Royal Caribbean Blog

You will have more time to use your future cruise credits from all of those cancelled cruises.

Royal Caribbean announced it has extended the expiration date of its future cruise credits (FCCs) until September 2022.

The FCCs are valid to book by by April 30, 2022 and sail by September 30th, 2022.

Prior to this change, you had until April 2022 to use your Future Cruise Credits. This provides an extra 4 months of sailings to apply a FCC, including the ability to apply them towards summer 2022 cruises.

This change applies to:

• Global sailing suspension FCCs
• Cruise with Confidence FCCs
• Non-refundable deposit credits issued after March 13, 2020
• Pre-Cruise Planner Onboard Credits

Vicki Freed, Royal Caribbean's Senior Vice President, Sales, Trade Support and Service, told travel agents the change was made based on feedback travel advisors have shared with the cruise line.

Future Cruise Credits are issued at the time of cancellation to be used within a certain timeframe, but with more and more cruises being cancelled, there is concern guests might run out of time to redeem them.

What can future cruise credits be used for?

Future cruise credits are vouchers that guests typically get when a cruise is cancelled in lieu of a refund, which are similar to gift certificate.

Future cruise credits have become widely available due to the current voluntary cruise shutdown that Royal Caribbean is engaged in, which means while cruises are being cancelled due to the global health crisis, Royal Caribbean is offering guests future cruise credits.

Royal Caribbean allows guests to use their future cruise credits to pay their cruise fare, including the deposit.

It cannot be used towards add-on purchases, like drink packages, shore excursions, port fees or taxes.

More information

• Top ways you cannot use your Royal Caribbean future cruise credits
• Top 8 things you should know about Royal Caribbean's 125% onboard credit offer
• Five lessons I've learned from all these cancelled cruises

Royal Caribbean announced it will begin offering roundtrip cruises from Barbados at the end of 2021 on Grandeur of the Seas.

The new itineraries were announced on Wednesday, which will the first time Royal Caribbean has offered a homeport from Barbados.

Get ready for sun-soaked adventures to captivating southern Caribbean isles onboard Grandeur of the Seas, sailing from the newest Royal Caribbean home port — beautiful Bridgetown, Barbados. With its idyllic pink-sand beaches, emerald hills and valleys, and rich Bajan flavor, Barbados is an unforgettable destination in its own right. And for the first time ever, this tropical paradise unlocks spectacular shores in the southern Caribbean, Central America and beyond — including three new ports in Tobago, Trinidad and St. Vincent. Go the extra mile to go the extra isle on weeklong escapes that hit a different destination every day, or linger longer on 14-night adventures that offer late stays and overnights in top-rated ports. The adventure begins in Barbados, Winter 2021

The new sailings run between December 2021 and April 2022, although more sailings could be added if the sailings prove to be popular.

A variety of 7-night sailings are available to book immediately. There are three different itineraries, including two separate 7-night sailings and a 14-night sailing with stops in St. Lucia, Dominica, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Vincent, Grenada, Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, and more.

Royal Caribbean is also working on adding  options for embarkation tours (ending at the pier) and debarkation tours (ending at the airport). These options will include panoramic bus tours and beach stops. These options are a work in progress and have not yet been finalized.

Being a Caribbean island, getting to Barbados means taking a flight, and Royal Caribbean is working on a new system that will allow guests to book outside of 11 months for certain cities that will have nonstop flights to Barbados.

This new functionality will be available in February 2021 for the U.S.

Royal Caribbean will offer transportation between the Barbados airport and the cruise terminal.

A close relationship with Barbados

Ever since the cruise industry shutdown in March 2020, the government of Barbados has been open to working with Royal Caribbean.

It has been an open port for cruise ships to use for resupply and crew member repatriation.

In addition, the Americas Cruise Tourism Task Force is co-chaired with Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley and the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Amor Mottley.

While Royal Caribbean did not mention it as part of their announcement, sailings from Barbados do have an extra benefit of being outside the purview of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Since Grandeur of the Seas would sail from Barbados and not visit any U.S. ports, it would not be subject to regulations and requirements of the CDC.

Special offer for repeat cruisers

In addition to today's announcement, Royal Caribbean is offering a special promotion for members of the cruise line's customer loyalty program.

A special one-day preview of  up to$450 instant savings offer, which is on top of 60% off the second guest's fare. 

