Royal Caribbean Blog

June is the official start of the summer cruise season, which means warm temperatures on pretty much every Royal Caribbean ship you can sail on (outside of Alaska).

Have a cruise planned in June? This should provide you the important information for navigating a cruise this month.

June is when summer cruises get into full swing in Europe and Alaska. This means all the ships are in position to offer a full assortment of cruises this month.

Depending on where you live, school begins to let out for summer break during the month of June. This means as the month progresses, so do the crowds and demand for sailings.

If you're looking to get a deal on a cruise, your best is to look for a last-minute cruise deal for early June. Of course, that may be easier said than done, as available cabins may be limited.

Ships sailing in June 2023

Royal Caribbean's ships will be operating out of three primary markets: Alaska, Europe, and Caribbean.

Read more: Comparing the Royal Caribbean ships sailing in Alaska 2023

Summer is actually a off-peak time for cruises to the Caribbean. You will find far less ships sailing to the Caribbean because many vessels have been redeployed to Europe and Alaska. It's also as hot as it gets in the Caribbean during the summer.

The advantage of a summer cruise to the Caribbean is there are less ships overall to contend with, making for favorable conditions in the ports you will visit since there will be less passengers in port.

June weather on a cruise

June temperatures in the Caribbean typically range from about 78 to 87 degrees Fahrenheit in the day and 70 to 80 at night. 

Expect water temperatures around 81 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit.

This means hot and humid conditions for a Caribbean cruise with very warm ocean temperatures as well.

Officially, the hurricane season begins on June first, but tropical storms don't usually get going until later in the season.

Read more: What to know about cruising during hurricane season in the Caribbean

Let's move over to Europe, where you will find the sunniest month of the cruise season. June is a fabulous time to take a Mediterranean cruise because of the warm, but not yet hot, temperatures that come later in the summer. On top of that, there are less crowds in June compared to next month.

June is also the time of year when the Mediterranean Sea is finally warm enough to swim, with an average water temperature of at least 70 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Read more: What is the best time to cruise the Mediterranean?

If your European cruise goes to Northern Europe, expect high temperatures in the low 60s, and night time temperatures in the low 50s.

In Alaska, expect the least rain of the year. This is the perfect month for outdoor shore excursions, such as hiking.

Read more: Best things to do on an Alaska cruise

The average temperature for an Alaska cruise are lows in the upper 40s and highs in the mid-60s Fahrenheit. Towards the end of June, you benefit from additional daylight, with up to 18 hours of sunlight.

You're going to need layers for this sort of weather, so it's important to pack for your Alaska cruise effectively.

Is June a good month to cruise?

June is a great month to take a cruise if you're sailing to either Alaska or Europe because of the fact it's not as busy as the rest of the summer.

You'll encounter warmer temperatures in June in Alaska without the higher rainfall chances that come in July. This is important to help reduce the risk of your Alaska shore excursions getting rained out.

Expect high temperatures around 60 degrees in Alaska in June. Plus, June is when the flowers start blooming again.

Equally beneficial to a June Alaska cruise are prices.  While the price for an Alaska cruise in June will cost more than May, it's still going to be cheaper than a July Alaska cruise.

In fact, if you can cruise during the first two weeks of June, you'll find much better prices than the second half of the month.

Similarly, Europe in June is a time of year where you can enjoy a warm Mediterranean cruise without the big crowds that come by in July and August.

That being said, the price of a June cruise won't be cheap in Europe. Typically, the highest prices of the year for a Mediterranean cruise will peak in June through August.

More information

• 25 things you need to know for your first day on a cruise ship
• 2023 Royal Caribbean Cruise Planning Guide
• Things I've done that I'll never do again on a Royal Caribbean cruise
• 7 things worth checking again on a Royal Caribbean cruise
• 6 things you may not have tried on a Royal Caribbean cruise

I love going on Royal Caribbean cruises with my kids, but there are at least a few things I don't think are worth buying for them.

Family vacations are perfect on a cruise ship because of how we get to spend a lot of time together, but there are also opportunities for the kids and parents to have fun on their own as well.

Part of the fun of a cruise is indulging in certain add-ons, such as fun shore excursions, family photos, or a cabana rental. However, there are a few extras I personally don't think are worthwhile for my kids and I generally steer clear of them.

In most cases, these are things that I don't think are worth it for them, or it's simply excessive.  As a parent, you want your kids to have a good time, but spoiling them isn't in the cards (that's what grandparents are for).

While my kids might think I'm being "the worst" dad ever, these are cruise extras I won't bother buying for them on any cruise.

Drink package

Royal Caribbean's drink packages are a great value, but I don't think it's necessary for kids, especially kids that aren't teenagers yet.

I look at any drink package purchase as a question of "breaking even" on the investment, meaning can I consume enough drinks every day of the cruise to get value from the package in lieu of paying for drinks individually.

My kids are still young enough that they'd only ever have one sugary drink at home, and on vacation, more than 2 or 3 feels excessive for them from a health perspective. Plus, they have enough energy without a sugar kick to keep going most days.

For anyone new to cruising with Royal Caribbean, it's also important to know which drinks are included with your cruise fare.  It's not like the kids are relegated to water for the duration of the sailing.

It also greatly helps that they are Diamond Plus members in Crown and Anchor Society, so they get a few free drinks per day from their perks.

Ultimately, I'm all for them splurging on a cruise, but a drink package seems excessive for them.

Jewelry

I have two girls, and as of yet, I don't think jewelry makes a lot of sense to buy for them.

My kids have some jewelry, but the sort of jewelry you can buy on the ship's shops are over the top for their personal attention to detail.  

Essentially, the risk of them misplacing or damaging jewelry is quite high, so investing in something nice would be more of an exercise in futility than anything else. 

When they get more responsible, I think there's a good rationale to reward them with something nice from a shop onboard or on shore, but for now, the cheap stuff from our mall is what they need.

Prepaid arcade credits

We usually make a pilgrimage to the ship's arcade at least once per cruise, but I never buy the prepaid arcade credits.

There's two reasons why I don't purchase the arcade credit package pre-cruise on Royal Caribbean's website.

First, it seems there's always left over credits that you're trying to figure out the right combination of arcade credits and extra credits to finally get rid of your balance. It's just easier to pay for credits as you go, rather than rely on a balance ahead of time.

Second, it's not uncommon for certain arcade machines to be out of order, which means there are less games appealing to them and that leaves us with arcade credits we end up spending for the sake of spending them.

Candy from the duty free shop

My kids eat plenty of junk on a cruise, so we don't need to spend extra money on the duty free candy.

Besides the bottles of liquor you can purchase onboard, there's also large quantities of candy you can buy in the duty free store.

I find there's many treats to enjoy around the ship for no additional cost. Plus, we'll bring a few extra snacks onboard the ship from home to have so they can nosh in the cabin from time to time.

I have no idea if the candy sold in the duty free shop is any kind of deal, but I think it's unnecessary for us to buy for our kids.

Dining package

I don't buy my kids a dining package on a cruise, but not because I'm being cheap or think it's excessive.

My oldest daughter really loves specialty dining, so we visit our fair share of specialty restaurants during a cruise.  I'll buy a dining package for my wife and I, but I'll skip the kids.

At any specialty restaurant, kids ages 6-12 can dine there for a flat $12.99 cover charge. Kids 5 years old and under eat free. Just show up and I pay for the kids on the SeaPass account.

Another reason I don't buy them a dining package is sometimes they eat elsewhere. My youngest daughter is super picky, and we often get her a couple of slices of pizza from Sorrento's. The staff doesn't mind that we bring the food with us while the rest of us enjoy the meal at the restaurant.

Kids get charged less and it provides more flexibility in case they prefer to eat from another venue.

Historically or culturally significant shore excursions

I admit I struggle with taking my kids on certain shore excursions that have a great deal of significance, but I know they wont appreciate.

