After a Royal Caribbean ship returned to Singapore on Monday, a passenger was found dead in their cruise ship cabin.

According to a report in The Straits Times, police were called at 6:35am because a 27-year-old man died while in his stateroom.

The incident occurred on Ovation of the Seas, which had returned to the Marina Bay Cruise Centre in Singapore.

Police said the man was found motionless on the ship and pronounced dead by the ship's doctor. Every cruise ship in Royal Caribbean's fleet has a medical center, including a doctor.  The medical staff can handle minor issues and will otherwise triage issues until the passenger can be safely transported off the ship to a facility on land.

An investigation has begun, but police do not suspect foul play based on preliminary findings.

No word yet on who the man is, and whether he is from Singapore or another country.

Royal Caribbean has made no official announcement regarding the incident.

Announcement made on the ship

Ovation of the Seas had just returned from a 3-night cruise to Penang.  The sailing began on January 16th.

According to a different report by Mothership.sg, a passenger claims the crew made an announcement over the ship's public address system at around 5:45am.

The passenger said there was a code, followed by a stateroom number.

Cruise ships use special codes to quickly alert crew members to a developing situation.  Rather than try to explain what's happening over the PA system, a special code is used to quickly and easily convey information.

Crew members come from all parts of the world, so it's easier to have a code than speak sentences.

Plus, the codes reduce confusion among guests who don't necessarily need to know about certain events.

Each code relies on a Greek letter, followed by the location.

Medical emergencies are called out by saying the letter "Alpha" three times.

Delayed disembarkation

The incident delayed the ship from being allowed to drop off passengers or allow new ones on.

Royal Caribbean Blog reader Robert Jaworski shared a report, "Ship docked as scheduled at 7.00am but as of 10.00am no passengers have been allowed to disembark. Singapore authorities have not cleared the ship."

He then said he heard two, "alpha, alpha, alpha" calls, "one at 4am ish and another at 5.30am ish. Guests in groups of five being called to guest services since 8.00am ish."

Ovation of the Seas is scheduled to depart today for another three-night cruise to Penang.

Hope you had a great week and are staying safe out there. Hopefully you had a chance to keep up with what's new with Royal Caribbean this week. But if not, here's a roundup of this week's news.

Royal Caribbean has cancelled all of its Labadee visits for 2026.

Visits had been suspended through April, but the cruise line made the decision this week to cancel the rest of the scheduled visits through the end of December.

Gang violence has not gotten any better, and concern for safety prompted the change.

Royal Caribbean News

• Royal Beach Club Paradise Island review
• A new proposal could solve the Tampa cruise problems limiting ship size
• 7 takeaways from Royal Caribbean's Points Choice reveal to expand loyalty
• Inside the $10,000 Ultimate Family Cabana
• I took 4 friends on a Royal Caribbean cruise. It was actually a great guys' trip for men our age.
• Do you need a passport for an Alaskan cruise?
• What a Junior Suite on the newest cruise ship is like
• The Bahamas wants to build a new cruise port on a tiny, hidden island
• The "super flu" ruined one family's cruise vacation after everyone got sick
• 9 things new cruisers wish they knew before their first Royal Caribbean cruise

New RCB Video: Royal Beach Club Review: Best excursion ever?

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 — Royal Beach Club Review: Best excursion ever? — and don’t forget to subscribe here.

Royal Caribbean Group launches Points Choice

It's about to become easier to cruise across any of the Royal Caribbean Group brand with the launch of Points Choice.

Beginning at the end of this month, you can earn loyalty points when cruising on any cruise line within the Royal Caribbean Group family.

Points can be moved up to 14 days after a sailing, with changes managed online.

Royal Beach Club updated the menu to offer more food and healthier choices

Less than a month after opening, Royal Caribbean revamped its food menu at the Royal Beach Club so that it can offer more options.

Citing guest feedback, the menu received an update this weekend to add fresher and lighter array of choices.

Plus, other menu items were reworked to rely less on fried food.

Royal Caribbean reversed an unpopular change to its specialty restaurant

Grilled vegetables are back on the menu at Izumi hibachi once again, following controversy that it was removed.

The menu was updated recently to remove grilled vegetables from the included food choices. Instead, it would cost $5 to add it.

Royal Caribbean has now rolled it back to include them as part of the hibachi meal.

Passenger misses ship after going to the wrong port

A cruise ship passenger got confused and went to the wrong Florida homeport and missed their cruise completely.

The confusion stemmed from where "Port Everglades" is versus "Port Canaveral".

Furthermore, their appeal to join the ship in The Bahamas was denied.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 592nd episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, breaking down potentially big cruise ship news.

If the rumor mill is right, Royal Caribbean could be on the brink of revealing they're working on two different new ship classes at the same time.

Please feel free to subscribe via YouTube, iTunes or RSS, and head over to rate and review the podcast on iTunes if you can! We’d appreciate it.

One of the best changes for cruisers happened this week when Royal Caribbean Group announced it would make it easier to earn loyalty points, but there is a lot to digest in this big announcement.

The idea is simple enough: go on any of the three brands and earn points for your preferred loyalty program.

But questions remain and there are a lot of bullet points to cover with this new change.  

The good news is cruisers seem near unanimous in their admiration for Points Choice because it gives them something more than they had prior to this change. After all, who doesn't want another excuse to cruise more?