The Up to $300 Off Preview Sale provides Gold, Platinum, Emerald, Diamond, Diamond Plus, and Pinnacle Crown & Anchor Society members with an additional day to take advantage of our savings offer.

Up to $300 Off Preview Sale applies to new bookings made on 1/13/21.

Up to $300 Off Preview Sale provides instant savings of up to $300 USD per stateroom on select sailings departing on or after 5/1/21. Savings amount determined by category booked and sailing length:

• On sailings 5 nights or less, $50 savings for Interior and Ocean View, $75 for Balconies and $150 for Suites
• Sailings 6 nights or longer, $75 savings for Interior and Ocean View, $100 for Balconies and $300 for Suites.

Offer open to residents of US, Canada, Puerto Rico and select countries in the Caribbean.

Of all the new health protocols and changes, perhaps no single rule is as hotly debated right now as if cruise lines will require a Covid vaccine in order to be allowed to sail.

The vaccine is being distributed around the United States and in many other countries in the world, and many people want to know if the vaccine will be mandatory in order to go on a cruise.

Royal Caribbean Group Chairman and CEO Richard Fain was asked that very question during an interview with Porthole Cruise Magazine.

Mr. Fain indicated that the decision of if a vaccine will or will not be required will be decided on by the Healthy Sail Panel of health experts that Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH)  created, "The purpose of the panel is to advise us on things like that."

"Exactly how are we going to require it? Are we going to just use it as an adjunct? I think all of that is going to come out reasonably soon."

Mr. Fain's response put the decision on if requiring the vaccine is a good idea on the panel of experts so that the cruise line can make the best decision based on the panel's guidance.

"We have the experts and we'll let them guide us."

Royal Caribbean's answer echos what NCLH CEO Frank Del Rio said last month, when he indicated his company is exploring the possibility of requiring a vaccine.

It will certainly be a requirement for the crew," Del Rio told John Lovell, president of Travel Leaders Group, one of the largest organizations of travel advisors.

Mr. Del Rio also indicated there is a legal aspect to requiring it, along with the science behind if it makes sense to institute as a policy.

Booking trends remain good

Despite the nearly year-long shutdown, people are still interested in booking new cruises.

Mr. Fain attributed the booking trends to the notion of pent-up demand for vacations, "I think people are so tired...I think there's a huge pent up demand."

The example Royal Caribbean has seen was cruises resuming in Singapore, where demand to book a cruise has been very strong.

"I think there's a lot of pent up demand and I think people were really ready to get out and get on with their lives."

Not surprisingly, early cruises back may have a lot more veteran cruisers, rather than new cruisers.

"Obviously the early cruises are going to be more experienced cruisers than in the past."

"But we still in the long term need to continue to grow the market. Our industry is growing. And so I think we will continue to market to first time cruisers."

Mr. Fain said he was surprised how many first time cruisers in Singapore have booked cruises on Quantum of the Seas, "I think a lot of people say, wow, this is this is actually a great thing."

Royal Caribbean's hopes to restart cruises will have to wait until at least May.

Royal Caribbean announced it will cancel all of its cruises scheduled in March and April 2021, following similar announcements by Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Line to forgo sailings in March due to a combination of the global health crisis and attaining government approval to sail again.

The cruise line said as a result of the change, sailings will not be able to resume again until at least May 1, 2021.

There are two exceptions to this round of cancellations:

• Quantum of the Seas sailings from Singapore, which have successfully been sailing since December 2020.
• China sailings on Spectrum of the Seas, February 16-28, are suspended.

It also means there will officially have been no Royal Caribbean cruises from the United States for exactly one year, as the global cruise shutdown began in mid-March 2020. 

Today's announcement by Royal Caribbean confirms many cruise fan's fears that the despite the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) decision to lift the No Sail Order in October 2020, there is still no progress in cruises actually resuming anytime soon.

In a statement by the cruise line, Royal Caribbean said more time is needed before cruises can resume.

Prior to the new round of cancellations, Royal Caribbean had cancelled cruises through the end of February 2021, but they will extend that window by an additional two months.

Compensation

Guests affected by the cancelled cruises between March 1 - April 30,  2021, have three options for compensation.