On the one hand, I want to expose my kids to the world and have them learn about the things, places, and times that shaped our world. It's important for everyone to know these things, including kids.

But, no matter how many times you tell your kids something they are seeing or doing is important, you can't force them to actually appreciate it.  Or at least have them stop complaining they're bored.

As an example, when we took a cruise to Cuba, we left the kids onboard because we knew they were too young to care about Cuba's political history. 

I know that if I ask them if they'd be interested in certain tours, I'm sure they'd say no to just about anything not involving ice cream or the beach. There's a certain level of filtering you have to do as a parent to know what's best for them.  In other cases, there are certain excursions that are definitely better for a more mature audience.

More information

• 50 best cruising with kids tips & secrets
• Best Royal Caribbean ships for kids
• Eight lessons I learned by going on a cruise with kids
• The ultimate kids cruise packing list
• From a former cruise kid: Why you should go on a cruise ship with your kids

Taking a Royal Caribbean cruise in May opens the beginning of the summer cruise season.

If you have a cruise planned in May, this article is aimed at giving you a preview of what to expect for sailing this month, as well as helpful tips.

With spring break over, May is generally a slower month in terms of demand (with the exception of Memorial Day Weekend) because school is in session, and most families either just took vacation over spring break, or are about to take vacation next month when school is out.

It's also the month when Royal Caribbean's European cruise season begins in earnest with all the ship that will sail from the region in place to start service.

The Memorial Day holiday in the United States can see a bit more demand for cruises, although primarily for weekend cruises.

Certainly there is less demand for cruises in the first three weeks of May.

The Alaska cruise season will also fully start up in the month of May. Royal Caribbean will have four cruise ships sailing to Alaska in 2023.

Read more: Comparing the Royal Caribbean ships sailing in Alaska 2023

May weather on a cruise

It's going to get warmer in May in the Caribbean, so expect high temperatures to reach the high 80s and low temperatures not getting below the 70s.

In terms of rainfall, the wet season will resume in some areas. You will see lots of passing showers in places like San Juan, Puerto Rico or Antigua.

Over in Europe, the sun will be shining in the Mediterranean without the larger crowds that will come later this summer. May is the best time for a Greek Isles cruise because there is very little rain combined with temperatures in the high 60s and 70s.

The one downside of May in the Mediterranean is sea temperatures tend to be still chilly. If you want warm ocean temperatures in May, the Caribbean is the place for you.

Read more: What is the best time to cruise the Mediterranean?

If you're cruising to Alaska in May, expect less rain than normal. May is one of the driest months of the season, with just a 25% chance of rain. 

The average high in southeast Alaska is 54 degrees and the average low is 39 degrees.

Read more: When is the best time to cruise to Alaska?

Sailings to the Mexican Riviera, expect more rain in the forecast. The months of May to October are the wettest months of the year (same for Eastern Mexico).

The eastern Pacific hurricane season begins May 15 and ends November 30. 

Is May a good month to cruise the Caribbean?

May is a great month to sail as it offers warm weather without the crowds that you'll find later in the summer.

Because May is a month where most kids are still in school, demand for cruises is less than April or June.  After all, families either just took a spring break cruise last month or are about to take their summer vacations next month.  So why take the kids out of school for a vacation in May?

The result is demand is generally lower, and prices tend to be lower for May cruises compared to other months of the spring and summer.

Read more: The best time to go on a Caribbean cruise

May is also the last month before hurricane season begins, so tropical disturbances are not a factor for cruises in May.  Between the lower prices and comfortable weather, May is one of the best months of the year to take a Caribbean cruise.

May is referred to as the shoulder season for both Alaska and European cruise season. This means it's a time just before the peak of the cruise season commences, and it's an ideal time to get a good price for a cruise to either destination.

Moreover, May is a month where the weather is warm without being sweltering hot.

In Alaska, May can still be on the chilly side, but when the sun shines, you should feel the warmth.  Likewise in Europe, May is a month where it's quite comfortable to be outside.  

Are cruises crowded in May?

In general, Royal Caribbean cruises are almost always sailing full, but demand for cruises in May is usually less than other months of the year.

Your ship may or may not be completely full, but one of the best chances for a few leftover cabins to be available would be in May.

The lessened family travel demand means potentially less cabins with third and fourth passengers, and that could make the ship feel a bit less crowded than if you sailed next month.

Those looking to book their next cruise in a suite onboard a Royal Caribbean ship might be wondering about the differences between a Junior Suite and higher tiered suites. 

A Junior Suite is the entry-level suite on all Royal Caribbean vessels, meaning that you will not be able to enjoy the full suite experience. Even though these staterooms have a few additional perks than standard cabins, they can be thought of like larger balcony cabins. 

Here's everything you need to know about staying in a Junior Suite and the associated perks. 

What ships have Junior Suites onboard?

Junior Suites can be found on all Royal Caribbean ships; it does not matter if you are sailing on a Vision Class ship or the world's largest cruise ship, Wonder of the Seas. Since it is the lowest tier of suite available, there are more onboard than say, for instance, Grand Suites or Owner's Suites. That being said, the number of available Junior Suites will be fewer on older ships.

Vision of the Seas, for instance, has 77 Junior Suites. In comparison, Wonder of the Seas has over 100! 

How big are Junior Suites?

The exact size and layout of Junior Suites varies between classes of ships. In essence, though, they are large cabins that offer more square footage, both inside and on the balcony, than standard balcony cabins.

Most fall somewhere between 240 and 300 square feet with balconies ranging from 50 to 80 square feet. The best way to tell how large the Junior Suite you are looking at will be is to check out the ship's deck plan. 

In most cases, Junior Suites come equipped with a Royal King bed than can be covered into two twin beds that covert upon request, a sitting area with sofa bed, private balcony, larger closet, and en-suite bathroom with a bathtub and larger vanity area. 

What perks come with staying in a Junior Suite?

Unfortunately, staying in a Junior Suite does not grant you access to the full list of suite amenities. 

If you want to utilize the concierge, have priority access to dining reservations and spa bookings, access the suite lounge, or enjoy a private breakfast in a specialty restaurant (or Coastal Kitchen), you will need to consider booking a Grand Suite or above. 

In terms of what comes with a Junior Suite, the primary benefits that you will get are Royal Caribbean bathrobes for onboard use only, a Lavazza espresso machine in your stateroom, luxury bathroom amenities, and priority boarding.

Colored SeaPass card

If you stay in a Junior Suite, your SeaPass will be a different color than the standard blue SeaPass for regular cabins. 

It will be silver for those staying in Junior Suites onboard Vision, Radiance, Voyager, and Freedom Class ships. Since Oasis and Quantum Ships have the Royal Suite Class onboard, SeaPasses on these ships are determined by what category of suite you are in: Sea, Sky, or Star. 

Junior Suites are the only suites that are part of the Sea Class, which comes with a blue-green SeaPass card. 

Note that colors can vary based on ship and sailing!

Coastal Kitchen

If you are sailing on an Oasis or Quantum Class ship, you will find that there is a dedicated suites-only restaurant called Coastal Kitchen. While those staying in Grand Suites and above can access it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, Junior Suite guests can only eat here for dinner based on availability.  

You will want to make sure that you head to Coastal Kitchen on embarkation day to make any reservations. A good tip is to be flexible with your dining times. If you are set on eating at 7:00pm everyday, for instance, you may be disappointed if they say they can only seat you early or late. 

Extra Crown & Anchor loyalty points

Those staying in standard staterooms will get one Crown & Anchor loyalty point for each night of the cruise. For a 4-night vacation, for example, you would earn 4 points, and for a 7-night cruise, you would earn 7. 

Those staying in a Junior Suite, however, will be awarded two points per night, so a 3-night cruise would get you 6 points, while a 7-night would get you 14. 

Staying in a Junior Suite is one way to climb the Crown & Anchor loyalty ladder faster to get rewarded with additional perks, such as daily drink vouchers, free laundry, welcome waters in your cabin, and more. 

