Royal Caribbean Blog

MGM Rewards, MGM Resorts' loyalty program, is launching enhanced benefits with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises. 

MGM and Royal Caribbean have had a longstanding loyalty match. If you're an Emerald, Diamond, Diamond Plus, or Pinnacle Club cruiser within the Crown & Anchor Society, you're eligible to be matched to MGM Rewards' Gold Tier. 

In addition to Sapphire and Pearl Tier benefits, Gold members receive access to an expedited reservations line, tier appreciation events, VIP line access to select nightclubs in Las Vegas, a waived resort fee when booking direct, complimentary valet parking at participating locations, and an enhanced room upon check-in. 

The 2025 upgrades take it one step further for MGM Rewards members looking to hit the high seas with Royal Caribbean or Celebrity Cruises. 

Read more: Loyalty Perks Beyond the Cruise: Using Crown & Anchor Society Rewards on Land

Onboard FreePlay

Now, all MGM Rewards members will receive a new Onboard FreePlay benefit when sailing on any MGM Rewards loyalty offer, certificate offer, or group cruise. 

The amount received is based on the member's MGM tier status. For example, entry-level Sapphire members will receive $25, while top-tier NOIR members will receive $200 in Onboard Freeplay:

• Sapphire ($25)
• Pearl ($50)
• Gold ($75)
• Platinum ($100)
• NOIR ($200)

Read more: Royal Caribbean is adding a new casino to one of its ships in an unusual spot that non-smokers will love

This benefit isn't replacing the existing onboard credit offer for Gold, Platinum, and NOIR members. Instead, it’s an additional perk that will enhance the overall cruise experience and, arguably, encourage more time spent in the ship's casino. 

The onboard credit perk is based on the member's MGM Rewards tier status and can be spent on add-ons like specialty dining, drink packages, shore excursions, and Wi-Fi:

• Gold ($125)
• Platinum ($200)
• NOIR ($300)

Note that these benefits aren't available to Crown & Anchor Society cruisers who matched into MGM Rewards, as the perks are available only to persons who earned the minimum Tier Credits associated with each level, or who were invited to the NOIR Tier Level during the Tier Status Earning Year based on spending. 

Read more: I gamble a lot on Royal Caribbean ships to earn free cruises. Here are my 10 hacks to maximize the cruise casino perks

Annual Cruise Benefit

What's a good way to encourage cruisers to visit the casino? By gifting them a free cruise, of course! As part of MGM Rewards' 2025 enhancements, more members have the chance to earn a free cruise.

Not only that, but qualifying members can enjoy upgraded staterooms, access to better itineraries, and more onboard benefits. Gold Tier members are also eligible for the benefit for the first time, and based on the tier, members can receive a set trade-in value:

• Gold: Oceanview cabin on an eligible voyage of up to five nights (or up to $750 toward a cruise of their choice)
• Platinum: Balcony cabin on an eligible voyage of up to seven nights (or up to $1,500 toward a cruise of their choice)
• NOIR: Junior Suite on an eligible voyage of up to ten nights (or up to $3,000 toward a cruise of their choice)

MGM Rewards members who have already redeemed their annual cruise can enjoy the upgraded perks by calling Royal Caribbean at 800-762-0702 or Celebrity at 855-227-2537. Have your booking number handy!

In addition to the annual cruise benefit, MGM Rewards launched exclusive stateroom savings on additional cruises:

• Pearl (5%)
• Gold (10%)
• Platinum (10%)
• NOIR (10%)

Read more: Royal Caribbean rolls the dice on a new casino to address a problem cruise passengers hated for years

New land perks

Not ready to commit to an ocean voyage or planning your pre-cruise stay? Through MGM's enhancements, loyalty members can match their status to Marriott Bonvoy:

• Pearl: Marriott Silver Elite status
• Gold: Marriott Gold Elite status
• Platinum: Marriott Gold Elite status (existing benefit)
• NOIR: Marriott Ambassador Elite status (existing benefit)

MGM is also selling e-gift cards at a discount, allowing guests the chance to save on their upcoming travels. All MGM members who purchase e-gift cards valued at $300 or more by March 28 will receive 5% off. 

Royal Caribbean has cutback a perk from its popular program that gives guests added benefits.

An update was sent to guests that purchased The Key to inform them of a change to the program.

The Key is an extra cost pass guests can purchase to give them extra perks. It has a daily cost and must be purchased prior to the cruise beginning and for the duration of the cruise.

Instead of offering complimentary private time for the FlowRider, guests with The Key will only get a 25% discount on select sports activities throughout the sailing.

You may apply this discount to as many sports activities as you'd like throughout your sailing – including Flowrider Lessons and Private Sessions.

Examples of other sports activities offered on a cruise include Pickleball intro clinics, and private time at the iFly skydiving simulator.

This discount may not be combined with any other pre-cruise/onboard offer for the booking.

According to Royal Caribbean, they believe this is more in line with the existing Key Package benefit of 20% off any Specialty Dining.

"We believe it will provide even greater value and enjoyment to your cruise experience," the email read.

To take advantage of this new discount, reservations for these activities can be made onboard and can be booked at any time of your sailing.

"I find this absolutely ridiculous"

Guests reacted quickly to the change, with many noting the reduction in benefits.

Brock23 posted on the Royal Caribbean message boards, "The only time that we ever used the Flowrider was during the complementary private time. Now they take that away and trying to and get more money from you. 

"Having you book a $500 Flowrider private session. I find this absolutely ridiculous another way they're nickeling and dime everyone that's paying huge amounts of money to go on these boats."

Bcnhot posted on Reddit, "Honestly, I feel a little bit pissed right now, especially because of the way it is written, as if what they are offering is a better deal."

Spam_in_a_can_06 thinks this might benefit some, "Most people with Key didn’t use the open Flowrider because it’s always at odd times. This might be a better deal overall."

MedicalButterscotch is a helpful moderator on the Royal Caribbean subreddit and shared, "Absolutely a downgrade. Don't hesitate to cancel the Key if this sways your decision."

Is it worth buying The Key?

With the change in the Flowrider perk, does it still make sense to get The Key?