In digging through all of the Points Choice details, here are some takeaways you should know before the program begins on January 30th.

You have to act quickly to make the conversion

Probably the biggest surprise to me was you have to actively request the points to be converted for each sailing.

I assumed you'd select which loyalty program you prefer and then any subsequent cruises you took would have the points switch over. Just shows how bad I am at predicting anything.

Nonetheless, you'll need to make the request quickly after you get home.  Point conversions need to be made within 14 days of the conclusion of your cruise.

Concierge and Aqua class will transfer as 2 Crown and Anchor points

The first thing the Internet noticed was how lucrative it is to sail on Celebrity Cruises in Concierge or Aqua Class and convert those points over to Crown and Anchor Society.

Concierge and Aqua Class will transfer as two Crown and Anchor points per night, which is the same amount of points you'd get for being in a suite on Royal Caribbean.

While those two classes sound fancy, it's basically a balcony cabin with a few added perks.  And in practice, they're often priced lower than a standard veranda category room on Celebrity or a Junior Suite on Royal Caribbean.

If you're going to leverage Points Choice to chase a higher Crown & Anchor level, sailing Celebrity in one of these types of rooms might be a smart strategy.

You can choose to convert points (or not)

Depending on your points strategy, you don't have to convert your points over.

You'll need to request the points be converted after each sailing, instead of it being an automatic function.

This may be of use to someone who strategically wants to move points, but not for every sailing. Frankly, I don't know why, but it's possible!

You can't convert points from past cruises

Unfortunately, you won't be able to get any points from past cruises on other lines.

The new program takes effect on January 30 and applies to any cruises from that point forward.

I can't say I'm terribly surprised by this policy, but I suppose it makes sense that the company wants to encourage new bookings with Points Choice.

When they announced it last year, it was within the context of promoting customer loyalty and boosting cruise bookings from loyal guests.

Point exchange rates will be updated each year

Each cruise line has its own point conversion chart, and they'll be updated annually.

How much you earn from a particular cabin and then convert it could change down the line, which means a strategy you carve out today may need to be altered later.

It doesn't apply to casino programs

If you were curious if your Casino Royale status might get a boost too, the answer is no.

Points Choice only applies to the Royal Caribbean Crown & Anchor program, the Celebrity’s Captain’s Club program
and Silversea Venetian Society program.

There's no equivalent Points Choice option for casino players to go on a Celebrity Cruise and play in their lovely non-smoking casinos and then convert the points back to Casino Royale.

Move over Carnival, this is how you manage loyalty

Points Choice is not just a win for Royal Caribbean fans, it's also a boost at time when rival Carnival went in the opposite direction.

Carnival Cruise Line announced last year sweeping changes that stripped away loyalty benefits and made it more difficult to keep status.

Since then, Royal Caribbean Group leadership has repeatedly talked about how they value the business from their repeat cruise customers and avoid changes that remotely resemble what Carnival did.

Now that we see the full details behind Points Choice, it's a clear winner for loyalists that prefer Royal Caribbean Group brand ships.  It enables more cruising without losing your pace of progress towards a higher tier.

If this sounds like a fan boy response, it is, but it's also the reality of how one company is doing more for its customers when another is trying to reduce incentives.

Listening to feedback, Royal Caribbean has made changes to its Royal Beach Club menu.

The Royal Beach Club Paradise Island opened in late December 2025, and the cruise line has canvased every guest since then to gather comments about what they like and didn't like about the experience.

This is a new shore excursion that Royal Caribbean built exclusively for its customers in the heart of Nassau, Bahamas.

Linken D'Souza, Royal Caribbean Senior Vice President Food & Beverage, talked to Royal Caribbean Blog exclusively about the new changes that have been implemented as of today.

His goal with the menu update is to provide a fresher and lighter array of choices. Just like any cruise ship, finding the right blend of food is critical.

More variety

All of the food is included with entry to the Royal Beach Club, which serves lunch for most of the day.

There are multiple Paradise Grill locations through the Royal Beach Club, but they all serve the same food so you don't have trek around the island to find one specific item.  All of the food is unlimited, you simply have to go to the counter and get something else.

One of the opportunities the cruise line saw to improve the experience was to add more choices to the menu and rework a few items.

In discussing the changes to the updated menu, Mr. D'Souza said they wanted to offer less fried food, while adding more variety and choice.

Gluten-free buns are available upon request.

The old menu

The new menu goes into effect today, and there's more variety and healthier choices too.

Compared to the old menu, it's gone from 18 to 33 items. The goal is to broaden up the choices, with simple fixed too. There's now a classic burger, as well as a kids menu.

The salads changed from fried chicken to grilled chicken breast, and there's now a Caesar salad option too.

Mr. D'Souza's team will begin collecting guest feedback again this weekend, which should get quite a test on Saturday when three Royal Caribbean ships are scheduled to visit Nassau.

In addition to the new menu, you'll also see new dessert options.

He thinks the desserts have been well-received so far (especially the pineapple ice cream), but they added new ice cream flavors and desserts to the desserts station.

There are gluten free options too

One early area of confusion surrounded gluten free choices.

Royal Caribbean has always offered a great array of gluten free food options on it ships. Handling allergies and special dietary needs has been something the line excels at.