What do Junior Suites not include?

Guests staying in Junior Suites will not get the majority of suite benefits that are available to those staying in Grand Suites and above. Here are the benefits those guests receive from staying in a regular suite:

• Pillowtop mattress
• Priority departure 
• Concierge service
• Suite Lounge/Concierge Club access with hors d’oeuvres and cocktails every evening)
• Priority dining, spa, and shore excursion bookings
• Bridge, galley, and backstage tours
• VIP pool deck seating (not available on Vision or Radiance Class)
• Priority tendering 

• Welcome Evian water & fruit 
• Ability to order from the Main Dining Room for in-suite dining (during operating hours)
• Complimentary 24-hour room service
• Private breakfast and lunch seating (location varies by ship and sailing)
• Departure breakfast 
• Reserved seating for shows 
• Complimentary pressing on first formal night

And, of course, since Junior Suites are in the Sea Class on Oasis and Quantum ships, they will not be eligible for any Star or Sky Class perks. 

The main perk is the additional space. For a family of four staying in one cabin, this would be much more comfortable than one standard balcony!

How much does it cost to stay in a Junior Suite? 

Since Junior Suites are the lowest tier of suite available on Royal Caribbean cruises, they are also the cheapest. If, however, you are trying to cruise on a budget, you may find that they are still relatively expensive compared to other cabin options. 

The cost depends on the ship, time of year, and length of itinerary, and as with most cruises, the newer the ship, the most the suite will cost. 

A Junior Suite on a 7-night Greek Isles cruise on Odyssey of the Seas departing in August 2024 starts at $2,423 per person, based on double occupancy. In comparison, an obstructed ocean view balcony is currently being advertised for $1,763 per person.   

A 7-night Southern Caribbean cruise onboard Rhapsody of the Seas that also departs in August 2024 starts at $1,393 per person, based on double occupancy, for a Junior Suite. In this case, a balcony is not too much less, as they begin at $1,238 per person! 

There is no set price for a Junior Suite, so if staying in one on your upcoming cruise interests you, take the time to do some research or reach out to a travel agent who can assist you with the booking process.

Sometimes, getting a Junior Suite is worth the cost because the price difference between it and a standard balcony stateroom is minimal.

And while it may not include as many benefits as other higher tiered suites, there are enough perks to (often) justify the up charge, with one of the most important being the double Crown & Anchor points. An extra couple of hundred dollars to help you upgrade to the next tier may well be worth it.

When Icon of the Seas debuts in January 2024, she will be Royal Caribbean's most sustainable ship to date and help push forward the company's goal of creating memorable vacations responsibly. 

"We have a responsibility to our planet to continue to evolve and get our ships to as sustainable as they possibly can be," said Jason Liberty, President & CEO of Royal Caribbean Group. 

"...for us, it's not just to go out and deliver the best vacations in the world, but we need to make sure that we're doing that on a responsible basis."

From cleaner fuels to brand-new technologies meant to manage the water onboard, Icon of the Seas is the culmination of decades of research and innovation and plays an important part in Royal Caribbean's goal to have a net-zero ship by 2035.

This is part of their larger goal of Destination New Zero, or the company's vision for zero net emissions by 2025. In fact, Royal Caribbean recently opened their first net-zero cruise terminal in Galveston, Texas, extending their environmental efforts from their ships to shoreside operations.

"Everything we've learned over the time from energy efficiencies, waste handling techniques, all of that has kind of culminated here of developing a platform that allows us to try new things and also still make sure that we're still delivering the best vacations possible," remarked Nick Ross, Vice President of Environmental, Social, & Governance for Royal Caribbean Group. 

Energy

A major aspect of being environmentally friendly is energy.

Meaghan Geis, Assocate Vice President of Marine Strategy & Safety for Royal Caribbean International said, "...it's not just in the engine room and the fuel that we're burning, but it's just in how we're producing water, how we're utilizing water, how we're better using the waste that already produced onboard to help power other things."

Inside of the ship, for instance, you will find LED lightbulbs, while the exterior of the hull will be painted with a specialized paint. More efficient fuel, however, is one of the primary driving forces of it all. 

"Icon will be the first Royal Caribbean ship to use the LNG fuel," claimed Michale Bayley, President & CEO of Royal Caribbean International.

"[It is a] general rule of thumb, just the simple use of LNG versus traditional fuel oil is around 30% better in terms of energy and its footprint, so that's a big step forward."

What is unique about Icon of the Seas is that she is being built in a way that she can adapt to future technologies and the next big fuel source. Moreover, she is going to have a hybrid fuel cell to help power some of the ship. 

When fuel is converted into energy, no pollutants are found in the exhaust-- all that is present is H2O water vapor and CO2, depending on the fuel source. 

"...We also have potential to get maybe even more energy efficiency out of fuel cells if we find the right way to apply them to the shipboard environment" - said Simon Mockler, Senior Director Decarbonization, Newbuilding for Royal Caribbean Group.

In addition, Icon will feature heat recovery systems that capture and reuse heat to be put to use onboard. Cold temperatures from the LNG fuel tanks will help to power the onboard cooling systems, too. 

"We [also] started working on underwater grooming, [or] robotic grooming, [which] is essentially where you are constantly maintaining your ship's hull devoid of any slime of algae." Cleaning the hull weekly will help to limit microorganism growth!

Finally, Icon of the Seas will be shore-power ready. This means that if the destination has the required set up, Icon can plug into local power grid, which will replace the need to use fuel every time ship is docked! In fact, Icon will be one of its first to connect in Miami. 

Onboard waste

Royal Caribbean is committed to keeping solid waste out of the ocean and landfills. The company started their "Save the Waves" program over thirty years ago in 1992.

Since then, many milestones have been reached, including equipping the entirety of tis global fleet with waste management facilities, systems, and processes established to divert waste from local landfill; installing advanced wastewater purification systems across 88% of its fleet; and introducing the industry's first dedicated onboard Environmental Officers, whose job it is to help guarantee that all waste standards are met.

While every ship in Royal Caribbean's fleet is equipped to be landfill free, a new innovative technology will debut on icon called MAPs, or microwave-assisted pyrolysis, which is essentially the first waste to energy plant at sea. 

Moreover, the cruise line has partnered with ports across the globe to ensure that the sorted waste goes to the right place once it is taken off the the ship, whether that is to be recycled, reused, repurposed, or taken to an energy facility. 

In 2019, they began the project Win on Waste, which introduced the Food Operations Excellence Coordinator team member on every ship. Their job is tot think about and manage the processes relating to food waste. In 2022, Royal Caribbean reduced their waste by over 24%!

Water

It is no surprise that there will be more water than ever before on Icon of the Seas. Onboard, guests will find seven different pools spread after five decks, nine whirlpools, and six waterslides at their record-breaking Category 6 water park. 

At 17,010 square feet, Category 6 will be the largest water park at sea! Here, you will be able to ride on six recording breaking slides, including the first family raft slides at sea: Storm Surge and Hurricane Hunter. 

In order to accommodate the need for more freshwater, Icon of the Seas is going to be outfitted with larger systems, both evaporators and reverse osmosis systems, that will be able to support to recreational water need. In fact, Icon will produce 93% of freshwater by itself!

Related: How Royal Caribbean is testing a new water park at sea from its headquarters

When will Icon of the Seas set sail?

When Icon of the Seas debuts, she will steal the title of world's largest cruise ship from Wonder of the Seas.

Her maiden voyage is set to depart on January 27, 2024 from Miami, Florida. Guests onboard the first-ever Icon Class cruise will visit Basseterre, St. Kitts & Nevis; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; and Perfect Day at CocoCay, Bahamas. 

Royal Caribbean is still very early in developing a new kind of restaurant concept, but we have a first look at the direction they are considering.

As RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com first reported, the cruise line is working on a new restaurant concept that will rely on mixed reality and have a classic train dining car motif. The intention is to have it as one of the restaurants on Utopia of the Seas.

While many details are being worked out, Royal Caribbean wanted to assess the viability of this sort of a restaurant, and so it created a life-size mockup at its Miami, Florida headquarters.

The cruise line invited RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com to tour the concept and get a glimpse of the possibilities they are considering. It's important to note what we saw is just a proof point, and executives were adamant how early in the process this dining idea is, so expect the final product to look different.

In fact, our visit was more about better understanding the concepting process that Royal Caribbean goes through with designing its cruise ships. Royal Caribbean's position as a market leader is largely based on its ability to innovate and deliver to its guests time-honored favorites along with brand new ideas.

Regardless of what the final version of this restaurant looks like, it was a fascinating look in how Royal Caribbean does concept development.

Guests want more unique dining

Royal Caribbean started down the road of developing a mixed reality restaurant because their customers indicated they wanted something different.

Royal Caribbean's Senior Vice President and Chief Product Innovation Officer Jay Schneider said their customer feedback has told them guests, "want more immersive and unique dining."

Royal Caribbean has also seen a recent surge in immersive dining around the world, such as Sublimotion in Ibiza or Atmos in Fort Lauderdale.  Moreover, Disney Cruise Line has its own mixed reality restaurant on the Disney Wish and Carnival Cruise Line has Fortune Teller Bar on Mardi Gras. Princess Cruises has a 7-course meal in which guests are wrapped around a circular LED screen at their 360 restaurant.

While none of these restaurants are exactly what Royal Caribbean wants, Linken D'Souza, Global Vice President Culinary, Dining & Beverage, thinks it's a good starting point, "I think it gave us the first kind of introduction to this possibility of bringing a whole immersive experience into the dining world of what we do in world."

Part of the reason why Royal Caribbean wants something different is none of these truly brought the guests into the experience.

"It was part of that experience, but it wasn't really immersive. I mean, it was interesting. It was fun. It was cool to have the vistas around you, but it didn't draw you in necessarily into the experience the way that I think we envision what we're talking about to be able to do," said Mr. D'Souza.

Thus, Royal Caribbean had 4 primary goals:

• Creates an immersive experience with entertainment
• Highly unique and new to cruise
• Appeal to everyone, including families or someone on a date night
• Evolves over time to offer repeat guests new and exciting adventures

With those goals in mind, the team worked through various ideas and ultimately came to the idea of a train, assuming they could make the experience convincing enough, "is there an opportunity to make it feel like you're on a train, make it feel like you're on a dining car and bring to life this kind of new concept of a dining car restaurant experience," is what Mr. Schneider wrestled with early on with this project.

The train dining restaurant

The team admitted there's no name yet, and the final direction may change, but they wanted to share a look at one possibility.

Royal Caribbean is still playing with ideas and ways to make it convincing, but they came up with a story for this experience and even went as far as to model it out as a proof of concept.

The experience begins on deck 4 of Utopia of the Seas, where Izumi specialty restaurant currently exists.

Similar to how Wonderland on Wonder of the Seas has a themed motif to the elevator lobby that indicates there's something different about this floor, the elevator lobby and staircase near the restaurant will have a distinct look to it.

"As you're coming up the stairs or you're coming down the stairs, even the stairwell, " Mr. Schneider explained. 

"You'll start to immerse like you're moving into a space that is very different than what you're used to on the Oasis class, as well as just an experience we provide because even the stairs will start to feel no longer like a classic cruise stair, but they'll start to feel like you were walking up into a train station for the first time."

As you turn the corner, you'll see a train facade instead of the large Izumi sign against the wall.

"The idea is that you're going to go have dinner at what we're currently as a working project called the Dining Car," Mr. Schneider said and quickly noted that is not going to be the final name.

There will be multiple trains that you can board based on your reservation.

In fact, your name will be listed on the classic split-flap display that used to dominate train stations. You'll hear the sounds of a train and the split-flap display updating, the smell of the food, the look of the uniforms crew members will wear, and this all works towards that multi-sensory experience Royal Caribbean wants that goes beyond a digital screen.

One other idea they have is to give guests a classic looking train ticket in their stateroom that they can not only bring to the restaurant to confirm their reservation, but be able to keep it as a souvenir after the cruise.

As you walk in, there are a couple of options. As you enter what is today the entrance to Izumi on other Oasis class ships, you would find a train platform.

There will be a platform bar over to the right, and the entire train facade to the left of the entrance would be visible to you

"You'd see the full train built out on the right hand side. You may only see partial train, but you'll see the back of the train and then be able to enter the venue. Whether you're going to train one or train two or even the platform. But the idea is that you start to see the real thing."

As to where your train will go, the direction is still a work in progress, but one idea Royal Caribbean has is a train visit that takes you to multiple destinations.

"We would take you to say 4 or 5 destinations, and your journey would be fixed, much like your cruise itineraries fixed, your train journey would be fixed," Mr. Schneider explained.

"We can take you to 4 or 5 different journeys because we get the affordance of a train, goes into a tunnel, the tunnel gets dark, and when you pop out, if you think of the light experience you get coming out of a tunnel, you're going to go somewhere new."

As an example of one possibility the team is considering, your train might begin at Grand Central Station in New York with your first course of food and wine pairing, and when that is complete, your train enters a dark tunnel to take you to the next place in the journey, which could be the Canadian Pacific Railway. 

You're then served your second course with second pairing. Then you go through another tunnel and pop out in the next destination, which could be Italy for your third course.

Mr. Schneider reiterated that this is by no means the final concept, just one possible idea they have.

Other ideas is to have the train visit fictional places or places and times that no longer exist, such as the Polar Express or the old west.

One idea that Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley came up with for the project was to have the train visit the Southwest of the United States and see outside the window a man on a horse riding with a mask on, with a sheriff chasing him.  As time goes by, you hear noise and a bandit comes rushing through the train with gun drawn.

"It's just a surprise and delight overlay that this could give you to mash a little bit of entertainment."

"Food is the hero here. Entertainment is not. But that doesn't mean there's not an opportunity to dial up just a little bit of surprise and delight in the moment to get people just, again, immersed in the experience."

Speaking of the food, there isn't a specific cuisine outlined yet for the restaurant, partially because of how early it is still in the design phase.

"We may end up being in one country doing one experience that's really immersive in that space with the food that ties to that experience. We aren't there yet, but I think the idea here is that there is a ton of diversity of things you could do. It may flow through different destinations, but it definitely kind of brings this multi-sensory experience of the food along with the sight, sound, smell, taste, etcetera into it," Mr. D'Souza explained.

Can they make it feel real?

One question the team had to figure out was could they make the train experience real enough that it didn't feel as though you're eating and watching a television of scenery.

Additionally, would the visual of being on a train and it moving along with the ship's natural movement lead to problems with motion sickness for guests.

Mr. Schneider said this has been an ongoing research project for the cruise line, "we've been studying for a couple of years now, how far away from a screen do you have to be to make it never feel like a screen. How much light do we push onto it? How much? How much plexiglass or other do we put behind it? How do we make sure that you look this way? It looks like you're looking down an actual window."

In fact, that research was initially done to create an improved virtual balcony experience.  When the dining car concept was introduced, the team leveraged that research to help with this prototype.

Royal Caribbean took a 360 degree filming rig to Sweden and started filming in 8K resolution and experimented with various movement speeds.

"Speed is one of the things that we're learning. How fast is it moving? How fast do we want to capture? And then how much do we want to manipulate?"

They wanted to figure out at a very early stage, could they make it feel convincing enough that it's real, "do we believe at an alpha version that there's something here? Or should we just say, this was really great? We spent a couple of grand building a wooden box and borrowed some screens and a couple of grand with a dude in Sweden shooting some footage."

