Royal Caribbean Blog

Royal Caribbean was named Best Cruise Line at the 2019 Elliott Advocacy Readers' Choice Customer Service Awards, an annual recognition of companies that offer outstanding customer support and service.

The top five cruise lines were:

1. Royal Caribbean
2. Viking
3. Disney
4. Carnival
5. Celebrity

For 2019, readers of Elliott Advocacy, a leading consumer advocacy site, nominated and voted for their favorite companies in 16 categories ranging from airlines to wireless service providers.

Royal Caribbean also won the honor in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

Hope you are having a great weekend.  Here is all of this week's Royal Caribbean cruise news.

The big news of this week was Royal Caribbean's order for a sixth Oasis class cruise ship.

The new ship is scheduled for delivery in the fall of 2023.

Royal Caribbean News

• We have a schedule for when Spectrum of the Seas will leave her dock.
• Speaking of Spectrum, here is a new Spectrum of the Seas construction photo update.
• Royal Caribbean cancelled the first Freedom of the Seas sailing following her scheduled drydock in 2020.
• A Cruise Planner sale is running through early next week.
• Check out this video previewing what's coming to Navigator of the Seas.
• Here is our full review of Paradise Beach in Cozumel.
• In honor of National Margarita Day, we shared Sabor margarita recipes.
• Royal Caribbean launched its stateroom bidding program in Australia and New Zealand.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 290th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, which has a review of Matt's recent sailing on Brilliance of the Seas.

In this episode, Matt shares how his first cruise of 2019 was and talks about the experiences, excursions and everything else on Brilliance of the Seas.

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.

Royal Caribbean Around the Internet

Disney Cruise Line Blog reported on a joint-effort among Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Disney Cruise Line to build a pier in Grand Cayman.

Cruise Fever listed five venues not to miss on Symphony of the Seas.

Cruise.Blog shared first time cruise mistakes to avoid.

If you have not heard, February 22 is National Margarita Day! 

We are always one to enjoy a great margarita, and rarely need an excuse to enjoy one.  To celebrate this holy of holidays, we have some recipes for how to make the amazing margaritas that Sabor Modern Mexican is renown for right in your own home!

Grab some limes, tequila and salt, and check out these must-drink margs!

Simply Perfect Margarita

Ingredients

• 1.5 oz Patrón Reposado tequila
• 0.5 oz Patrón Citrónge Liqueur
• 1 oz lime
• 1 oz orange juice
• 0.25 oz simple syrup

Method:

Rim the glass with Cactus/lemongrass salt. Pour all of the ingredients in a shaker tin over ice and shake well. Double strain over fresh ice.

Grand Sabor Margarita

Ingredients

• 1.5 oz Patrón Reposado tequila
• 0.5 oz Cedilla Acai Liqueur
• 0.5 oz Grand Marnier
• 0.5 oz lime
• 0.50 oz simple syrup

Method:

Combine all of the ingredients in a shaker tin over ice and shake well. Double strain over fresh ice.

Jalapeno-Cucumber Margarita

Ingredients

• 1.5 oz Don Julio Blanco tequila
• 0.5 oz Cointreau Orange Liqueur
• 1 small piece of jalapeno pepper (approximately 1/2 cm thick)
• 3 springs of Cilantro
• 3 discs of Cucumber (approximately 2 cm)
• 1 oz lime
• 0.5 oz simple syrup

Method:

Muddle the jalapeno, cilantro together in a mixing glass, combine all remaining ingredients in a shaker tin full of ice. Shake well, double strain over fresh ice.

Bonus: Guacamole recipe

If you are going to make margaritas at home, be sure to compliment it with a bowl of the amazing Sabor guacamole!

Ingredients (for 4 people)

• 0.5 cup red onion
• 2 tbsp jalapeno (omit this if you want mild guacamole)
• 1.5 tsp garlic
• 2 avocado
• 1 tsp salt
• 0.5 lime
• 0.5 lemon
• 0.25 cup cilantro
• 1/3 cup tomatoes

Method

1. In the molcajete, mix the onion, jalapeno and garlic.
2. Score the inside of the avocado into small cubes and remove the outer skin with a spoon.
3. Add the avocado and mash lightly to a lumpy consistency.
4. Add the lemon and lime juices, salt, cilantro and mash again.
5. Add the tomatoes and incorporate.

What is your favorite Royal Caribbean margarita? Leave a comment below and let us know!

Love Royal Caribbean? Need a "fix" until your next cruise? Every week we share our readers' favorite Royal Caribbean cruise photos so that we can all enjoy a "virtual escape" onboard!

We begin with this photo of Central Park at night, taken by Kinny Lee.

One of our favorite Friday Photographers is twangster, and here is a photo from him of a pristine CocoCay morning.

Carl Green shared this photo of Radiance of the Seas in Dunedin.

Next up is a photo by Jeff L. of his son's favorite spot on Independence of the Seas.

Speaking of Independence of the Seas, here is a photo by Laura Buchholz taken at 5am as the ship arrived back in Southampton.

Norman Patton took this photo with a gator while on an airboat tour in Port Canaveral.

Our final photo this week is by Mike, and it is of Freedom of the Seas as seen from the streets of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Thank you to everyone for sharing these wonderful photos with us.  If you would like to share your best Royal Caribbean cruise photos, use this form to submit them.

Have a great weekend!

Royal Caribbean's Dive Into Deals sale offers guests up to $150 off their dream vacation plus up to $100 to spend at sea, plus more big savings.

New bookings made between February 21 – 24, 2019 on sailings departing on or after March 21, 2019.

