Royal Caribbean has updated its health protocols for cruises sailing through April 14, 2022 in order to match the cruise line's decision to opt into the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) voluntary cruise program.

In an email to guests and travel agents, Royal Caribbean issued new health protocols that apply to all cruises sailing from the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Barbados between February 25, 2022 and April 14, 2022

Royal Caribbean says this update reflects the, "government mandates, the changes based on our voluntary opt-in to the US CDC Cruise Program, plus shore excursion requirements for unvaccinated children and their families."

Royal Caribbean also said that protocols are still subject to change, due to the fluidity of the situation with Covid.

Here's a look at the latest protocols.

Covid-19 booster

While currently not required as a condition to sail, the US CDC has recommended COVID-19 vaccine booster doses for those eligible, prior to cruise travel.

Royal Caribbean, "strongly recommends" guests get boosted before their cruise.

Vaccine requirements

All guests 12 and older must be fully vaccinated at least 14 days before sailing.

Children aged 5 to 11 are not required to be vaccinated, however, as they are eligible, Royal Caribbean recommends they receive their vaccine before sailing.

Children with one dose of a vaccine do not count as fully vaccinated for the purpose of the sailing. 

Face masks

Masks are optional for fully vaccinated guests. 

Unvaccinated children should expect to continue wearing masks indoors and in crowded settings.

Masks are required for all children age 2 and older while at the Adventure Ocean youth program.

Guests under 2 do not have to wear a mask at any time. 

Adventure Ocean Youth Program Reservations

For the first time, Royal Caribbean has included Adventure Ocean children's programming as part of the protocol release.

These spaces will be cleaned and sanitized frequently.

Royal Caribbean asks that guests make a reservation before bringing their child to Adventure Ocean on port days the ship is in port — just stop by Adventure Ocean on boarding day to reserve time, or throughout your cruise.

Dining

In the Main Dining Room, vaccinated guests may dine with other vaccinated guests outside their travel party. Parties that include unvaccinated kids will be assigned a table of their own.

Royal Caribbean recommends making reservations for dining before the cruise or via the app while onboard.

Vaccinated venues

Previously designated "vaccinated zones" are being removed.

This means no more vaccinated zones in the theater, spa, or gym, among other locations.

Shore excursions

Families traveling with unvaccinated kids are required to purchase a tour through Royal Caribbean to go ashore (except at private destinations, Perfect Day at CocoCay and Labadee).

Some ports require all guests, regardless of vaccination status, to purchase tours through Royal Caribbean. These tours follow our health guidance and are available at a variety of prices. 

Pre-cruise Covid-19 test

The email made no mention of Covid-19 tests before the cruise, but the policy remains unchanged on Royal Caribbean's website.

Cruises from U.S. homeports (except Puerto Rico)

• Pre-Cruise: All guests 2 years and older must present a negative COVID-19 test result.
  • Vaccinated guests ages 12 years and over: PCR or antigen test must be taken no more than 2 days prior to sailing.
  • Unvaccinated children ages 2 to 11 years: PCR test must be taken no more than 3 days prior to sailing — but not on boarding day. Antigen tests are not accepted for unvaccinated guests.
  • No testing required for guests under age 2.
  • Pre-cruise testing costs and scheduling are the guest's responsibility.  

Embarkation Day: Unvaccinated guests ages 2 to 11 will take a complimentary antigen test for COVID-19 during check-in. Registration details will be sent via email in advance.

Onboard: For sailings that are 5 nights or longer, unvaccinated guests ages 2 to 11 will take a complimentary antigen test prior to debark. Sailings longer than 10 nights may have additional onboard testing requirements. Registration details will be provided onboard.