To better illustrate the concept, they built out the prototype because the concept was better understood once people sat in the mock dining car.

Mr. D'Souza thinks the prototype is a real selling point, even in this very alpha stage, "I think conceptually, everybody sitting here goes, wow, this is this could be a pretty cool experience. And I think that's the way we're thinking about it, is how do we take that and really bring it to life using all of your senses."

According to Mr. Schneider, the next step is to expand this prototype to exact scale of the one they intend to build on Utopia, "We're just going to build one train car. So then we can get a real sense of length, and then can go through the iterative process."

Food is an important part of any Royal Caribbean cruise, and most passengers enjoy meals in both the buffet and dining room during their sailing.

Royal Caribbean's Windjammer buffet and Main Dining Room are extremely popular places to grab a bite to eat on a cruise, but like other dining venues onboard, each comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. The buffet is casual and hosts a wide range of food options, whereas the Main Dining Room offers a more traditional sit-down restaurant experience.

While onboard your Royal Caribbean cruise, it’s likely you’ll find yourself deciding between the buffet and dining room for most meals. To help make this decision easier, here are 12 reasons to eat at the buffet instead of the dining room on your cruise.

Quicker service

One of the complaints most frequently heard about the Main Dining Room is that the service is too slow, leading to a longer meal than anticipated. Although a “long” meal can vary greatly from person to person, you can expect dinner in the Main Dining Room to last around 75-90 minutes.

You can have dinner in the buffet, on the contrary, in under fifteen minutes. If you aren’t in the mood for a long meal and would rather get in and out as quickly as possible, the buffet is, undoubtedly, the better option.

Related: Guide to Royal Caribbean’s Windjammer Cafe buffet

Even breakfast and lunch in the Main Dining Room will last longer than eating those meals in the Windjammer. Generally speaking, if you’re impatient or in a rush, avoid the dining room and opt for a quick-service meal option.

More options

The most variety of food on a Royal Caribbean cruise can be found at the buffet. One of the biggest surprises for first time cruisers is the amount of variety available at any given meal. 

From pasta to burgers, tacos, and curries, there’s always something for everyone to enjoy at the Windjammer. While breakfast usually offers the same type of food each day, you will always find something new to enjoy for lunch and dinner.

The Main Dining Room menu changes each day for lunch and dinner as well, but the options are still much more limited compared to the buffet. For dinner, you can expect to see six appetizers, seven main courses, and six desserts on the dining room menu.

Related: Take a look at the new Main Dining Room menus

The Windjammer, on the other hand, allows you to mix and match from dozens of options, creating limitless meal possibilities.

Same food as the Main Dining Room

Oftentimes, the Windjammer buffet has many of the same food offerings as the Main Dining Room.

In fact, this has become more and more common ever since the new Main Dining Room menus launched, each having a nightly theme. Several of the courses offered during Mexican night in the dining room, for example, may also be found at the Windjammer.

Therefore, you’re not entirely missing out on the food in the Main Dining Room by eating in the buffet. Plus, on top of the overlap with dining room courses, you’ll have a vast selection of other dishes available.

No dress code

One of the main reasons cruisers dine in the buffet instead of the dining room, especially on formal nights, is the lack of a dress code.

Royal Caribbean’s Main Dining Room dress code is relatively lax, but you shouldn’t show up to dinner in the same outfit you’d wear to the gym. Most passengers choose to dress semi-nicely for dinner in the dining room, wearing collared shirts, slacks, and sundresses.

On formal night, it’s common to see guests wearing suits, gowns, and high heels, although dressing so elegantly is not entirely necessary. In fact, it’s highly unlikely you’ll be turned away from the dining room for wearing jeans and a t-shirt on formal night.

Related: What to wear on a cruise formal night

Nonetheless, many passengers choose to dine at the Windjammer instead of the Main Dining Room for the more relaxed dress code. It’s perfectly acceptable to dine at the Windjammer in a swimsuit cover-up, athletic shorts, and ripped tank top.

For many guests, dealing with the hassle of getting ready for a sit-down dinner feels like a chore on vacation.

Eat as much as you want

When it comes to dining on a Royal Caribbean cruise, passengers indulge in more food than they would at home. Whether three desserts at dinner or a second plate of cinnamon rolls at breakfast, there’s nothing wrong with eating more on a cruise compared to your normal diet.

No matter which venue you dine at for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, you can eat as much (or as little) as you want. Dining in the buffet, however, makes eating as much as you want easier than in the Main Dining Room.

When ordering at a sit-down restaurant, it’s hard to know the portion size for each dish. As a result, you may end up with too little or too much food than you’d like. This results in you either wasting food or wanting to order another dish, but not wanting to wait for another plate to arrive at your table.

Related: Food on a Royal Caribbean cruise

When eating in the buffet, you know exactly how much you’re putting on your plate at one time. If you’re not feeling hungry, hit up the salad station for a lighter meal. Or, if you’re still hungry after your first plate, head back to the buffet station for a second helping.

There’s more control over how much you eat in the buffet compared to the Main Dining Room on a cruise.

There’s still a bar

Planning to enjoy wine, cocktails, or beer with dinner? The Windjammer, like the Main Dining Room, serves alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks.

Royal Caribbean’s buffet has a standalone bar where you can order drinks, and if you have a drink package, your package will work here as well. There’s no need to sit down for a lengthy meal in order to enjoy a drink with dinner.

Put in your drink order, grab your food at the buffet, and sit down with your drink and meal within just a few minutes.

Amazing views

The buffets on Royal Caribbean cruise ships are located on the upper decks and have floor-to-ceiling windows looking out towards the ocean. Grabbing a table by the windows and dining with beautiful views of the ocean or cruise port is a wonderful way to enjoy a meal.

Some ships even have an outdoor seating area of the Windjammer, where you can enjoy your meal as you watch your ship sail from port to port. When traveling through scenic areas, this alone is enough of a reason to skip the Main Dining Room and head to the buffet instead!

While some tables in the dining room have outdoor views by a window, the vast majority of tables are located further inside the room. Therefore, most passengers in the dining room have no way to enjoy an ocean view during their meal.

Too tired from port

Despite the fact that cruises should be relaxing, some port days can be exhausting! Whether you spent the day lounging under the warm Caribbean sun or riding an ATV through the jungle, you can easily feel tired after a day in port.

And when you feel tired, the idea of getting showered, dressed, and ready for dinner seems unappealing. The good news, of course, is that you’re under no obligation to eat in the Main Dining Room!

After a busy port day, dine at the buffet instead for a quick, casual meal. There’s no need to further exhaust yourself by getting ready for a formal sit-down dinner.

Great for picky eaters

Royal Caribbean’s Main Dining Room offers several options for picky eaters, especially if you look at the Kids Menu, which serves items like spaghetti and chicken fingers.

Beyond the Kids Menu, many appetizers and main courses may not appeal to the pickiest of eaters. Escargot, lamb curry, and chicken marsala are certainly excellent dishes, but they could be a nightmare for those in search of more basic options.

Fortunately, the Windjammer is a haven for picky eaters. No matter the meal, you’re sure to find dishes perfect for picky eaters, such as pizza, hamburgers, and mac and cheese. Passengers won’t have to worry about leaving their comfort zone for a meal, as they can easily find familiar dishes at the buffet.

Of course, there is a huge selection of more adventurous cuisine at the Windjammer as well for non-picky eaters. From spicy Indian cuisine to tropical fruits, dining at the buffet allows you to taste a plethora of new dishes throughout your cruise.

Arrive whenever you want

The Main Dining Room adheres to a stricter schedule compared to the buffet on a Royal Caribbean cruise. If you selected traditional dining when booking your cruise, your dinner is at a set time each evening.

Even if you selected My Time Dining, which allows you to show up to the dining room at any time during dinner hours, you may still face rigidity in regards to the time you dine. With My Time Dining, you can make reservations for a set time in advance each evening, or you can show up and wait in a line until a table is ready.

