breaking one of the new rules.

AIDA Cruises’ AIDAblu prohibited a guest from returning from a shore excursion while in Catania, Italy because he left the organized tour group.

Like other cruise lines that have restarted sailings, AIDA requires guests to only book cruise line approved shore excursions, and guests are made very aware of this rule prior to the cruise, and before the shore excursion begins. This is meant as a way of limiting potential exposures in the destinations ships visit.

An AIDA Cruises spokesperson said, "Our highest responsibility and top priorities are compliance, environmental protection and the health, safety and well-being of our guests, crew, shoreside employees and the people and communities our ships visit."

The guest was not able to re-board the ship, and AIDA assisted him in arranging travel home. A Carnival spokesperson said this was the first case of a passenger being blocked from returning to one of its ships for breaking coronavirus protocols. 

AIDA is one of two Carnival Corporation cruise lines that restarted limited operations in Europe.

This is not the first time a cruise ship passenger has attempted to deviate from a tour. In August, a family on a MSC Cruises shore excursion tried to do the same thing and was not allowed back on the cruise ship.

Royal Caribbean shore excursions

Just like AIDA, Costa and MSC, Royal Caribbean will also have a rule requiring guests to only book tours through the cruise line, and guests will only be permitted to disembark at ports if they are taking cruise line sponsored excursions.

Specifically, it calls to only permit shore excursions according to the cruise operators’ prescribed protocols, with strict adherence required of all passengers and denial of re-boarding for any passengers that do not comply.

The rule is one of many recommendations by the Healthy Sail Panel, which encompasses 74 key steps.  The entire cruise industry has committed to adopting these protocols as a means of restarting cruises safely.

The panel does recommend Royal Caribbean "potentially reconsidering the cost of curated experiences" to make these more appealing.

In addition, indoor excursions should only be offered if  if physical distancing, use of masks, and other recommended protective measures can be implemented.