Mr. D'Souza says there are gluten free options at the Royal Beach Club, thanks to a special bread they have for it.

My understanding is the gluten free bread can be substituted to replace anything on the menu that has bread in it.

Moreover, the QR code with allergies has also been updated to reflect all of the dietary information to share with guests.

A new kind of excursion experience

Having visited the Royal Beach Club, it's clear that Royal Caribbean built something that stands out from the rest with just about everything you'd want in a beach day.

Located a short 5 minute water taxi ride away from where the cruise ships dock, Royal Beach Club is split into three zones that offer a different ambiance.

Chill Beach is your traditional feet in the sand (or pool) tropical paradise. 

Access to blue turquoise ocean, a swim-up bar with views of the ocean, and powder white sand. It's practically a postcard backdrop.

Next to it is Party Cove, which has a giant structure meant to bring DJ music to everyone within earshot.  You can party in the pool, at your chairs, or opt to rent a party deck area for your VIP experience.

This is where you'll find the energy of the club, and it's for anyone that revels in music being a part of the pool party.

Lastly, there's family beach.  There's a large zero-entry pool with geysers to make it appealing to young children and their parents.  

Along with a giant swim-up bar, there's also a much larger beach that seemingly goes on forever. Plenty of space to spread out.

Admission is required to access the Royal Beach Club, which includes unlimited food, drinks, Wi-Fi, seating, and transportation back and forth to your ship.

The cost depends on your sail date, but prices range between $100 - $160 per person when purchased before the cruise begins. The onboard price if you wait is $250 per person.

I think a cruise is better when you go with friends, so the opportunity for a "guys cruise" sounded like the perfect trip.

As my kids have grown up, I've made friends with other dads from their friend group. Any parent knows you're thrown into meeting the parents of your children's friends, but their parents aren't necessarily going to be your friends.

In my case, I'm lucky a few of these parents became my own friends.  One of them, Kenny, thought it would be fun to go on a weekend cruise together.

We chose Royal Caribbean's Utopia of the Seas because it was convenient to where we live in Orlando. Plus, it was over a weekend and that limited time away from home. I also had another reason for wanting to visit: the new Royal Beach Club would be fully open and I wanted to check it out.

So Kenny, Jason, Chris, and Craig all packed our bags and went onboard for what turned out to be a great getaway weekend.

A party ship even if we aren't the target crowd

Ever since Utopia of the Seas launched, it has been set as the weekend party ship as a way to attract new cruisers. While it has plenty of parties, we took it all in stride.

No matter which ship you go on, all of the activities are there for you to try and there's no obligation you have to do any of it.  This is what I really like about a cruise vacation.  You can choose to do all of it or none of it.

In our case, we participated in select activities that were of interest to us.

We were at the Mason Jar bar every night for the music up there, and participated in the Crazy Quest show too.

But we skipped the sailaway party and Rezolutions DJ party because they were a bit too loud for our taste.

Instead, we found lounges and bars to head to and spend our time together that way.

In fact, we tended to gravitate towards the casino for entertainment.

Royal Caribbean expanded the casino space on Utopia by replacing the comedy club and loyalty lounge with a non-smoking casino.  This was a welcome change from the traditional cruise ship casino that still smelled like smoke because it shared the space.

We also tried out the Price is Right game show onboard, in which I won $50 for coming in the top 10 of scores!

I won't pretend any of us were the party crowd that perhaps Utopia of the Seas caters to, but we liked having so many choices of what to do onboard.

All of the food became one of the best reasons to cruise together

Very quickly into the cruise, the food choices became a major focal point.

Royal Caribbean offers so much wonderful food choices on its ships, and I think while we may have skipped over parties, we never skipped a chance to nosh.

As soon as we stepped aboard, the Windjammer buffet had an entire seafood buffet that my friends relished.

Newer Royal Caribbean ships offer a seafood bounty on embarkation day in the Windjammer. As of the posting of this article, I believe it's just on Utopia, Icon, and Star of the Seas.

We planned to go to the Main Dining Room for dinners each night, so we spoke to the head waiter on embarkation day to get us a table together.

Sure enough, we had a large table to ourselves and the wait staff were fantastic.

We were wiped out from fun ashore on the second day, so we ended up having dinner in the Windjammer.  However, I really wanted the French Onion Soup from the Main Dining Room. So I went alone just to get soup and the waiters were happy to oblige!

For our final dinner onboard, we decided to try Hooked and the amount of food ordered was a bit embarrassing.  Don't worry, between all of us we managed to eat almost all of it.

We booked the cruise for the fun we anticipated, but stayed for all of the food.  A bit gluttonous, but the food is part of why I love to cruise.

Our visit to the Royal Beach Club was the perfect "guys day"

One reason we leaned towards this particular Utopia of the Seas sailing was it aligned perfectly with the opening of the new Royal Beach Club.

Royal Caribbean built this new kind of shore excursion as a way to offer its guests an elevated day ashore.

So what started out as a "research trip" for me, ended up becoming the perfect backdrop for my friends.

As dads, when we do almost any excursion with our kids, there's inevitably a lot of taking care of the family needs.  But since it was just us, we got to ease into a day of taking it easy in the pool.

