Royal Caribbean announced the teams of adventure squads that are finalists in the cruise line's "The World’s Most Adventurous Squad" contest.

In late March, squads began competing in the contest’s opening round of five challenges chronicled on social media. With themes like “Thrills and Chills” and “Epic Eats,” these challenges ran through April. Royal Caribbean then selected one winning squad for each challenge. Five finalists were picked among a field of more than 3,000 competing teams who entered the contest. Each team is made up of up to four thrill-seekers, and will compete to be crowned the winner in just two weeks.

The contest progress can be tracked at AdventureSquad.com. The finalist teams are

• Cousins of the Caribbean, Winners of the Thrills and Chills Challenge — These competitive cousins are former collegiate athletes, game-changers, and open-minded wanderlusters.
• Hawaii Koa, Winners of the Hidden Gems Challenge — Instagram ‘Pros and Bros’ are self-proclaimed ‘surf & snow animals’ that believe life begins at the end of your comfort zone.
• Bangarang, Winners of the Epic Eats Challenge — This globetrotting team collectively has sampled many of the world’s wonders and believe, ‘You gotta risk it to get the biscuit.’
• Seas the Day, Winners of the Culture Capture Challenge — Calling themselves ‘a couple of couples,’ this crew enthusiastically seeks out the adrenaline rush of serious adventure travel.
• Skallywags, Winners of the Air Land and Sea Challenge — Having brains, muscle, and moxie, these outdoorsy outliers know how to beat attitude with gratitude and plenty of altitude.

From May 27–June 3, the remaining tier of the Adventure Squad contest begins. The Final Five will embark on Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas for a seven-day sailing. Beginning in Labadee, Haiti, squad mettle will be tested as teams careen down Dragon’s Breath Flight Line, the world’s longest overwater zip line. A sail to Haiti’s remote Amiga Island, surrounded by white-sand beaches and crystal blue waters, culminates in a kayaking and wave-jet surfing adventure to round out the day.

Next, competitors sail to Falmouth, Jamaica, where they’ll raft their way down three miles of the Martha Brae River on handmade vessels of bamboo. Later, crews get to sample some of the best jerk chicken and pork in Jamaica that’s cooked over the pimento tree wood pits of Scotchie’s Restaurant in Montego Bay. Exploring the exhilarating waterfalls and secret cave of Jamaica’s Blue Hole as well as off-roading on ATVs through the island’s jungle terrain is also on the adrenaline-pumping itinerary. But no worries, squad members get to shake off hard-earned road dust with a refreshing cliff-dive into azure waters.

The final port-of-call will take the eager travelers to the island of Cozumel, Mexico, where they’ll hop a plane to explore the intriguing archaeological Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza. Once there, underground limestone caverns of some of the country’s many cenotes await their inspection. The group will then be treated to restorative handmade tortillas at a private Cozumel taqueria.

At the end of sailing, all five teams will gather in Harmony’s outdoor AquaTheater to hear which group is crowned “The World’s Most Adventurous Squad.” Each winning squad member will be awarded with three Royal Caribbean cruises.

Stay up-to-date with all the Royal Caribbean news from this week with our roundup of all this week's news.

Earlier this week, we reported a new kind of escape room game available on Brilliance of the Seas that will soon make its way to other ships in the fleet.

Puzzle Break CEO Nate Martin spoke exclusively with Royal Caribbean Blog about the work his company is doing to bring new escape rooms to other Royal Caribbean ships.  

The "Royal Mystery" game is a hybrid puzzle hunt escape room experience that is playable by multiple teams at the same time. And it can be played on existing ships in the fleet.

Royal Caribbean News

• Kids Sail Free sale is back for the rest of the month.
• We have a new Symphony of the Seas construction photo update.
• Royal Caribbean pushed back the release of its 2018-2019 Australia sailings until June.
• Royal Caribbean retired its iOS app this week.
• We started two new live blogs: Oasis of the Seas and Empress of the Seas.
• Here are five ways to save hundreds of dollars off your next cruise.
• Our full review of Izumi on Navigator of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 198th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, featuring an interview with Puzzle Break CEO and co-founder Nate Martin.

