Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship has made it out to sea.

Icon of the Seas left her pier at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland to commence her sea trials.

Icon of the Seas will be conducting week-long series of sea trials where the ship's maneuvering and onboard technology are tested in real-life conditions.

There are over 450 specialists on the ship to carry out crucial, preliminary tests with Icon’s main engines, hull, lifeboats, thrusters and more.

This is the first sea trial for Icon, and this round will prepare the vessel for the second round of sea trials later this year. That is when Royal Caribbean says the ship will be, "pushed to its limits".

Before you pack your bags, there's still quite a bit of time left before she is ready to take on passengers.

Icon still needs plenty of work and fine tuning, and she's not slated to have her first cruise with paying passengers until January 2024.

On a webinar last week, Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley talked about the excitement building now for Icon, "I think for all of the teams who've been involved in Icon for the past five years, the excitement level is beginning to really increase. You can feel it."

The shipyard is equally excited for the sea trials beginning, "We are once again very happy that we get to celebrate yet another significant achievement, as Icon leaves the outfitting pier for the first time, and continues her journey through the Turku archipelago towards the sea."

Not only is Icon of the Seas a new ship, but it it's a new direction for what a cruise ship can offer families on a vacation.

The ship is packed with just about everything Royal Caribbean thinks families will want on their trip.

There's a water park, more pools than ever, lots of new dining choices, adult-only spaces, an entire neighborhood for kids and more superlatives than you can associate with a cruise ship.

What are sea trials?

Sea trials are tests of a cruise ship's navigational and technical systems, which are the final part of cruise ship construction prior to delivery.

Everything from the ship's propulsion, to navigation, to engines are tested before it can be ready to join the fleet.

Sea trials range in duration, sometimes one or two sessions is common.

The sea trials are conducted with a combination of Royal Caribbean crew members, as well as shipyard workers. 

Happy Sunday! I would like to wish all the dads out there a very Happy Father’s Day! Hope you get to have a relaxing and fun-filled day with your family!

Now it’s time to sit back, relax, and catch up on all the latest Royal Caribbean news!

Royal Caribbean is poised to release more information on Utopia of the Seas.

The cruise line has not yet announced where Utopia will sail from, her itineraries, or any other details. But that will change next week.

Royal Caribbean posted a countdown teasing a release of information to be posted on June 20.

Royal Caribbean News

• Celebrity Cruises released details about its biggest ship yet: Celebrity Ascent
• World's biggest YouTuber takes over Royal Caribbean cruise ship
• Royal Caribbean hires Bahamian business leader for head of new Bahamas beach club
• The Ultimate Family Townhouse is sold out for 2024 and costs $80,000 per week
• How can you win that Royal Up stateroom upgrade bid? It's pure luck
• 10 Reasons people leave their cruise ship vacation disappointed
• How to beat the crowds on your cruise ship

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 502nd episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available with small tweaks to how you cruise.

By doing things slightly differently, you can get a better overall cruise experience. Try these tips on your next sailing.

Please feel free to subscribe via iTunes or RSS, and head over to rate and review the podcast on iTunes if you can! 

New RCB Video: 15 ways board your cruise ship faster!

{"preview_thumbnail":"/sites/default/files/styles/video_embed_wysiwyg_preview/public/video_thumbnails/Y9AJDaWiREY.jpg?itok=37dSrj1u","video_url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9AJDaWiREY","settings":{"responsive":1,"width":"854","height":"480","autoplay":0},"settings_summary":["Embedded Video (Responsive)."]}

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 — 15 ways board your cruise ship faster! — and don’t forget to subscribe here.

Icon of the Seas will begin her sea trials this weekend

Icon of the Seas is approaching the next step on her journey towards completion.

Icon will depart from the Turku shipyard for the first time ever during the weekend.

Sea trials are when the ship's engines and systems are powered on to evaluate its performance.

Things you'll notice when cruising on the newest cruise ship

Sailing on a new cruise ship vs an old ship there are certain nuances you can expect.

New cruise ships have much more modern aesthetics, along with other advantages.  But they also come with a higher price tag.

If you've only sailed on older ships, or are simply curious what makes a new ship different from an older ship, here's a rundown of what to expect.

10 ways I saved money on my Alaska cruise

Given how expensive excursions are in Alaska, it’s easy to break the budget on an Alaska cruise.

From exploring ports without shore excursions to taking advantage of onboard discounts, it's easy to save money on my Alaska cruise without feeling like you're missing out.

Check out our list of 10 easy ways to save money on an Alaska cruise.

Pros and Cons of booking a cruise early vs last-minute

What are the best reasons to book a cruise super early or at the very last minute?

Both options offer have their benefits, whether saving money by booking far in advance or coming across a last-minute cruise deal.

We've got a look at the pros and cons of booking your cruise late and early to help determine which option works best for you.

