Royal Caribbean Blog

Following a swirl of rumors online about policies guests can expect once cruising resumes, Royal Caribbean spoke briefly to travel agents about the issue of guests needing a doctor's note in order cruise.

Royal Caribbean Senior Vice President of Sales and Trade Support & Service Vicki Freed spoke at the beginning of her webinar by addressing the need for a letter from a doctor for guests who are 70 years old or older, or have a pre-existing chronic medical condition.

"We found out that CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association) did actually change this requirement on April 3rd. So a health form is no longer required for those travelers ages 70 plus, nor are there restrictions for those guests with underlying health conditions."

"In our current environment, everything can change at a moment's notice, so this is very fluid. But as of today, there are no requirements for doctor's notes."

"We are working on our return to service protocols, and they may look very different in the next couple weeks or months. Until that's finalized, we can't say for sure this is never going to happen, but we will keep you informed."

Ms. Freed's comment comes less than a day after a few travel agents spotted an updated list of boarding & health protocols, which was quickly taken down after being prematurely posted.

The post sent ripples through social media as guests and travel advisors began to wonder if these policies would indeed enter into practice.

Prior to Royal Caribbean suspending global sailings in March, the cruise line issued a notice it would deny boarding to any person age 70 or older, unless the guest provides written verification from a qualified treating physician that certifies the person has no severe, chronic medical condition and is fit to travel.

"According to CLIA," Ms. Freed reiterated later in the call, "a health form is no longer required for those travelers ages 70 plus, nor are there restrictions for those guests with underlying health conditions."

The Meyer Werft shipyard has released a brand new photo of the progress being made on Odyssey of the Seas.

Odyssey of the Seas is under construction in Hall 6 of the shipyard in Papenburg, Germany.

Meyer Werft updates a new photo around once a week with a look at the general progress being made.

Odyssey of the Seas had her last block added earlier this month, and purely from these webcam photos, it looks like progress is steadily being made to the ship.

Odyssey of the Seas will be the cruise line's second Quantum Ultra Class ship, and is scheduled to debuts in November 2020 when she sails out of Port Everglades, Florida.

The Port of Galveston met on Tuesday to approve Royal Caribbean's proposal to delay construction of its new cruise terminal by a year.

The Galveston Wharves Board Meeting took place on April 28, where the Board of Trustees took a vote on item E10 of the agenda, and voted 6 to 1 to approve Royal Caribbean's amendment to allow Royal Caribbean a one year delay in building Cruise Terminal 3.

The new target completion date for the terminal is September 1, 2022. Neither the Port nor Royal Caribbean wanted to cancel the contract and felt the best option was the one year delay.

The one dissenting vote expressed a desire to explore other options before committing a one year delay in the project.

In late March, Royal Caribbean asked the Port of Galveston to delay the start of the new cruise terminal by one year.

Terminal 3 will be built on 10 acres of land at Pier 10, and will be used by Royal Caribbean.

The plan for Terminal Three was announced in December 2019, with the added bonus of Allure of the Seas moving to Galveston to begin sailings shortly after the terminal opened in November 2021.

There was no verbal mention or discussion of one presentation slide indicating Anthem of the Seas possibly moving to Galveston at the current Cruise Terminal 2.

Regardless if you are going on your first or fiftieth Royal Caribbean cruise, maximizing the experience is something everyone wants to do.

I love to share cruise tips, tricks, and advice, so that everyone can benefit from saving time or money (or both).

With that in mind, I have some of my favorite expert-level Royal Caribbean cruise hacks that repeat cruisers swear by.

More storage with magnetic hooks

While storage space on Royal Caribbean's newer ships has gotten better, you will find somewhere to stuff all of your things still at a premium.

One great trick is to invest in magnetic hooks that hold up things like jackets, dresses, hats, swimsuits, and pretty much anything you may have.

Since the cabin walls are all made of metal, you can stick magnetic hooks pretty much anywhere and greatly expand your storage options.

Here are some magnetic hooks you can order. (This link contains an affiliate link, which means I get a commission for purchases made. There is no additional cost to you.)

Plan for signature activities on embarkation day

One easy way to tell who has cruised before is to spot which guests are already hitting up the FlowRider, pools, and water slides on embarkation day.

It may not occur to new cruisers that these activities are open on embarkation day, or that lines for them are nearly non-existent.

In order to take advantage of the rock climbing, ziplining, or mini golf, be sure to pack (or wear) sneakers and athleisure wear.

If you are interested in aquatic activities, pack a bathing suit, flip-flops, and sunscreen in your backpack. You can typically find a bathroom near the pool areas to change in if your room is not ready yet.

Read more: 15 things to pack in your cruise carry-on

Skip a port day

Visiting the ports of call your ship will take you to can be a real highlight, but if you have been to these before, or perhaps do not see anything tremendously appealing, you could always stay onboard.

Royal Caribbean's ships offer a ton to do onboard, and long lines can make it difficult to "do it all" during sea days.

