Royal Caribbean Group announced on Wednesday it has hired a new government relations expert to join the company.

Donna Hrinak will be the new Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs, and will be responsible for leading the Group's government relations, communications and public relations functions. 

In a press release, Royal Caribbean Group stated she, "brings a stellar curriculum vitae in global regulatory policy, multicultural negotiations, coalition leadership and international business transformation to augment the Group's industry leading government affairs team."

In her new role, Ms. Hrinak will provide informed counsel and facilitate productive communication among a broad array of stakeholders, including port authorities, coastal community leadership, government representatives, environmental advocates, scientific and marine leaders and more.

Ms. Hrinak joins Royal Caribbean after working at The Boeing Company as the former Corporate Vice President, The Boeing Company and President, Boeing Canada, Latin America & Caribbean.

"As a global company touching every continent," said Richard D. Fain, Royal Caribbean Group chairman and CEO, "we are used to making our way in a complicated world. But these last few months have reminded us, more than ever, just how challenging that world is. Donna will provide her decades of experience in navigating the complexities of regulatory and cultural ecosystems to enable us to continue to build and maintain strong, collaborative relationships with countries and organizations everywhere we operate."

Hrinak has designed and led strategies to confront an increasingly complicated global regulatory environment and guided executives in evaluating the business, political and economic risks involved in global operations. She has worked closely and collaboratively with a broad range of international coalitions and agencies, including the World Health Organization.

Hrinak began working with Royal Caribbean Group on August 24.

When cruises restart, Royal Caribbean's app will play its largest role yet in becoming the focal point for a healthy return to cruising.

Royal Caribbean Group announced on Tuesday it intends to leverage its mobile app for paving a way for a safe return to cruising.

Royal Caribbean's app already offered a variety of features and capabilities, but will grow to include more functionality including:

• Muster 2.0 – one of the least-loved, but most important, parts of a cruise vacation – the safety drill – is transformed from a process designed for large groups of people into a faster, more personal “one-to-few” approach that guests can complete at their own time.
• Scheduled arrival time – staggered arrival times for guests help eliminate crowds by managing the ebb-and-flow in parking lots, drop-off areas and terminals to allow for physical distancing from car to stateroom.
• Expedited boarding – by completing check-in with the app, scanning passport information and uploading a ‘selfie’ security photo, guests can generate a mobile boarding pass and qualify for an expedited boarding process. Debuted in 2018, the innovative, digital experience minimizes check-in and security lines at ports, allowing guests to get on board seamlessly and safely in minutes.

• Digital key – guests can unlock staterooms with their smartphones by downloading a digital key, available in just a few taps for select ships and staterooms.
• Stateroom automation – using their smartphone, guests have the ability to control elements inside their stateroom, such as the TV, lighting, window shades and temperature, limiting touchpoints while achieving higher levels of stateroom customization.
• Onboard account – guests can view onboard charges and credits in real time from anywhere on the ship without waiting in line or on hold.
• Daily planning – onboard activities, entertainment shows, dining and shore excursions are viewable and open for reservations all through the guest mobile app.

Royal Caribbean expects more advancements to be added to the app, including some changes that will take place "behind the scenes".

The mobile app is leveraged by ships across many Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara ships.

In a statement to the press, Royal Caribbean Group believes the app is one piece of the overall strategy in keeping guests healthy and safe, "These innovations will further demonstrate the Group’s commitment to exceeding guests’ expectations as well as their standards for health and safety on a cruise."

Royal Caribbean Group Chairman and CEO Richard Fain spoke to travel partners in a new video, offering optimism and insight during the continued cruise shutdown.

Sporting a new haircut, Mr. Fain started out by saying he feels "more positive" that the end of this period of no cruises may finally be coming to an end.

"Today, I'm beginning to feel more positive that we may be within sight of the end," Mr. Fain stated. "We're certainly not at the end, and we certainly have quite a ways to go...ut the pace of change has accelerated. Many positive developments are really beginning to bear fruit."

Later in the video, he added, "We are in sight of the downward slope. Like everything about this disease, it's a rocky slope. But we're getting closer to the other side of this crisis every day, and I'm excited about that."

