Every Royal Caribbean cruise offers some great live shows to enjoy onboard.  Musicals, ice skating performances, and comedy shows are just a few of the performances to enjoy on Royal Caribbean.

Royal Caribbean has created a number of impressive shows for its cruise ships, as well as reached out to some very talented performers to round out the entertainment on every ship in the fleet.

Planning for shows

One thing several people have ask is whether it is worth it to see the shows. Our answer is always a qualified “absolutely.” We absolutely recommend the shows because these are a big part of what separates Royal Caribbean from the rest of the industry.  In recent years, Royal Caribbean has invested heavily in its onboard shows, and the result has been a number of must-see performances.

Our thought process goes like this: entertainment on your Royal Caribbean cruise is included with your cruise fare, so why not see a couple of shows.  Not only is it very likely to be a fun time, it is a great way for family and friends to enjoy high quality entertainment together with little risk other than your time.

The big impediment you might have in seeing all of these shows is dinner. Often trying to balance show times with your dinner times can be difficult to time properly.  The rise in popularity of specialty dining and My Time Dining has resulted in some scheduling challenges. Depending on your dinner schedule, this may or may not be an issue. Those who are on traditional dining typically have less of a problem making show times work since many shows are scheduled opposite traditional dining schedules.

We have some recommendations if you potentially run into one of these planning risks: The key is to check for additional performances that work better for your schedule, or be prepared to make alternate dining plans.  Changing dining plans is not a major hassle, but something to be aware of to ensure you see as many shows as possible. Consult a prior Cruise Compass, as show times rarely change much (if it all) between sailings on similar itineraries. Once onboard, you can often get a entertainment schedule from Guest Services and better coordinate dining changes at that time.  Making dining changes is always easier early in the cruise, than later on, because reservation spots tend to fill up quickly.

Booking shows before your cruise

A common question among those new to Royal Caribbean is about when can they begin to reserve shows tickets prior to their cruise, and the answer is it depends on which ship you are sailing on.

Currently, only Oasis Class and Quantum Class ships offers guests the ability to get a virtual ticket for select shows and they are available via Royal Caribbean's Cruise Planner site. All other ships, will have seating available on a first-come, first-served basis and/or complimentary tickets once guests are onboard.

If entertainment is available to reserve for your cruise, we have typically seen shows become available for booking around 75-60 days prior to the sail date, but your experience may vary. The truth is, there is no rule about when these kinds of activities become available for booking, and every sailing can be different.

The best reason to book certain activities, entertainment and dining in advance is to guarantee a spot for you and your family, as well as break up the total cost of the cruise. There is limited capacity for shows, dining and other activities and Royal Caribbean tends to offer guests the option of reserving them prior to their cruise. By booking these activities early, you can ensure you have the time and day that you want all lined up.

Live shows

The exact lineup of entertainment will vary from ship to ship, but there are some common genres that span certain classes of ships and some are even fleet-wide. 

The theater performances are arguably the flagship entertainment on any Royal Caribbean ship. Royal Caribbean invests heavily in Broadway-inspired performances, with some ships actually offering full Broadway shows. Classic shows such as Grease, Mamma Mia, CATS and more grace the stage of Royal Caribbean's newest ships.

Royal Caribbean has made a name for itself with the high-diving shows on its Oasis Class ships that are held in the Aquatheater.  This space is an outdoor amphitheater, which features acrobatic and high diving stunts in the largest and deepest freshwater pool at sea. 

Royal Caribbean also offers ice skating shows on ships that have an ice skating rink (Oasis, Freedom and Voyager Class ships). Each ship has its own unique ice skating show, which matches incredible ice skating performances with music and a loose story line.  These shows are not only a means to see some very talented skaters perform some of the most difficult ice skating moves, there is also a great story to enjoy.

In addition, Royal Caribbean's entertainment staff will host their own live shows onboard, including fan-favorites such as the Love and Marriage Game Show, Battle of the Sexes, The Quest, and more.  These shows involve select members of the audience, and have been a staple of the cruise industry for years. 

Most Royal Caribbean cruises also feature comedians, magicians, and/or entertainers that offer family-friendly and adult-oriented shows onboard.  These performers put on their act to augment the regular entertainment line up, and can offer something a little different than stage productions.

Another popular activity is taking in a newly released or classic film.  Royal Caribbean mixes up the offerings, but will show multiple films each day of the cruise, usually on the large screen by the pool.  On the larger Royal Caribbean ships, there are even 3D films shown in the Royal Theater for no additional cost. Regardless of venue, these films can be the perfect way to finally see that new movie you have been meaning to watch, or a fun movie to see again while you enjoy a swim.

