Royal Caribbean has expanded its new app to include support for Freedom of the Seas.
Freedom now appears in the list of supported ships that can be found from within the app.
The new app is being actively developed, which means not all features area available on the app yet. Moreover, the cruise line is slowly rolling out support for more ships.
The app is available on the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store.
The start to another weekend has arrived and we like to kick off our Fridays with our readers' favorite Royal Caribbean cruise photos!
We start off with a photo of "Gigi" on Anthem of the Seas, taken by Jenn Ullram.
Fran B. took this photo of a flower in Central Park on Oasis of the Seas.
Next up is a shot of Oasis of the Seas docked in Old San Juan. Photo by Dennis Nichols.
Dave took this photo after a fun day in St. Maarten.
Michael Kho snapped this photo of the belly flop competition.
Check out this photo by Kasey Badzinski of the rainbow over Nassau, while visiting on Majesty of the Seas.
Our final photo this week is by Sam Szpara taken in Old San Juan.
Thank you to everyone for sharing photos with us this week. If you want to share your best Royal Caribbean photos, use this form to send them in!
After delaying the May 2021- April 2022 deployment schedule by a couple weeks, the new opening schedule has largely been postponed until further notice.
Royal Caribbean's new opening schedule for May 2021- April 2022 deployment simply lists the Short Caribbean sailings debuting the week of March 9, 2020 and the remaining deployment coming at a later date.
Based on the previous deployment schedule, it is reasonable to assume that the China, Australia, Singapore and Transpacific deployments are among the itineraries to be released at a later date.
Deployment schedules gives consumers an idea of when to expect particular cruise schedules to become available to start looking at future cruises.
Bahamian media are reporting Royal Caribbean has purchased land on the western end of Paradise Island in The Bahamas.
The Tribune confirmed with Royal Caribbean’s Bahamian attorney that earlier this week the cruise line, "acquired multiple real estate parcels on Paradise Island’s western end."
Campbell Cleare, partner at McKinney, Bancroft and Hughes, confirmed Royal Caribbean has steadily been working towards purchasing land on Paradise Island’s western end.
“I do represent Royal Caribbean,” he said. “Royal Caribbean has bought a number of parcels of land on the western side of Paradise Island. I can tell you, because we’ve concluded the matter and it’s of public record, that we did buy a number of parcels on western Paradise Island.”
There is no indication yet by Royal Caribbean what the intended use for this land. According to Tribune Business, the land could be used for, "a beach-centred entertainment destination for the passengers it brings to Nassau."
According to Tribune Business, they estimate Royal Caribbean may have spent as much as $54 million on some of the land deals in total.
Royal Caribbean has publically confirmed it is working towards aquiring the Grand Lucayan resort in Freeport, Bahamas. That deal is part of a greater Freeport Harbour redevelopment plan through the cruise line's Holistica joint venture.
In addition to both acquisitions, Royal Caribbean recently spent an additional $250 million transforming its private island into Perfect Day at CocoCay.
Did you know some of the most famous musical acts have performed on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship?
In this video, I have the top ten biggest acts to grace a Royal Caribbean stage!
And if you love this video, there’s plenty more for you to enjoy over on our Royal Caribbean Blog YouTube Channel!
By the way, have you subscribed yet? Be sure to subscribe to our channel and never miss a single video!
So check out the video and then let us know: Which of these musical acts would you want to have seen?
Royal Caribbean's Spectrum of the Seas arrived in Sydney, Australia this week after the impact of Coronavirus in Asia forced Royal Caribbean to redeploy her away from the region.
Royal Caribbean announced two weeks ago it would reposition Spectrum of the Seas to Australia as a gesture to thank the humanitarian efforts put forth to combat the wildfires.
Aaron Armitage took photos of Spectrum of the Seas in Sydney Harbour, marking her arrival.
When circumstances improve in China, Royal Caribbean International president and CEO Michael Bayley said, Royal Caribbean International will dedicate a ship in China to a series of complimentary sailings to thank first responders and medical personnel for their heroic efforts to defeat the virus.
Should you book your shore excursions through Royal Caribbean, or should you book tours on your own? There are advantages to both strategies, as well as important considerations to be aware of as well.
There is a good argument to be made for doing either one, so here is what you need to know about booking shore excursions and if you are better off going through the cruise line.
Booking your shore excursion through the cruise line provides the safety net of knowing a few important facts about any tour you choose.
Royal Caribbean stands behind the excursions they offer, which means they have certified the tour operator provides the proper equipment, performs the tour in a safe environment with proper gear, as well as providing an authentic experience.
If you are doing a tour that involves boats, airplanes or helicopters, the knowledge that Royal Caribbean stands behind this tour provides some guests with the good feeling that the operator has been properly vetted for safety.