Mr. Fain emphasized that while the virus cannot be eliminated, the goal now is to "control the spread to a manageable limit". He sees three tools for achieving this: better treatments, better testing and a vaccine.

"It's important to remember that the vaccine won't be an instantaneous fix. However, when we look at all these things, all these developments holistically, they combine to give us a very good hope for a normal future relatively soon."

Healthy Sail Panel update

Mr. Fain touched on the work the Healthy Sail Panel is doing, which is a combined effort between the Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Holdings.

Chaired by Governor Mike Leavitt and Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the panel is working on coming up with policies and procedures for both cruise companies to employ to keep guests safe.

Mr. Fain characterized the work being done thus far as being "pleased", especially with the work being done by the panel members.

"They have been thorough, they have been focused, and they have been engaged. They've devoted an amazing amount of time and effort to the project, and I've been blown away by their commitment."

In an example of the work, Mr. Fain explained how the panel tackled how ventilation systems work on a cruise ship. 

The panel engaged experts in conducting testing. where they developed testing protocols, set up the equipment and evaluated the results over a few weeks.

In the end, the panel was able to provide a scientific answer to Royal Caribbean's HVAC system.

Guests with Royal Caribbean cruises scheduled for later this year are seeing check-in times that are later than usually offered by the cruise line.

A number of sailings for November and December 2020 are showing cruise check-in times that go as late as 5:30pm.

Check-in times for Adventure of the Seas December 4, 2020 sailing

Check-in times for Mariner of the Seas November 20, 2020 sailing

Check-in times for Oasis of the Seas November 29, 2020 sailing

Prior to Royal Caribbean suspending its sailings in March, the latest check-in time for most sailings was early afternoon.  Typically, Royal Caribbean ships would depart in the mid to late afternoon.

There has been speculation that one of the new procedures Royal Caribbean may adopt in order to foster social distancing during the check-in process is to spread guests out with more check-in times.

In the weeks before cruises shutdown, Royal Caribbean was already thoroughly sanitizing the cruise ship terminal before and after every sailing. They also added special sanitizing of high traffic areas onboard the ship.

The extra cleaning takes time, which may require cruise ships to push back their departure times in order to accommodate all of these (and other possible) changes.

Royal Caribbean has only hinted at a few possible changes it will embrace once cruises resume. The cruise line is still developing its full set of policies and procedures, which will not be announced until at least the end of September.

Thanks to RoyalCaribbeanBlog readers Thomas Bissland, Meagan Mapson, Joanne Griffith & Judy Carson for their assistance in this post.

Over the weekend, Royal Caribbean's Wonder of the Seas reached an important milestone when she was floated out at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard.

Photos by @josselinchevessier

Josselin Chevessier took the opportunity to send up his drone to grab some great photos of the next world's largest cruise ship right before she transfered to the outfitting dock in  Saint-Nazaire, France.

The term "floated out" refers to the transition a cruise ship under construction makes when she starts off being built in a dry area, and then is transitioned to the ocean for the first time.

Using tug boats, Wonder of the Seas was moved into position from one area of the shipyard to another.

Now that Wonder of the Seas is floated out, much of the work to be done will focus on the ship's interior spaces.

Wonder of the Seas will not join Royal Caribbean's fleet until sometime in 2022 and will sail from Shanghai and offer sailings around Asia.

Royal Caribbean has not released itineraries for Wonder of the Seas to book, nor indicated when exactly in 2022 Wonder will start sailing yet.

Happy weekend! It has been a busy week of Royal Caribbean news and events, and we have a look back at everything that happened this week.

It was nice to have a change of pace this week when Wonder of the Seas was floated out at her shipyard.

Royal Caribbean's next Oasis Class cruise ship was successfully floated out at 7am on Saturday morning in just about one hour.

Wonder of the Seas is under construction at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France. The fifth Oasis Class ship will debut in 2022.