The cost of The Key depends on the sailing, but its listed as regularly costing $44.99 per person and must be bought for all guests at least 6 years or older in the cabin when purchased.

The included Flowrider session (and now discounted activity option) was likely never one of the most popular or beneficial perks of The Key.

In my experience, most people buy The Key because it includes:

• Priority embarkation
• Priority disembarkation
• Carry-on luggage assistance
• Includes internet
• Welcome aboard lunch

Because the Flowrider is such a demanding activity and a bit daunting to those who may find it too physically challenging, its inclusion or removal was always going to be somewhat niche.

Regardless of the change, I've said many times I don't see the value of The Key because of how heavy the benefits are on only embarkation day, and the fact many benefits can be attained on your own with the right knowledge.

You can get an early check-in time if you do your online check-in exactly 45 days before the cruise begins.

You could book Chops Grille for lunch on embarkation day and still enjoy a nice welcome aboard lunch.

Whether you have The Key or not, you still need to make reservations for the shows on Oasis and Quantum Class ships.  And the reserved seats aren't always the best seats in the house. They're just a special section, that you're required to be at quite early.

And you can always get a good pre-cruise discount on an internet package. In fact, many times it's cheaper to buy your family a multi-device internet package to share.

Usually the argument to buying the Key is for an "easy button" approach to cruising, especially when there's a good sale on it that is offered at just a little bit more than what an Voom package costs.

Two men from Mexico City were arrested in Miami, Florida after being accused of sexually victimizing a teenage boy during a recent Royal Caribbean cruise.

Jose Prudencio Diaz, age 36, and Ricardo Daniel Mondragon Leal, age 37, were arrested on multiple criminal charges, including lewd and lascivious molestation of a child between the ages of 12 to 16 years old. 

Both individuals were arrested on March 21, 2025 in connection with the alleged assault while disembarking Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas in Miami, Florida.

According to arrest reports from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, as cited by Miami Local 10 News, the two men were traveling together onboard Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas. While in the sauna, both men are accused of sexually victimizing a 14-year-old boy.

In the reports, deputies said that Prudencio Diaz allegedly exposed himself to the teen while in the sauna. The arrest report states that Prudencio Diaz then proceeded to sexually assault the teenager and forced the teenager to touch him inappropriately.

In addition, the arrest report states that Mondragon Leal also exposed himself in front of the teen and forced the minor to perform sexual acts on him. Deputies also state that Mondragon Leal allegedly forced himself sexually on the 14-year-old boy.

When Independence of the Seas returned to PortMiami on Friday, March 21, 2025, both men were arrested in connection with the alleged crimes. According to the arrest report, the incident occurred aboard Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas on Thursday, March 20, 2025.

The arrest reports indicate both men are facing charges of “lewd and lascivious exhibition on a child and lewd and lascivious molestation of a child.” The two individuals are being held without bond in Miami following the arrests. 

Miami 10 Local News also reported that jail records show Mondragon Leal and Prudencio Diaz are on immigration holds. Legally, this means the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has requested that the local Miami jail hold the individuals in custody beyond their scheduled release so they can take be transferred into federal immigration custody. 

According to Miami 10 Local News, one of the prosecutors said in court, "The defendant, in this case, acting in concert with another defendant, they were both on a cruise. This shows that they tried to target a specific minor, and this could be done again."

In addition, Prudencio Diaz is facing a charge of not disclosing his HIV status with the victim. He is currently being held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami, Florida following the arrest.

Further, Mondragon Leal faces a count of child sexual battery and is currently being held in the Metrowest Detention Center in Miami, Florida. At this time, Royal Caribbean has not provided a statement about the incident. 

Currently, Independence of the Seas is sailing on a variety of round-trip itineraries from Miami, Florida to the Caribbean. Over the summer, Independence of the Seas will head to Europe and sail from Southampton, England. 

When the incident occurred, Independence of the Seas was sailing on a 4-night itinerary that departed from Miami, Florida on March 17, 2025. The ship visited ports of call in the Bahamas, including Nassau and Royal Caribbean’s private island, Perfect Day at CocoCay. 

According to the ship's itinerary, Independence of the Seas was at sea on Thursday, March 20, 2025 - the day the incident reportedly occurred.

Guests scheduled to sail with Celebrity Cruises have been informed that the cruise line is canceling planned visits to one of its private destinations in the Caribbean.

Celebrity Cruises has officially removed Labadee, Haiti from multiple itineraries, opting to replace the port stop with other Caribbean destinations. The decision affects several ships in the cruise line's fleet, and impacted itineraries include sailings throughout 2025 and 2026. 

Most of the impacted itineraries were aboard Celebrity Apex, although cruises on Celebrity Beyond and Celebrity Summit have also been adjusted to remove Haiti. In addition, Celebrity’s website no longer shows cruises with Labadee, Haiti as a destination. This potentially indicates a long-term decision to remove Labadee, Haiti as a Caribbean destination for Celebrity Cruises. 

Labadee, Haiti is a private destination owned and operated by Royal Caribbean in the Caribbean. The resort area is exclusively used by the cruise line and guarded by a private security force. Guests and crew members are not allowed to leave the secure area. Labadee is doubly fenced off from the surrounding area - and the cruise line maintains the private destination is safe and self-contained for tourists.

Even still, Haiti has been crippled by gang violence, political instability, and economic turmoil in the last year. In March 2024, unrest and violence in the country caused Royal Caribbean to temporarily suspend visits to Labadee, Haiti. Sailings did not resume until October 2024 - and the cruise line currently continues to visit the private destination.

Celebrity Cruises did not clarify why port stops in Labadee, Haiti would be removed from itineraries. Instead, the cruise line simply shared the change was made to improve the cruise experience for its guests.

For example, in emails sent to impacted guests on the August 17, 2025, sailing aboard Celebrity Beyond, the cruise line states, “We look forward to welcoming you aboard Celebrity Beyond. Before we set sail, please note this important update to our itinerary. To provide you with a better guest experience, we have made the decision to cancel our visit to Labadee, Haiti.”