Royal Caribbean's stateroom bidding upgrade program is quite popular because it offers the opportunity to get a bigger (and arguably better) cabin for less than if you booked it outright.  But how can you increase your chances to actually win the upgrade?

Among the frequently asked Royal Caribbean cruise questions we get on this site, how to win a Royal Up bid is among the top queries.

At some point before your cruise, you should get an email from Royal Caribbean alerting you to the option to bid for a room upgrade. Depending on which category of room you have booked, there is usually a variety of bigger and more opulent cabin choices to consider.

The allure of getting a nicer stateroom for a fraction of the normal cost tantalizes many guests, and the obvious next question is how to increase the chances of actually winning a Royal Up bid.

How RoyalUp works

When you get the email, you have the option of entering a Royal Up bid yourself or through your travel agent.

This program is similar to a silent auction, where the cruise line sets a minimum bid, and you can go up in price from there.

Any submitted offer is for the entire stay and applies to the first two people on the reservation. If your reservation includes multiple guests (between 2 and 5 passengers), the offer amount submitted will be per guest but only for the first and second guest on the reservation.

As an example, a $500 stateroom upgrade bid (if accepted) would result in a $1,000 charge.

When considering a bid amount, the website rates your bid, although it seems to universally increase your chance tied to the dollar amount. As you might imagine, it will make you think a higher bid is a better bid.

In reality, you have no idea what anyone else bid.  So there is absolutely no way to know how competitive your bid truly is, and whom you are competing against.

Unlike an auction on eBay where you can see the top bid so far, there's no such way with Royal Up.

It's important to remember that Royal Up is a mechanism for the cruise line to sell unsold cruise ship cabins, especially if there's a last minute cancellation.

The most important fact to realize about Royal Up is just because you get a bidding opportunity does not mean there is a cabin available to upgrade to.

While upgrading to unsold cabins is one part of the process, it seems more common for Royal Caribbean to leverage bids when someone cancels a reservation close to the sail date.

In short, RoyalUp is kind of a "black box" where guests don't have any insight into the logic of how winning bids are selected.  In addition, there's no indication when a bid will be selected. It's possible your bid could be active all the way until your ship departs.

It's all luck

In trying to answer the question of how to increase your chances of winning a Royal Up bid, the answer is simply luck.

In my experience trying out RoyalUp myself and talking with many other cruise fans, it's quite clear that there is no consistent strategy to actually winning a bid.

If you're in an inside room and trying to bid to a cabin category that has a lot of availability and less demand, such as an oceanview or balcony, your chances are probably a bit higher at winning a bid since there's more inventory of those types of cabins.

Suites, on the other hand, are tough to win because everyone on the ship dreams of moving up to a suite.  Combine that with the limited suite inventory, and you have a rather low chance at winning.

In comparing winning bids shared by past cruisers, there's even less consistency as to which strategy works best. There are winning bids for a minimum bid amount, as well as winning bids for a maximum amount.

To further validate these observations, I reached out to a few travel agents and asked them what their experience has been with their clients winning a stateroom upgrade bid.

Jenn Greene, a Travel Planner with MEI Travel, called the bidding program "random" when describing it to her clients, "Royal Up is completely random. I let clients know that it’s more like a lottery than a guarantee. And that if you really want it bid high. With ships sailing full, I am seeing less opportunities for clients to bid."

Mindy Breitman, a Travel Advisor for Cruise Planners, also couldn't find any patterns for her clients to benefit from, " I consider it a silent auction - totally random. I had two people on the same exact sailing bid for the same exact category and the same bid amount. One got the Royal up the other didn’t."

Sharla Manglass, a Travel Planner with MEI Travel, looks at a few variables that could swing your chances one way or another, "First- availability of staterooms that will fit your party size on the ship. Not all staterooms will sleep 3 or 4, and there are sometimes even capacity restrictions due to regulations."

"Royal Up success also depends on overall ship capacity. On a recent cruise for myself, the entire ship was sold out, so obviously no bids were accepted, even though we were offered them."

The experiences from these travel agents backs up what many cruise fans have shared over the years as well.

In short, treat Royal Up like a scratch off lotto game: it's fun to give it a try, but you should expect to lose and certainly don't make plans based on you winning.

Demand is so strong for Royal Caribbean's next new cruise ship that hasn't even begun sailing yet that the line has sold out every single reservation for its most expensive suite ever for the year.

Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas is the cruise line's first new ship class in almost a decade, and the company is betting big on its success.

Despite being more than 7 months away from the first sailing in January 2024, it's already seeing record-breaking demand from customers.

Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley talked about how strong the business is right now, and highlighted an eye-opening statistic about sales for the new ship.

"I think the entire ship is just stunning. And I think we're seeing that in the bookings," he said during a webinar with travel agents on Wednesday.