Royal Caribbean News

• Royal Caribbean will not release its new health protocols until at least the end of September.
• Australia extended its ban on cruise ships until December.
• The Port of Galveston says Royal Caribbean is still committed to begin construction of a new terminal in April 2021.
• Some Adventure of the Seas sailings in 2021 have been shortened due to Galveston pier construction delays.
• A new Odyssey of the Seas construction photo was released this week.
• You can still save money on pre-cruise add-ons with the latest Cruise Planner sale.
• Royal Caribbean stock was up again this week, thanks to positive cruise industry news.
• Why you shouldn't book the cheapest cruise you can find.
• What food or drinks you're allowed to bring on a Royal Caribbean cruise.
• Our readers shared the best piece of cruise advice they have ever received.
• Top 10 best ways to spend $100 on a Royal Caribbean cruise.
• How to contact Royal Caribbean for help with a cruise cancellation or refund.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 370th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, where Jeff reviews two Grandeur of the Seas cruises.

This week's cruise story is a "two-fer", where Jeff contrasts his first Grandeur of the Seas cruise to his latest one.

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.

8 cruise ship tips from a former employee

Royal Caribbean crew members live on their ships for months at a time, and they see guests doing a lot of things during this time, including mistakes.

Former crew member Pippa Madden worked on cruise ships for 8 years and shared helpful do's and don'ts based on what she saw onboard.

Here are eight things to do, avoid, or simply be aware of, for your cruise vacation.

Wonder of the Seas was succesfully floated out at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard.

Photo by Pascal Collin Photography

At 7am on Saturday morning, Wonder of the Seas was moved from Basin B to Basin C, with the help of 7 tugs.

What will be the world's largest cruise ship completed the 500 meter-long maneuver in just about one hour time.

Wonder of the Seas is still under construction and does not yet have its engines operational, so she requires the tugs to move her around.

This is the third Oasis Class ship built at Chantiers de l’Atlantique in Saint-Naizaire, France (Harmony and Symphony of the Seas).

Première sortie du plus grand paquebot du monde ! pic.twitter.com/8IewevvnaN

— Matthieu Marin (@matmarin) September 5, 2020

Now that the floating out process is complete, Wonder of the Seas will remain in Basin C until her delivery to Royal Caribbean.

Wonder of the Seas was initially scheduled for completion in Spring 2021, but due to the global health crisis, that has been postponed until 2022. When she sails, she will set sail from Shanghai, China.

It was another positive week for Royal Caribbean (NYSE: RCL) stockholders, as shares of the stock finished the week 4% higher.

Photo by Volnei M.

Royal Caribbean's stock closed at $71.95 at the conclusion of trading on Friday, and followed other cruise line stocks upward trend for the week.

Optimism about cruises restarting

The primary reason why Royal Caribbean, and other cruise line, stocks went up this week was based mostly in Carnival's announcement that two of its brands would restart cruises in Europe soon.

Costa and its Carnival Corporation sibling AIDA Cruises plan to resume sailing in phases – Costa starting Sept. 6 and the German AIDA Cruises on Nov. 1.

Both lines will implement a number of new health policies to get going, following the success of other cruise lines in Europe, including MSC.

Carnival Corporation's announcement on Thursday sent all cruise line stocks higher on optimism that the cruise industry might be on its way to recovery after months of zero cruises at all.

The cruise industry has been decimated by the industry-wide shutdown caused by the current health crisis that have resulted in billions of dollars in losses for Royal Caribbean.

The success of any cruise line restarting operations has a wide impact on the industry, as it will open the doors for others to resume cruises.

Royal Caribbean International has not announced any plans of its own to resume operations in Europe (or anywhere), but Royal Caribbean Group partial-subsidary TUI Cruises has been sailing for a few weeks in Germany.

A lot of people want to know what you are allowed to bring on a Royal Caribbean cruise, especially food or drinks.

Royal Caribbean includes a wide variety of complimentary dining options on your cruise, which means there is plenty to eat and drink. Yet, some guests want to bring their own food for a variety of reasons.

You'll find plenty of drinks and snacks included with your Royal Caribbean cruise fare, but sometimes you want a specific brand or type of snack/beverage. 

Bringing your own snacks and drinks can save money versus purchasing them onboard or on shore.

