Royal Caribbean Blog

Another state has joined the lawsuit to get cruise ships sailing again.

The State of Texas has joined the lawsuit against the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that was started by Florida.

Texas is the second state to join the lawsuit, following Alaska last week.

DisneyCruiseLineBlog discovered the filing, which was filed on May 5.

In the lawsuit, Texas says it is suing the CDC because the "CDC’s outdated and unlawful regulation harms the State of Texas, its economy, and its citizens."

Specifically, Texas believes the Conditional Sail Order (CSO) is unlawful and has a great effect on the local economy.

This litigation concerns the lawfulness of a CDC regulatory order with a profound effect on the Texas public fisc, including tax revenues to the state and the well-being of multiple industries vital to the State’s economy. The CDC order also raises constitutional concerns bearing on the lawfulness and reach of the CDC’s authority.

The first hearing in the lawsuit is scheduled for May 12.

The lawsuit comes just days after a rally was held in Galveston when the Carnival Breeze and Carnival Vista arrived at the port to begin crew vaccinations.

Carnival Cruise Line joined members of the Federal Maritime Commission, Galveston city and port officials and local businesses at the Port of Galveston to highlight the economic impact of cruising in Galveston and throughout Texas.

In the lawsuit, Texas believes the Port of Galveston is uniquely situated to address local Covid-19 concerns. The port is located just one mile from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston UTMB is one of the largest academic medical hospitals in the country, and its facilities include a National Biosafety Level 4 Laboratory.

The Port of Galveston has also already held a table-top exercise preparing for possible COVID-19 outbreaks on-ship.

Texas also states the shutdown has cost the state $1.2 billion in direct spending. The cruise shutdown has also cost 23,000 jobs, and $1.6 billion in lost wages across the State of Texas.

What the lawsuit aims to do

The purpose of the lawsuit is to get the CSO dropped immediately, so that cruise lines can pursue restart plans.

While the CDC has recently updated its guidance and provided instructions for cruise lines to restart operations, the lawsuit wants the cruise lines to be unencumbered by the regulations.  

Texas wants the cruise lines to adhere to "reasonable restrictions within its statutory authority" instead of the CDC's order.

How does the new CDC update factor in?

One major change that the lawsuit does not cover is the recent announcement by the CDC to provide the test sailing steps for cruise lines to restart sailings.

Cruise lines received final technical guidelines on Wednesday from the CDC for the trial runs. When Florida filed its lawsuit last month, much of the impetus behind it was a lack of progress by the CDC.

Test cruises will be between two and seven nights and must have enough passengers to meet at least 10% of the ship's capacity. Volunteers must be 18 or older and either fully vaccinated or free of medical conditions that would put them at high risk for severe Covid-19.

Restrictions on board will include face masks and social distancing.

Alternatively, cruise ships could skip the test sailings if they can ensure 98% of crew and 95% of passengers are vaccinated.

Cruise lines now have what they need to resume cruises from the United States.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the next two phases of its Framework for Conditional Sailing Order (CSO) that will allow for the "eventual resumption of U.S. cruise industry operations."

According to the CDC, cruise line now have all necessary requirements needed "to start simulated voyages before resuming restricted passenger voyages and apply for a COVID-19 conditional sailing certificate to begin sailing with restricted passenger voyages." 

The new instructions cover the test cruises that cruise ships would need to conduct in order to start sailing passenger sailings under a COVID-19 Conditional Sailing Certificate. 

CDC may adjust these requirements and recommendations based on public health considerations and other factors.

Phase 2B - Test cruises

Cruise lines can apply to the CDC at least 30 calendar days prior to when a test cruise is scheduled to sail.

The documentation included in the application will specify the dates and location of the test sailing, include verification that it adheres to the various agreements and requirements of the CSO, and other documentation.

Also included in the application will be the list of protocols or practices to be simulated, which must, at a minimum, incorporate the requirements for conducting simulated voyages under these technical instructions.

Test cruises can be skipped at a cruise line's discretion if 98 percent of crew are fully vaccinated and submit to CDC a clear and specific vaccination plan and timeline to limit cruise ship sailings to 95 percent of passengers who have been verified by the cruise ship operator as fully vaccinated prior to sailing.

After applying, the CDC will respond "in a timely manner".  The CDC can oversee and inspect the test cruise, including through in-person or remote means allowing for visual observation.