Other emails available online show Celebrity Cruises used similar verbiage about the itinerary changes, only citing “to better guest experience” as the reasoning behind the cancellation. The impacted itineraries have been swapping Labadee, Haiti for other ports of call in the Caribbean, including Turks and Caicos, Puerto Plata (Dominican Republic), and George Town (Grand Cayman).

Interestingly, Royal Caribbean - which is owned by the same parent company - has not canceled stops to Labadee. This may suggest that Celebrity's itineraries to Labadee had lower demand, as any safety concerns to the private destination would likely apply to Royal Caribbean ships as well.

In addition, some of these impacted itineraries have additional changes to their sailings. For instance, the January 24, 2026 cruise for Celebrity Apex included an additional stop in Cozumel, Mexico. Similarly, the December 17, 2025 itinerary on Celebrity Summit will add a port stop in Philipsburg, St. Maarten.

Some guests have been vocal about their concerns regarding cruise visits to Labadee, Haiti. With the continued unrest, political instability, and violence in the country, some travelers feel uneasy about visiting the nation at this time. 

In November 2024, user @steverk commented on our site's forum about the evolving situation with Haiti. The cruiser stated, “I think this is out of hand. Whether or not you agree that going to Labadee is a security risk that should not be taken, it is a reasonable position. 3 aircraft have been hit by gunfire in the last week.”

“These direct attacks on Americans are a significant and recent escalation. Many people, who are not comfortable with the situation, are booked on cruises that are past the final payment date. They have only 2 options. Take an uncomfortable risk or cancel the cruise with no refund,” continued the poster.

The United States initially banned flights to Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, in November 2024 after gangs opened fire and struck three separate commercial aircraft. The Federal Aviation Administration has since extended the flight restriction, prohibiting U.S. flights to Haiti through September 2025.

Additionally, the United States has Haiti listed with a travel advisory of Level 4: Do Not Travel due to “kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and limited health care.”

However, Royal Caribbean maintains that Labadee, Haiti is safe for cruise visitors even amid the country’s turmoil. One guest, @pattycruise - who sailed aboard Explorer of the Seas in November 2024 - noted that many fellow passengers were voicing concerns about stopping in Labadee. Some even raised questions about how visiting a Level 4 advisory country might impact their travel insurance coverage.

To ease the concerns of guests, Royal Caribbean shared letters to passengers emphasizing the safety of Labadee, Haiti. In a letter shared online, the cruise line confirmed, “We are aware of the recent travel advisory in place for Haiti. Please know that the safety and security of our guests is our top priority.”

Royal Caribbean further explained, “In Labadee, we have our own security and controlled access, meaning that only Royal Caribbean employees and guests may enter. Kindly note that the civil unrest taking place in Port-au-Prince is 128 miles south of our private destination, Labadee.”

“The drive, on less-than-ideal road conditions, would take more than six and a half hours from Port-au-Prince to Labadee — equivalent to the drive time between New York City and Pittsburgh, Paris and Geneva, or Plymouth and Hull,” continued the letter to guests.

Royal Caribbean clarified, “Additionally, the U.S. Embassy has recognized Labadee as a cruise-exclusive area with private security, low crime, and a place where only standard precautions are needed. We continue to monitor the situation very closely alongside local authorities and our security team.”

It's been over a year since Icon of the Seas arrived and set a new standard for giant cruise ships. 

I went on Icon in the first few months it entered service, but it's been a number of months since I sailed on her.  I had gone on other ships, including the newer Utopia of the Seas. So how would Icon feel a year later, and is would it feel as fresh and innovative as before?

Royal Caribbean introduced a number of firsts on Icon, and it made the ship stand out immediately.

Being the biggest cruise ship in the world will get plenty of attention, with a maximum capacity of 7,600 passengers. But there's much more that makes Icon special beyond her dimensions.

There's just about every bright idea, fun activity, and way to relax on Icon. Variety of things to do is something that's always attracted me to big ships, but it's incredible how much more Icon has than even the nearly as large Oasis Class ships.

I took my family back on Icon for a 7-night western Caribbean cruise over spring break. I wanted to see what had changed, how the experience is with a full sailing, and if Icon is still my favorite ship in the fleet.

Crowd management is still incredible

The one thing that struck me on Icon when she came out was how effective crowd management was on the ship, and it still holds up today.

Royal Caribbean knew it needed to distribute crowds well in order to keep this mega ship from feeling overstuffed and unenjoyable. They did a great job with the Oasis Class ships, but Icon is notably better.

With few exceptions crowds simply don't exist on the ship. Sure, when a show lets out or there's a party on the Royal Promenade, you'll see a crowd.  But those are engineered crowds.

Even on the pool deck, which traditionally suffers the worst crowding problems on sea days, is remarkably open.  Not only are there tons of chairs everywhere, but adding more pools than any other ship and spreading them out clearly worked.

I can't promise you'll find a chair in front of Royal Bay pool at noon, but there are going to be chairs nearby.

There's an art to how the activities are programmed, the venues spread out, and the different places you can go.

If there's any concern about going on a ship with 10,000 people feeling too crowded, I don't think you need to worry.

Dueling Pianos is my go to evening entertainment

Among the many new venues introduced on Icon, Dueling Pianos is one of the best.

I had tried Dueling Pianos on the inaugural sailing, and it stood out immediately.  I went back on a few evenings to see how it compared.

The idea is simple: two pianists take requests from the crowd and take turns playing as many as they can.  The thing that makes this more than on-demand piano music is the entertainment factor involved.

Each one adds personality, incorporates the audience, and just makes it really fun.

Roel and Sarah were a terrific duo, and I loved how they infused humor to songs we've all heard dozens of times.

It's also a really good bar to make friends because of how much audience participation there is. The bar regulars will become characters soon enough and you'll wave hello to people you know around the ship.

Great specialty dining, but whish there was one more really good option

I ate well on Icon and got around to as many restaurants as I could, but if there was one deficiency I found, it's that the ship lacks one more really good restaurant.

Specialty dining is a focus on pretty much every ship, and it's popular with guests too.  

For a 7-night cruise, I think it lacks another top level specialty restaurant.

Chops Grille, Giovanni's Italian Kitchen, and Izumi are terrific and I ate at each one on the cruise, but it needs one more.