We basically spent our day in the heated pool at Chill Beach, which meant we hung out and talked while occasionally going to the swim-up bar, enjoying the view, or sneaking in a nap.

There's no question that Royal Beach Club is a great choice for families (I'm taking mine there in the spring), but I think our day here was the best group activity we did over the weekend.

The trip felt completely different from our other adventures

Family vacations will always be the primary trip we all take, but it was nice to change things up with a friends cruise.

The cruise showed me how much we limit ourselves by only considering cruise ships for family vacations. Not every guys' trip has to look like a scene from "The Hangover".

Unlike going to a bar at home, we had more choices in what we did and none of the risks associated with having to drive after. 

Being in our 40's, we were never interested in a wild spring break kind of trip. Rather, it was the perfect excuse to get away for a few days.

Royal Caribbean is about to make it even easier to earn loyalty points while cruising on any of its brands of cruise ships.

Beginning January 30, the new Points Choice program will allow cruisers to earn loyalty points when cruising on any cruise line within the Royal Caribbean Group family.

This means you can take a Celebrity Cruise, but earn points in Crown and Anchor Society.

It's a major upgrade for cruisers because it makes it easier to expand your choices in where and how you cruise while still attaining status and climbing the loyalty ladder.

For the cruise company, the goal is to create a more flexible loyalty ecosystem across Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea.

Here’s a full breakdown of what Points Choice is, how it works, and when it starts.

Points Choice provides more choice and more value

Beginning January 30, Points Choice will allow cruisers to sail on Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, or Silversea and earn points back to the preferred loyalty program of their choice.

It will be available on sailings departing on or after January 30, 2026.

The program was initially announced in October 2025 when Royal Caribbean Group CEO Jason Liberty revealed plans for the program.

"Points Choice is designed with our guests at the center," Mr. Liberty said in a statement today.

"Points Choice gives every guest the power to direct their loyalty points within our family of brands where they will have the biggest impact for them"

With Points Choice, you can now earn points from the Royal Caribbean Group cruise brand of your choice, with the amount of points you earn from a cruise depending on:

• Cruise line
• Number of nights sailed
• Stateroom category

After your sailing completes, you have up to 2 weeks to complete an online form to request the points be transferred.

Up until now, you could only earn loyalty points under the program of the cruise line you sailed on.  Going forward, you'll have the option to transfer those points to another loyalty program, including:

• Crown & Anchor Society (Royal Caribbean International)
• Captain’s Club (Celebrity Cruises)
• Venetian Society (Silversea)

If a guest is happy keeping their points with the brand they sailed, no action is required.

Points exchange rates

Points will be converted using brand-specific exchange rates.

Exchange rates will be reviewed and published annually on our branded websites. 

Royal Caribbean International

Celebrity Cruises

Silversea

How you earn points if you're a solo cruiser

When you cruise solo, how many bonus points you earn depends on which cruise line’s loyalty program you apply those points to.

• Celebrity Cruises awards double points to solo travelers.
• Royal Caribbean gives solo guests one additional point per night.
• Silversea does not offer bonus credit for solo cruising.

For example, a solo guest sailing with Royal Caribbean in a balcony stateroom on a 7-night cruise would earn 14 points total—one base point per night, plus one additional point per night for traveling alone.

If that guest chose to transfer those points to Celebrity Cruises, they would receive 42 Captain’s Club points. That total reflects three base points per night under the exchange rate, plus three bonus points per night for sailing solo.

If the same points were transferred to Silversea, the guest would earn 2 VS days, based on the exchange rate, with no added solo bonus.

The same principle works in reverse. A solo traveler sailing with Celebrity Cruises in a veranda stateroom on a 7-night cruise would earn 42 points—three base points per night, plus three bonus points per night for traveling alone.

If those points were transferred to Royal Caribbean, they would convert to 14 points total, based on one base point per night under the exchange rate, plus one extra point per night for sailing solo.

If transferred to Silversea, the guest would again receive 2 VS days, with no solo travel bonus applied.

How to convert points

Points Choice will apply to sailings that depart on or after January 30, 2026.

After each eligible sailing ends, guests will have 14 days to submit a Points Choice request if they want to move their earned points to a different program:

• Through the Royal Caribbean app
• Royal Caribbean website

If no request is submitted within that window, the points will automatically remain with the brand sailed, just as loyalty points do today. 

There is one important requirement: you must already be enrolled in the loyalty program you want to apply points to.

For example:

• If you sail Royal Caribbean but want the points applied to Celebrity’s Captain’s Club, you must already be a Captain’s Club member.
• If you sail Celebrity and want points applied to Crown & Anchor, you must already be enrolled in Crown & Anchor.

To enroll, log in to your app and navigate to the Loyalty Match section to complete your enrollment.

A separate request form must be submitted for every sailing when you wish to apply points to another program. 

Allow up to 30 days after your cruise is completed and you submit your request.  Once submitted, requests cannot be changed, and points can only be transferred once between brands.

The cruise line plans to introduce a preference center later this year that will enable you to make your selection once for all future sailings. 

Lastly, you cannot apply loyalty points to another member.

No change to how you earn Crown and Anchor points

The big difference with Points Choice is you can now earn Crown and Anchor Society points by taking other cruises within the Royal Caribbean brands.