Cruises from San Juan, Puerto Rico

• Entry to Puerto Rico:
  • All guests unvaccinated guests 2 years and older will need a PCR or antigen test for entry.
  • Guests arriving from non-US countries (regardless of vaccination status) will need to provide a negative result from a PCR or antigen test taken within 24 hours prior to boarding a flight to Puerto Rico.
• Pre-Cruise: All guests 2 years and older — regardless of vaccination status — must present a negative COVID-19 test result in order to sail. Your client's entry test can meet this requirement as long as it falls into the appropriate timeframe. 
  • Unvaccinated children ages 2 to 11: will need to show proof of a negative test result from a PCR test taken no more than 3 days prior to our sail date — but not on boarding day. Antigen tests are not accepted for unvaccinated guests.
  • Vaccinated guests 12 years and older: will need to show proof of a negative result from a PCR or antigen test taken no more than 2 days prior to our sail date. If for any reason guests can’t arrange this test prior to sailing, Royal Caribbean has port testing available for scheduling here.
  • No testing required for guests under age 2.
• Pre-cruise testing costs and scheduling are the guest's responsibility.
• Embarkation Day: In addition to the pre-cruise test requirement, unvaccinated guests 2 to 11 years old will be required to take a complimentary embarkation day antigen test. Registration details will be sent via email in advance.
• Prior to disembarking: Unvaccinated guests 2 to 11 years old will take an antigen test prior to debarking in San Juan. 
  • ​For re-entry into guest's home country, guests may require proof of a negative COVID-19 test. If needed, we’ll offer complimentary testing on Day 5 or 6 of the cruise. Testing details will be provided onboard.
  • Please note, the test results will also be shared with Royal Caribbean International. This will let us help guests plan the next steps of their cruise and keep them informed. Royal Caribbean may also share the results with third parties, such as public authorities and health care providers.
• Post-Cruise: If a guest is staying in Puerto Rico after the cruise, or they live in Puerto Rico, an additional test will be needed.
  • Residents of Puerto Rico ages 2 years and older regardless of vaccination status, guests must take a COVID-19 test, at their own expense, after the cruise and upload their results on the TravelSafe Declaration within 48 hours of departing the ship.
  • Non-residents ages 2 years and older regardless of vaccination status, non-residents extending their stay in Puerto Rico after sailing must complete a COVID-19 test after their cruise, and upload the results to Puerto Rico's TravelSafe Declaration form within 24 hours of departing the ship. Guests will be provided a complimentary test kit for this purpose.
  • Please Note: Failure to meet this requirement can result in a $300 USD fine from Puerto Rico authorities.
• Quarantine: Unvaccinated travelers intending to stay in Puerto Rico before or after their cruise are now required to complete a quarantine period of 7 days. However, if a guest arrives in Puerto Rico on cruise boarding day, and depart Puerto Rico on the same day the cruise ends, a local quarantine is not required.
  • Quarantine Before: If guests arrive in Puerto Rico 1 or more days prior to their cruise, any unvaccinated guests ages 2 years and up in the travel party must remain in quarantine for those days. These guests may only leave to head directly to the cruise terminal for check-in on boarding day.
  • Quarantine After: Any unvaccinated non-residents ages 2 years and up extending their stay in Puerto Rico post-cruise must quarantine for up to 7 days. If a guest’s flight departs prior to the completion of the 7 days, they must remain in the hotel and may only leave to proceed directly to the airport on the day of your flight.

Vaccine and Testing protocols for cruises from Bridgetown, Barbados

• Due to the requirements of destinations on our Barbados itineraries, Royal Caribbean can only accept vaccines that are authorized by the World Health Organization (WHO).
• Guests under the age of 12 years, who are considered fully vaccinated, should follow the guidance for vaccinated guests below. Children with one dose of a vaccine do not count as fully vaccinated for the purpose of our sailing. The only mixed MRNA vaccines accepted are combinations of Pfizer and Moderna.
• Entry to Barbados: Guests must follow Barbados’ COVID-19 Travel Guidelines. All guests 5 years and older — regardless of vaccination status — must present a negative PCR test result taken no more than 3 days prior to arriving in Barbados. 
• Pre-cruise: All unvaccinated guests 2 - 11 years old must present a negative PCR test result no more than 3 days prior to sailing.
• Embarkation Day: All guests 2 years and older — regardless of vaccination status — are required to take a complimentary embarkation day antigen test and receive a negative test result. Registration details will be sent via email in advance for the antigen test at the terminal.
• No testing required for guests under age 2.
• Prior to disembarking: Guests 2 years and older will be provided with a complimentary antigen test to re-enter Barbados.
• For re-entry into a guest’s home country, proof of a negative COVID-19 test may be required. More details will be provided once onboard.

Bracelets

Royal Caribbean informed travel agents that they will no longer be using bracelets to identify vaccinated guests.