Lift & Shift: Select next year’s sailing with the same itinerary type, sailing length, stateroom category, and within the same 4-week window of the original cruise date, and you can take your existing reservation and move it to next year.Option expires on  January 26, 2021.

125% Future Cruise Credit: To account for the inconvenience this has caused, guests are eligible for a 125% Future Cruise Credit (FCC) that is based on the total cruise fare paid at the guest-level if neither of the other options is selected. This will be automatically issued on or before February 12, 2021 if no other option is selected.

Taxes and fees, as well as any pre-purchased amenities or onboard packages will be automatically refunded to the original form of payment within 45 days from the cancellation date. 

If you previously opted to take advantage of our Cruise with Confidence policy, the 100% FCC will stand, and this new option is ineligible.

Additionally, if you redeemed your Cruise with Confidence Future Cruise Credit on a sailing that is now cancelled, their original FCC will be reinstated, plus 125% of any amount paid by the guest on the cancelled reservation.

Refund: If you prefer a cash refund, you can do so by requesting this option on-or-before March 31, 2021.

You can expect their refund to the original form of payment within 45 days from the cancellation date. 

If you redeemed a Cruise with Confidence Future Cruise Credit on an impacted sailing and would now prefer a refund instead, Royal Caribbean will process this request in the amount of any new funds paid above the original certificate and, in turn, will reinstate the Cruise with Confidence FCC for future use.

Cruise Planner Purchases: If you had purchased any cruise add-ons, such as shore excursions, drink packages, wifi and more, you could opt to convert your Cruise Planner purchases  to an Onboard Credit valued at 125% of the total amount paid. This offer expires on January 26, 2021.

No indications yet when test cruises might start

While more cruise cancellations are almost expected at this point, the bigger question is when will test cruises actually begin.

It seems cruise fans are becoming more frustrated with the lack of progress in getting closer to cruises resuming, rather than the actual cruise cancellations.

While cruise cancellations due to the global health crisis are not new, it has been more than two months since the CDC issued the Conditional Sailing Order and neither the CDC nor Royal Caribbean has given any updates on things moving towards resuming sailing.

Read more: What does the Conditional Sailing Order mean for cruises to restart?

Before any cruise line can restart operations in the United States, it needs to meet the new requirements set forth by the CDC.

The CDC believes these strict requirements and checkpoints are necessary in order to protect the health of the public during this time.

There are three phases for Royal Caribbean to receive permission to offer cruises again:

1. Testing crew members
2. Simulated cruises to test out new protocols
3. Apply for a Conditional Sailing Certificate

Read more: Everything you need to know about Royal Caribbean test cruises

The CDC told the Washington Post last week that, "no cruise line had applied for a certificate yet."

Royal Caribbean Group Chairman and CEO Richard Fain told travel agents in December 2020 that no one could have imagined cruises would be shutdown for over a year, "We never imagined that it would take this long and we never imagined that we could survive with such a lengthy shutdown."

Mr. Fain believes the arrival of a vaccine will aid the cruise line's efforts to restart cruises, "Today we envision that the key, but not the exclusive factor, will be the vaccines rather than purely the protocols."

"Although the first cruises will be later than we expected, the resumption of cruising will ramp up faster and be more robust."

Since the onset of its voluntary shutdown, Royal Caribbean has been aggressive with new policies and offers meant to  get people cruising again.

There was little doubt when cruise ships shutdown in 2020, cruise lines would need to do a lot to get people booking cruises again. While revenue is basically nothing (Royal Caribbean actually had negative revenue last quarter), there have been some creative strategies announced that seek to improve consumer confidence and drum up sales.

Despite everything happening in the world, there are still lots of people who want to plan for a day where they can get back on a cruise ship. This demand has driven Royal Caribbean to find new ways to boost sales, and in the nearly year-long shutdown, there have been a few significant steps taken to keep people booking cruises.

While the new to cruise market may be all but dried up for the time being, loyal cruisers are still eagerly waiting to get back on a ship and many of the new policies and offers are clearly aimed at this audience.

Here is a look at the top five notable things Royal Caribbean has done to help get more bookings during the cruise industry shutdown

Flexible cancellation terms

Even before cruises shutdown, Royal Caribbean revamped its cancellation terms to make things simpler and more flexible.

Dubbed the Cruise with Confidence program, Royal Caribbean sought to give consumers the knowledge they could have more time to decide if they really want to go on a cruise.