Moreover, it can be quite helpful to have these items in your cabin, especially if you have kids.

The good news is you are allowed to bring some food and drink on your cruise, but there is a limit on how much and what sort you can bring.

Food you can bring on a Royal Caribbean cruise

Royal Caribbean allows guests to bring non-perishable prepackaged food in limited quantities on their ships. So bringing your kids' favorite snacks and treats are allowed.

This includes foods such as cookies, crackers, chips, energy bars, etc. Pre-packed baby food is also allowed.

You do not need to declare that you have food, and it is generally fine to pack your prepackaged food in either your carry-on or your checked luggage.

There is no exact limit on how much of these foods you can bring, so feel free to bring as much as you deem necessary.

Be sure not to bring any perishable food or meat products, as those are prohibited items.

Beverages you can bring on a Royal Caribbean cruise

Royal Caribbean also allows a limited amount of non-alcoholic beverages with them on embarkation day.

Specifically, you can bring up to 12 standard (17 oz.) cans, bottles, or cartons per stateroom of your favorite non-alcoholic beverage (soda, bottled water, etc).

In addition, baby food and formula are allowed to be brought onboard.

If you are bringing milk and distilled water brought on for infant, medical, or dietary use, there are no restrictions or limitations related to these items. If you need to bring special beverages, please complete a Special Needs form. Royal Caribbean requests you send this form at least 30 days before your sail date and they will inform you via e-mail of their decision.

While alcoholic beverages are not allowed to be brought on a Royal Caribbean cruise, there is an exception for up to one 750 ml bottle of wine or champagne per adult in each cabin, per sailing. This policy changed in March 2023.

There is no cost to enjoy wine in your room, but a corkage fee will be charged if you bring the bottle to a restaurant or bar.

You should pack any beverages you bring onboard in your carry-on luggage. Do not put it in your checked luggage for two reasons:

• It may break as your luggage is tossed around in transit.
• Royal Caribbean's X-ray machine will see a bottle/can and not be able to tell if it is alcohol or not. They will then hold the bag and delay its arrival to your stateroom later.

If you buy alcohol in a port your ship visits, you can bring it onboard, although Royal Caribbean will confiscate it until the last night of the cruise, when it will be returned to you.

Can you bring water on a Royal Caribbean cruise?

You are allowed to bring some bottled water on your cruise, but not an unlimited amount.

Royal Caribbean allows its passengers to bring no more than 12 standard (17 oz.) cans, bottles, or cartons per stateroom.

Water brought onboard needs to be put in your carry-on luggage, not your checked luggage.

It doesn't matter how many people are in your room, the limit is per stateroom and per sailing.

Can you bring alcohol on a Royal Caribbean cruise?

Some alcohol is allowed to be brought onboard a Royal Caribbean cruise, but no beer, seltzer, or hard liquor.

Royal Caribbean will let passengers bring up to one sealed bottle of wine or champagne per adult per stateroom. Boxed wine and other contains are prohibited.

The wine needs to be in your carry-on luggage to avoid your luggage being held by security for inspection later.

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Guests on select Adventure of the Seas cruises in 2021 received emails from Royal Caribbean that their cruises have been shortened by a day due to pier construction delays.

A number of guests took to social media to share copies of an email they received from Royal Caribbean to inform them of a change in their Adventure of the Seas sailing.

Citing "pier construction delays in the Galveston terminal", the cruise line has altered the planned 5-night Western Caribbean itinerary to a 4-night sailing.

Thanks to Kimberly Coker for providing this screenshot

Guests on affected sailings should be contacted via email.

Royal Caribbean has offered these guests three options:

• Stay on the new 4-night Western Caribbean sailing departing from Galveston
• Rebook to a different 5-night Adventure of the Seas sailing later in 2021 or 2022
• Cancel for full refund

Guests have until  September 17, 2020 to make a decision on which option they would like to choose. If nothing is chosen, they will automatically be moved to the new 4-night Western Caribbean sailing departing on the same day as the original cruise.

Royal Caribbean has also created a form to process which option they would like in order to bypass waiting on the phone. The form must be filled out by September 17.