The Dive Into Deals offer includes:

• 60% off cruise fare of second guest booked in the same stateroom as first full-fare paying guest, and 30% off cruise fare for third guests and higher booked in the same stateroom as the first two qualified guests
• Up to $100 to spend at sea (“OBC”) per stateroom determined by category booked and sailing length:
  • Sailings 5 nights or less, $25 OBC for Interior and Ocean View, $25 for Balconies and $50 for Suites
  • Sailing 6 nights or longer, $50 OBC for Interior and Ocean View, $75 for Balconies and $100 for Suites
• Dive into Deals Sale offers up to $150 instant savings per stateroom determined by category booked and sailing length:
  • Sailings 5 nights or less, $25 savings for Interior and Ocean View, $50 for Balconies and $75 for Suites
  • Sailings 6 nights or longer, $50 savings for Interior and Ocean View, $75 for Balconies and $150 for Suites.
  • Onboard credit and Instant savings do not apply to China departures
• Kids Sail Free: provides free cruise fare for 3rd guests and higher who are 12 years old or younger on select 4-night or longer Alaska, Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada, Caribbean, CaribNE, Coastal, Cuba, Europe and Hawaii sailings departing between March 1 – December 15, 2019.
  • Offer excludes Spring Break sailings (Sailings between March 16 – 30, 2019), Holy Week/Easter sailings (Sailings between April 13 – 22, 2019) Summer sailings (Sailings between May 15 – August 31, 2019) and 2019 Thanksgiving sailings (Sailings between November 23 – 30, 2019). 

BOGO and Kids Sail Free are combinable with each other as well as with Dive into Deals Sale, promotional OBCs, NextCruise offers, Instant Savings, restricted discounts (for example, Seniors, Residents, Military), Promo Code driven offers, Free Upgrades, Crown and Anchor discounts and Shareholder Benefits. Dive into Deals Sale is combinable with promotional OBCs, NextCruise offers, Instant Savings, restricted discounts (for example, Seniors, Residents, Military), Promo Code driven offers and Free Upgrades but not combinable with Crown and Anchor discounts and Shareholder Benefits. Offers are not combinable with any other offer or promotion, including, but not limited to, Standard Group, Interline, Travel Agent, Travel Agent Friends and Family, Weekly Sales Events, Net Rates. Promo Code driven offers are based on select ships and sail dates and must be applied at time of booking, limit one promo code per booking.

Offer available to residents of United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and select countries in the Caribbean.

A $115 million modernization gives way to off-the-charts adventure on Royal Caribbean’s reimagined Navigator of the Seas, where friends and families will make the most of their short getaways with a variety of new experiences for all ages. Go behind the scenes for a look at the construction process as a team of 4,000 experts build The Blaster, longest aqua coaster at sea; Riptide, the industry’s only head-first mat racer; a Caribbean, resort-style poolscape; To Dry For, the first standalone blow dry bar at sea, plus vibrant, new restaurants and bars. In addition to sailing 3-night weekend and 4-night weekday itineraries, the amplified ship will be the first to visit Perfect Day at CocoCay – the cruise line’s highly anticipated private island in The Bahamas – come May 2019.

Meyer Werft shipyard has announced Spectrum of the Seas is scheduled to leave its dock on February 25, 2019.

Once Spectrum of the Seas has left the dock, she will berth at Meyer Werft's out-fitting pier to be fitted with its funnel cladding.  If the weather holds up, the plan is for the North Star to also be installed on the ship.

The plan is for Spectrum to remain in the shipyard for further work and onboard trials until the ship's conveyance through the river Ems up to the North Seas, sometime in March 2019.

The ship yard reiterated that all of these plans are contingent on weather, and delays may result.  Before Spectrum of the Seas can berth at the out-fitting pier, the floating section (engine room unit) of the Norwegian Encore that is currently moored here will have to be moved to another berth in the shipyard port. Once the Spectrum of the Seas has left the dock, the floating part for the Norwegian Encore, which is due for completion in autumn 2019, will be maneuvered back into the free covered building dock II for further construction work.

Royal Caribbean just released new construction photos of Spectrum of the Seas from the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany.

The 7,860 lb. propellers, part of the 20.5-megawatt azipods, are getting their finishing touches before being placed onboard Spectrum of the Seas.

The 20.5-megawatt Azipod is installed onto Spectrum of the Seas.

The ship is scheduled to be delivered in April 2019.

Guests sailing on the February 23, 2020 sailing of Freedom of the Seas have received an email from Royal Caribbean informing them that their sailing has been canceled.

The email states, "Freedom of the Seas is undergoing an extended renovation which means, we must regrettably cancel our February 23rd, 2020 sailing. We know this news is disappointing and apologize for the impact to your vacation."

Guests who were booked on the February 23rd sailing have the option to rebook to another 2020 sailing on Freedom of the Seas or Vision of the Seas, as well as any other Royal Caribbean sailing or to simply receive a refund.

The cancellation of what was supposed to be the first sailing of Freedom of the Seas following the ship's scheduled Royal Amplication mirrors the recent decision to cancel the first sailing of Navigator of the Seas following her drydock work that resulted from delays at the shipyard where the work was being done.

Royal Caribbean has not announced the exact changes coming to Freedom of the Seas as part of her dry dock, but the ship has no scheduled sailings between January 19 and now March 1, 2020. Royal Amplified will cover 10 ships over four years, that focuses on upgrades to three main areas: Pool Deck & Attractions, Bars & Nightlife, and Dining Mission.

Our newest podcast episode is out to help give you a quick "audio escape" to a Royal Caribbean cruise!

Episode 290 is available for downloading, where we share a review of our recent cruise on Royal caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas.

Matt just got back from a 4-night Western Caribbean cruise aboard Brilliance of the Seas and talks about what he did onboard and shared some of his favorite things about this ship.

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 290. 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!