Volunteers for test cruises

Cruise lines will need volunteers to help test out the ships during these simulated voyages. and has outlined new requirements for volunteers:

• The minimum number of required volunteer passengers for each simulated voyage must be at least 10% of the maximum number of passengers permitted onboard for restricted voyages.
• All volunteers must show proof of being fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
• Volunteers must be made aware of the CDC's health notice regarding Covid-19 and cruise ship travel.
• All volunteer passengers must be informed in writing that they are participating in a simulation of health and safety protocols that are unproven and untested in the United States for purposes of simulating a cruise ship voyage and that sailing during a pandemic is an inherently risky activity. 
• All volunteer passengers must be at least eighteen years old or older on the day of the simulation and at the time that their consent to participate is obtained.
• Volunteers cannot be paid, and cannot go on a sailing in exchange for consideration or future reward.
• All volunteer passengers must agree in writing to post-disembarkation specimen collection for COVID-19 testing at 3 to 5 days after completion of the simulated voyage. 
• To facilitate contact tracing, the cruise ship operator must advise all volunteer passengers to notify the cruise ship operator if they develop symptoms of COVID-19 or are diagnosed with COVID-19 with any SARS-CoV-2 viral test within 14 days after the voyage. Passengers who develop symptoms within 14 days should be advised to be tested. The cruise ship operator must in turn report aggregate results to CDC in the after-action report or through an amended after-action report.

Test cruise requirements

Here is a list of what cruise lines need to do during a test sailing.

• At least one simulation must be conducted for each ship for which the cruise ship operator intends to commence restricted passenger voyages. 
• Simulated voyages must be between 2-7 days in length with a least one overnight stay to test the efficacy of the cruise ship operator’s ability to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 onboard the cruise ship, including through embarkation, disembarkation, and post-disembarkation testing.
  • CDC recommends a minimum voyage length of 3 days with 2 overnight stays.
• The cruise ship operator must meet standards during the simulated voyage for hand hygiene, use of face masks, and social distancing for passengers and crew, as well as ship sanitation, as required by CDC technical instructions or orders.
• The cruise ship’s color-coding status must be Green or Orange at the time of the simulated voyage.
• Activities conducted on voyages that occurred outside of U.S. waters during the period of the No Sail Order (NSO) and the CSO that were not conducted as part of a CDC-approved simulated voyage, do not count towards the activities that must be simulated on a simulated voyage. 
• The cruise ship operator must modify meal service and entertainment venues to facilitate social distancing during the simulated voyage.
• These activities must be conducted on one, or over the course of many, test sailings:
  • Embarkation and disembarkation procedures, as approved by U.S. port and local health authorities as part the cruise ship operator’s Phase 2A agreements, including procedures for terminal check-in.
  • Onboard activities, including seating and meal service at dining and entertainment venues.
  • Medical evacuation procedures.
  • Transfer of symptomatic passengers or crew, or those who test positive for SARS-CoV-2, from cabins to isolation rooms.
  • Onboard and shoreside isolation and quarantine, as per the terms of the cruise ship operator’s Phase 2A agreements, of at least 5% of all passengers and non-essential crew.
  • Recreational activities that the cruise ship operator intends to offer as part of any restricted passenger voyages, e.g., casinos, spa services, fitness classes, gymnasiums.
  • Private-island shore excursions if any are planned during restricted passenger voyages. The following measures must be observed on the private island:
    • Only one ship can port at the island at any one time.
    • A routine screening testing protocol must be implemented for island staff who are expected to interact with volunteer passengers or crew.
    • Mask use and social distancing must be observed on the island.
  • Port of call shore excursions if any are planned during restricted passenger voyages. The following measures must be observed on port of call shore excursions:
    • Self-guided or independent exploration by passengers during port stops must be prohibited.
    • Shore excursions must only include passengers and crew from the same ship.
    • Cruise ship operator must ensure all shore excursion tour companies facilitate social distancing, mask wearing, and other COVID-19 public health measures throughout the tour.
    • Cruise ship operators must have a protocol for managing persons with COVID-19 and close contacts at all foreign ports of call. At a minimum, the protocol must include the following:
      • Disembarkation and housing of persons with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 needing shore-based hospital care and their travel companion(s) for the duration of their isolation or quarantine period.
      • Commercial repatriation of U.S.-based persons with COVID-19 and close contacts only after meeting criteria to end isolation and quarantine per CDC guidance. For commercial repatriation of foreign-based persons with COVID-19 and close contacts, cruise ship operators must consult with all relevant public health authorities.

A test cruise can be ended if a threshold of COVID-19 cases is met or exceeded during the sailing.

The CDC lists the threshold at 1.5% of COVID-19 cases is detected in passengers or 1.0% of COVID-19 cases is detected in crew. This threshold can be changed later by the CDC for a variety of factors.

As an example,  if there were 1,000 passengers on a test sailing, 15 positive cases among the guests would end the cruise.