Long-time cruisers will often stay onboard during a port day in order to take advantage of discounts at the spa, wide-open pool decks, and short lines for signature activities.

Book early and reprice often

The tried and true strategy for cruisers who live in a country that allows price adjustments (United States, Canada, and others) is to book a cruise as soon as they know they want to go on that sailing, and then re-price if the fare drops.

Royal Caribbean allows cruisers to reprice their cruise at the lower cruise fare if the price for that cruise goes down at any time before the final payment date. As long as the price drops for the same ship and sail date that has been booked previously, and it is before the final payment date, guests can reprice their cruise as many times as they want.

Unfortunately, residents of the United Kingdom cannot use this strategy since local laws prevent price adjustments.

The final payment date for Royal Caribbean cruises is 75 days prior to the sailing date for 1-4 night cruise vacations and 90 days prior to the sailing date for 5-night or longer cruise vacations. The payment schedule for groups is different from that of individuals. 

The strategy of booking early and then taking advantage of price drops ensures you always have the lowest price, as opposed to trying to time a price drop later (which may or may not happen).

Arrive to the cruise terminal early

Royal Caribbean provides everyone with a boarding time in the afternoon, but many veteran cruisers will say in practice, boarding times are much earlier than what is stated. Royal Caribbean does this to help break up crowds.

When boarding does commence, Royal Caribbean will board their ships with Suite guests first, followed by guests based on their Crown and Anchor Society status, and finally, all other guests. Regardless of your status, the earlier you check in, the sooner you will board the ship.

The advantage of arriving at the cruise port early is you will likely find shorter lines, and board the ship sooner. That means your vacation begins sooner, and you will have more time on embarkation day to explore and have fun. 

Read more: 15 Royal Caribbean boarding process tips for a fast embarkation

Use breakfast room service as a wakeup call

While room service has a fee, there is still a complimentary continental breakfast option.

Not only does it mean you get coffee, danishes, and some fruit to start your morning delivered to your room for nothing extra, but a lot of cruisers will order breakfast room service as a sort of wake-up call.

Prior to the breakfast being delivered, room service will call ahead to ensure someone is awake, and that provides a good impetus to get up and ready and start the day.

Special requests at the main dining room

One of my favorite tips for the main dining room is not to assume that what you see on the menu is what you are limited to ordering.

The menu is a starting point, but the wait staff is willing and able to accommodate many different special requests.

Whether customizing menu items, coming up with allergy or dietary preference-friendly options, you should feel free to inquire about other options.

Most dietary requests can be handled onboard the ship, and with 24 hours notice, the waiters can usually accommodate most needs.

If you have a dietary restriction, then you may want to let Royal Caribbean know about them upfront.

Royal Caribbean can accommodate dietary needs such as food allergies, gluten-free, Kosher, low-fat, and low-sodium.

In addition, vegetarian meals (including Indian-style vegetarian) are available on all menus in the main dining room. Guests do not need to make a special request for these meals.

Lactose-free/soy milk, Ensure, and Kosher meals are available at no extra charge. All you have to do is notify Royal Caribbean at least 45 days prior to sailing (90 days for European/South American itineraries).

You may also send an e-mail request to [email protected]; please include in the e-mail the guests' names, booking number, ship name, and sail date. It's best to make requests like this at least 90 days in advance of your sailing.

What are some of your favorite Royal Caribbean vacation hacks? Let us know in the comments!

With thousands of cruisers receiving Future Cruise Credits to use due to canceled sailings, Royal Caribbean has added new options to its cruise booking process to simplify redeeming a Future Cruise Credit.

The new feature on RoyalCaribbean.com makes it easy for guests to apply the credit in multiple ways for new and existing bookings – for example, upgrading the stateroom, paying off existing bookings, or towards bookings already paid-in-full (receiving a statement credit). 

The online functionality introduced today provides a little extra flexibility to guests – redeeming FCC can be done in two clicks from the homepage, meaning no need to call.  The function is now front-and-center on RoyalCaribbean.com for guests, as well as within CruisingPower.com for travel partners, who continue to support their clients. 

When making a booking via Royal Caribbean's website, there is now a new option at checkout to redeem a Future Cruise Credit.

Similar to using a gift certificate at a retail website, below the credit card information is an option redeem a Future Cruise Credit.

In addition to the the option during the checkout process, Royal Caribbean's website main menu includes a link to redeem a Cruise Credit.

Once you go to that link, a self-service page provides another way to redeem the credits.

It should be noted that travel agents can also redeem Future Cruise Credits as well, and can help bypass these steps and save time for guests.

Thanks to Allen Agor for alerting us to this change.

Royal Caribbean sent an email indicating it will honor its Future Cruise Credits for a longer period of time so that guests can have more options to consider when using their credits.

Originally, Royal Caribbean advised that you had until December 31st, 2021 to re-book and sail using your 125% Future Cruise Credit. 

So, instead of selecting a sailing the departs on or before December 31, 2021, you may now select a sailing departing on or before April 30, 2022. 