The Cruise with Confidence program added the option to cancel a cruise up until 48 hours before the sailing in exchange for a future cruise credit.  Before the program was introduced, there were hefty penalties for canceling a cruise in the weeks leading up to a cruise.  If you tried to cancel a cruise a few days before the sailing, you would have gotten nothing back on your cruise fare.

This new policy mirrored what the airline industry did as well, by relaxing cancellation terms to avoid people pre-emptively canceling trips due to all the fear and doubt in the world today.

Royal Caribbean went on to also introduce Lift & Shift, as a way to easily defer a booked cruise to the same time next year while also protecting the price they originally paid.

Read more: Royal Caribbean Lift and Shift information & frequently asked questions

By adding the freedom and flexibility to reschedule or cancel closer to the sail date, guests have a sense they have options if they change their mind later.

Cruise with Confidence has been extended, and expanded a few times, and appears to be here for the long haul until consumer confidence goes back up in terms of being able to plan cruises.

It is perhaps the most significant policy shift by the cruise line during this tumultuous time in cruising.

Read more: Why you shouldn't cancel your upcoming Royal Caribbean cruise

Double points

Perhaps no indication that everything is different now was the double Crown and Anchor Society points offer for 2021 cruises.

Essentially, Royal Caribbean will offer guests who book a cruise for 2021 (and early 2022) double the amount of points per night in the cruise line's customer loyalty program.

This may not sound like a big deal, until you realize such an offer has never been extended for such a long time, or with such wide availability.

By offering more loyalty points, guests can move up the ladder of the Crown and Anchor Society and reach higher tiers faster, which means more perks and benefits sooner.

Clearly the added loyalty points offer is aimed at repeat cruisers who look at the Crown and Anchor Society as a challenge to maneuver higher and higher at a faster pace.

Royal Caribbean's customer loyalty program has long been one of the most lucrative cruise line loyalty programs out there, and moving up has never been easier with the double points offer.

Read more: Top 8 Royal Caribbean Double Points questions

Deeper discounts

Royal Caribbean rolled up its sleeves with some of its booking promotions in 2020, offering deeper and more wide ranging discounts than ever before.

Many RoyalCaribbeanBlog readers have reported deeper discounts on sales, which says something when there is a sale running nearly year round.

In the early part of the cruise line shutdown, many companies scaled back their marketing efforts because it was difficult to gauge how to appropriately advertise to consumers with everything going on.  In time, Royal Caribbean joined other companies in bringing back promotional offers, and many saw better deals than compared to before the industry shutdown.

A great example is the Kids Sail Free deal, which has always been a popular choice for families. In 2020, Royal Caribbean took the unprecedented step to offer Kids Sail Free during the summer.

Typically this offer is full of blackout dates, including the summer because kids are out of school. 

Instead, Royal Caribbean allowed the Kids Sail Free deal to extend into summer to the delight of many families.

Read more: Kids Sail Free 2021-2022 Dates & Tips

Extended future cruise credits

While Future Cruise Credits (FCCs) existed before the cruise industry shutdown, their role and ability to be used has been enhanced since the cancellations began.

Future cruise credits have become widely available due to the current voluntary cruise shutdown that Royal Caribbean is engaged in, which means while cruises are being cancelled due to the global health crisis, Royal Caribbean is offering guests future cruise credits.

Future cruise credits are vouchers that guests typically get when a cruise is cancelled in lieu of a refund. You can think of them as a kind of gift certificate.

Any FCC has redemption rules which stipulate how and when they can be used. In the nearly year-long shutdown, Royal Caribbean has tweaked and modified the program to make it easier for guests to use (and keep) their credits.

An early change was to allow someone to use their FCC towards a cruise deposit, instead of just the cruise fare. Before this was changed, you would have to put a cash deposit down first on a new reservation, and then apply a FCC to the reservation.  

Royal Caribbean has also extended future cruise credits that were set to expire before the end of 2021 to ensure everyone had more time to use their vouchers.

Then the cruise line offered the ability to combine FCCs when a cruise was cancelled.

Read more: Royal Caribbean Future Cruise Credit: What you need to know

Extended offers when more cruises cancelled

Time and time again, Royal Caribbean has extended its policies when it became clear more time was needed for cruises to restart and bookings to be made.