Under the CDC guideline for Highly Vaccinated sailings, with at least 95% of guests fully vaccinated, the ships are considered a vaccinated community, so identification via bracelets is not required.

What is the best way to stay connected with family and friends while onboard a cruise ship?

A lot of people that are about to go on a cruise want to know the best way to stay in touch with those on the same ship as them.  

Often, the question goes something like this, "I am cruising with several groups of people. How do you recommend we stay connected on the ship?"

Royal Caribbean cruise ships range in a guest capacity of about 2,000 to 6,500, so finding one person onboard is not always a simple task.  

Here are some common and useful ways of doing being able to easy contact someone, with each method coming with pros and cons. 

Royal Caribbean's phones

Utilizing Royal Caribbean's in-room phones and phones in common areas is a simple way to communicate with guests onboard your ship and onshore.

If you are trying to reach a guest onboard the ship, you can make a call to their stateroom and optionally leave a message.  Use of the phones for calls to a guest's stateroom is complimentary.  Of course, it requires the guest to be in the room to answer the call and/or check the voicemail.  This can result in "phone tag," where it seems like you are always missing each other.

The best part of relying on the cruise ship phones to reach someone else onboard is it's totally free.

If you want to get in contact with someone on land, there are two options.

Calls made from land to your Royal Caribbean cruise (shore to ship) can be achieved by calling (888) 724-7447/(321) 953-9003 to reach passengers.  The cost of this service is $7.95 per minute, and is chargeable to a Visa or MasterCard credit card.

Calls made from your Royal Caribbean ship to somewhere on land (ship to shore) can be made from your stateroom phone and also costs $7.95 per minute, billed to your SeaPass account.

Using your cell phone

Almost everyone has a cell phone with them and your cell phone will function while on a cruise, although the cost of doing so will vary greatly.

You could use your phone like normal and place calls and text messages by connecting to the cell provider on the Royal Caribbean ship, but this comes with a heft roaming cost. Usually, calls cost $6-8 per minute depending on your carrier.

Using your cell phone's data plan can be prohibitively expensive, with costs of $1 per MB or more.  You are better off skipping this option and looking at Voom options (scroll down to see more about this).

I don't recommend this option at all because of the crazy high prices carriers charge for roaming. I mention it purely because it exists, and some people have work phones that don't care about running up a bill.

Ship internet

The best option for most people is to purchase a Royal Caribbean Voom internet package.

There are two Voom plans offered: Voom Surf or Voom Surf + Stream

• Voom Surf
  • This offers basic web browsing, with no streaming services allowed
  • Starts at $17.99 per day for 1 device
    • The price gets cheaper as more devices are added to the plan
    • Most guests can get a 20% pre-cruise discount via the Cruise Planner site
    • There is also a Crown & Anchor Society discount once onboard
• Voom Surf + Stream
  • Full internet access, including streaming services
  • Starts at $22.99 per day for 1 device
    • The price gets cheaper as more devices are added to the plan
    • Most guests can get a 20% pre-cruise discount via the Cruise Planner site
    • There is also a Crown & Anchor Society discount once onboard
• 24 hour single day pass: $25.99 for surf or $32.99 for Surf + Stream

Once connected to the ship's internet, you can leverage any number of messaging apps to communicate with someone else onboard, or even at home.

These apps are usually free to use for voice and texting. Popular options include:

• Facebook Messenger
• WhatsApp
• Skype
• GroupMe

Of course, for this option to work, everyone who you need to stay in contact with needs to purchase a Voom package and have their phone or tablet with them.

Buying everyone an internet package is still cheaper than the roaming charges you would incur using your cell carrier, and more than likely there's a common (and free) app you can all agree to use.

WiFi calling

If you get an internet package, another option is WiFi calling through your carrier.

Most major cell phone carriers these days provide a means of making phone calls via an internet connection instead of relying on a cell phone connection. 

WiFi calling has no additional cost and works just like you are at home and supports voice calls, text messaging (SMS and MMS).  It works with most newer devices, including iPhone 5C and later, Android and Blackberry devices.  Check with your carrier for exact devices that are supported.

At last check, these carriers supported WiFi calling

• Verizon
• AT&T
• T-Mobile
• Sprint
• GoogleFi
• Cricket

To make a phone call over WiFi, put your device into airplane mode and connect to Voom via WiFi.  