Major step forward

The new instructions provided by the CDC are the best sign yet that cruises may restart from the United States sooner, rather than later.

The test cruise instructions also put into writing the CDC's letter to the cruise lines sent last week, which provides an option to restart sailings sooner if cruise lines adhere to a 98% vaccinated rate for crew members and 95% rate for passengers.

The new instructions are a long time coming, having been promised back in October 2020 when the CSO replaced the No Sail Order.

Moreover, they follow up on the disappointing instructions the CDC provided in early April that made it seem like nothing had really changed.  With these new instructions, there appears to be a path forward.

The cruise industry has arguably never been more optimistic about its chances to restart cruises from the United States, and kids may not be necessarily excluded.

There was speculation that the restart plans may require kids to be left out of the equation, but Royal Caribbean told travel agents today that kids are still part of the plan.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told cruise lines last week that cruises could start as soon as mid-July if they committed to sailing with 98% of crew and 95% of passengers vaccinated for COVID-19.

By requesting 95% of passengers be vaccinated instead of 100%, Royal Caribbean believes this is to allow children to sail.

 Royal Caribbean's Senior Vice President, Sales, Trade Support and Service, Vicki Freed, told travel agents in a webinar that the CDC's plan was purposefully left short of requiring 100% vaccinated passengers so that kids could sail.

"The reason for that is because children do not have to be vaccinated if they are under 18," Ms. Freed explained after getting asked why not require everyone to be vaccinated. "And so at this point, that is where the difference between the ninety five and one hundred percent."

"All adults will need to be vaccinated, but children under 18 do not need to be vaccinated, but they still have to take a Covid test prior to boarding."

With Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine very likely getting approval for children as young as 12 years old, that essentially leaves the 11 and under age bracket as the demographic that would not be able to be included in the 95% guideline by the CDC.

Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley said during last week's earnings call with investors that the amount of children under 12 years old is not a significant number, "Obviously, we carry a lot of kids 11 and under. But, relatively speaking, as a percentage of our total guest count, it’s quite a small number. So we’re not overly concerned with that."

Read more: Everything we know about if Royal Caribbean will require a vaccine

Ms. Freed also told travel agents that additional updates from Royal Caribbean and the CDC should be coming soon, "we are working daily with the CDC, and things are moving in a very fast and positive direction."

"Stay tuned to your emails from us, because we will be communicating on a daily basis as things are changing. And we do suspect within a very short period of time we will have announcements ready to go."

"Travel partners, I really feel positive about this one."

Prior to the CDC's update, Norwegian Cruise Line announced a restart plan it submitted to the CDC that would require 100% vaccinated guests onboard, which did not leave an option for unvaccinated children to sail.

If approved, 100% vaccinated guests and crew and reduced capacity initially will be part of a phased-in launch.

Florida's Governor believes cruise lines can operate without requiring proof of a vaccine from passengers safely based on what is happening around the world.

Speaking at a press conference in Miami on Tuesday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) touched on the subject of requiring proof of a vaccine for cruise ships following his ban of Covid-19 vaccine passports in the state.

Earlier this week, Governor DeSantis signed a bill that prohibits businesses from being able to ask for proof of a vaccine from their customers.

In Senate Bill (SB) 2006, it specifically states, "prohibiting a business entity from requiring patrons or customers to provide documentation certifying vaccination against or recovery from COVID-19."

A business entity, as defined in s. 768.38 to include any business operating in this state, may not require patrons or customers to provide any documentation certifying COVID-19 vaccination or post-infection recovery to gain access to, entry upon, or service from the business operations in this state.

This subsection does not otherwise restrict businesses from instituting screening protocols consistent with authoritative or controlling government-issued guidance to protect public health.

During his press conference on Tuesday, Governor DeSantis said he did not think cruise lines needed the ability to require proof of a vaccine, "Some people say, oh, well, the cruise ships need it.

"These cruise ships are sailing in other parts of the world where they don't even have vaccines available and they're doing it safely and people are having a good time on it. So so they can do it."

Governor DeSantis appears to be referring to cruise ships sailing currently from Asia and Europe, such as Quantum of the Seas from Singapore.

Quantum of the Seas has been operating from Singapore since December 2020, although Singapore is a country with less than 400 active cases of Covid-19 at the moment.

The new Florida law potentially puts it at odds with the new opportunity from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), which would allow cruise ships to restart sailings sooner if they have at least 95% vaccinated cruise passengers.

If cruise lines were to require 95% vaccinated passengers, they could skip test sailings and other regulartory hurdles and return to service much faster.