Nothing is changing as it relates to how many points are earned by cruising on Royal Caribbean.

Guests will continue earning points based on:

• Stateroom category
• Length of the cruise

Points Choice is about enabling fans of one line to be able to sail on another line while still moving up the loyalty ladder.

In addition, there's no change to any of the loyalty rewards and benefits. 

Making it easier to cruise more

Points Choice is part of the evolution of taken to offer more to cruisers that began with status matching, which allowed members of Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Silversea's programs to enjoy reciprocal status regardless of which brand they sail with. 

This meant you could get a one-for-one status match across all three brands once you've accrued status with just one line.

If, for instance, you're a Diamond Crown & Anchor member, you'll automatically become an Elite Captain's Club member and Venetian Society member with 250 VS Days once all of the accounts have been connected. 

That change alone has afforded plenty of new perks when trying a new Royal Caribbean Group line.

Royal Caribbean built just one Ultimate Family Cabana that has more space than any other cabana it's ever built, and a price tag of $10,000.

Located within the Royal Beach Club Paradise Island, this one-of-a-kind two-story private retreat is aimed at those who want everything they could possibly need in a beach day.

The Royal Beach Club is a shore excursion developed and operated by Royal Caribbean. While admission to the beach club ranges between $100 - $250 per person (dynamic pricing means the exact price depends on your ship and date), there are cabanas you can rent that include admission.

While the UFC is not cheap, there's a market for it. 

"In the first hour when we opened for sale, we sold our ultimate family cabana for one day at $10,000, which was quite remarkable," said Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley during an earnings call last year.

"Subsequently, we've sold a lot of days in the Ultimate Family Cabana at $10,000."

What do you get for that price and what's it like inside? I took a tour of the new cabana to share photos of what you can expect.

The biggest cabana yet

Located in the Family Beach section of the Royal Beach Club, the Ultimate Family Cabana is in situated between the zero-entry pool and beach.

Among the other cabanas nearby, this stands out like a mansion among regular homes.

Landscaping and ropes ensure privacy as it's large footprint gives you plenty of space.

It's two stories tall, with a backyard beach and front patio.

If you purchase the cabana, it includes admission for up to 12 people plus all of these perks:

• Cabana attendant
• Private bathroom
• Private shower
• Private changing room
• Wet bar
• Reserved beach space
• Heated whirlpool
• Spiral slide
• Wooden swing
• Hammock
• Suspended net lounger
• Frozen drink machine
• TV
• Mini fridge

The goal of this cabana is to deliver a "premium, opulent, over-the-top cabana", as described by Royal Caribbean Senior Vice President and Chief Product Innovation Officer Jay Schneider. After all, the idea was inspired by the Ultimate Family Suite and Ultimate Family Townhouses on Royal Caribbean ships.

As you enter on the lower level, there's a large living room set on wood decking. There are chairs and couches that look like they could easily be at someone's lanai.

The living space extends to offer outdoor couch space too, so you can enjoy being in the shade or the sun.

I also spotted a few board games that you can play at one of the many full length tables within the cabana.

As advertised, there is a frozen drink machine that can dispense pina coladas or daiquiris with no wait.

Don't worry, you don't have to get drinks yourself. A cabana attendant will serve food and drink, is included.

There's even a small kitchen, where you have a fridge, sink, and place for your cabana attendant to manage everything you need. Opposite the kitchen is a private restroom to use.

Walking out to the back, there is the heated hot tub that's just for your use.

Not only is the hot tub private, but it offers unfettered views of the beach and ocean.

If you prefer, there's also reserved beach chairs and umbrellas near the ocean, along with easy access to the blue waters.

There's a hammock nearby to take naps in, read a book, or to take a moment to appreciate everything this cabana offers.

Moving to the back of the cabana, stairs lead to the upper level.

Coming back down is much easier since there's giant slide to bring you right into a sandy finish.

The slide has a button at the top to "prime" it with water. It's a combo "wet/dry slide" but the water ensures you'll go down it with ease.

Upstairs, you'll find a day bed that faces the ocean. It's the perfect nap spot!

There are also beach loungers with some sun to enjoy being outside. You'll also find a wet bar upstairs, to ensure you only need to go back downstairs if you want to try the slide.

The views from the second floor are incredible. You have the perfect vantage point to people watch around the Family Beach pool, or take in the scenery of the beautiful Bahamian waters.

One heck of a way to spend your day

I could only spend a few minutes exploring the Ultimate Family Cabana, but I'd imagine this would be an incredible cabana to enjoy for the day.

Royal Caribbean isn't kidding when they say it has everything you'd need. There's just about everything I've ever seen in any cabana experience to date, plus a few extras.

Suffice to say, kids will never want to leave the cabana. It would be a mesmerizing experience with so much to do and try. It's a good thing there are plenty of places for a nap to recharge later.

I think one thing it needs is a white picket fence to keep astounded guests from wandering in, especially on the front porch area. 

The list price is $10,000, but I've seen it on sale for my upcoming cruises with discounts of up to 30% off.

Even at $7,000, it's still a very expensive splurge.  But there's no doubt renting one of these cabanas would create more memories than any other beach day I can imagine.

Royal Caribbean has cancelled more of its scheduled visits to Labadee, its private destination in Haiti, through the end of 2026.