If set up correctly on your phone, your calls, texts will be routed through Voom.

Royal Caribbean App

Royal Caribbean's app has a text feature that offers one-to-one guest chat, along with group chats.

Once onboard the ship and logged onto Royal Caribbean's Wi-Fi  network (no internet package required to use the app), other guests will show up as offline or online but are only online if they have the app opened and to the “chat” window.

There is no cost to use Royal Caribbean's app (this changed in 2023, as there used to be a charge).

If there's a downfall of the app, it's the lack of notifications. Many cruisers report they do not get notified of a new message unless they open the Royal Caribbean app to check.

Read more: Royal Caribbean's onboard messaging system is now free: Here's how it works

Your Thoughts

Which means of communicating with friends and family on your ship and at sea do you find to be the best option? Did we miss one you know about? Share your comments and suggestions in the comments!

The biggest cruise ship in the world made a pit stop today in The Bahamas.

Wonder of the Seas is Royal Caribbean's fifth Oasis Class cruise ship and it visited the cruise line's private island of Perfect Day at CocoCay on Thursday.

Freedom of the Seas was already at the island for the day, leaving passengers with the first opportunity for the public to see this new ship up close.

RoyalCaribbeanBlog readers Jeanne Fulton, Robert Jaworski and Tracy Tompkins sent in photos of the ship's arrival.

The 5,734-passenger Wonder of the Seas is wrapping up final preparations for her first sailing, which begins next week.

Wonder of the Seas will begin with 7-night Caribbean cruises from Fort Lauderdale in March and April before offering a transatlantic sailing to switch to Mediterranean cruises from Barcelona and Rome (Civitavecchia) beginning in May 2022.

The shop has 8 neighborhoods, as well as other new features such as the Wonder Playscape outdoor interactive play area, Mason Jar Southern-themed restaurant, and The Vue seaside bar.

Like other Oasis Class ships, Wonder of the Seas will also feature favorites such as the Ultimate Abyss slide, FlowRider surfing simulator, and Central Park neighborhood.

Something else that separates Wonder from her Oasis Class sisters is the addition of the Suite Neighborhood, which has an expansive area for suite guests that includes an exclusive sun deck, plunge pool, bar, Coastal Kitchen restaurant and private lounge.

In case you're wondering, Wonder of the Seas is about 8,000 tons larger than Symphony of the Seas, which makes her slightly larger.

Live Wonder of the Seas coverage

RoyalCaribbeanBlog will be be onboard the first sailing of Wonder of the Seas to provide you with a first look at what the largest cruise ship in the world has to offer.

The coverage begins on March 4 for an Eastern Caribbean sailing that visits Labadee, San Juan, Nassau, and Perfect Day at CocoCay.

Royal Caribbean is returning to Latin America with cruises from Panama in the 2023-2024 season.

At a press conference on Wednesday, the cruise line announced three new itineraries will depart from the cities of Colon, Panama City, and Cartagena, Columbia.

This will mark Royal Caribbean's return to the region for he first time in nine years.

The first season of Rhapsody of the Seas will begin in December 2023 from these three cities and offer seven-night itineraries through the Caribbean and Latin America, including the famous Panama Canal.

The entire season will be divided into two phases; a first that will be roundtrip from Colón, Panama with select departures from Cartagena, Colombia, which visit the islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao.

A second phase will begin in February 2024, with an itinerary between Colón and the new base port in Fuerte Amador, Panama City, which will sail through the Panama Canal in eight sailings, calling at Cartagena, Colombia, Puntarenas, Costa Rica and the new port for the Quepos company, in Costa Rica.

Royal Caribbean believes these new itineraries combine the international cuisine, entertainment and nightlife on a single cruise that does not require a travel visa.

These new adventures can be purchased at the end of March this year 

Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley shared the exciting news on Facebook, "I am very excited to announce that starting in 2023, Panama is your newest jumping-off point for the captivating shores of the Southern Caribbean onboard Rhapsody of the Seas."

About Rhapsody of the Seas

Rhapsody of the Seas is a Vision Class cruise ship that has a total capacity of 2,416 passengers.

It's features include the Viking Crown Lounge, Casino Royale, Vitality Spa & Fitness Center, a sports deck with a rock-climbing wall, a video game room, as well as a great sushi in Izumi and a Schooner Bar. 