Dancing and singing

If your idea of fun is live music, with or without you dancing along to it, then you will plenty of that on a Royal Caribbean cruise.  Each ship offers multiple venues each evening that offer live music, sing alongs, dance parties and more.

Each evening, your Cruise Compass will list a multitude of venues that offer live bands playing.  There will be shows at the ships' pubs, lounges, night clubs and even by the pool.  Walk in, and take a seat (or find a spot on the dance floor) and take it all in.  As mentioned, there are often many different live musical opportunities around the ship, appealing to different styles of music.  Guitar sing alongs at the pub, salsa dancing in Boleros lounge, DJ spinning, and more.

On select evenings of your cruise, there are themed parties held, where guests are invited to join in on the fun.  Some parties are themed to the 1970s or 1980s, Caribbean themed nights, and more.  These are essentially large dance parties, where the entertainment staff dress up for the occasion and guests are encouraged to do the same.  

Naturally, you may be wondering how to know which themed nights will be on your sailing and when, but Royal Caribbean does not publish that information in advance.  Your only option is to consult a prior Cruise Compass and see what was offered on previous sailings.  In our experience, the themed night lineups do not change much.

Teens & Kids

Younger travelers will find lots for them to do onboard as well.  Royal Caribbean has significantly invested in the dedicated space and entertainment options for the under 18 age set over the last decade or so.

Kids 3 to 11 years old have daily programming provided for them in the Adventure Ocean program.  Adventure Ocean is more than just a day camp experience. Kids will find classes, parties and activities offered each day of the cruise.

On select ships, younger kids will love the DreamWorks Experience, where they can meet their favorite characters from Madagascar and Shrek, watch 3D movies, and enjoy themed breakfasts and parades.

Teenagers also have their own rooms onboard to hang out, play games, listen to music... or whatever it is teenagers enjoy doing.  Royal Caribbean also schedules private sessions of popular onboard activities just for teens, such as time on the FlowRider surf simulator.

Happy December! We cannot believe that we are already one full week into the month – there is so much going on with holiday preparation and shopping and baking!

The United States Virgin Islands and Royal Caribbean teamed up to help re-build Magens Bay beach, which re-opened this week.

Royal Caribbean International partnered with the Department of Tourism, the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, the Magens Bay Authority and other government agencies and businesses to restore the world-renowned beach.

Cleanup crews have been working daily since the hurricanes to remove fallen trees and debris, repair buildings, and replant hundreds of native plants and trees.

Royal Caribbean News

• Royal Caribbean kicked off its monthly sales promotion this week with 30% off all guests and kids sail free on select dates.
• Royal Caribbean is testing a new "intelligent elevator" on Harmony of the Seas.
• Royal Caribbean released 2019-2020 Bemuda, Canada, & New England itineraries.
• The Human Rights Campaign named Royal Caribbean a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality.
• Royal Caribbean added new stateroom categories for 2019 Alaska sailings on Radiance of the Seas.
• Check out our 2018 Royal Caribbean Cruise Planning Guide.
• Royal Caribbean introduced $100 per person deposits on non-refundable NextCruise bookings.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 227th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available and this week, which talks debates interior versus balcony staterooms.

It is a debate every cruiser has, and it boils down to considering the merits of price, space, itinerary and more. This week, we share the considerations you ought to look at before booking the right room for you.

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.

Come cruise with us on Royal Caribbean!

We recently announced some new Royal Caribbean sailings that we have booked and are inviting you to join us for a RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com group cruise! This is an opportunity to join Matt, and other Royal Caribbean fans on some exciting cruises!

Choose from any of these great options!

• March 2019: Back-to-Back Double Dip on Mariner of the Seas
• July 2019: Anthem of the Seas to Bermuda and the Caribbean
• New Years Eve 2019: Freedom of the Seas to the ABC Islands from San Juan

For more details on booking the cruise, the itinerary and prices, check out our Events page and if you have any questions, email me!

Royal Caribbean Around the Internet

Forbes wrote about Royal Caribbean using technology to improve the guest experience.

Beyond Ships interviewed Cruise Director Abe Hughes.

SecureIDNews looked at facial recognition on cruise ships.

Royal Caribbean's newest sales promotion offers 30% off all guests and kids sail free on select sailings 4 nights or longer.

This offer applies to cruises booked between December 9, 2017 and January 3, 2018 on sailings departing on or after January 9, 2018, with the exception of China departures.