Anecdotally, Hooked seems to be not so popular and because it's so heavy on shellfish, it's also very polarizing. I like Pier 7, but it's almost empty every night and most guests seem to not know it even exists.

Other pay options are more casual, like Playmakers or Trellis Bar. Empire Supper Club is divine, but it's a niche restaurant with a hefty price tag.

Having a restaurant like 150 Central Park, Wonderland, or some new concept would go a long way.

I regret not going to the pool more

We had a lot of fun on Icon of the Seas, but I wish I had more time to enjoy the pools.

In a typical "first world problem", our itinerary was loaded with port stops: three in the western Caribbean, and a visit to Perfect Day at CocoCay. 

The downside to this schedule was it left us just two sea days, and with everything happening around Icon, I never got around to spending time in the pool.

In retrospect, I should have skipped a beach day in Cozumel and instead hung out on the ship.

I think Royal Caribbean did a great job with the pools, especially the Swim & Tonic and Cloud 17. But with Dueling Pianos, all the shows, great dining choices, and activities, the pools got left out.

Best comedy entertainment on any ship

I really enjoy the adult comedy shows on Royal Caribbean ships, but Icon has the best venue for it yet.

On other ships, the comedy shows are performed either in the Royal Theater or a multi-use venue.  Icon has a purpose-built comedy club, and it's perfect.

The venue has a great layout that is big enough to handle the rampant demand for shows, but also provide both comics and audience alike great angles to enjoy it all.

Plus, we had a fantastic lineup of comedians, including my all-time favorite, Simeon Kirkiles. 

I love how Royal Caribbean invests in live comedy, and the venue on Icon is superb.

Very few changes since last year

One thing I kept an eye out for were any changes Royal Caribbean made since last year, but it's fairly consistent.

I think the biggest change is to make all of Basecamp included in your cruise fare.

Previously, the menu had a lot of extra cost items and a few freebies. Now, it's all included.  Granted, they dropped two items from the menu (fare thee well, cheese curds. We hardly knew you).

The library within Pearl Cafe is also holding on for dear life.  There's only a few books, likely because books were taken without being returned, but it still exists.

I also noticed Rye & Bean doesn't open until 10am, which used to open at 8am a year ago.  It was one of my favorite Icon of the Seas secrets as a less crowded coffee alternative to Pearl Cafe.

The shows are still so good and must-sees

Royal Caribbean did such a good job producing each of the signature shows on Icon of the Seas.

Wizard of Oz, Aqua Action, and Starburst and excellent and worth your time.  I'll even go as far as to say Wizard of Oz is worthy of being put on a stage on land because of the high production value.

I was a bit put off by the shows after the ones on Utopia weren't nearly as good, but I came back for the shows on Icon and was not disappointed.

Disembarkation is the easiest process ever on Icon

It is amazing how smooth, efficient, and fast disembarkation is with a ship as large as Icon.

They got passengers and luggage off incredibly early, making the process so easy.

There were no lines to wait to disembark, and they had called most of the luggage numbers before 8am.

Considering how long it can take on other ships, disembarking Icon is such a breeze.

Royal Caribbean released new "badges," which award guests for traveling on specific ships and allow loyal fans to track their progress across the cruise line’s entire fleet. 

The badges are awarded on Royal Caribbean and Celebrity's mobile apps and serve as a fun way for cruisers to celebrate their loyalty. 

Guests can easily view their badge collection in the respective apps by scrolling to the small head icon and selecting "profile" across from their name. 

From there, you can click "recent badges" and see all the ship badges you've earned, providing a clear visual representation of your travel milestones within the company. 

Ships you have sailed on are vibrantly colored in, while ships you have not sailed on are greyed out. At the top, you can also see how many ships you've sailed on. 

For example, if you have been on 10 of Royal Caribbean's 29 ships, it will read, "10 out of 29 badges earned" at the top of the screen, giving you a quick overview of your progress.

It will also indicate how many other cruisers have earned the badge. For instance, according to Royal Caribbean's app, over 1.1 million passengers have sailed aboard Allure of the Seas. 

According to Royal Caribbean's app, the most popular ship in the fleet is Allure of the Seas, with 1.2 million cruisers, followed by Oasis (1.0 million) and Freedom (1.0 million).  

On the flip side, the least sailed on (because it hasn't launched yet) is Star of the Seas, with a total passenger count of 0. 

149.9k cruisers have earned "Icon of the Seas" badges for sailing on the cruise line's largest and most innovative vessel since it launched in Jan. 2024. Utopia of the Seas, Royal Caribbean's newest ship, has welcomed 187.4k guests. 

Read more: I sailed on Royal Caribbean's mega-ship designed for first-time cruisers

According to Celebrity's app, their most sailed ship is Celebrity Equinox (433.9k), whereas Celebrity Flora, the cruise line's luxury expedition ship, has only seen 11k guests. 

If you haven't sailed on a specific ship and click on it, a window will pop up that says, "Book cruise." However, Royal Caribbean wants repeat cruisers, so if you've been on a specific ship, a pop-up reading, "Book again," will appear.

The new feature is only available through the mobile app. Though you can see your past cruises on the website, they appear as a list and give more details about the sailing, revealing the duration, itinerary, and dates. 

Do former ships have badges?

Certain ships no longer part of Royal Caribbean's fleet are noticeably missing, including Monarch of the Seas, Sovereign of the Seas, Empress of the Seas, Splendour of the Seas, Song of America, Song of Norway, and the original Legend of the Seas. 

In other words, it appears the ship has to be actively sailing for Royal Caribbean to be eligible to receive a badge through the mobile app. Retired ships, even if they haven't been scrapped, aren't listed. 

For example, the former Splendour of the Seas is now sailing as Marella Discovery for Marella Cruises. 

The same goes for Celebrity. Ships like Celebrity Zenith, Celebrity Mercury, Celebrity Xperience, and Celebrity Xpedition are excluded from the badge collection. 

Similarly, Celebrity Century, a Century Class ship that debuted in 1995 for Celebrity Cruises, operates for Marella Cruises as Marella Explorer 2 but is missing from the app. 