No one has had a crystal ball during this process, so Royal Caribbean has consistently extended programs like Lift & Shift, Double Points, Cruise with Confidence and more in order to ensure these offerings can be better utilized when cruises do resume.

The flexibility in the terms and conditions of offers, booking promotions, and policies has demonstrated these enhancements will remain until at least cruise ships can return to service so that the spirit of these offers can be used.

Read more: Here are your options if you want to cancel or defer your booked cruise

Welcome to the inaugural edition of the RoyalCaribbeanBlog mailbag, in which I answer a question our readers ask about a Royal Caribbean cruise.

The final payment date is coming up for my cruise this spring, and I really don't think it will sail. Should I make final payment? - Maureen White

While Royal Caribbean has made a lot of changes to its policies to add a great deal of flexibility, one area that has not changed is the cruise line's final payment deadline.

The final payment date is the day a few months before your cruise (typically 90 days) where you must pay off the entire balance of your cruise or lose your reservation (and perhaps incur a penalty).

In a world where we still do not know when if any cruise (outside of Singapore) will actually sail, it can be a real gut check for some if they should make final payment for a cruise they are not certain will actually occur.

Certainly Royal Caribbean has issued refunds and future cruise credits once cruises are cancelled, and the turnaround time has been generally quick (although there are some outliers that wait months for a return).  Royal Caribbean's official stance is to expect a refund within 45 business days.

With spring break cruises coming up for final payment, a lot of cruisers (including myself) are faced with this dilemma.

Do you want to go on the cruise?

The best way to answer this question is to ask yourself if the cruise were to actually sail, would you want to go on it?

For me, I am still making final payments for my upcoming cruises because if they do actually sail, I want to go on them.

While the short term future of cruises being able to restart is murky at best, eventually one of these sailings is actually going to happen.

On the chance the cruise ship does sail, making final payment is what you will need to do in order to be onboard.

However, if the ambiguity of the whole situation right now, or even perhaps some of the potential changes onboard do not sit well with you, canceling before final payment would be the right course of action for you.

Keep in mind that if you cancel before Royal Caribbean cancels the cruise, you are not eligible for any compensation options offered to guests at that point, including 125% future cruise credit or a full cash refund.

Simply put, the decision to make final payment or not is based on your feelings about going on the cruise if it were to sail.

Your deposit type might force your hand

Something else to think about is what type of cruise fare you initially booked.

If you had booked non-refundable cruise fare and you want a full cash refund for money paid, making final payment and then waiting for Royal Caribbean to cancel the cruise is the only way to get all your money back.

Of course, you could get a 100% future cruise credit or Lift and Shift the reservation to another cruise next year.

By making the final payment, you are assured that when the cruise is officially cancelled by Royal Caribbean, you have the choice to get a full cash refund.

The danger with this strategy of calling the cruise line's bluff is that if the cruise actually sailed, you would then be committed to it (although the Cruise with Confidence program allows you to cancel and get a 100% future cruise credit up to 48 hours before your cruise sails).

My choice

I was facing this exact scenario a few weeks ago  that Maureen is facing today, as final payment for my family's spring break cruise in March on Harmony of the Seas arrived.

Ultimately, I chose to make final payment for the exact reason in this post: if the cruise were to sail, I would want to go on it.

There is lots of uncertainty in all of our lives right now, but I feel you have to make plans to live your life and adjust them when it becomes clear those plans are no longer practical.

It certainly helps I have other cruises that I can roll any future cruise credits forward to, but at the end of the day, I want to get back onboard and am willing to roll the dice on the possibility it may sail.

What would you do?

Share your advice for Maureen in the comments below!

It's a new year, and a new webcam construction photo update of Royal Caribbean's next new cruise ship.

The Meyer Werft webcam has finally been updated with a new photo, after about a month of no photo updates.

Odyssey of the Seas is under construction at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany and will be the cruise line's second Quantum Ultra Class ship.

Odyssey of the Seas floated out of her covered dock on November 28, 2020, and has since been moored outside for additional features to be installed onboard.

Photos by Björn Haß

The 169,000 GT cruise liner has an overall length of 347.1 meters, is 41.4 meters wide and can accommodate more than 5000 passengers.