Offer includes:

• 30% off cruise fare for all guests' in the same stateroom.
• Kids Sail Free
  • Guests 12 & under sail free on 4 nights or longer Europe, Bahamas, Canada, Bermuda, Hawaii, Coastal and Caribbean sailings departing January 9, 2018- December 15, 2018. Excludes Symphony of the Seas sailings and sailings departing 2/15/18-2/20/18, 3/10/18-4/1/18, 5/15/18- 9/1/18 and 11/17/18-11/22/18.
• Summer Northeast Upgrade
  • Guests can purchase a Balcony at the price of an Ocean View stateroom on Adventure of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas on sailings from May 1, 2018 - September 30, 2018.
  • Guests can purchase an Ocean View at the price of an Interior stateroom on Grandeur of the Seas on sailings from May 1, 2018 - September 30, 2018.

30% offer is combinable with NRDB OBC, promotional OBCs and instant savings, Kids Sail Free, Northeast Bonus, NextCruise offers, restricted discounts (for example, Senior, Resident, Military), Crown and Anchor discounts and Shareholder Benefits. Deck the Holidays sale is combinable with NextCruise offers, NRDB OBC, and restricted discounts (for example, Senior, Resident, Military) but is not combinable with Shareholder benefits and Crown and Anchor discounts. BOGO50 bookings made for China departures are combinable with NextCruise offers and Crown and Anchor discounts only. All offers are not combinable with any other offer or promotion, including, but not limited to, Standard Group, Interline, Travel Agent, Travel Agent Friends and Family, Weekly Sales Events, Net Rates. This offer is combinable for Future Cruise Certificates and Letters of Credit.

Offer available to residents of United States and Canada.

If it's Friday, that means we are sharing our reader's best Royal Caribbean photos in this week's Friday Photos showcase.  As always, we want to include as many of our readers photos as we can, so be sure to send us your best Royal Caribbean photos too!

Our first photo is from John Bamber, taken in Nassau with friends Michael Poole and Nick Vitani while they were all in port on the same day.

Our next photo is by Janine B. of the Boardwalk on Oasis of the Seas, taken from her balcony.

Here is a photo by Blake Baldwin of Radiance of the Seas in Icy Straight Point, Alaska.

Seth Haber took this photo of Harmony of the Seas docked in Nassau, Bahamas.

Bella's kids took a selfie with pop rock band DNCE while they were on Oasis of the Seas.  NBD.

Sam Goodwin snapped this shot of Freedom of the Seas while in Labadee.

Our final photo this week is from Donal Kavanagh of Independence of the Seas reflected in the glass in front of the opera house in Kristiansand, Norway.

Do you have Royal Caribbean photos that you want to share?  We'd love to feature them so send them in by using our nifty submission form and maybe your photos will show up in next week's edition!

Royal Caribbean and members of St. Thomas' government met yesterday to officially re-open Magens Bay in St. Thomas, which had suffered from significant hurricane damage.

Photo by TheTwangster

Royal Caribbean International partnered with the Department of Tourism, the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, the Magens Bay Authority and other government agencies and businesses to restore the world-renowned beach.

The Category 5 hurricanes caused major damage to the beach facilities, including the restrooms and food and beverage concession and gift shop. Winds and storm surge also caused significant beach erosion and impacted trees and plants along the shoreline. Cleanup crews have been working daily since the hurricanes to remove fallen trees and debris, repair buildings, and replant hundreds of native plants and trees. About 530 new trees have been planted, and 470 trees have been pruned.

Photo by TheTwangster

The ceremony included the reopening and dedication of Magens Bay, with St. Thomas, Governor Kenneth Mapp and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Chairman and CEO Richard Fain and Royal Caribbean International CEO Michael Bayley present.

Photo by James Van Fleet

Mr. Fain shared that Royal Caribbean was keen to make a contribution to help the Virgin Islands and its people. He reported that tens of thousands of cruise passengers have visited St. Thomas since the storms and Royal Caribbean’s visitor satisfaction ratings were now higher than before Hurricanes Irma and Maria came ashore.

Thursday’s ceremony was particularly significant, Mr. Fain noted, because it was 47 years and one month to the day that Royal Caribbean’s first ship made its first voyage, calling on St. Thomas. "This has been a long and important relationship," Mr. Fain said, adding, "It’s very much a partnership."