"The sales for icon are amazing. The the yields are just fantastic. So again, we're very happy with how Icon is playing out."

To exemplify just how much demand there is for Icon, Mr. Bayley talked about how well the most expensive suite onboard the ship is selling.

The three-story "Ultimate Family Townhouse" is located in the Surfside neighborhood for young families.

"I think we mentioned that the Ultimate Townhouse, I think is pretty much sold out completely for 2024 at an average rate of about $78, $80,000 a week."

Bookings for Icon only opened up in October 2022.

This cabin is a 1,772-square-foot Ultimate Family Townhouse that will be three decks high and sleep up to eight people.

It features an in-suite slide, movie-viewing room, karaoke machine and a "backyard" with a ping pong table, outdoor seating and a white picket fence leading directly to the Surfside area.

Icon of the Seas will offer guests a variety of room options spanning across 28 unique categories, offering some of the most spacious rooms Royal Caribbean has ever designed. 

"Icon is going to be the best family vacation in the world,” said Jay Schneider, Chief Product Innovation Officer in a video update from January 2023. "You can’t have an ultimate family vacation without a purpose-built neighborhood for families."

Royal Caribbean has created its first neighborhood on Icon of the Seas dedicated entirely to young families. It's an open-air space at the back of the ship.

Surfside was designed to become an area of the ship where families with kids ages 6 and under can play all-day together, where parents don't need to give up their relaxation time just because their kids want to play.

You'll find a giant aqua park designed for families: Splashaway Bay and Baby Bay splash parks for kids and the Water's Edge pool for parents. 

Surfside neighborhood will also offer family-friendly dining venues. 

Next to Splashaway Bay and next to a deep water pool, you have a grab-and-go eater at Surfside Bites. Then there's Surfside Eatery, which is Royal Caribbean's first buffet just families.  The Lemon Post bar is also a new concept that is the first bar to feature an adult menu and a kids menu. This will serve traditional tropical cocktails, as well as mocktails.

There's also a new specialty restaurant, Pier 7, which is described as a casual Boardwalk eatery.

The 1,198-foot-long mega-ship will be able to accommodate 7,600 guests across its 2,805 staterooms, which will make it the world's largest cruise ship once it debuts.

Icon will be 10 feet longer than Wonder of the Seas, which is currently the world's largest cruise ship.

The first sailing of Icon of the Seas will be a 7-night cruise from Miami on January 27, 2024.

The ship will sail year-round out of Miami in 2024, alternating between Eastern Caribbean and Western Caribbean itineraries, with four different routings available for departures between January 2024 and April 2025.

I often say that it's hard to have a bad cruise on a new cruise ship, and a large reason for that thought process is because of how much you can see and do on a new cruise ship.

Royal Caribbean's fleet of cruise ships offers ships of different size and age. There's a good reason to try them all, with the newest ships offering some superb experiences that truly stand out.

Of course, a new cruise ship will come with a premium price.  The newest ships have the most demand because of how intriguing they are to the general public. It leaves some people wondering what exactly a new cruise ships gets you and why you'd want to pay extra to sail on a brand new Royal Caribbean cruise ship compared to one that isn't as new.

Regardless of a ship's age, Royal Caribbean does a good job of maintaining its fleet with regular updates and even upgrades to some vessels.

The appeal of the latest and greatest certainly draws in plenty of cruisers, because it represents the very best Royal Caribbean has to offer. When you watch a commercial for Royal Caribbean, inevitably you want to do the same things you see in the commercial, and those are offered on newer ships.

If you've only sailed on older ships, or are simply curious what makes a new ship different from an older ship, there are a few nuances you will notice about a brand new cruise ship when you get onboard.

Updated cabin aesthetics

If you think all cruise ships are the same regardless of age, you have to see the cabin of a new ship.

New cruise ships have much more modern aesthetics, and I'd say the look and feel of a new ship cabin mirrors that of a land based hotel much more than older ships cabins.

Royal Caribbean ship cabins on ships built prior to 2014 seem to have a very traditional maritime look to them, and it seemed like the motif for these staterooms was very much the same whether you were on a Radiance or Voyager Class cruise ship.

Read more: Royal Caribbean ship classes ultimate guide

With the Quantum Class, the look of a Royal Caribbean cruise ship cabin began to change, and since then, it seems Royal Caribbean hasn't been content with delivering the same sort of cabin.

The colors have evolved over the last 10 years, and there's more accents that make your cruise ship cabin look less like a cruise ship cabin.  In my opinion, new ship cabins evoke more of a land resort look to them than older ship cabins did.

Read more: What are the different types of cabins on a cruise ship?

Smart TVs

Something else you'll notice in your cabin on a new cruise ship are the televisions.

I certainly don't watch a lot of TV while on a cruise, but when I do, the experience is much more enjoyable on a new TV given the feature set and performance you'll get with them.