"Out of an abundance of caution, we have extended our pause to Labadee through December 2026," a Royal Caribbean spokesperson said in a statement confirming the news to Royal Caribbean Blog.

Prior to today's announcement, the cruise line had scrapped visits through April 2026.

This means no Royal Caribbean ship has visited Labadee as part of a scheduled port stop since April 2025. And that follows a stoppage of visits in 2024.

Extending the pause in visits to Labadee an additional 8 months is the result of putting safety first.

In previous announcements when Labadee was skipped for months, the cruise line explained the decision was made to ensure the wellbeing of guests and crew. 

Emails to guests sent out explain, "We have been monitoring the evolving situation in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and out of an abundance of caution, we're cancelling our visit to Labadee."

Labadee is a private beach owned and operated by Royal Caribbean offering cruise ship passengers an exclusive spot for a relaxing beach day. 

No other cruise lines sail to Haiti.

Where the ships will go instead

Travel agents were sent a list of replaced ports for ships that were scheduled to visit Labadee.

• Adventure of the Seas  
  • May 23 and June 20
    • Instead of visiting Labadee, we'll now enjoy a stop at Nassau, Bahamas. We'll arrive at 9:00 AM and depart at 6:00 PM.
  • July 18  
    • Instead of visiting Labadee, we'll now enjoy a stop at Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos, arriving at 8:00 AM and departing at 5:00 PM. Additionally, before our first Sea Day, we'll now visit Nassau, Bahamas in place of Falmouth, Jamaica. We'll arrive in Nassau at 8:00 AM and depart at 5:00 PM.
  • August 15
    • Instead of visiting Labadee, we'll now enjoy a stop at Nassau, Bahamas. We'll arrive at 7:00 AM and depart at 3:00 PM.
  • September 12 and October 10
    • Instead of visiting Labadee, we'll now enjoy a stop at Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos, arriving at 8:00 AM and departing at 5:00 PM. Additionally, we'll now visit Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic in place of Falmouth, Jamaica. We'll arrive in Puerto Plata at 8:00 AM and depart at 5:00 PM.
  • October 30
    • Instead of visiting Labadee, we'll now enjoy a stop at Cozumel, Mexico. We'll arrive at 7:00 AM and depart at 5:00 PM. Additionally, we've adjusted our departure time from Nassau, Bahamas. We'll now depart at 3:00 PM instead of 2:30 PM.
  • November 7
    • Instead of visiting Labadee, we'll now enjoy a stop at Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos. We'll arrive at 10:00 AM and depart at 6:00 PM.
  • December 5
    • Instead of visiting Labadee, we'll now enjoy a stop at Nassau, Bahamas. We'll arrive at 8:00 AM and depart at 5:00 PM.
• Allure of the Seas:
  • May 10, May 24, July 5, July 19, August 16, August 30, September 13, September 27, and October 11
    • Instead of visiting Labadee, we'll now enjoy a stop at Nassau, Bahamas. We'll arrive at 8:00 AM and depart at 5:00 PM.
  • June 7
    • Instead of visiting Labadee, we'll now enjoy a stop at Nassau, Bahamas. We'll arrive at 7:00 AM and depart at 5:00 PM. Additionally, we've adjusted the times we'll visit Falmouth, Jamaica. We'll now be arriving in Falmouth at 8:00 AM and departing at 4:00 PM.
  • June 21 and August 2
    • Instead of visiting Labadee, we'll now enjoy a stop at Nassau, Bahamas. We'll arrive at 8:00 AM and depart at 5:00 PM. Additionally, we've adjusted the time we'll visit Falmouth, Jamaica, and Perfect Day at CocoCay. We'll now be arriving in Falmouth at 8:00 AM and departing at 4:00 PM and we'll now arrive in Perfect Day at CocoCay at 7:00 AM and depart at 5:00 PM.
  • October 25
    • Instead of visiting Labadee, we'll now enjoy a stop at San Juan, Puerto Rico. We'll arrive at 10:30 AM and depart at 5:00 PM. Additionally, we're swapping our visit to Falmouth, Jamaica, for a visit to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. We'll be arriving at 9:30 AM and departing at 5:00 PM.
  • November 15, November 29, and December 13
    • Instead of visiting Labadee, we'll now enjoy a relaxing Sea Day instead. Additionally, we'll now depart Falmouth, Jamaica, at 5:00 PM.
  • December 20
    • Instead of visiting Labadee, we'll now enjoy a stop at Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. We'll arrive at 8:00 AM and depart at 5:00 PM. Additionally, we've adjusted the times we'll visit San Juan, Puerto Rico. We'll now arrive at 9:30 AM and depart at 6:00 PM.
• Brilliance of the Seas:
  • December 21
    • Instead of visiting Labadee, we'll now enjoy a stop at Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos. We'll arrive at 8:00 AM and depart at 5:00 PM.
  • December 28
    • Instead of visiting Labadee, we'll now enjoy a stop at Nassau, Bahamas. We'll arrive at 8:00 AM and depart at 5:00 PM.
• Explorer of the Seas:
  • November 13 and December 11
    • Instead of visiting Labadee, we'll now enjoy a stop at Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos. We'll arrive at 8:00 AM and depart at 5:00 PM.
  • November 27