Mr. Fain thanked the team at Royal Caribbean who took pride in the revitalization of Magens Bay. “I think they would all join me in expressing our admiration for the people here in St. Thomas for undertaking all of the work that’s going on and for handling it with such aplomb and with such a commitment to make it better,” he said.

Royal Caribbean announced beginning with the 2019 deployment season, Radiance of the Seas sailings will feature two new stateroom categories within Ocean View and Balcony accommodations — Northbound Preferred and Southbound Preferred.

This change will appear with the opening of 2019 Alaska sailings on Radiance of the Seas, which is scheduled for the week of December 11, 2017. These stateroom categories offer guaranteed premium views of the scenic Alaskan coast. Royal Caribbean hopes this change will eliminate confusion about which side of the ship is more desirable.

The new stateroom categories offer, "guaranteed premium views of the scenic Alaskan coast" and is applicable to Radiance of the Seas sailings between May 5, 2019 and August 30, 2019.

Royal Caribbean is introducing $100 per person deposits on cruises booked onboard a Royal Caribbean ship at the NextCruise office.

When guests book their next cruise onboard a Royal Caribbean ship, they are now eligible to pay a reduced deposit of only $100 per person regardless of length of cruise only when they select the non refundable fare program. Refundable fare bookings continue to require full deposit.

This offer will be available on all cruises that commence on or after December 9, 2017. China roundtrip voyages are excluded.

The new $100 per person deposit program is applicable when booking a Junior Suite category or below. Interiors, Oceanview, Balcony and Junior Suites are all included in this offer. Grand Suites and above continue to require full deposit.

Since this deposit program applies to non-refundable fares, if the booking is cancelled, the $100 per person deposits are non refundable and no Future Cruise Credit will be issued.

Changes made within the first 30 days of creation date align with the existing NextCruise policy and will not incur a $100 per person change fee. Changes made after the first 30 days of creation will follow the existing non refundable fare brand guidelines which will incur a $100 per person change fee if changes are made to the original ship and sail date. Deposit remains non refundable from the time of booking.

Group bookings are not eligible for the reduced deposit and will continue to follow the existing group deposit guidelines

Royal Caribbean released new information about select 2019-2020 Northeast and Bermuda sailings and when guests can expect to begin booking these adventures.

Royal Caribbean Crown & Anchor Society members can begin booking sailings on December 5, 2017, with the general public available to begin booking on December 6, 2017.

2019-2020 Northeast Adventures

• Adventure of the Seas
• Anthem of the Seas
• Grandeur of the Seas
• Serenade of the Seas

2019-2020 Bermuda

• Anthem of the Seas
• Grandeur of the Seas
• Serenade of the Seas

The remaining opening schedule for the 2019-2020 sailings is as follows

• Europe Phase I & Alaska: Summer 2019: Week of December 11, 2017
• Remaining deployment: Spring 2018

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd was named a “Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality” after scoring a perfect 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s 2018 Corporate Equality Index.

This is the second year in a row that Royal Caribbean earned this honor, after making the list last year as well.

Last year the HRC, one of the oldest gay and lesbian political action committees in the U.S., added a requirement for inclusion as a top-ranking company on the 15-year-old index – a global non-discrimination policy or code of conduct that specifically prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

In meeting all requirements, RCL is among 609 major American businesses earning top scores on the index, a national benchmarking survey and report on corporate policies and practices related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer workplace equality.

It’s thrilling, of course, says Adam M. Goldstein, RCL’s president and COO, explaining: “We actually have an opportunity as a company to be understood as one of the most welcoming employers anywhere, in any industry. And I think we should be.

“You have guests coming from absolutely everywhere, you’ve got crew coming from absolutely everywhere, you’ve got ships going absolutely everywhere, and really the only way to make an environment like that work well is that you have to be welcoming to everyone.”

“If we’re going to do that on the ships, then clearly we also need to do that in our land-based facilities because it all has to be consistent, it has to tie together,” he says. “Here at our headquarters campus, obviously this is the location from which we direct our overall global effort, and if we want to have that type of situation out at sea then we need to be sure we have that type of situation here at headquarters.”

“It’s just fantastic how we’ve been recognized, Goldstein continues. “And we see that not only in terms of big public awards like this one, but in the number of serious companies – well-established, well-known companies – who are now coming to us and asking how are we doing these things, what are our methods, to see what techniques they can adopt from the techniques and behaviors that we’re demonstrating.”

With focused efforts, he says, RCL went from being a company with the right instincts and motivations “to a place where we are in the absolute forefront of how to construct and sustain workplace environments that are open and tolerant to the full array of diversity.”