Rhapsody is no stranger to exotic itineraries. In November 2022, she will sailing from Bridgetown, Barbados.

Royal Caribbean will give anyone with a June 2022 cruise more time to make final payment.

In a webinar with travel agents, Royal Caribbean's Senior Vice President, Sales, Trade Support and Service, Vicki Freed, told travel agents final payment is extended to 60 days-to-sailing for June 2022 departures.

Unlike other times Royal Caribbean has pushed back final payment date, this is pushed back to 60 days. Previously, they pushed it back to 30 days.

Prior to this change, the final payment had only been pushed back for cruises through May 31, 2022.

The benefit to guests is it gives guests more flexibility in deciding if they want to cruise without forcing a cancellation earlier.

The final payment date window of 75 days for cruises 1-4 nights and 90 days for cruises 5+ night remains for sailings beyond June 2022.

No action is required on the part of guests or travel agents, and no cancellations will occur until the new final payment date.

By cancelling a cruise before the final payment date, they can get a full cash refund, if they booked refundable cruise fare.

Royal Caribbean had already announced an extension of its Cruise with Confidence program for bookings made by January 31, 2022.

The Cruise with Confidence program allows anyone with a cruise booked the ability to cancel up to 48 hours before the sail date and get the full value in a Future Cruise Credit that’s good to redeem until May 31, 2022. 

Between the Cruise with Confidence program and final payment extension, Royal Caribbean is looking to give consumers more time to decide if they want to move forward with their cruise.

Planning a cruise? Here's some helpful articles:

• 2022 Royal Caribbean Cruise Planning Guide
• Guide to cruising with kids on Royal Caribbean
• Answers to common Royal Caribbean unlimited alcohol package questions
• Guide to Royal Caribbean's onboard activities
• How to find a deal on a Royal Caribbean cruise

Beginning February 25, Royal Caribbean will make masks optional for fully vaccinated passengers.

The cruise line announced last week it would make the change as a result of opting into the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) highly vaccinated program, which requires 95% passengers to be vaccinated.

While the vaccine requirement is now at a higher threshold than it was previously, it does allow Royal Caribbean to make face masks optional for fully vaccinated passengers.

Masks had been a cornerstone of Royal Caribbean's health protocols since cruises began sailing from the United States in July 2021. Spikes in Covid cases due to the Delta and Omicron variants forced Royal Caribbean to keep, and even tighten mask wearing, since that time.

Royal Caribbean had already rolled back its mask wearing rules to pre-Omicron as of February 15, 2022.  This new change on February 25th will make them mostly optional.

Mask rules for U.S. sailings

So where and when will masks still be required? And when can you take it off?

Royal Caribbean has released the new mask requirements for sailings departing the U.S. and Puerto Rico on or after February 25, 2022.

Ninety-five percent of guests must be fully vaccinated, excluding children under five years who are not eligible for the vaccine. 

Unvaccinated children to continue wearing masks indoors and in crowded settings. Masks are required for all children while at the Adventure Ocean youth program. Guests under 2 do not have to wear a mask at any time.

Masks should also be worn at the cruise terminal during the boarding and screening process, as well as during disembarkation. 

Masks are optional at Perfect Day at CocoCay and Labadee.

The new rules are listed on Royal Caribbean's website.

Europe

At this time, Royal Caribbean has not yet determined its Covid-19 protocols for cruises in 2022 from Europe.

Royal Caribbean will convey those protocols at a later date.

Matching other cruise line policies

Royal Caribbean is not the only cruise line dropping mask rules.

Each of the major cruise lines has announced similar policies, including Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Line. Both of these lines have either already stopped requiring that facial coverings be worn in most indoor settings or will do so beginning next month.

Virgin Voyages also announced it will drop its mask requirement.

Disney Cruise Line and MSC Cruises have not yet announced changes to their face mask policies, although Disney's theme parks made masks optional there.

Cruise fan reaction

Having to wear masks on cruise ships has been a hot button topic for cruise fans, and the general public. The 

Few health protocols have been as contentious as having to wear a mask on a ship.

On the Royal Caribbean Blog Facebook page, there were quite a lot of comments regarding Royal Caribbean's decision to drop masks in exchange for requiring 95% of passengers be vaccinated.

Christie Smith wrote, "I really like this. It's a good step in the right direction."