It can take up to 30 days post-cruise to receive a new badge

"Badges can take up to 30 days post-cruise to display. Requests to add missing cruises or points must be submitted within 12 months after the debarkation date of your sailing," says the app. 

"Any requests made beyond the 12 month period will not be accommodated."

This was a busy week with Royal Caribbean news, and we have a summary of all of the news from this week to make certain you did not miss any of it.

Royal Caribbean's next new cruise ship is going to arrive even earlier than expected.

A new 3-night showcase sailing was added to the schedule prior to the official inaugural sailing.

This is the second time Royal Caribbean has added a new short sailing before the official maiden voyage on August 31, 2025.

Royal Caribbean News

• Royal Caribbean bans popular electronic device on its private island
• Will a potential U.S. travel ban affect your Caribbean cruise? Here's what we know
• A Royal Caribbean cruise survey asks a simple question. The interpretation started a debate.
• I tried the $100 steak on Icon of the Seas, but it wasn't worth it
• Wireless carriers AT&T and Verizon want to make it easier to use your phone on a cruise ship
• 7 of the most beautiful cruise ports in the world, from someone who's cruised to 19 countries
• My 7 favorite cruise foods across all the cruises I've ever taken
• I spent $1,258 for a private villa at an all-inclusive resort on an island off the coast of Honduras, and was worth every penny
• The new dueling pianos bar is one of my favorite evening hot spots
• Royal Caribbean has a new option for skipping the lines on its cruise tours

New RCB Video: What I Wish Someone Told Me About Old Ships

Have you subscribed to the Royal Caribbean Blog YouTube Channel? We share some great videos there regularly, all about taking a Royal Caribbean cruise! This week, we are sharing our latest video — What I Wish Someone Told Me About Royal Caribbean’s Old Ships — and don’t forget to subscribe to our channel.

Family wrongfully denied boarding Royal Caribbean cruise ship

"Heartbroken and devastated" are the words a family used when they couldn't get on a cruise ship because of a mix-up regarding documentation.

A family from North Carolina was booked to sail on a Royal Caribbean ship from Port Canaveral, but were turned away at the cruise terminal.

The issue centered around using a student ID, which is allowed, but the terminal staff wrongly said it wasn't acceptable.

Icon of the Seas ship review

Icon of the Seas has been offering cruises for over a year, and there's so much to love about this ship.

From the incredible entertainment to the innovating changes Royal Caribbean made with this ship, Icon is as close to perfect as a cruise ship gets.

While it comes with premium pricing, Icon of the Seas is the right ship for a lot of people looking to enjoy the very best option out there.

Things you should never do in Mexico, according to a local

Cozumel is one of the most popular cruise ports in the Caribbean, but tourists make a lot of mistakes there.

Adrian drives taxis in Cozumel, and he's seem all sorts of problems that could have been avoided if cruise ship passengers knew the in's and out's of the island.

Not only could these tips save you time, it could also avoid a really bad situation from developing.

I tried a giant Royal Caribbean cruise ship after years of avoiding them

Allie usually chases budget deals, but just tried her first cruise on Oasis Class ship.

Not only do big ships cost more, they also have very unvaried itineraries. Both issues kept her from giving one a try.

She went on Utopia of the Seas for a 4-night cruise with her extended family, and while she had a good time, some issues bothered her.

A case of mistaken identification cost one family their highly anticipated Royal Caribbean cruise vacation.

A family from North Carolina was booked to sail on a Royal Caribbean ship from Port Canaveral, but were turned away at the cruise terminal.

According to Shannon Nutting, her son was denied boarding because of the type of identification he had.

Her 16-year-old son attempted to use a student ID as his photo identification.

She claims she cleared it was acceptable to use this form of identification before the cruise began with the cruise line.

"He said, unfortunately, you're not going to be able to board today because the school ID is not acceptable," Nutting said in a report to ABC News. 

"So, I explained to him that we had talked to Royal Caribbean, and they had assured us that the school ID was valid, and I was upset by that point, crying, so I asked could I speak to a supervisor."

She also said the reason her son had this form of ID was because he has special needs, so it's why he didn't have state-issued ID yet.

"I called to make sure he could board without it. She said she didn't care what he had, and we couldn't board, and she just walked away," Nutting said.

In the end, she and her family were unable to get on the cruise and the ship left without them.

"All that year of saving and paying on it, everybody was just heartbroken and devastated. Everybody was exhausted," Nutting said. 

It turned out to be a mistake

Following the debacle at the terminal, Ms. Nutting followed up with Royal Caribbean's offices to figure out what happened.

According to her, Royal Caribbean acknowledged the mistake and said they could fly to Cozumel, Mexico to join the ship there.

"They told her that we should have been able to book. At that point they wanted us to fly to Cozumel. For us to pay to fly to Cozumel and board the ship two days later."

They opted not to do this, and finish out their vacation in Florida.

Royal Caribbean told reporters that this was a human error by staff at the cruise port, and Nutting and her family should have been able to board as they had the right documentation.

Moreover, additional training will be given at the port to prevent similar issues from occurring again.

They offered the Nutting family three options:

• Convert the value of the cruise fare paid into a future cruise credit to use on another sailing, plus a $700 onboard credit.
• Full refund
• Full refund on the cruise, plus a 25% future cruise credit

Nutting said none of the three options were acceptable, because she wanted a refund and to be reimbursed for expenses.

"We wanted the money for the cruise back and the expenses. The expenses that we had for traveling to Florida while we were there for meals, gas, the lodging, and all of that," she said.

Passport is the best and safest form of identification

If you're taking a cruise, you should get a passport to avoid situations like this from occurring in the first place.

It's legal for US citizens sailing on a ship that departs and returns to the same US port to cruise with photo identification and a birth certificate, but situations like what happened to the Nutting family are not unheard of.

In the past, we've seen similar stories of families being denied entry on a cruise because they don't have the right documentation, whether in error or not.

The truth is having a passport is as straightforward as it gets, and no one has been denied entry to a cruise for having a valid and unexpired passport.

Admittedly, passports are expensive for a family to get at first. But they last many years, and it's an investment in your travel future.

You can not only use a passport for cruise ship vacations, but also land trips.  