Royal Caribbean has not officially decided if it will require its cruise ship passengers to get a vaccine as a matter of fleet wide policy, although it is requiring the vaccine for select ships that will be restarting cruises outside the United States this summer.

DeSantis defended the vaccine passport ban by saying he is concerned it could be used by companies to restrict people from even basic functions, "you don't want a society in which just to do basic things, restaurant, movie, you know, go on an airplane that you have to be producing proof of this."

Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley indicated it would be possible for some ships to start cruising under the vaccinated approach, while others could pursue restart under the Conditional Sail Order rules without a vaccine requirement.

Last week, Mr. Bayley spoke about these options, "There'll be really two pathways, one pathway for vaccinated crew and largely vaccinated guests that meet the threshold that they've defined. And that would mean that there wouldn't be a requirement for a simulated voyage etc, and there would be a different expectation on protocols and planning. So it's a faster route."

"And then for ships that wouldn't wouldn't meet that threshold for whatever reason, there would be a different timeline and a different set of protocols and requirements."

"So fundamentally that there's two pathways. It's not that simple, but that's a way of simplifying."

Cruise lines have not talked publicly yet about how the new bill might affect their restart plans.  The new bill goes into effect July 1st.

If a cruise line were to not pursue the 95% vaccinated option by the CDC, it appears they could still restart cruises under the conditions set out in the CDC's Conditional Sail Order, which requires significantly more time and milestones to hit that involve test cruises before revenue sailings could begin.

Cruising has changed a lot over the years, but comparing a cruise today to what it was like fifty years ago is incredible.

Royal Caribbean began cruising in 1970 with Song of Norway, and added two more ships before halfway through the decade.  Those ships began the tradition of what a Royal Caribbean cruise is all about, and today we have a look back at what it was like on a sailing back then.

I recently ran across a pamphlet distributed to passengers sailing on Song of Norway in the early to mid 1970s.  There is no date listed, but it references the three ships in the fleet, so it was printed no earlier than 1972 when Sun Viking was added to the fleet.

The pamphlet is entitled, "Velkommen: A Guide to Cruising the Royal Caribbean", and includes a list of the facilities, activities, and services available on Song of Norway.

Browsing through the document, I found the most interesting and different things that do not exist on a cruise today.

The ship had a radio station

We all think of cruise ships as incorporating a great deal of technology, but in the 1970s, radio was still king.

Song of Norway had its own radio station where you could send radiograms or make ship-to-shore telephone calls.

A radiogram is a formal written message transmitted by radio. Kind of like an analog email, radiograms use a standardized message format, form and radiotelephone and/or radiotelegraph transmission procedures. 

The message format for communications transmitted to sea-going vessels is:

1. radiotelegram begins: from . . . (name of ship or aircraft);
2. number . . . (serial number of radiotelegram);
3. number of words . . . ;
4. date . . . ;
5. time . . . (time radiotelegram was handed in aboard ship or aircraft);
6. service indicators (if any);
7. address . . . ;
8. text . . . ;
9. signature . . . (if any);
10. radiotelegram ends, over

Souvenir Passenger List

Something hard to imagine now is Royal Caribbean would give you a list of all the passengers onboard.

Passenger lists were a vestige of the early days of cruising. They were provided in order to make introductions among fellow guests easier, as well as serve as a souvenir from the voyage. They were given to all passengers aboard liners and cruise ships until the 1970s and 1980s.

They included everyone's name and home town.

Read more: Passenger lists from Sovereign of the Seas

Midnight buffet (and other specialty meals)

Perhaps the best known, but no longer served, meal on a cruise ship was the midnight buffet.

Before ships had an overwhelming amount of places to eat, the midnight buffet was available every night in the main dining room.

Song of Norway also offered:

• Sun Worshipper's Lunch: Luncheon served outdoors on the aft of the Promenade Deck.  Hamburgers, sandwiches and hot dogs were served with no dress code.
• Afternoon Tea: Tea and pastries at the Verandah Cafe every afternoon.
• Mid-Morning Bouillon: Traditional late-morning pick-me-up at Verandah Cafe on sea days.

Banquets and parties

Evening entertainment on a cruise ship is still offered today, and it was a big deal on Song of Norway.

On passenger talent night, guests would sing, dance, make magic, or just about anything else they were brave enough to demonstrate for their fellow guests and crew.

Casino night was held on two-week cruises, and the crew would allow guests to run the games.  They lowered the bets to very low amounts (10 cents a bet) and gave passengers a chance to see what it was like to be a blackjack dealer or croupier.