Lindsay Murphy is waiting for more protocols to erode, "Maybe someday I'll cruise again, but to me it's just not worth it, vaccinated or not. I'll wait my turn."

There's new cruises you can book from cities in the northeast United States.

Royal Caribbean released for booking its northeast 2023-2024 deployments from cities such as Bayonne (New York City) and Baltimore.

Five cruise ships will offer cruises from New York and Baltimore to destinations around the Caribbean, Bahamas, Canada and beyond.

The array of new sailings include 4 to 11 night cruises to destinations in Bermuda, Perfect Day at CocoCay, and New England.

Bayonne/New York City

Four ships will offer cruises from Cape Liberty in Bayonne, New Jersey between 2023-2024.

Liberty of the Seas will offer 4-, 5- and 9-night cruises to Canada, Bermuda and the Bahamas.

Anthem of the Seas will sail a 6-11 night cruises to the Caribbean and Bahamas in the winter of 2023-2024, before sailing a transatlantic to Southampton in May 2023.

Oasis of the Seas will return to the New York City area in summer 2023 to offer cruises to Canada, the Bahamas, and Caribbean.

If you want something more exotic, Jewel of the Seas will sail from Cape Liberty in the fall of 2023 and offer 10- and 11-night open-jaw sailings between Cape Liberty and Quebec.

Something truly out there is Jewel's single voyage roundtrip from Cape Liberty to Greenland.  It's a 14-night cruise that visits Nuluk and Qaqortoq in Greenland, before stopping in Newfoundland, Canada on its way back.

Baltimore

Vision of the Seas will replace Enchantment of the Seas from Baltimore in 2023.

Guests can book a variety of cruises from Baltimore on Vision of the Seas, including cruises that visit Bermuda, Perfect Day at CocoCay, southeastern United States, and the Southern Caribbean.

More deployments to come

Royal Caribbean has more 2023-2024 cruises to announce in the coming weeks.

The current deployment schedule is as follows:

• Week of February 28: Long Caribbean 
• Week of March 7: Short Caribbean
• Week of March 14: Los Angeles
• Week of March 28: Barbados & Panama
• Week of April 4: Australia
• Week of April 11: China
• Week of April 18: 7-night Caribbean
• Week of June 6: Singapore

Keep in mind that the deployment schedule is subject to change.

Planning on booking a 2023 cruise? These stories will help:

• 5 things to look for before you book a cruise
• What is the cheapest month to go on a cruise?
• Should I take a short or a long cruise?
• Why you shouldn't book the cheapest cruise you can find
• Why you should take a cruise to Bermuda

The newest and biggest cruise ship in the world has arrived in the U.S. to begin offering cruises from her new home.

Royal Caribbean's Wonder of the Seas arrived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Sunday night.

With less than two weeks until her first sailing, Wonder of the Seas will debut with cruises from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in March and April.

Port Everglades welcomed the massive new cruise ship as she pulled into port on Sunday.

The new ship arrived in the evening, with her first sailings beginning March 4, 2022.

Wonder of the Seas measures 1,188 feet and has a gross tonnage of 236,857.  At double occupancy, she can handle 5,734 passengers along with 2,300 crew members.

Royal Caribbean released new photos of the ship, taken from the air to show off the splendor of this new ship.

Entertainment on Wonder of the Seas

Royal Caribbean revealed which shows passengers can look forward to seeing on Wonder of the Seas.

Three premier production shows have been announced, with a fourth show to debut later this year.

While Wonder of the Seas does not have a Broadway show like other Oasis Class ships, she does have a number of original performances.

Here's a look at each of the shows announced for Wonder of the Seas.

inTENse

Set in the Aquatheater, inTENse features an all-female cast performing aerial and diving acrobatics.

In this new show, expect diving, slacklining feats, tumbling, aerial acrobatics and more, punctuated by inspiring lighting and sound.

365: The Seasons on Ice

The ice skating show in Studio B will tell the story of the earth’s changing seasons.

"Performers will embody the flow of time as their characters and their every move are accentuated by innovative projection mapping, colorful lighting and images, and sound, which transform the venue from one season to the next."

Voices: An Intimate Performance on a Grand Scale

In the Royal Theater, you will find a new type of show for Royal Caribbean that focuses on the power of live performances.