In this Episode, Matt talks with Nate Martin about the work Puzzle Break is doing with Royal Caribbean and the kind of escape room games that are coming soon to its ships.

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

Royal Caribbean Around the Internet

Seatrade Cruise News cites a poll that Royal Caribbean is tops with millennials.

CruiseBe has 5 places for foodies on Anthem of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean showed how they use data-driven, predictive analytics approach to fleet operations.

Eat Sleep Cruise shared their top 10 things to do in Havana, Cuba.

Happy Friday to everyone! When the calendar hits Friday, that means we are sharing our readers favorite Royal Caribbean cruise photos!  

Each week we invite our readers to send us their favorite Royal Caribbean photos and we showcase them all right here!

Ken Slusser starts us off this week, with this photo of the deck party on Enchantment of the Seas.

Jin has a shot of North Star rising above Ovation of the Seas.

Here is a beautiful sunset photo, sent in by Catherine Elgie-Peters, from aboard Quantum of the Seas.

Dana and Patricia Hall shared this photo of Vision of the Seas docked in downtown Oslo, Norway.

Check out this photo of Quantum of the Seas in Nassau, Bahamas, just as the sun is setting.  Photo by Naas.

Rob Ruby shared this photo of the sun rising in Sydney, while he was aboard Rhapsody of the Seas.

We round out this week's photos with this shot of Miami in the distance, as seen by John Estok on Navigator of the Seas as the ship was beginning a brand new sailing.

We want to share your Royal Caribbean photos too! Send us your favorite, best, most awesome Royal Caribbean cruise photos by using this form and we will feature them in an upcoming Friday Photos blog post!

Guests sailing on Brilliance of the Seas can look forward to enjoying an escape room game while onboard their next sailing.

Puzzle Break CEO Nate Martin confirmed to Royal Caribbean Blog in an exclusive interview that the company now offers, "Royal Mystery," which is a hybrid puzzle hunt escape room experience that is playable by multiple teams at the same time.

Puzzle Break's website lists Brilliance of the Seas as a ship offering a Puzzle Break experience

"To bring Puzzle Break experiences to an even larger audience, we also have a couple of games that we've done for Royal which we're rolling out to more and more ships everyday. It is a kind of a hybrid experience, that kind of captures what an escape room is...but instead of one team in one room, it's a whole bunch of teams in a very large space all working on the same puzzles independently, racing against the clock and somewhat racing against each other," said Nate Martin, Co-Founder and CEO, Puzzle Break.

"This is called A Royal Mystery, we're going to be eventually be doing several of these for Royal.  They are available now aboard Brilliance of the Seas, Ovation of the Seas, and I think we are rolling out to Harmony pretty soon."

"I think the current plan of record is to get those on every single ship in the fleet."

Royal Mystery on Ovation of the Seas. Photo by drummerdave72

Royal Caribbean and Puzzle Break are also collaborating on bringing an escape room experience to Symphony of the Seas, which is Royal Caribbean's upcoming fourth Oasis Class ship that will debut next year.  According to Martin, an escape room game for a ship like Symphony of the Seas costs "over a million dollars to make."

Royal Caribbean sent an update to users that its current smartphone app for iOS devices is being retired.

The app was updated in the iTunes App Store on May 17, 2017, with the notice, "Unfortunately, this Royal Caribbean App is being retired and will no longer be supported. Make sure to visit our mobile experience on RoyalCaribbean.com to book your next adventure and stay informed when you're on the go."

The official Royal Caribbean app was rarely updated, with just one update in all of 2016 and a few updates in 2015.

While not confirmed, it is believed retiring the current Royal Caribbean app may be the precursor to the release of the new smart phone app that Royal Caribbean is actively developing. According to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Chairman and CEO Richard Fain, the new smart phone app should be out sometime this summer.

Thanks to Jason Percival Sr. and Marc Schwartz for alerting us to this app change.