Masquerade night is just what it sounds like: it is an old-fashioned costume gala.  Prizes are given for Most Humorous, Most Original and Most Artistic costume.  Guests were encouraged to bring a costume, but the staff could provide necessary materials to build their own onboard.

Things you can't do anymore

Perhaps most surprising is some of the things Royal Caribbean used to let passengers do onboard.

Bridge visits were regularly available on sea days.  There would be open times listed in the Cruise Compass when you could walk up to the ship's bridge and explore.

Another event that I cannot recall ever seeing is Ladies Night, which has four rules:

1. Ladies must ask gentlemen to dance they must not refuse
2. Ladies must escort the gentlemen to the dance floor and return them to their seats
3. Ladies must buy the gentlemen drinks
4. Ladies must light the gentlemen's cigarettes

Something you might do at an office party today is a white elephant auction. At the end of every cruise, Royal Caribbean would hold a White Elephant Auction Sale where you could bring an unwanted goodie to the main lounge.  

An auctioneer would then try to sell it to someone else onboard.  If they cannot sell it or beat the price you listed, it gets returned to you.

There were two events held onboard that used to be staples of a cruise that could never be done today. On sea days, you could engage in a golf driving contest at the Aft Restaurant deck.  

In addition, skeet shooting was available on sea days where you could shoot clay pigeons off the back of the ship.

Gratuities

Just like today, gratuities were part of the cruise experience.

The suggested gratuity rate for a cruise in the 1970s were as follows:

• Dining room water: $1.50 per passenger, per day
• Busboy: $0.75 per passenger, per day
• Cabin steward: $1.50 per passenger, per day

Customarily, on a 7-night cruise, gratuities are given on the Friday evening before returning to Miami.  On two-week cruises, it is the custom to extend one half of your gratuity at the mid-point of the cruise and the remainder on your last Friday evening at sea.

What you can't bring back

Part of the customs process when returning to the United States included a few things you cannot bring back.

• Cuban cigars
• Merchandise originating from North Korea, North Vietnam, or Cuba.
• Fruits, vegetables, plants, cutting, seeds or unprocessed plant products.
• Haitian animal skins and products made from these skins (i.e. rugs, purses, bongo drums, etc)

Read the whole thing

If you prefer, you can read the whole pamphlet, including what you should wear onboard, what the ranks mean among the officers, and which brand of cigarettes sponsored the cruise!

Royal Caribbean offers two kinds of internet packages, so which should you buy?

Staying connected on a Royal Caribbean cruise is fairly inexpensive, and it allows you to enjoy unlimited internet access during your cruise.

Before you can pick the right package for you, here are the key differences between Surf and the Surf & Stream packages.

Voom Surf Voyage

The Surf Voyage package is the base package, and offers what you need to do basic web browsing, such as email, internet browsing, social media and more.

It includes:

• 24 hour access
• Ideal for:
  • Web browsing access
  • Email
  • Messenger apps such as Whatsapp

In my experience, Royal Caribbean throttles down the Surf Voyage package to keep the speeds lower in order to be fine for basic web browsing, but not work with more bandwidth demanding applications.

Surf will cost less per device than Surf & Stream.

Voom Surf & Stream

The higher tier package comes in the form of Surf & Stream, which advertises itself as offering the full internet experience.

Essentially, Surf & Stream has faster internet speeds because it is not throttled, and that means you can theoretically access video and audio streams onboard.

It includes:

• 24 hour access
• Ideal for:
  • Web browsing access
  • Email
  • Messenger apps such as Whatsapp
  • Video Chat Live
  • Stream music, videos, movies, TV shows and more
  • Live stream and post on social media

Surf & Stream will cost more than a comparable Surf package per device.

How fast is Voom?

Despite what Royal Caribbean may advertise, internet speeds on Royal Caribbean cruise ships are not the same across the fleet.

Some ships have significantly faster speeds available to them compared to other ships, and it has to do with the cruise line's agreement with the internet carrier they utilize.

The surf package will be fast enough for basic internet use, but fall short if you want to stream just about anything.

Surf and Stream will see significantly faster speeds because it is not as throttled down.

Speeds can vary from spot to spot on the ship, depending on usage. While you cannot expect the same results on your sailing, the dynamic of Surf and Stream being much faster usually holds true.

Another factor is the location of the ship around the world. When in Europe, different satellites are used for Voom on older ships. 

Unlike newer ships that have access to faster internet, older ships use geostationary satellites much like the ones used for most TV services such as Bell's expressVU or Shaw's satellite TV service.  

Generally speaking, the best internet performance will be available on Oasis, Allure, Harmony,  Anthem, Ovation, Quantum, Freedom, Independence and Symphony of the Seas.