Related: Royal Caribbean My Time Dining versus Traditional Dining

For passengers who need more flexibility in dining times, dinner in the Main Dining Room can be too structured. Even if you show up to My Time Dining without a reservation, there’s a chance you’ll be waiting in line longer than you’d like.

If you dine at the buffet, though, you can arrive and eat at whatever time is most convenient, provided the Windjammer is open. There’s no need to make reservations or wait in a lengthy line. Simply show up, grab a plate, and enjoy your meal!

Frees up your evening

A long dinner can mess with your plans for the evening. If you want to see a show at 7PM, hit up the Solarium for sunset, or ride the waterslides with no lines, you may not want to be tied down to a set dinner schedule.

By eating at the buffet, you can quickly eat and continue the evening’s activities. There’s no need to sit down for one or two hours each evening when you could enjoy more exciting attractions around the ship!

You’re cruising with kids

If you’re cruising with young kids, eating in the Windjammer as opposed to the Main Dining Room can make your meals pass by much more smoothly. There’s no need to worry about your kids crying and screaming during an otherwise quiet meal or keeping them occupied when waiting for each course to arrive.

The buffet is a much more casual environment, meaning you can quickly feed your kids with (hopefully) a smaller chance of temper tantrums along the way.

Related: 50 best cruising with kids tips & secrets

Some parents prefer bringing their kids to the Windjammer for dinner before dropping them off at Adventure Ocean for supervised programming. Once the kids are dropped off, the parents can head to the Main Dining Room for a more tranquil meal.

If you are planning your first cruise, you are probably wondering what the best itinerary length is. 

Most cruises fall somewhere between 3- and 7-nights; however, it is not uncommon to find some that are longer! In fact, Royal Caribbean offers cruises that are 12+ nights long. 

These are often more destination-focused or are repositioning from one departure port to another (i.e., transatlantic cruises).

While shorter cruises do have their advantages, with the most obvious being that the overall cost will be less, the sweet spot for most first-time cruisers tends to be one week. 

This gives you enough time to explore what the ship has to offer without feeling rushed, as well as visit more ports of call. 

No matter how long your first cruise ends up being, you are sure to get off wishing it was longer! 

Related: Best first-time cruises on Royal Caribbean

For those looking for a quick getaway, book a 3- or 4-night cruise

Due to the Passenger Vessel Services Act, which is also known as the Jones Act,, all foreign-flagged ships departing from the United States must include a stop in a foreign country. 

For that reason, the itineraries of 3- and 4-night cruises are often pretty limited. If you are wanting to visit more unique destinations, like the Caribbean, Mexico, Europe, or Alaska, you will need to look into a longer cruise. 

Because of their short length, 3- and 4-night cruises tend to be port intensive, meaning they are great options for those who do not  necessarily want to spend a lot of time onboard. You can spend your days exploring new ports and the evenings taking in what the ship has to offer. 

One of the biggest benefits to booking a shorter cruise is that optional packages (i.e., drink and dining packages) are cheaper than on longer sailings because you are paying for fewer days. Paying $70 per night for a Deluxe Beverage Package for 3- or 4-nights seems more reasonable than 7-nights!

Both cruises, however, tend to have more of a party atmosphere, which families might not enjoy. 

Related: Guide to weekend cruises: Tips for taking a 3-night Royal Caribbean cruise

What are the differences between 3- and 4-night cruises?

3-night cruises tend to depart on Friday and return on Monday, making them ideal for those with limited time off since two of your vacation days take place over the weekend! 

On the other hand, 4-night cruises usually take place during the week, or Monday through Friday, so you will most likely have to take an entire week of vacation. 

Additionally, 4-night cruises often include a sea day, which would allow you to experience onboard amenities during the day. It is unlikely that you will want to stay on the ship and relax by the pool if you could spend it on the beach in the Bahamas or Mexico instead!

5- or 6-nights cruises are a good in between

Compared to 3- and 4-night cruises, those that are 5- or 6-nights give you more options when it comes to choosing an appealing itinerary. While you may occasionally find a 4-night cruise that visits a Caribbean port, it is likely only going to be one followed by two days at sea. 

A 4-night cruise from Miami, for instance, might only visit Puerto Plata, Dominican Republican or Cozumel, Mexico before returning back to Florida. A similar itinerary on a 5- or 6-night cruise will visit at least two ports of call (think Cozumel and Perfect Day at CocoCay or Grand Cayman), giving you more time to explore new places!

While these will seldom be on the newest ships in the fleet, that does not mean you will be lacking onboard excitement. In 2024, for instance, Voyager of the Seas, Mariner of the Seas, Liberty of the Seas, Independence of the Seas, and Explorer of the Seas are all scheduled to sail 5-night cruises. 

Each ship has a FlowRider surf simulator, waterslides, an ice skating rink, and more. It is enough to see and do in 5-nights without feeling like you missed out on anything! 

Another advantage to longer cruises (those that are 5-nights and longer) is that you have more flexibility with departure ports. You will rarely find a 4-night cruise the departs from Baltimore, Maryland; however, this is where Vision of the Seas will depart from when making roundtrip 5-night cruises to Bermuda in 2023 and 2024. 

7- to 9-nights will give you more time to get your sea legs

You can visit more exciting ports on a longer cruise. Plus, you will be able to experience more of what the ship has to offer. It would be hard to check absolutely everything off of your "must-do" list in only 3-nights, especially if you are taking a short cruise on Allure of the Seas. 

With cruises that are 6- to 9-nights, you are more likely to be able to unpack and settle into your cabin, too. On my first 3-night cruise, I did not even bother to unpack my suitcase! I knew that in a few nights, I would just have to spend time repacking it when I could be doing other things on the ship. 

Moreover, you have more time to get the lay of the land. By the end of the trip, you might feel like a navigational pro! You will not need to look at the deck plan to get from point A to point B like during the first few days. 

If you are hoping to sail on some of Royal Caribbean's newest and most innovative ships, you will have to be prepared to take a 7-night cruise. Wonder of the Seas, the world's largest cruise ship, is currently scheduled to sail roundtrip from Port Canaveral, Florida through at least April 2025. 

Sometimes, you can find shorter cruises on these ships; however, you will have more options when it comes to dates if you are content with a weeklong cruise. Plus, due to the size of these ships, you really do need a full week onboard! 

As mentioned earlier, you will need at least 7-nights to visit more interesting destinations. It is rare, for instance, to find a 5-night Alaska cruise. If you are going to make that kind of trip, you should be committed to seeing as much as possible, anyway! 

10+ nights if you are really focused on the itinerary 

If you are looking at your first cruise to be longer than 10-nights, it is probably because it is destination-focused and visiting ports of call that are less common, especially on today's mega ships. 

You are likely to embrace the sea days and rest up after spending long days exploring. Unlike a 7-night cruise, you may not want to attend dance parties or other high energy evening entertainment. 

Oftentimes, the crowd on these sailings tends to skew older than weeklong ones and can often foster a greater sense of community since you will have longer to get to know your shipmates. 

Plus, if it is an exotic itinerary, a longer cruise might be able to help you justify the cost of travel to get to the embarkation port. In the end, the longer cruise normally provides a better value per day compared to shorter cruises.

If you are worried about motion sickness, just come prepared!

Do not let your fear of getting seasick prevent you from going on the cruise that you want to go on! There are plenty of remedies that will help lessen the severity of this issue, if it arises. 

For over-the-counter medication, there's Bonine and Dramamine.

Today, both brands offer medication whose formula includes meclizine hydrochloride, a synthetic antihistamine that was developed in the early 1950s and is meant to cause less drowsiness than dimenhydrinate. Plus, they also have medications that are more natural whose base is ginger, whether it be ginger root or extract. 

You can also purchase motion sickness patches or bands! 

It is best to do research prior to purchasing any to see what will work best for you. Alternatively, you can speak to your physician to see what they recommend. 