Royal Caribbean is now offering a kids sail free promotion on top of their current Maycation sales event.

Kids Sail Free is valid on cruises booked between May 17 - 31, 2017.

Offer includes

• 30% off the standard cruise fare for all guests in a stateroom; all stateroom categories. Applies to sailings on or after June 17, 2017.
• Kids Sail Free offer
  • Free cruise fare of third and higher guests who are 12 years or younger as of cruise departure date, booked in the same stateroom as the first two qualifying guests in a triple or quad occupancy stateroom on 5 nights or longer sailings that depart between Sep. 1, 2017 - Dec. 14, 2017 across Bahamas, Caribbean, North East Caribbean, Bermuda, Coastal and Canada itineraries.
  • Valid on Vision of the Seas, Liberty of the Seas, Brilliance of the Seas, Rhapsody of the Seas, Adventure of the Seas, Jewel of the Seas, Freedom of the Seas, Empress of the Seas, Navigator of the Seas, Serenade of the Seas, Independence of the Seas, Oasis of the Seas, Allure of the Seas, Harmony of the Seas, Anthem of the Seas, Grandeur of the Seas and Explorer of the Seas.
  • Kids Sail Free excludes sailings departing on or between 11/16/17 – 11/26/17.
• Oasis Class Sale
  • Valid on cruises booked May 17, 2017 7:00AM EST to May 24, 2017 6:59am EST on sailings that depart on or after June 17, 2017.
  • Dollars off on Oasis of the Seas, Allure of the Seas and Harmony of the Seas sailings departing on or after June 17, 2017 determined by stateroom category booked:
    • $50 off per stateroom for interior and oceanview
    • $150 off per stateroom for balcony
    • $300 off per stateroom for suite

30% Savings is combinable with Crown & Anchor discounts, Shareholders Benefits and NextCruise offers. 30% Savings is not combinable with any other offer or promotion, including but not limited to, restricted rates. All offers are not combinable with any other offer or promotion.

Dollars Off is not combinable with Crown & Anchor discounts or Shareholder Benefits. Maycation 30% and Dollars Off are not combinable with any other offer or promotion, including but not limited to, restricted rates (for example, Seniors, Residents, and Military), Standard Group, Interline, Travel Agent, Travel Agent Friends and Family, Weekly Sales Events, and Net Rates.

Offer open to residents of U.S. or Canada.

A Royal Caribbean cruise is a top choice for many families that want to enjoy a great vacation, but there are some important strategies for saving (a lot of) money off the total cost of the cruise.

Bargain hunters should be aware there are some definite ways to bring that total cruise cost down.  Here are five ways we have found to consistently save hundreds of dollars on cruise vacations.

Book your cruise early

If there is one tried-and-true strategy for getting the lowest price on a Royal Caribbean cruise, it is to book the sailing as early as possible.  If you can book your sailing 12, 18 or even 24 months in advance, you will very likely pay much less than someone that waits to book their sailing just a few months before the cruise.

The simple reason why booking early gets you the lowest price is that when a sailing is put on sale, all the staterooms are available to book, and thus, demand is at its lowest.  As guests start to book rooms, supply goes down, which inversely drives prices up.  Over time, we typically see prices for a sailing go up.

Moreover, if you live in a country that allows re-booking prior to final payment date (United States, Canada, Australia, etc), you can always take advantage of price drops, if they were to occur, and get the new lowest price.  If you book early enough, you may find regardless of the deal or promotion Royal Caribbean publicizes, the rate you had booked early on is still a better deal.

Cruise close to home

If you can manage to go on a cruise without having to fly, or take another expensive means of transportation, you will reap a ton of savings.

In addition to the traditional cruise homeports in Florida, Royal Caribbean also offers year-round and seasonal cruises from New York, Baltimore, New Orleans, Galveston and San Juan.  This means a great deal of convenient embarkation ports that can be driveable. 

By not having to include an airline ticket in your vacation budget, you will save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. Of course, there still will be a transportation cost to get to the port, but very likely the savings in not buying an airline ticket will outweigh gas, tolls and even a hotel stay.