The faster internet service (known as O3B) only works between 45° S and 45°N latitude, so parts of Northern Europe, Canada, Alaska and parts of New Zealand are technically outside of the intended O3b coverage area.  Even newer ships have to switch over to the older geostationary satellite (non-O3b) when the O3b signal weakens in these areas.

On other ships, latency can dramatically increase and normal non-voice stuff like text, email, web browsing works pretty well but voice calls and video chatting suffers due to the delay.  Consistent throughput also suffers on these ships.  Rain seems to affect them more.

With all of that being said, Royal Caribbean's Voom service works well for most guest's needs.  It is when you try to push the bandwidth and latency limits with applications that involve video that you typically run into issues.

Which Voom package should you buy?

Regardless of what you intend to do on the internet, I recommend everyone buy the Surf & Stream package.

The Surf & Stream package is a better overall experience, regardless of if you are going to stream video or not.  Faster internet speeds mean quicker load times all around, and you would be surprised how often having additional bandwidth helps.

Yes, it will cost more to buy Surf & Stream, but I think it is worthwhile.

How to get a discount on a Voom package

Royal Caribbean offers significant discounts on its internet packages if you buy it before your cruise.

In order to spur purchases, the cruise line will offer money off the cost of a Voom package compared to buying it onboard the ship.

To be clear, you will absolutely save money if you pre-purchase online compared to waiting to buy it on your ship.  So if you know you want to get an internet package, definitely pre-purchase.

Read more: Will a Royal Caribbean sale actually save me any money?

To get access to the lower prices, log into Royal Caribbean's Cruise Planner website and navigate to the Internet & More section.

Royal Caribbean provides internet access across a variety of packages that allow a certain number of devices to be connected at one time.

You can share internet access with anyone you want, and swap between devices as much as you want, but it will limit you to the amount of devices you purchased under the plan at any given time.

In addition, the cost per device, per day, comes down with the higher device count plans.

The price of a WiFi package will also fluctuate depending on what offer and sales Royal Caribbean is running, so check back periodically to see if there has been a price drop.

Diamond Discount

If you are at least a Diamond member or higher in Royal Caribbean's Crown and Anchor Society, there is an onboard discount available for internet packages.

You cannot combine or use your Crown and Anchor Society discount on internet packages purchased before the cruise, so you would have to wait to buy a Voom package onboard.

Depending on your sailing length, waiting to buy an internet package onboard with your loyalty discount may make sense.

Read more: Cruise hack: Maximize Voom internet discount for Diamond members or above

More Royal Caribbean crew members are getting vaccinated so they can get back to work onboard.

Already two Royal Caribbean cruise ships have made stops in Miami to get some of their crew members Covid-19 vaccine shots, and two more are scheduled for today.

Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley shared photos of crew members stopping in for the vaccine.

So far, Explorer of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas have had some crew members get the vaccine, along with Celebrity Equinox.

Mr. Bayley posted on Facebook the importance of getting crew ready so cruises can begin again soon, "It is going to be extremely important our crew are vaccinated."

"We are working to help make this possible and have been assured vaccine availability will significantly improve in the coming weeks and months globally."

"I encourage all crew to get vaccinated at home if possible and to be guided by their national health authority."

Photos shared by Michael Bayley

He even said that letters of employment "will be coming soon. Crewing is starting up".

Miami is one of at least three ports now welcoming cruise ships in so that its crew members can get vaccinated.

It was speculated, but never confirmed, that Odyssey of the Seas began getting its crew members vaccinated during a brief stop in Israel two weeks ago.

Photo by Omar Israel G S, Human Resources Specialist

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Surgeon General Dr. Scott Rivkees approved an expansion to vaccine eligibility in Florida to include individuals who are in the state for purpose of providing good or services for the benefit of residents and visitors of Florida.

Not only does Royal Caribbean need to vaccinate crew members, but it needs to get more of them back onboard before any cruises can begin.

Mr. Bayley told one crew member on Facebook that Pfizer is the vaccine being distributed to crew.

Currently, most ships are running at minimal staffing levels in order to keep costs low while there are no cruises, but more crew members need to be brought back (and subsequently vaccinated) for a ship to truly be ready for cruises again.

Royal Caribbean said in February 2021 that it would staff its ships with vaccinated crew, and Mr. Bayley's comments encourage crew to get vaccinated at home if possible to speed up that process.

In addition, cruise ships can restart faster if at least 98% of the crew members are vaccinated, along with 95% of passengers.

Will cruise ships scheduled to sail from Florida ports be forced to redeploy to other states because of new Florida law signed by Governor Ron DeSantis?