This provides an extra 4 months of sailings to choose from, although the credit must be applied by December 31, 2021 to the sailing.

Royal Caribbean says the decision was made to give guests more flexibility in properly planning a cruise.

Guests who have already received a 125% Future Cruise Credit will not receive an updated email, but the change has been made in Royal Caribbean's system.

Among the many new additions to Oasis of the Seas is a signature escape room experience, known as Mission Control: Apollo 18.

Guests participating in the escape room try to solve a series of puzzles before time runs out, that requires them to man their stations from Mission Control and successfully launch Apollo 18 to the moon. 

The flight director of the renowned Apollo program, Gerry Griffin, applauded the immersive experience’s level of detail, including the escape room’s resemblance to Johnson Space Center's Apollo Mission Control Center in Houston.

Griffin toured the new escape when Oasis of the Seas resumed sailings in November.

This new video coincides with the Apollo 16 splashdown anniversary, in which astronauts John W. Young, Thomas K. Mattingly II, and Charles M. Duke Jr. were inside the Apollo 16 Command Module as it touch downed in the central Pacific Ocean to conclude their lunar landing mission on April 27, 1972. 

Image Credit: NASA

Apollo 16 was the tenth crewed mission in the United States Apollo space program, the fifth and second-to-last to land on the Moon, and the second to land in the lunar highlands.

While Royal Caribbean's official stance is the cruise line plans to resume operations on June 12, but that seems to be a moving date and we are all wondering when exactly cruises will start up again.

While no one knows for certain when Royal Caribbean will be able to resume sailings, I was curious what cruise fans thought about the prospect of sailings beginning again.

There are plenty of obstacles and challenges to cruise ships sailing again, and it seems everyone has their opinions.

In a Facebook poll that ran over the weekend, 944 people responded to the question "When do you think Royal Caribbean cruises will resume?" and here are the results!

• By June: 35
• By July: 221
• By August: 114
• By September: 50
• By October or later: 524

Comments in the poll varied from wishful thinking, to pesimistic predictions and everything in between.

By far, the majority of people thought cruises would resume October or later, and it seems like alot were emphasising the "later" part of that option.

"For the US, sadly I say late June, Early July. July 4th might be symbolic. It all depends on the CDC do not sail order. That's really the watermark."

"I’m guessing modified itineraries (that have not even been announced yet) may start this summer, as early as July. Simple FL to Caribbean itineraries will dominate to start. And, initial cruises may be the 3, 4, and 5 night itineraries to make sure people are on and off board quickly; in essence preventing incubation on board."

"I hoped for May, but July seems logical for the East coast US. Other locations may differ based on destinations and origins."

I found it interesting to see what people thought, given the worldwide impact of the current situation. It seems at the very least, the further out you go, the more optimisim there is for cruises to resume.

When do you expect Royal Caribbean cruises to resume? Share your predictions in the comments!

The Port of Galveston will meet on Tuesday with the Board of Trustees to discuss a variety of topics, including Royal Caribbean's proposed construction delay of Terminal 3.

The Port Director's Report has been posted in advance of the meeting, and it includes a few interesting talking points that will be covered in the meeting.

Galveston is working with Royal Caribbean on the possibility of receiving Anthem of the Seas at the current Cruise Terminal 2. There is no dates associated with this plan, just the posting of the idea.

A decision will need to be made during the meeting on approving Royal Caribbean's request to delay the new Terminal 3 by one year. In late March, Royal Caribbean asked the Port of Galveston to delay the start of the new cruise terminal by one year.

If approved, the target completion date would now be September 1, 2022.

The conceptual plan for the East End Cruise Corridor (shown below) includes not only the new Royal Caribbean Terminal 3, but an additional 4th cruise terminal at the current Del Monte terminal.

Terminal 3 will be built on 10 acres of land at Pier 10, and will be used by Royal Caribbean.

Royal Caribbean has reiterated that Galveston is an integral part of Royal's strategic plan.

The plan for Terminal Three was announced in December 2019, with the added bonus of Allure of the Seas moving to Galveston to begin sailings shortly after the terminal opened in November 2021.

Many thanks to RoyalCaribbeanBlog reader Galveston Steve for alerting us to this news.

Everyone's favorite stay-at-home cruise fun continues today with a brand new virtual vacation getaway.

Royal Caribbean announced the next Virtual of the Seas sailing depart today, with a 7-night internet itinerary to enjoy, hosted by Cruise Director Abe Hughes.

The next sailing will pretend to visit Perfect Day at CocoCay twice, Labadee and more.

The idea behind a virtual cruise is every day, Mr. Hughes posts on Facebook various activities, photos and even a Cruise Compass for helping to pass the time while many of us are stuck at home.

The activity started out as a fun excuse to talk Royal Caribbean, but has taken on a life of its own with so many cruise fans clamoring for some virtual fun wherever they can get it.

You can follow along each day on Abe Hughes' Facebook page.