Odyssey will feature a number of firsts onboard, including the first Quantum Class ship with Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen & Wine Bar, a Playmakers Bar location in the SeaPlex, a revamped Adventure Ocean and two-level pool deck.

Read more: 5 ways Royal Caribbean's Odyssey of the Seas will be different from other Quantum Class ships

Odyssey of the Seas is now the fifth Quantum/Quantum Ultra Class ship to be constructed at Meyer Werft, following Quantum, Anthem, Ovation and Spectrum of the Seas.

Odyssey of the Seas was originally scheduled to be delivered in autumn 2020, but Royal Caribbean delayed that until spring 2021.

What's next for Odyssey of the Seas?

With her float out complete and work being done to install outdoor features, you might be wondering what the next steps are for this ship.

Neither the shipyard nor Royal Caribbean has announced any kind of timeline, but you should expect some key milestones coming up soon.

The ship will need to conduct her conveyance down the River Ems. This is how the ship gets from the inland shipyard to the open ocean.

Once she reaches the ocean, her next step will be to conduct sea trials. During these sea trials, tests are conducted to finalize the performance of the ship. There are sometimes multiple sea trials.

Finally, the ship will be prepared for delivery to Royal Caribbean at which point the ship officially joins the fleet.

Royal Caribbean has scheduled the first sailings of Odyssey of the Seas in April 2021, which means all of this needs to occur before that date.

Welcome to this week's round-up of all the Royal Caribbean news and happenings.  Hope you are staying warm and are ready to cozy up to some great Royal Caribbean fun.

A new bill proposed in the Florida Legislature could overrule Key West's cruise ship ban.

Florida Senate Bill 426: State Preemption of Seaport Regulations, filed on January 5, 2021 by Senator Jim Boyd, aims to give the State of Florida oversight of Florida’s seaport regulations such as the regulation of commerce in state seaports, and to provide exceptions. Boyd’s bill includes language preventing a local government from restricting or regulating commerce in a Florida seaport.

This bill sounds like it could get around Key West's recent ban of cruise ships, which was voted on by Key West residents during the November 2020 election.

Royal Caribbean News

• Royal Caribbean's Wave Season offers 60% off second passenger and discounts.
• Royal Caribbean condemns "inexcusable acts" of violence at Capitol.
• A new change to the Diamond drinks on Quantum of the Seas.
• How to avoid the 8 things everyone hates doing on a cruise ship.
• Two Royal Caribbean cruise ships will stay in British Virgin Islands temporarily in warm lay-up.
• Is Royal Caribbean all inclusive?
• 9 Questions you should always ask on a Royal Caribbean cruise.
• The unconfirmed cruise ship rumors that get repeated a lot by cruise fans.
• 4 great itineraries (and 1 to avoid) for a first cruise vacation.
• How do you get a free Royal Caribbean cruise?
• What are the different types of cabins on a cruise ship?

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 388th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, where Matt talks about how to plan a cruise this year.

There are so many challenges to planning a cruise in 2021, so Matt breaks down what you need to know about preparing for a potential cruise this year.

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: Should you make final payment for your cruise?

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 — Should you make final payment for your cruise? — and don’t forget to subscribe here.

Things I've done that I'll never do again on a Royal Caribbean cruise

There are so many things you can do on a Royal Caribbean cruise, but there a few activities or offerings I'll skip next time I'm onboard.

While the vast majority of what the cruise line offers is terrific, there are a few things that I personally did not care for. 

The good news, is I have since learned from these experiences and wanted to share what I came up against to help you decide what to do on your sailing.

Royal Caribbean has received permission for two of its cruise ships to remain in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) in a state of warm lay-up.

The BVI Ports Authority announced on Friday that Rhapsody of the Seas and Grandeur of the Seas have been given permission for technical calls and warm lay-ups in Tortola.

Strict health and safety rules were agreed to by both the Port Authority and the cruise line, which will allow the ships to remain in the BVI starting on January 11, 2021 for an initial period of thirty (30) days for a warm lay-up.

Neither ship will have passengers onboard, and the purpose of this agreement is so that the ships can remain in port and refuel, take on provisions and spare parts, and possibly other services.

Acting Managing Director, Oleanvine Maynard said, "Crew members will not be allowed to disembark and there is no access to vessels from shore-based staff during stays in the BVI."

This deal allows Royal Caribbean to take care of necessary maintenance and technical concerns, while the BVI reaps economic benefits.