Plus, if you want to try a cruise outside of the United States, it opens up so many other bucket-list options, such as Europe, Australia, and Asia.

Royal Caribbean's post-cruise surveys are an important way to evaluate what's working well, but one question is confusing a lot of passengers.

After every cruise, Royal Caribbean sends guests an email survey as a way to get feedback on every aspect of the cruise.

There's an opportunity to rate the service, food, efficiencies, and every venue onboard.

One question in particular seems to trip up a lot of passengers because of how it's written, and that leaves a question as to how they should answer it.

"Am I supposed to answer yes or no?" is what a Facebook user wrote recently in regard to this survey question:

"Were you asked by any crew member(s) to provide positive ratings/reviews on this survey?"

If you answered yes to the question, then the survey goes on to ask which crew member asked you to provide the positive ratings.

"I’m not sure if yes is a positive for the staff because that’s what they’re supposed to do? Or they’re not supposed to?"

The debate relates to what answer Royal Caribbean is looking for, as well as if the crew member gets in trouble for it.

What the question really means

Royal Caribbean relies on NPS or Net Promoter Scores to evaluate how its operations are working.

In short, this is a tool for measuring customer loyalty and predicting business growth. 

The way the analysis is done on this type of question is if you answer a 9 or 10 you are a Promoter, 6-8 you are Neutral, 0-5 you are a Detractor.  

In 2022, Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley talked about how important NPS scores are to his company, "I think the happy customers is a beautiful thing to have. And I think that formula has never changed. When people really have an amazing time, they go backward and as they tell their friends and families, they want to come back and repeat.

"We've done obviously work on Net Promoter Score and repeat cruises and the correlation is relatively high. There is a relationship between Net Promoter Score and loyalty guest. So it's a winning formula. And I think that's always been one of the great things about cruise is the value proposition connected to satisfaction has always been remarkably high."

Royal Caribbean wants you to be honest and truthful so you can properly determine what's working well or not.  But if you're being coached to give positive answers, that skews the data in the wrong way.

The survey question is trying to figure out if crew members are inflating scores by asking guests for positive ratings.

Confusing passengers

Without knowing about NPS scores and how they work, the question is confusing.

In the Facebook post with this question, about half the people commented they answer "yes" while others answered "no".

"I had the same question and was confused by it. I work for a large corporation which relies on customer feedback and I feel like this question is very inappropriate. To your point when we get somebody in trouble for answering yes or no," wrote Tina Basinger.

Allan Bowman posted, "Answer as honestly as you can. If it was a negative thing for a crew member to mention it, then they wouldn't be mentioning it so often!"

Jenny Hinson added, "Answer honestly. If you don’t know then just don’t answer!"

What should you do

In my opinion, the question is aimed at maintaining the integrity of the survey as a whole, so answering truthfully is the proper route.

It's perfectly okay for a crew member to alert you about the survey, and even point out that the survey is quite important.

The issue is if they start to pressure you to answer for a "10" score, either by directly asking for it or inferring if they don't get a perfect score, they'll get in trouble.

So if you're told by a crew member that the survey is important or that you should do it when you get home, I don't believe that constitutes a "yes" to the question.

However, if they ask for perfect scores or guilt you about not giving perfect scores, that's where you'd want to answer "yes".

It gets into a gray area when the crew member dances around it, such as a head waiter that says they strive for 10 out of 10 and asked to immediately let him know if anything didn’t meet that standard so it could be corrected on the spot. 

What happens if a crew member doesn't get a perfect score

We don't have insight into how exactly less than perfect scores impact crew members, but some passengers shared what they've heard.

Austin posted on our Royal Caribbean message boards, "One of our former waiters told us if they do not get 10s, they are required to attend more “training” sessions which results in less free/leave time."

"They are also rated against other wait staff. I actually got to see it posted during a galley tour. It can also lead to no promotion or no contract renewal."

Snowchaser wrote, "We were told that the survey scores determine how many tables they will service in the MDR on upcoming cruises.  As an assistant waiter, waiter just starting out good survey scores mean your ability to make more money grows with more responsibility."

Bradinmississippi added, "We use a 10-point scale where I work and are required to investigate every score below 10. The employee doesn't technically get in trouble for a low score, but if they fail to follow procedure they are disciplined."

After Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas became the world's biggest cruise ship, she's earned a lot of praise and accolades, and they're all well-deserved.

I've sailed on Icon for three full cruises so far, along with a few shorter sailings leading up to her debut. Each time I've stepped onboard I've rediscovered why this ship is now my absolute favorite ship in the fleet.

You don't need to go on a big and new ship in order to have a great vacation, but Icon makes it so darn easy.

I've been sailing on Royal Caribbean's newest ships for years, and each one brought a little something different to one up the previous.  However, Icon takes a leap forward from the fleet and it's apparent quite quickly when you get onboard.

Innovations that go beyond any other ship

I can sum up Icon of the Seas in two words: truly innovative.

That phrase gets tossed around a lot, but Royal Caribbean set out to build the ultimate cruise ship and threw out everything they knew about ships prior to it.

They called it a "white paper cruise ship design", which means they started with a blank canvas to come up with the things its guests wanted, while improving on things that have already been a success.

If you've been on any other cruise ship, the improvements made to Icon soon stand out.  Some are massive and others subtle, but they all contribute to a better guest experience. 

If you haven't been on a cruise ship before, then Icon will feel more natural and not as jarring as a cruise can be for newbies.

What you can expect going on Icon of the Seas is a smooth process each step of the way, and it's a lot of the fixes and improvements made to Icon that make this ship so guest friendly.

You won't be bored with so many things to do on this ship

I'm amazed how much there is to do on a ship like Icon, and it's part of why I love going on it.

One of the most common reasons people use to avoid going on a cruise ship is they are afraid they'll be bored.  I don't see how that's possible on this ship.

Being the biggest cruise ship in the world, it can handle up to 7,600 passengers if every bed was sold out.  The standard double occupancy rate is 5,610 passengers.  Regardless of how many people are on this ship, good luck finding a crowd because the distribution of people is phenomenal.