The Royal Theater’s bespoke show, featuring a wondrous medley of music, singing and dancing, will underscore the unifying power of performance art.

Effectors II: Crash ‘n’ Burn

Coming later in 2022, Royal Caribbean will deliver the sequel to its super hero inspired musical, Effectors II: Crash ‘n’ Burn.

Effectors first debuted on Spectrum of the Seas & Odyssey of the Seas, and is about a group of superheroes with awesome abilities based entirely on creativity. 

Royal Caribbean says the latest installment of The Effectors is, "bigger and bolder, featuring trailblazing applications of autonomous technology pioneered by Royal Caribbean."

Live music

In addition to the production shows, Wonder of the Seas will offer a variety of live music around the ship.

• Live country music at The Mason Jar Southern Restaurant & Bar
• Live Caribbean music and DJs poolside at The Lime & Coconut
• Music Hall offers live performances every night with a tribute band, jazz ensemble, or Royal Caribbean house band.
• The Stowaway Piano roving pianoplayer plays their own twist on classic tunes wherever the piano can roll.
• Boleros features a six-piece band playing salsa, cumbia, merengue, samba and more.
• The English pub, Cask & Clipper, serves acoustic performances every night.
• Piano performers in the signature Schooner Bar.

Ready to sail in 2022

Her inaugural sailing will take place on March 4, 2022 from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  She will sail to the Caribbean from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale between March and April 2022. The 7-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries include visits to Perfect Day at CocoCay and Nassau, The Bahamas; Roatan, Honduras; and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Starting in May, Wonder heads to Europe to offer 7-night Western Mediterranean cruises will visit ports such as Naples and Florence, Italy; Palma de Mallorca, Spain; and Provence, France.

After her summer season, Wonder returns to Florida to offer year-round sailings in November 2022, when she sails from Port Canaveral. Destinations range from Perfect Day at CocoCay and Philipsburg, St. Maarten, to Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; and Cozumel, Mexico.

The last day of our cruise visits Nassau, Bahamas.

We did not have any plans to do anything onshore for this visit, although I left the possibility open to maybe walk off for a beer later.

Since we had no plans, we slept in a bit and woke up to a cloudy and windy day.  Independence docked earlier in the morning, and I noticed we were docked at what I believe is one of the new piers they built.

We were further down into Nassau Harbor, with Celebrity Apex docked behind us.

After getting breakfast, we went up to the sports deck. Originally I was going to take the kids to do the SkyPad again, but it wasn't open until 1pm. 

Instead, we saw the pickleball court was set up and took the kids to try it out.

Pickleball is essentially tennis with a whiffle ball and hard racquets. It was a lot of fun, although the wind made the game very difficult to keep the ball in play.  My lower back did not agree with it either, but I still enjoyed it.

A friend signed up for the ping pong tournament they held aboard the ship, and about a half dozen people participated. He came in second place at the end of the competition.

Lunch brought us back to Playmakers.

Unfortunately, they seemed to be a bit short staffed and our waiter told us the kitchen is a bit overwhelmed.  We told him to bring out whatever he had, when he had it.

The meal took longer than I planned, but Playmakers is usually slow to begin with.

After lunch the kids wanted to try the family scavenger hunt.  They had 15 minutes to answer a bunch of questions and take photos of various things around the ship.

They didn't win, but they liked being able to run around the ship for a few minutes and play.

We had planned to go see Grease, but opted instead to take a break and let everyone relax. Sometimes a lot of vacation fun needs a reset to keep everyone even-keeled.

Dinner tonight brought us to Chops Grille.

After dinner, we played a bit in the casino and then had some drinks at Playmakers to round out our evening.

Overall, it was a fun weekend on Independence and it gave us exactly what we wanted: a weekend getaway to CocoCay.

Thanks for following this live blog. Our next live blog is in less than two weeks when I check out the brand new Wonder of the Seas!

Stray observations

For the departure options after the cruise is over, there are segmented self-assist times.

I had never seen this before, but essentially instead of a luggage tag number, people who want to walk off the ship on their own have assigned times.

I suspect this is because on a 3-night cruise there will be a lot of people looking to do self-assist and they want to prevent a mass of humanity trying to get off the ship at the same time.

I found a tribute to travel writer John Honeywell, better known as Captain Greybeard, on the sunning deck above the Sky Bar.