The BVIPA believes that maintaining a link with and continuing to service the cruising industry in the safe manner proposed with technical calls/warm lay-ups can be a vital part of the rebooting strategy. 

What is a warm lay-up?

When cruise ships are not in use, they are either in warm or cold lay-up. This refers to which state they are in of being temporarily shutdown.

The decision to send a ship into cold lay-up depends on the long term plans the company has for the ship.

Royal Caribbean presented their plans to the BVI Ports Authority about what the ships will do and other details pertaining to a warm lay-up.

Royal Caribbean Group Vice President of Worldwide Operations, Hernan Zini, said the ships will be carrying out refueling, repairs and start-up activities.

All of Royal Caribbean's ships are in a state of warm lay-up, which means the ships can return to service quickly because the machinery, lifesaving equipment and navigational equipment are all well-kept and up to date.

The engine department and deck department remain fairly close to fully manned in a warm lay-up.

Cold lay-ups save money in the short term, but take longer to get back into service once the cruise line wants to reactivate the ship.

However, when a ship goes into cold lay-up, many of the mechanical systems are taken offline, with just the bare essentials left online to preserve the ship. A prolonged cold lay-up can even go as far as to preserve sections of the ship by hermetically sealing off rooms.

Read more: What does it mean when a cruise ship goes into cold lay-up?

Royal Caribbean has been making changes to its only cruise ship sailing right now, including one that now affects one of the most popular customer loyalty perks.

A guest sailing on Quantum of the Seas received a letter in their stateroom informing the Diamond Plus guest that the complimentary drinks offered each night will be conducted in a different manner.

Y.C. Tan shared a photo of the letter from the Loyalty Ambassador on Quantum of the Seas that listed a change to how guests can get complimentary drinks as part of the Crown and Anchor Society.

Redeeming these are easy - simply provide your SeaPass Card at the time of purchase and the benefits will automatically be applied. You can now redeem your drink vouches all day at any bar.

Read more: Quantum of the Seas live blog posts

Instead of Diamond, Diamond Plus, or Pinnacle guests going to the Diamond Lounge to receive their drinks each evening, they can enjoy four or five drinks per day, per person anywhere and anytime throughout the day.

• Diamond guests get 4 drinks per day
• Diamond Plus get 5 drinks per day
• It is not clear how many Pinnacle guests get

The complimentary drinks are not limited to the Diamond drink menu, but just like a drink package must not exceed a value of above $12. Specialty coffee is allowed as well. 

You also have the option of paying the difference if a drink is above the $12 individual drink limit.

It is unclear if this change will be replicated across Royal Caribbean's fleet of ships once they restart sailings, or this is a change just for Quantum of the Seas in Singapore.

Royal Caribbean's policies have always been different for Asia sailings compared to North American or European cruises, although with the current global health crisis, all policies are subject to change in order to encourage social distancing and best practices.

Read more: 5 ways to save money on drinks if you are not buying a Royal Caribbean drink package

Mixed thoughts from cruisers

Anytime there is any change to Royal Caribbean's customer loyalty program, there are plenty of strong opinions all around.

Most people seemed okay with the change within the context of social distancing, but are concerned this may be a temporary change that remains in place.

Read more: 9 Royal Caribbean Cocktails You Need To Know About

Aaron Lewis described this concern in his comment, "I think a lot of these changes are in fact because of Covid. My fear is that once companies learn new ways of doing business, things will never go back to the way they were."

Susan Westfall likes the change for the flexibility it provides, "What I like about this is that you can get drinks anywhere and any time of the day. We are Diamond Plus and usually stop by the lounge for a pre-dinner glass of wine, and have never used all three drinks available to us. However, there have been times when a tropical-type drink by the pool would have been nice. I would have no problem with this change."

Vance Lewis thinks it would be a bad decision to make this a permanent change because it would cut at the cruise line's profitable drink package sales, "For some reason I don’t think that they will keep some of these new changes around permanently because it would decrease the number of drink packages they would sell. If you’re getting four or five free drinks, why get the drink package at all?"

More information

• 4 rewards Royal Caribbean will give you after just one cruise
• The cost benefits of Royal Caribbean's Crown and Anchor Society onboard discounts
• Crown and Anchor Society Overview Podcast