On Monday, Governor DeSantis signed SB-2006 that among other things, bans Covid-19 vaccine passports in the state.

The ban prohibits businesses, schools, and government agencies from requiring people to show documentation certifying COVID-19 vaccinations or post-infection recovery before gaining entry.

The bill takes effect on July 1, 2021.

This new law will replace the executive order he signed in mid-April that does the same thing in the interim.

The Governor is a strong proponent of cruise ships being able to restart, but also feels private businesses should not be able to require customers get a vaccine.

In a recent interview, he shared this sentiment, "I'm very supportive of getting our cruise lines back up and running.

"We think they should be able to sail. But we also don't think that they should be able to require your personal health information in that regard."

Royal Caribbean has not officially decided if it will require its cruise ship passengers to get a vaccine as a matter of fleet wide policy, although it is requiring the vaccine for select ships that will be restarting cruises outside the United States this summer.

Moreover, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control announced last week it would allow cruise ships to restart sailings sooner if they have at least 95% vaccinated cruise passengers.

Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley indicated it would be possible for some ships to start cruising under the vaccinated approach, while others could pursue restart under the Conditional Sail Order rules without a vaccine requirement.

Last week, Mr. Bayley spoke about these options, "There'll be really two pathways, one pathway for vaccinated crew and largely vaccinated guests that meet the threshold that they've defined. And that would mean that there wouldn't be a requirement for a simulated voyage etc, and there would be a different expectation on protocols and planning. So it's a faster route."

"And then for ships that wouldn't wouldn't meet that threshold for whatever reason, there would be a different timeline and a different set of protocols and requirements."

"So fundamentally that there's two pathways. It's not that simple, but that's a way of simplifying."

On March 1, 2021, Royal Caribbean Group Chairman and CEO Richard Fain reitterated no decision has been made yet on if Royal Caribbean will require its guests to be vaccinated in order to cruise.

Mr. Fain is a major support of the vaccines, and believes they are the fastest and best method to get Covid-19 under control.

"Whether we will require vaccines of all of our guests on all of our ships hasn't been decided yet, but we are prepared to go where the science leads us."

Rival cruise line Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NCLH) believes by requiring vaccines of every single person onboard its ships initially, in addition to comprehensive protocols including universal COVID-19 testing, is the key to way to get its ships back into service faster with approval from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Included in Royal Caribbean's first quarter 2021 results are the company's balance sheets, which provide insight into what happens to a company largely still shutdown.

Financial disclosures like this are rarely interesting, but I found a few noteworthy facts and figures that really stood out as interesting, and things that do not get mentioned during an earnings call or elsewhere.

Here are the most intriguing bits of information in Royal Caribbean's past quarter that I think are worth noting.

Royal Caribbean made more money on drink packages, WiFi, and excursions than cruise bookings

Prior to the cruise industry shutting down, the real source of profit for Royal Caribbean was not ticket sales, but all the extras guests would buy, and that trend still remains today.

In the first quarter, the company made $21 million on "onboard and other revenues", while selling $20 million in cruise fares. 

Compare that to the first quarter of 2020, when they sold a billion dollars in ticket revenue, and $655 million for the add-ons.

Clearly, customers really like their drink packages and onboard internet, and spend plenty before the cruise to purchase them.

Royal Caribbean lost $300 million less than last year, but made 98% less revenue

Everyone knew Royal Caribbean would lose a lot of money again this quarter, but what is amazing is how they managed to lose less money this year compared to the same time in 2020, but with significantly less revenue.

Royal Caribbean Group lost $1.1 billion in Q1 2021, while losing $1.4 billion during the same time in 2020. However, the company only made a fraction of the revenue they did in 2020.

In the first quarter this year, Royal Caribbean took in $42 million in revenue, compared to $2 billion in revenue in Q1 2020.

So how did they lose less money this year despite a gap in cash coming in?

Essentially, in the time since, Royal Caribbean has cut back on spending considerably.

In 2020, the company had an operating loss of $1.3 billion from cruise operating costs, but just $809 million for the same time this year.

Royal Caribbean Group is averaging $300 million cash burn per month.

Just over 55k guests sailed

It is easy to focus on the U.S. cruise market, but across its brands, Royal Caribbean Group still had cruises for over 55,000 passengers this quarter.

The sailings included not only Quantum of the Seas from Singapore, but also TUI Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises.

Interestingly, the statement for the quarter lists 41,209 passengers carried, but during the call with investors, Royal Caribbean Group Chief Financial Officer Jason Liberty noted the figure was 55,000.  These sheets can sometimes be prepared a few days early, and stats like this can changes slightly.