If you wait until you are on the ship, you may find your options to be limited; however, they will have some medication available if you do desperately need it. 

Note that Royal Caribbean Blog makes no warranties with regard to the safety or effectiveness of any anti-nausea medication or natural remedy. You should consult with a physician to get professional medical advice prior to taking any medication, especially if you have existing medical conditions, you're pregnant, or you're already taking other medications. 

Read more: What other cruisers wish they knew before going on their first cruise

Icon of the Seas may still be months away from sailing, but the cruise line is already simulating how its new water park at sea will operate.

Thrill Island is the name of a brand new neighborhood coming to the first Icon Class cruise ship, and it will include six water slides, new dining venues, and lots to keep families busy.

It's a new approach to aquatic fun on a cruise ship for Royal Caribbean, and they want to ensure everything looks and works great before any passenger gets onboard or the ship is even complete.

At Royal Caribbean's Innovation Lab in Miami, Florida, the cruise line life-size mock-ups to give its executives and team members a real-world look at what their plans on paper will actually look like once built.

Royal Caribbean calls Icon of the Seas a "white paper" ship, which means it's designed from the ground up with new concepts. While that's exciting for passengers to look forward to new tings to try, it also introduces new challenges to make it work for the cruise line.

While touring the Innovation Lab this week, RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com got a first-hand look at what Royal Caribbean is doing to ensure its new aqua park is ready to go on day one.

First neighborhood dedicated to thrills

The appropriately named Thrill neighborhood on Icon of the Seas is Royal Caribbean's first fully themed neighborhood centered around fun activities designed to stimulate guests' senses.

Guests will find an entire water park, the FlowRider surf simulator, Crown's Edge experience, mini-golf, a rock climbing wall, and new dining venues inside this area.

Life-size testing

Royal Caribbean wanted to get a sense things would look and feel as intended before the final product gets built out, and that's why they set up scale mock-ups at their headquarters.

While the company can use virtual reality to help provide context for the flow and overall design of the ship, scale replicas convey the theme and aesthetics in the real world before it gets built out.

On the starboard side of the ship will be one entrance to Thrill Island, and guests will notice a great deal of theming even before entering the neighborhood.

The elevator lobby begins with a tropical look to it, leading you to the formal entry way. 

In the case of the signage leading to Thrill Island, the render provides how it will look, but you can't get as good sense of depth to it, "one of the discussions we had last week was, is it too high? Should it be lower or should it be higher? Because what you really want to see coming up the stairs is you really want to see how massively awesome the water park is. And so that's just something that we we look at."

Crown's Edge walkthrough in a parking lot

One of the feature attractions coming to Icon of the Seas is the Crown's Edge walkway, which combines a rope course with sky walk and obstacle course.

Guests are strapped in and walk 154 feet above the ocean for this experience.  It's a major feature on Icon of the Seas, and something never before done on sea or land.

Royal Caribbean first built out the safety briefing area where guests will gear up and learn what they need to do to enjoy the experience in a proper manner.

Royal Caribbean Senior Product Owner, Emily Rodriguez, talked about what they get from designing this space in the real world, "in building out this space, I think it helped us understand what that flow would look like, and how to think through all of the small details to how we brand the jumpsuits, how we brand the helmets, and what the photo and video experience would be like."

Royal Caribbean then used tape in their headquarters parking lot to map out to provide the scale of the experience, "We wanted to do here is tape out the experience to understand scale."

The climax of the experience is a drop through portion, which Royal Caribbean described as "pretty scary" when they tested out the drop harnesses with just a 4 foot drop in a warehouse in Bulgaria.

Crown's Edge will be about a two and a half minute experience, with 4 to 6 guests going at one time.

Building out the water park

The water park on Icon of the Seas will be called Category 6, and it will be the largest waterpark at sea.

There are two stair towers in the water park, the aft stair tower and the forward stair tower. But Royal Caribbean wanted to understand what that experience would look like from the from where the slides were placed to what the mat rack mat journey was going to be for the mat racers.

To that end, they built out a portion of water park in their lab. This provides operational learnings for the team to better understand if materials are too heavy, provide a flow study, and generally what things will be like once onboard.

"I think this is a really great exercise for us to understand what that flow was like, what that experience is like. And as we build these out, we capture lessons along the way," Ms. Rodriguez said.

The team even tested out the various chairs the neighborhood would use because Royal Caribbean anticipates while some members of the family will be doing the slides non-stop, other members of the family may want to take a rest and relax between slides.  As a result, Icon of the Seas will have different kinds of seating beyond a simple lounger.

"We wanted to make sure that we're creating an environment that offers just as much areas for you to refresh and recharge in between the thrills as well...We also wanted to talk through these unique seating opportunities and areas for you to really call your home base."

Basecamp

One area of Thrill Island is Basecamp, which will be a fast casual grab-and-go venue for Thrill Island that's going to serve handheld items.

"The idea of this is really a place for islanders to kind of hang out, swap stories in between thrills, catch a break, refresh on some great food, great bites," Ms. Rodriguez explained.

The exact menu offerings are still being worked through, so nothing is set yet. There will be some items that cost extra and other items that are complimentary.

Once again, creating a mock up of the dining area and surrounding attractions gives the team a better sense of flow, "we did want it to bring the whole experience together and look at how does furniture look like as well for the venue."

"So we pulled some of the sample furniture and really understanding if I was a guest and I wanted to grab a meal for my family while my kids are running the waterslides or playing mini golf right next door, what would that experience feel like?"

Gourmet milkshakes

Another new venue coming to Icon of the Seas is Desserted, which will sell gourmet milkshakes. You can even get milkshakes with alcohol in them.

Expect milkshakes with plenty of garnishes, such as sprinkles, donuts, candies, and churros.

The alcoholic version would have a little bottle of fireball sticking out of the top.

Ms. Rodriguez said, "So think over the top milkshakes," whereas Linken D'Souza, Global Vice President Culinary, Dining & Beverage, said, " We like to call Freakshakes."

I asked if the popular Royal Caribbean drink package would cover milkshakes at Desserted, and the team responded, "it's still a discussion."

The final menu is yet to be determined, but Mr. D'Souza expects there to be 3 or 4, "mega crazy milkshakes with all the toppings."

Guest flow through the waterpark

One issue the team discovered was Desserted and Base Camp were on the port side of the ship, but what about guests wanting a drink on the starboard side?

"We were having a lot of conversations internally and thinking through the guest flow, one of the things that we realized we needed was a way to get drinks on the starboard side near the water park."

So Royal Caribbean added a themed beverage cart to place near the FlowRider.  The cart will serve "ready to drink" canned beverages.

Getting back to the water park, the team is also working on something they're calling internally, "Eye of the Storm," where rain showers erupt randomly to the surprise and delight of passengers.

Located in one of the circulation areas where families will be walking through to get from slide to slide, you may hear a storm brewing, "Sounds of thunder, rain, wind, water will come from up above you. You don't really know where it's coming from. It really blends in with the environment and strobe lights as well to give that lightning effect and make you feel like a storm has just erupted."

Royal came up with different storm programming so it's not always the same experience.

No classic elevators on Icon of the Seas

One notable change Royal Caribbean has made with Icon of the Seas is the type of elevators.

Royal Caribbean's Senior Vice President and Chief Product Innovation Officer Jay Schneider talked about the change in elevators, "We don't have classic elevators on Icon, we have destination elevators."

"If you think of the difference between the two of them, a classic elevator: as I walk up, I hit a button, I walk inside, I hit a floor, off I go."

"A destination elevator is I go to a panel, I tell you where I want to go, it tells you what elevator you should go to, and then I go to it."

Carnival Horizon and MSC Meraviglia both offer these sorts of elevators, Royal Caribbean feels their implementation will be somewhat different. 