It's so easy to be drawn to one area of the ship because of how many different activities and venues exist.  It's a boon for first time cruisers who I think will be astonished by the variety.

The highlight of this ship is what you can see as you drive up to the ship: the pool deck.

Icon was designed with a "water, water everywhere" approach.  You can see the water from so many places and be in the water too.

There are seven pools, including a suspended infinity pool just for adults.  There are many other pools for kids and families to enjoy together, and each has its own theme.  By offering more pools, it spreads people around and avoids the common cruise ship trope of a crowded and bustling pool.

Then there's the waterpark at the back of Icon, which has six slides.  Most cruise ships have maybe two or three slides, but Royal Caribbean pushed the limit with enough to have a true waterpark.

There's also a surf simulator, mini-golf course, rope/swing challenge, rock wall, and sports court.  There's enough to happening in the Thrill Island area that you probably could spend an entire day here without trying it all.

The ship has three theaters onboard, with unique shows in each venue: an indoor AquaTheater, traditional stage theater, and an ice skating rink.

On top of all of that, there's an entire section dedicated to young families.

If you have a kid under the age of 7, Surfside is going to be the best thing you never knew you needed on a family vacation.

This entire area was designed with young kids in mind, and the tone is set when there's a slide for them to go down into it, right next to the stairs.

Inside Surfside is a carousel, arcade, three different restaurants that serve kid-friendly food, a bar to sit at with your kids, and a giant aqua park.

What Royal Caribbean has done with Surfside is double down on what families want: lots for the young kids to do along with their parents. 

When my kids were growing up, more dedicated programming for them was sort of a new concept that was being explored by Royal Caribbean. But kids today have arguably the best in class offerings for this age group to ensure they will love it, without making their parents have to run around the ship between activities.

It's easy to find your way around the ship

I know you might be worried that the ship is a maze, but it couldn't be easier to get from point A to point B.

The ship is split up into 8 neighborhoods, which is an idea borrowed from the Oasis Class ships. Think of it like themed lands around the ship, where the look of the area instantly tells you where you are.

• AquaDome: An indoor space and theater capped by a large dome, offering immersive entertainment and dining experiences (Deck 15).
• Central Park: Open air park with real trees, shrubs, and flowers that has a variety of restaurants, shops, and bars (Deck 8).
• Thrill Island: All things fun and exciting, with a water park, mini-golf, sports court, and many more activities (Deck 16)
• Chill Island: Most of the pools, whirlpools, and bars for time spent enjoying being in or around the water (Decks 15, 16 & 17)
• Royal Promenade: Two deck high entertainment "street" that has restaurants, bars, and is home to The Pearl (Deck 5 & 6)
• The Hideaway: Adults only enclave for passengers at least 18 years old, with a suspended infinity pool, whirlpools, and a variety of seating options (Deck 16).
• Suite Neighborhood: Reserved area of the ship exclusively for guests booked in a suite.  There's two dedicated restaurants, bar, and sun deck (Deck 16, 17, & 18).
• Surfside: A family-friendly neighborhood with a kids' splash zone, arcade, carousel, and family-friendly restaurants (Deck 6).

The benefit of the neighborhoods is it makes it easy to guess what sort of activities or dining choices might be there.

Many dining choices, but a lot of restaurants cost extra

Royal Caribbean includes an astonishing amount of places you can eat on Icon of the Seas, with more than 40 different dining spots and bars to choose from.

There's a choice of places included in your cruise fare, and others that cost extra. You certainly won't go hungry limiting yourself to just the included spots, but it's quite tempting to pay more for the other ones.

While I indulge in the specialty restaurants, I have to admit the included food offered is superb and better than most other Royal Caribbean ships.

The Main Dining Room and Windjammer buffet are staples of any ship to provide most meals, but my favorite places to eat at no cost are the Aquadome Market and Pearl Cafe. Both are new concepts introduced for Icon and really up the free food game.

I also really like El Loco Fresh. It's quick service Mexican food and you can customize your food with a generous toppings bar. Following guest feedback, Basecamp was changed to be completely complimentary and it adds a convenient choice when you're feeling peckish around the waterpark.

If you're willing to spend more, there are a lot of great specialty dining options too.  Some are familiar favorites, such as Chops Grille or Giovanni's Italian Kitchen. Others are new ideas, like the three-hour $200 per person Empire Supper Club experience.

My favorite extra cost restaurants are Izumi, Giovanni's, and Empire Supper Club. Each offers a different experience, cuisine, and truly stands out with excellent food.

Anyone booked in a suite should be trying the food at Coastal Kitchen because it's feels like a specialty restaurant but without the price tag.

It's available for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day for guests in a Grand Suite or above (Dinner only for Junior Suite guests).

My favorite cruise ship because it's better than every other ship

Why should you choose Icon of the Seas over any other Royal Caribbean ship? Because it's just that much better at everything it does.

I'm a fan of big cruise ships, and I've found the other ships in Royal Caribbean's fleet fantastic. The difference is Icon builds on all of them and solves a lot of issues that traditionally would have been pain points.

It's clear this ship has a two-pronged approach to its design: deliver amazing experiences and make everything easier than ever before.

The way crowds are managed on Icon is astounding to me because they are so well spread out.  

Unless there's a dance party, the Royal Promenade is rarely crowded at all.  On other ships, it feels like Times Square more often than not.

The pool deck has so much seating spread around the three decks that it's probably the best approach yet at solving the chair hog problem. Plus, I think having so many different pools helps too.

The best innovation on the ship is the use of destination elevators, where you tell the system which floor you want to go to, and are subsequently assigned an elevator.  It's incredibly efficient and faster than regular elevators.

Of course, the calling card of any Royal Caribbean ship is how good the entertainment is around the ship.  There are must-see shows at each venue, and I think the Wizard of Oz show is Broadway quality.

In short, Icon makes taking a cruise as easy as possible for new and veteran cruiser alike because of the the innovations this ship has.

What I loved to do on Icon of the Seas

The included restaurants are so good

Royal Caribbean invested a lot of time and effort to come up with dining options included in your cruise fare that you'll want to eat at a lot.

The addition of Aquadome Market has been incredible, as it adds a restaurant that provides a true alternative to the Main Dining Room and Windjammer.  It's fast, efficient, and the food is really good.