It is staggering to think about the difference in this year versus last, when 1.2 million guests sailed.  

Occupancy was at just 37% for this year, compared to 103% for last year.

The good news is many more will start to sail soon, with a total of 11 ships resuming service across all brands this summer. The tail end of Royal Caribbean Group's second quarter will include at least two new ships resuming service in June.

Lots of deposits for cruises remain

Cruises or not, people are still booking cruises and keeping their money with the company.

Mr. Liberty said the company was "very encouraged" by the customer deposit balance, which as of last week was approximately two billion dollars.

This improved balance has been disproportionately driven by new bookings versus the issuance of more future cruise credits (FCC).

Approximately 45% of Royal Caribbean Group's customer deposit balance is associated with FCCs, versus about 50% last quarter.

Royal Caribbean is still writing off the Oasis of the Seas crane accident

In searching through the filings, I was surprised to see a write off still on the books for the Oasis of the Seas crane accident from April 2019.

Under their Adjusted Net Loss calculations, one of the line items is "Oasis of the Seas incident, Grand Bahama's dry dock write-off and other incidental expenses", which is described as "Amounts includes net insurance recoveries related to the collapse of the dry dock structure at the Grand Bahama Shipyard involving Oasis of the Seas."

Any good bookkeeper knows to use your losses wisely to help offset profits, and spreading them out is not a bad idea.

In April 2019, a crane toppled over onto Oasis of the Seas while the ship was in dry dock. No passengers were onboard the ship at the time of the accident.

As a result of the accident, the cruise line found damage to the Aqua Theatre and some suites. It cancelled three scheduled sailings in order to make repairs.

Happy weekend! In case you missed any Royal Caribbean news, here is a look at everything that happened this week!

The big cruise news this week came when the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) gave the cruise industry new hope for sailings to resume from the United States this summer.

In the new guidance, the CDC said cruise ships that have 98% vaccinated crew members and 95% vaccinated passengers could restart sailings and bypass the required simulated test voyages carrying volunteers and jump to sailings with paying passengers.

It is not clear yet if Royal Caribbean will move in this direction, nor when any restart might commence yet.

Also included in the report are five points of clarification that give cruise lines better insight into the CDC's expectations for a restart.

Read more:

• CDC update means there are now two potential timelines for cruise ships to restart
• Royal Caribbean talks about CDC letter and what it means for kids
• U.S ports begin vaccinating cruise ship crew members

Royal Caribbean News

• Royal Caribbean reports $1.1 billion loss in first quarter of 2021
• Royal Caribbean Group CEO on 2021 Alaska cruises: "reason for some hope"
• Rhapsody of the Seas will sail from Barbados beginning November 2022
• Royal Caribbean will use Nassau hotel for Adventure of the Seas passenger check-in
• Royal Caribbean asks Galveston for extra time to complete new cruise terminal in case ships cannot sail
• Harmony of the Seas completes dry dock
• Royal Caribbean's Royal Beach Club in Nassau is almost a done deal
• Norwegian Cruise Line will not limit passengers to cruise line shore excursions
• Where are Royal Caribbean's cruise ships right now?
• CDC says fully vaccinated Americans don’t need masks outside in most cases
• Royal Caribbean temporarily halts hiring new crew members from India
• Royal Caribbean offering up to 35% off Cruise Planner purchases with Seas the Deals sale
• Royal Caribbean Group pledges support to buy Alaska products
• 10 Vision of the Seas tips, tricks and secrets
• European Union to allow fully vaccinated Americans during summer 2021
• Bar Harbor Survey Could Mean More Port-Specific Cruise Ship Restrictions

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 404th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, with advice on flying to Nassau.

Someone that has flown to Nassau a lot recently shares his tips and experiences for flying to Nassau given the changes these days.

Please feel free to subscribe via iTunes or RSS, and head over to rate and review the podcast on iTunes if you can! We’d appreciate it.

New RCB Video: The most FRUSTRATING things about Royal Caribbean cruises!

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 — The most FRUSTRATING things about Royal Caribbean cruises! — and don’t forget to subscribe here.

5 reasons why what happened to cruise ships in 2020 will never happen again

In the early days of the global health crisis, the cruise industry was caught off guard with a new health threat which was unfortunately seen in the public eye in the case of a few high profile ship quarantines.

More than a year later, memories of what happened to those cruise ships in early 2020 still dominate the narrative for many people and the fear of allowing something like this to happen again is enough to compel some to not want cruise ships to sail again.

While the cruise industry struggles to prove it can safely sail from the United States, here is why what happened on cruise ships at the very start of the global health crisis will all but certainly never happen again.