Part of the reason why Royal Caribbean is opting to go with destination elevators is crowd management on a ship the size of Icon, "Being able to effectively move up to 7500 passengers seamlessly and solve for some of the problems that we've seen from our elevator technology on other ships, this is a big step forward."

"It's a big step forward, though, that we've been obsessively trying to study to make sure we don't we we don't run into some of the challenges that some of our competitors have seen."

After 17 years of cruising with Royal Caribbean, I'm less than two cruises away from reaching the highest tier of the cruise line's customer loyalty program.

There are 6 levels of the Crown and Anchor Society, but the very top level requires a great deal of dedication to a single cruise line to achieve.

Pinnacle Club status (henceforth referred to simply as "Pinnacle") means you accrue 700 points in Crown and Anchor Society.

I didn't have a goal when I first started to reach Pinnacle, but the more I cruised, the more apparent it became I would reach it sooner than I expected.

When I sail on the June 16, 2023 cruises on Navigator of the Seas, I should hit lucky number 700 early in that sailing.

Most cruisers will never get close to the 700 points needed, but if they do, there is a slew of new amenities and benefits, along with a distinct culture to Royal Caribbean's upper echelon of cruisers.

Reaching 700 points

I was never one to cruise more in order to attain a higher loyalty program status. 

Unlike the airline industry that places a great deal of emphasis on attaining status (primarily driven by business travelers), some of the best benefits for cruisers are when you get to the upper-middle tiers. However, Pinnacle status shares some similarities with the airline programs in terms of offering the most perks at the top.

I got into cruising because I liked the idea of visiting different ports, and the benefits I received along the way sweetened the experience.

I remember thinking about how lucrative it was to get to Platinum status and be eligible for a balcony discount.  Then I thought when I became a Diamond member and getting complimentary drinks every day of my cruise was just about the best I could hope to achieve.

It's a long way from Diamond Plus at 175 points to the 700 threshold for Pinnacle.  Two factors catapulted me significantly faster to 700 than I thought would otherwise.

First and foremost, I live in Florida, and that means I have access to year-round cruises without the additional cost of airfare. 

Florida is the cruising capital of the world because of all the cruise ships based here, and being able to drive to your cruise (especially when there's a cruise deal) enables far more cruising than living anywhere else.

I live in the Orlando area, and that puts four different Royal Caribbean home ports less than 4 hours of driving away.  Two of them are just about an hour away.

Compounding my Florida residency is of course the fact I've been working on RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com as my full time job.

Being able to "cruise for a living" meant I started going on many more cruises than I ever did when I had my former day job.  Similar to how retirees have the time to cruise a lot, I didn't have to balance vacation time needs. 

Of course, having a wife and two school-aged kids means I'm not sailing every week by any means.  It's a struggle to balance the school schedule, especially considering how much I love going with my kids on sailings around the world.

And in case you're thinking I get to cruise for free from various media cruise giveaways from Royal Caribbean, there are very few free cruises given to me (maybe twice per year), and most importantly, I receive zero Crown and Anchor points for media cruises.

But if there's one factor that got me to Pinnacle faster than living in Florida or even working on this blog, it was the double points promotion.

From 2020 through the end of 2022, Royal Caribbean offered double the normal amount of loyalty points for cruises booked during the cruise industry shutdown.

It was a strategy by the cruise line to spur new bookings at a time when many people were hesitant to book cruises on sailings they weren't sure were actually going to sail due to the uncertainty related to the industry's return to service.

Going on week-long cruises and getting 28 points per sailing (sailing in a suite or solo multiplied by 2) moves you up the ladder a heck of a lot faster.

Everyone in Crown and Anchor Society benefitted from the double points, and it certainly accelerated my points trajectory.

Why reaching Pinnacle means something

When I got to Diamond Plus status (175 points), I thought I had reached the mountain top of Royal Caribbean status for what was realistic for me, and I was content being there because I didn't truly grasp the value of getting to Pinnacle.

The more you cruise, the more friends you'll make along the way, and I've gotten to known many wonderful people that were already Pinnacle members or turned Pinnacle later.

Everyone has a story how they attained what seemed like the impossible: seven hundred points!

In speaking with them and observing other cruisers, it's clear being a Pinnacle is more than just a different color on your SetSail pass or an extra free drink every day.

Royal Caribbean itself places a ton of emphasis on its top tier cruisers. In short, they want other cruisers and crew members to know someone is a Pinnacle compared to any other Crown and Anchor status.

Pinnacles get gold SeaPass cards, are able to check-in with the suite guests, get mentioned at Top Tier events onboard, and receive a gold lapel nametag to wear around the ship.

While I personally don't care for the badge as something I want to wear, it's incredible how much emphasis the Pinnacle program gets from the company.

I think any customer wants to feel valued, whether at a sandwich shop, car dealership, or on a cruise ship. Certainly most companies talk about how much they love their customers, but Royal Caribbean backs it up with action.

Beyond the added benefits listed later in this article, it's more than lip service. When policies are amended, the cruise line often makes special stipulations just for Pinnacle Club members.

In my observations, it seems Pinnacles also get a lot of officers onboard speaking to them to not only get to know these people, but take care of concerns they may have. 

I don't want it to seem like Pinnacles get everything they want and the cruise line is perfect in their handling, but Pinnacles get more attention than any other tier.  I can appreciate that Royal Caribbean cares beyond form letters and freebies.

The extras you get with Pinnacle status

In case you're wondering what extras you can expect if you reach 700 points, here's a breakdown of the benefits Royal Caribbean lists for its Pinnacle guests.

• Flexible arrival
• Personalized lapel pin for Pinnacle Club
• Pinnacle Club SeaPass Card with exclusive privileges
• Daily breakfast at a specialty restaurant
• Exclusive nightly pinnacle club event
• Milestone cruise certificate valued at the prevailing rate of a 7-night balcony stateroom for 700 and 1050 cruise points
• Milestone cruise certificate valued at the prevailing rate of a Junior Suite stateroom for 1,400 and every 350 cruise points thereafter
• Bigger discount on Balcony & Suite staterooms compared to a Diamond Plus member

The free cruises for continuing past 700 points is a really nice option that adds a tremendous amount of value.

After hitting the Pinnacle Club level, you’ll get an additional free cruise every time you accumulate another 350 points. That means you will get an initial free cruise after hitting 700 points, and then additional cruises at 1,050 points, 1,400 points, 1,750 points, etc.

The free cruise is for two people, but you can bring a third and fourth guest. You'll just have to pay for their fares. 

The first two cruises are in a balcony cabin. After that, you quality for a junior suite.

If you don’t want to sail the Caribbean, you can ask for a cruise credit to use toward an itinerary somewhere else. Royal Caribbean will give you $2,400 toward the purchase of a cruise at 700 and 1,050 points, and $3,200 toward the purchase of a cruise at 1,400 points and above.

Two more cruises to go

With just about 20 points to go until I make Pinnacle, I find myself reflecting on the years of cruising.

If my math is right, I've taken 68 cruises so far and that means I'll reach 700 once I'm on cruise number 70, which will be Navigator of the Seas on the June 16th sailing.

If you were to ask what it feels like to reach Pinnacle, my answer would be "surreal".

I never thought I would reach Pinnacle quite this soon, but in doing so, it feels like a new phase of my Royal Caribbean cruising career will open, similar to how things changed onboard when I hit Diamond.

I'm grateful to my many friends who are already Pinnacle and have shared their experiences over the years. As one of our writers is fond to say, "cruising is what you make of it" and the Crown and Anchor Society is very much the same way.

I may not take advantage of every single Pinnacle benefit, but there are a few I'm very much looking forward to, such as priority embarkation and complimentary internet access.

Of course, the complimentary cruises along the way will be yet another good rationale for telling my wife we "need to book another cruise."

I hope sharing my experience will provide you with context for perhaps making it to Pinnacle as well some day, and what Crown and Anchor Society offers its most loyal cruisers.