Moreover, Royal Caribbean has actively been working with tour operators to be sustainable operations, which align with international standards for sustainability developed by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC).
Basically, the tours offered by Royal Caribbean are reputable and well-run.
Read: How to book a Royal Caribbean shore excursion
Perhaps the most compelling reason to book a Royal Caribbean shore excursion is the promise if the tour runs late or is delayed, Royal Caribbean will get you back on the ship.
Royal Caribbean coordinates with the tour operators around the ship's schedule to minimize any risk of the ship needing to leave for the next destination without you onboard.
When you book a shore excursion through Royal Caribbean, they guarantee that if your tour is delayed, the ship will wait for you. In the unlikely event that your tour is significantly delayed, and the ship cannot wait, Royal Caribbean will make all the arrangements for you to return to the ship at no expense to you.
If you tour on your own, the ship will not wait, as it is your responsibility to be onboard before the ship's scheduled departure time.
Booking a shore excursion through Royal Caribbean is super simple, with a one-stop shop for browsing tours via the Cruise Planner site.
You can view all the options in one place, and compare tour options before booking. You can even apply onboard credit towards a particular excursion!
As a consumer, it is very nice to have one place to see all the options presented in an easy-to-understand manner.
No matter what Royal Caribbean does, they can never match the amount of options you can consider by booking a tour independently or booking a shore excursion on your own.
In every port you visit, there are a multitude of tour operators available beyond what the cruise line can offer. Moreover, you may simply want to walk around on your own and forgo an organized tour. Either way, you will find more options and combinations if you book on your own than through the cruise line.
In the Caribbean, one of my favorite family excursions is to book an all-inclusive resort day pass [link contains affiliate link, which costs you nothing extra!]. Not only are most of these unavailable through Royal Caribbean, they are great values and a lot of fun.
In general, you may be able to save money by booking similar tours to what the cruise line offers because there is "middle man". Royal Caribbean sells these tours, but they are operated by someone else, and that means Royal Caribbean is getting a cut of the profits.
With so many tour operators competing to offer similar excursions, booking a shore excursion through a third party means you may be able to find a lower price for the same trek.
As long as you research the company you are working with, and provide yourself enough time to get back to the ship on time, it can make a lot of sense to book an independent shore excursion that would otherwise cost you more money onboard.
Read: How to save money on cruise excursions
Shore excursions sold by the cruise ship have a tendency to be large groups, which means you move at the group pace instead of your own.
By booking an independent tour, you may be able to find a tour with a smaller group or even a private tour all together. This means you may be able to see more, or at the very least get around at a faster pace.
Moreover, going with a private guide you can get more personalized information about where you are going, as well as catering to what you want.
It should be noted that Royal Caribbean does offer its own brand of private shore excursions, known as Private Journeys.
In some ports, getting around is very easy without any tour at all.
If your ship visits a city where you dock very close to the downtown area, it may be quite simple to bring a walking tour and explore on your own. Not only will this be cheaper than any tour, it allows you to easily get around to visit shops, museums, cafes or historic monuments.
Not all ports may qualify for this, but places like San Francisco, Old San Juan or Barcelona are excellent ports of call to go the DIY route.
Our newest podcast episode is out to help give you a quick "audio escape" to a Royal Caribbean cruise!
Episode 343 is available for downloading, Kurt shares what it was like to go through the recent Coronavirus-delayed sailing on Anthem of the Seas.
A few weeks ago, Anthem of the Seas was delayed multiple days due to false reports of Coronavirus being on the ship. Looking back at the ordeal, this episode provides an opportunity to learn from what occured to assist anyone else dealing with a potential delay of this magnitude in the future.
Here’s the podcast page for Episode 343. And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Stitcher or on iTunes!
Take a listen and as always, let us know what you think! Please rate and review the podcast on iTunes and leave your comments below!
Royal Caribbean has launched its Friend and Family Spring Sale, which offers cruises beginning at $249.
Friends & Family Spring Sale is valid for new individual bookings made between February 26, 2020 through March 1, 2020, and applies to select sailings departing between March 29, 2020 and May 24, 2020 across Interior, Ocean View, Balcony and Suite accommodations.
Offer applies to first two guests in the stateroom. Offer is not combinable with any other promotional offers.
Perfect Day at CocoCay is filled with great activities and things to do for the family. Chilling at the beach, going down water slides, dining around the island and more are part of a day at this private island.
Matt shares a look at the top ten things you might not be aware of prior to visiting Royal Caribbean's destination.
And if you love this video, there’s plenty more for you to enjoy over on our Royal Caribbean Blog YouTube Channel!
By the way, have you subscribed yet? Be sure to subscribe to our channel and never miss a single video!
So check out the video and then let us know: What are you most surprised by at CocoCay?