Pearl Cafe is an upgraded Cafe Promenade, and also has some amazing seating to go with it. 

Don't overlook the included food in Surfside, because it's vastly underrated.   Both Surfside Bites and Surfside Eatery have so many good family-friendly options. 

It may be labeled as for kids, but I am certain there are plenty of adults who would love to eat there too because of how good the food is.

I would never want to hang out in Cafe Promenade after finishing my coffee, but the Pearl Cafe space is beautiful. It's easily one of those popular places to hang out on the ship. Plus, the grab-and-go food options are really good.

Of course, the food in the Main Dining Room and Windjammer are both really good, and I appreciate how large the Windjammer is on Icon so that there's lots of seating and food selections.

Royal Caribbean also added Basecamp as a convenient option near the waterslides, and it's entire menu now comes at no extra cost.

The elevators are amazing

One pain point solved on Icon are the cruise ship elevators.

Instead of traditional elevators, destination elevators replace them and along with the extra cars added to handle the capacity, it works so much better.

The beauty of these elevators is you rarely wait more than a few seconds for one to arrive.

They're far more efficient in how they assign cars to each floor, and it gets you moving faster to where you want to go.

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised how well the elevators work as soon as you get onboard.

Wizard of Oz is the best show you never knew you wanted to see

While not a true musical, I'm very impressed by Royal Caribbean's Wizard of Oz show.

It's included in your fare, the production value is off the charts. From the set, to the costumes, to the special effects, this is no musical medley. It's on par with any stage show you might see in a city (and have to pay extra to see).

While I loved the movie as much as anyone, I was leery of the show being worth it. Any concerns I had were quickly unwarranted.

One factor that elevates this show is the imaginative use of aerial stunts, such as when Dorothy is in her bed in the tornado scene and flies over the audience.

I think even casual theater fans will like this performance.

Empire Supper Club is unlike any other restaurant

At $200 per person, I wasn't sure if the Empire Supper Club would be worth it to justify the cost and time involved.  Luckily, it totally is.

This is a curated meal experience with cocktails paired to each course, and a jazz band playing songs to match up with it all.

I especially love that Royal Caribbean made the space intimate without forcing everyone to sit with each other, like at Chef's Table. There's no awkward conversations to worry about here.

Plus, it has amazing food too. The Chilean Sea Bass was extraordinary, as were a few of the appetizers.

The food is high quality, and I thought it was simply unlike any other dining experience I've been to on a cruise ship. It's not "just another" specialty restaurant.

The ship feels so uncrowded

Up until I sailed on Icon of the Seas, I assumed all cruise ships were going to be crowded and there was nothing I could do about it.

By creating wide open spaces onboard, implementing better elevators, and redesigning venues, the ship almost feels strange being so uncrowded.

It's remarkable how uncrowded the ship has felt, especially where I usually expect to find a lot of people, such as the pool deck or Royal Promenade.

This was true on our spring break sailing that had 7,300 passengers onboard and I think you'll quickly notice it too when you board.

What I hated about Icon of the Seas

Adults only area has no shade

I like that Royal Caribbean came up with a new concept for the adults only area, but it's incredibly hot there with little shade.

The Hideaway is a great spot overall, and it has a pool party vibe.  I just wish there was more shade to enjoy.

Both the pool and loungers nearby are all directly in the sun, and the only shade is near the bar or underneath some metal "palm trees" close to the hot tubs.

During most months of the year, it gets very hot, very quickly.

Suite Lounge and Coastal Kitchen layout is too close together

I wish there was more space allocated for both the Suite Lounge and Coastal Kitchen so it didn't feel so smushed together.

It's not uncommon for both spaces to share the same overall room, but it feels quite cramped on Icon.

When the suite lounge is busy during happy hour in the evening, the conversations there can easily bleed into Coastal Kitchen (and vice versa). Some of the tables are pretty much right near each other.

Basket storage is questionable

Icon of the Seas has many innovations, but one I'd rethink was the choice of baskets instead of drawers.

The issue I have with the baskets is I don't want any clothes on display. Plus, they're more cumbersome than useful.

Because the baskets are fairly small, all you can really put in there are probably undergarments, and that's the last thing I want visible.

On top of that, it's clear there's overall less storage space in any of the rooms compared to the Oasis Class ships. 

Usually there's more storage space than we can use on new Royal Caribbean ships, but Icon feels like it's missing a few drawers here and there.

Who should book Icon of the Seas

I think Icon of the Seas is probably the best family cruise ship I've ever sailed on because of how much it offers for everyone, not just kids.

The ship leans heavily towards the multi-gen group, where parents, kids, and their grandparents can truly enjoy a vacation together and find different things each would enjoy.

This ship has the very best that Royal Caribbean, and the cruise industry, can offer. It's like going on the newest airliner or freshest hotel concept. There's something to be said about going on the latest and greatest.

Royal Caribbean wants this ship to be the perfect first ship for anyone, and it's well-suited for someone new to cruising.

The kids areas, including the kids club, are truly impressive. In fact, I think Royal Caribbean's kids club is overlooked, but the staff is so good at not only supervising them, but keeping them engaged with events, games, and activities.

For me, I love the sheer variety of activities offered. The casino is enormous, there are great shows, fantastic bars with live entertainment, and some of the best restaurants we could hope for on a cruise ship.

Itineraries and pricing

Icon of the Seas is sailing from Miami, offering 7-night cruises to both the eastern and western Caribbean. Each cruise includes a visit to Perfect Day at CocoCay.

These weeklong cruises are the right amount of time to enjoy everything there is to do onboard.  You probably won't be able to do everything in one sailing, but should be able to knock out the major must-dos.

Plus, the variety of islands you visit is lovely, each with great beaches, food, and fun activities.

Prices for a 7-night Icon of the Seas cruise from Miami start at $1497 per person for an interior cabin, based on double occupancy. 

Cruise prices will depend on when you want to sail, as certain months are cheaper than others.  Nonetheless, you won't find cheap bargain basement prices for an Icon of the Seas cruise.

Being a new ship means you'll pay premium pricing to go on it.