Buy a dining or drink package

If you are the sort of person that will indulge in specialty dining or alcoholic beverages onboard your Royal Caribbean cruise, a dining or drink package can save you a lot of money.

Royal Caribbean's dining packages allow guests to enjoy meals at a variety of specialty restaurants for one low price.  There are many packages available, but taking advantage of these dining packages will save money compared to eating at those same restaurants, but paying the walk-up price without a package. When you figure multiple people investing in a dining package, the savings stack up quickly.

Likewise, a Royal Caribbean drink package can save you money, provided you drink enough every day of your cruise to make it worthwhile. Guests pay a flat cost to enjoy unlimited beverages that are included in the package they select.  Be sure to get a discount on a Royal Caribbean drink package prior to your cruise to increase your total savings.

It is worth noting that a drink or dining package may not inherently save everyone money.  The cost savings depend on how much you will actually consume on a cruise.  It is important to sit down before your cruise and think about how many drinks you might have, factor in time off the ship in foreign ports of call, and determine if a drink package is right for you.  Dining packages are a bit easier to figure out if they are a worthwhile investment, because you can look at your Cruise Planner and determine what looks of interest and plan accordingly.

Book your next cruise onboard

Royal Caribbean will reward you if you book another Royal Caribbean cruise, while still onboard your current sailing.  These rewards come in the form of onboard credit, which can stack up into the hundreds of dollars quite quickly.

Dubbed NextCruise, Royal Caribbean has changed up some of the rules lately for how the program works, especially if deposits are refundable or not.  It is important to be aware of all the rules on canceling or changing sailings prior to booking. 

However, if you are certain of the sailing you want to take, booking onboard will garner significant savings, especially on longer sailings (7 nights or more) and/or balcony and suite staterooms. The NextCruise program is one of the easiest ways to earn money towards your next sailing.

Be flexible with your cruise dates

If the dates you can take a Royal Caribbean cruise are somewhat open, you can shave off hundreds of dollars from your cruise fare. 

Just like the entire travel industry, cruises have peak and off-peak seasons.  Booking a cruise over Christmas week will see a much higher cost than if you opt for that same cruise two weeks earlier or later. Those that can cruise when many families are stuck following a school or work holiday calendar, will find rock bottom prices for cruise fares.

Finding the lowest fares typically has more to do with when you are actually going on your cruise. In general, you will find lower fares if you are willing to cruise during the "shoulder seasons" and/or when school is usually in session.

This includes

• January (minus New Years holiday)
• Most of February
• May
• September
• October
• First two weeks of November
• First two weeks of December

Picking Royal Caribbean cruises that sail during these times of year often net the lowest fares because it is when less people have the opportunity or inclination to cruise.

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

Episode 198 is available for downloading, which features an interview with Puzzle Break's CEO, Nate Martin.

Nate Martin and his team are responsible for bringing the incredible escape room games to Royal Caribbean ships.  Nate shares what it took to create these interactive experiences, and gives us a peek into what we can expect to see in the future on other Royal Caribbean ships.

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 198. And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Stitcher or on iTunes!

Take a listen and as always, let us know what you think! Please rate and review the podcast on iTunes and leave your comments below!

Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas is under construction at STX France shipyard, and we have a new batch of photos to share.

Thanks to our friends at Saint Nazaire, une ville à la mer, we are able to share photos that were taken on May 16, 2017.

© Hervé GLAIS

Symphony of the Seas will be Royal Caribbean's fourth Oasis Class cruise ship and is set to debut in Spring 2018.  She will offer Mediterranean sailings in her first summer, prior to arriving in Miami, Florida at her new homeport in November 2018.

The theatrical possibilities of the AquaTheater, the distinct high diving, acrobatic performance space introduced by Royal Caribbean with the Oasis class of ships, have breathtaking limits. Two 10-meter high platforms and the hydraulic-floored pool, the largest and deepest freshwater pool at sea, below will serve as podiums for high-diving, hair-raising aerobatics that AquaTheater audiences have come to love.