    • Instead of visiting Labadee, we'll now enjoy a stop at Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos. We'll arrive at 8:00 AM and depart at 5:00 PM. Additionally, we've adjusted our departure time from Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic the next day. We'll now depart at 4:00 PM instead of 5:00 PM.
  • December 21
    • Instead of visiting Labadee, we'll now enjoy a stop at Grand Bahama Island. We'll arrive at 8:00 AM and depart at 5:00 PM.
• Freedom of the Seas:
  • May 2
    • Instead of visiting Labadee, we'll now enjoy a stop at Nassau, Bahamas. We'll arrive at 8:00 AM and depart at 5:00 PM.
  • May 7, May 21, August 22, October 31, and December 17
    • Instead of visiting Labadee, we'll now enjoy a stop at Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos. We'll arrive at 8:00 AM and depart at 5:00 PM.
  • May 16, May 30, June 13, June 27, July 11, July 25, August 8, September 5, September 19, October 3, and October 17
    • Instead of visiting Labadee, we'll now enjoy a stop at Nassau, Bahamas. We'll arrive at 7:30 AM and depart at 5:30 PM.
  • November 14 and December 26
    • Instead of visiting Labadee, we'll now enjoy a stop at Falmouth, Jamaica. We'll arrive at 7:00 AM and depart at 4:00 PM.
  • November 28
    • Instead of visiting Labadee, we'll now enjoy a stop at George Town, Grand Cayman*. We'll arrive at 10:00 AM and depart at 6:00 PM. Additionally, we've adjusted the times we'll visit Nassau, Bahamas. We'll now be arriving at 7:00 AM and departing at 4:00 PM.
  • December 12
    • Instead of visiting Labadee, we'll now enjoy a stop at Costa Maya, Mexico. We'll arrive at 9:00 AM and depart at 6:00 PM. Additionally, we've adjusted the times we'll visit Nassau, Bahamas. We'll now arrive at 7:00 AM and depart at 4:00 PM.
• Icon of the Seas:
  • May 2
    • Instead of visiting Labadee, we'll now enjoy a stop at Cozumel, Mexico. We'll arrive at 7:00 AM and depart at 5:00 PM. Additionally, we're swapping out our visits to Philipsburg, St. Maarten and San Juan Puerto Rico. We're now excited to explore Costa Maya, Mexico and Roatan, Honduras. We'll arrive at 8:00 AM and depart at 5:00 PM for both of these destinations.
• Independence of the Seas:
  • May 7, June 4, July 2, and July 30
    • Instead of visiting Labadee, we'll now enjoy a stop at Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. We'll arrive at 8:00 AM and depart at 4:00 PM. Additionally, we've adjusted our departure time from San Juan, Puerto Rico. We'll now be departing at 3:30 PM instead of 2:30 PM.
  • October 29
    • Instead of visiting Labadee, we'll now enjoy a stop at Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. We'll arrive at 7:00 AM and depart at 4:00 PM. Additionally, we've adjusted the times we'll visit Kralendijk, Bonaire. We'll now arrive at 8:00 AM and depart at 5:00 PM.
  • December 6
    • Instead of visiting Labadee, we'll now enjoy a relaxing Sea Day. Additionally, we've adjusted the times we'll visit Falmouth, Jamaica. We'll now arrive at 8:00 AM and depart at 5:00 PM.
• Jewel of the Seas:
  • May 25 and June 15
    • Instead of visiting Labadee, we'll now enjoy a stop at Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos. We'll arrive at 8:00 AM and depart at 5:00 PM.
• Legend of the Seas:
  • November 22 and December 6
    • Instead of visiting Labadee, we'll now enjoy a relaxing Sea Day. Additionally, we've adjusted our departure time from Falmouth, Jamaica. We'll now depart at 5:00 PM instead of 4:00 PM.
  • December 20
    • Instead of visiting Labadee, we'll now enjoy a relaxing Sea Day. Additionally, we've adjusted the times we'll visit Falmouth, Jamaica. We'll now arrive at 8:00 AM and depart at 5:00 PM.
• Oasis of the Seas:
  • April 29
    • Instead of visiting Labadee, we'll now enjoy a relaxing Sea Day. Additionally, we've adjusted the day and times we'll visit Orlando (Port Canaveral), Florida, and Nassau, Bahamas. We'll now be arriving in Orlando on Saturday at 8:00 AM and departing at 6:00 PM and we'll now arrive in Nassau on Monday at 8:00 AM and depart at 5:00 PM.
  • October 25
    • Instead of visiting Labadee, we'll now enjoy a stop at San, Juan, Puerto Rico. We'll arrive at 10:00 AM and depart at 5:00 PM. Additionally, we've adjusted the times we'll visit Orlando (Port Canaveral), Florida, Perfect Day at CocoCay, and Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. We'll now be departing Orlando at 7:00 PM, we'll now arrive in Perfect Day at CocoCay at 8:00 AM and depart at 4:00 PM, and we'll now arrive in Puerto Plata at 9:00 AM.
  • December 21
    • Instead of visiting Labadee, we'll now enjoy a relaxing Sea Day. Additionally, we've adjusted the times we'll visit Falmouth, Jamaica. We'll now arrive at 7:00 AM and depart at 4:00 PM.
• Star of the Seas:
  • May 3
    • Instead of visiting Labadee, we'll now enjoy a relaxing Sea Day. Additionally, we've swapped our visit to San Juan, Puerto Rico, for a day in Philipsburg, St. Maarten instead. We'll arrive at 8:00 AM and depart at 5:00 PM. We've also adjusted the times for our visit to Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas and will now arrive at 8:00 AM and depart at 5:00 PM.
• Utopia of the Seas:
  • May 4
    • Instead of visiting Labadee, we'll now enjoy a stop at Nassau, Bahamas. We'll arrive at 7:30 AM and depart at 5:30 PM.

The challenge with replacing a port of call with less than a year before the sailing is port stops are planned years in advance, and that leaves few open slots in a port for a ship to call on.

Warning not to travel

Haiti has been in a state of emergency since March 2024 when gang violence surged and caused civil panic around its cities.

The U.S. State Department lists Haiti at its highest warning level possible, Level 4, with the warning "Do not travel".

The website then says, "Do not travel to Haiti for any reason."

"Crimes involving firearms are common in Haiti. They include robbery, carjackings, sexual assault, and kidnappings for ransom."

In addition, the U.S. Coast Guard has concerns about security in the ports of Haiti. Until those are addressed, the Coast Guard advises mariners and passengers traveling through the ports of Haiti to exercise caution.

Haiti's ongoing crisis

With armed gangs now controlling much of the country, it's created a major humanitarian crisis because of widespread violence, hunger and displacement.

Much of today's troubles began in 2021 when President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated. As a result of governmental instability and major economic strife, armed gangs exploited the resulting power vacuum.

Today, gangs control nearly all of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital city, and are expanding their reach outward.

Armed groups compete violently for territory, showing little regard for civilian lives. As gang control spreads across northern and western Haiti, the humanitarian crisis has deepened.

The United Nations has engaged in multiple support missions to stabilize the country, but previous operations failed due to being underfunded and underequipped. 

A planned 2026 intervention is in the works.

Impact to Royal Caribbean's bottom line

Labadee isn't scheduled for many Royal Caribbean ships, but cancellations in previous months have impacted revenue.

During the Royal Caribbean Group earnings call in October 2025, CEO Jason Liberty called the closure a "headwind", "Our fourth quarter year outlook has been trivially impacted due to adverse weather and the unplanned extension of the temporary closure of Labadee, one of our exclusive destinations."

During that quarter, Chief Financial Officer Naftali Holtz broke down the impact further by saying earnings per share were negatively impacted by $0.05 as a result of adverse weather events and the unplanned extension of the closure of Labadee.

The Izumi menu has been updated again following feedback from guests.

Just weeks after Royal Caribbean altered the menu to no longer include vegetables as part of its hibachi meal, it appears the "undo button" has been hit.

Izumi is a specialty restaurant that offers hibachi dining in addition to sushi. It's a very popular choice among cruisers.

However, during the holiday season a new menu listed vegetables were no longer included with the cost.

That meant the hibachi meal only included fried rice and two proteins. Grilled vegetables were available for $5 extra (or as one of the proteins).

The good news is the revised menu includes vegetables once again.

Back on the menu

Laurie Olivieri boarded Utopia of the Seas on Monday and noticed the menu has been changed.

It now says, "All entries come with vegetables and fried rice" above the list of proteins.

Previously, it said "All entries come with fried rice" only.

There's been no change to pricing.

Carol M. was also on Utopia and shared what she heard from a crew member that was preparing her food, "We had lunch at Izumi on Utopia today and every guest got veggies."

"When I asked the chef, he said they got so many complaints, especially from returning cruisers, that they are starting to give everyone veggies again."

"He said they were not serving everyone veggies last week, but it came down from headquarters to bring them back."

The cost to dine at Izumi hibachi is listed at $70 per adult for dinner, and $45 per adult for lunch.  Both meals are the same menu.

You can usually reserve Izumi hibachi for less when pre-booking prior to the start of the cruise. For example, on an upcoming Utopia of the Seas cruise, the cost is $55.99 per adult for dinner and $35.99 per adult for lunch.

Controversial change

When vegetables were removed suddenly, it caught a lot of cruisers off guard as to why it would have been done in the first place.

"Most ridiculous thing I have ever seen from Royal and they do a lot of crazy things," wrote Jeff Whiting on the Royal Caribbean Blog Facebook page.

Jessica Gomez added, "I would strongly urge [Royal Caribbean] to reconsider this decision. Continued price increases combined with reduced offerings risk alienating loyal customers."

"I usually stand with Royal’s decisions, but this one is just blatant cost cutting and is very disappointing," wrote Chris Barnes.

Why Izumi is so popular

Izumi hibachi is usually sold out on most sailings and it's largely because of how much of a crowd pleaser it is.

It's a fun experience where the chef cooking in front of you puts on a show that adds an entertainment factor. Plus, the menu appeals to even the pickiest of eaters: chicken or beef (along with seafood options).

In addition, hibachi has a fixed cost that includes appetizers, main course, rice, and dessert.

A quick fix

Ultimately, Royal Caribbean made a quick change to remedy the situation.

Guest feedback may have played a role in the menu rollback. Even small tweaks can alter the perception of any venue, leading to brushback.

Going forward, we can expect the veggies back as part of the meal.