Newer Royal Caribbean ships have interactive TVs, where you can complete your muster drill experience, order room service, review charges and more.

On the very newest Royal Caribbean ships, the TVs have a means to stream content from your smart device.  This alleviates one of the major pain points guests have had for years of trying to get a movie from their computer or phone on the TV without having to bring an HDMI cable and universal remote.

Plus, the new TVs change channels a heck of a lot quicker.  My pet peeve is using a TV that has a noticeable delay in trying to change channels, which is common with older units.

While the stateroom television isn't a reason to book a cruise or not, it certainly makes it slightly more enjoyable.

More specialty restaurants

There's simply more dining choices on a new cruise ship.

Part of the reason you'll find more dining variety is because the ship is bigger, which means more space onboard for more restaurants.

Over the years, Royal Caribbean has doubled down on specialty dining in particular because of how well-received it has been from guests.  It offers more cuisines and cooking styles than you can find in the complimentary venues, and it allows Royal Caribbean to experiment with new concepts too.

For those that opt to indulge in extra cost restaurants, you'll have many more choices on a new ship than an older ship.

As an example, Icon of the Seas will have more than 40 food and beverage concepts, with 23 of them completely new to Royal Caribbean.

Whether you go to all of those restaurants is secondary to the fact you have the choice to visit, and the sheer variety stands out to guests.

When you sail on an older ship, the amount of dining choices is considerably less.

Read more: Food on a Royal Caribbean cruise

Newer songs in production shows

If you want to tell which decade a cruise ship was launched, watch the production shows and listen for which songs are included.

When Royal Caribbean builds a new cruise ship, they develop new shows for guests onboard.  Inevitably, there are hit songs from the last few years included in the dance numbers.

When I went on Anthem of the Seas earlier this summer, I recall hearing Macklemore's, "Can't Hold Us" as part of a show in Two70.  It's a great hit from 2012, and it instantly sets the age of a ship in your mind.

Newer cruise ships seem to sample newer songs in their shows.

A lot of new cruisers

New cruise ships are built to bring in the crowds, especially those that have never cruised before.

Growth in the cruise industry is predicated on the concept of marketing to people that have never taken a cruise before because that is the largest segment of the population. According to statistics published by Cruise Lines International Association, around 15% of the total US population have ever cruised.

As a result, Royal Caribbean designs new cruise ships to be very intriguing to someone who has never cruised before, and the result is there will probably be a lot of new cruisers onboard.

To be fair, you'll find new cruisers on every Royal Caribbean cruise ship.  But there seems to be many more newbies on a new ship.

Certainly there will be many families on a new ship because of Royal Caribbean's historic appeal to the family travel market.

Those Royal Caribbean television commercials are made to attract the public to the ship, and often the whizz-bang activities onboard are the sort that compel someone who has never cruised before to try the ship. The Bionic Bar, Ultimate Abyss, and FlowRider all endear themselves to first time cruisers because they are the sort of activities someone might not have imagined you could do on a cruise ship.

More storage space in your cabin

Going back to the rooms on a cruise ship, one big difference with a new ship is how much more storage space there is in your cabin.

When I started cruising, I found storage space to always be at a premium.  But with cruise ships built in the last decade, there has been many more drawers, closets, and nooks added to store all of your belongings.

Instead of rationing shelves, I find even in inside cabins more shelving and drawers than we can possibly use.

This is especially helpful when cruising with kids, as the amount of stuff you have seems to grow exponentially.

Read more: 8 things you should know about your cruise ship cabin

The line's best musical acts

In terms of entertainment on a new cruise ship, the better acts tend to end up on the new ships.

When Royal Caribbean launches a new cruise ship, they will pluck the top rated bands and musicians to sail on the newest ship. This is largely based on guest feedback and reputation these performers have garnered over the years.

To be clear, all the musical acts across the fleet are talented, but the stagemanship the best acts have makes them stand out.

More app features

The Royal Caribbean app is now a must-use part of the cruise experience, and the feature set on a new ship is substantial.

The bottom row of the app has various things you can do in the app, and the newest ships in the fleet can do things like being able to open your stateroom door, augmented reality experiences, and even open your cabin curtains.

Whether you use all these features or not is another question, but it's nice to have them all as an option.

Better suite amenities

If you'd like to stay in a Royal Caribbean suite, you'll find the best suite perks on a new ship.

Royal Caribbean has two tiers of suite benefits, with its new ships offering Royal Suite Class amenities that are aimed at rivaling land resort suite benefits.

The Royal Suite Class has three tiers: Sea Class, Sky Class, and Star Class. They are available only on Quantum, Oasis, and Icon Class ships.

Read more: Guide to Icon of the Seas cabins and suites

Not only are the benefits better on new ships, but the size and layout of suites are arguably superior too.

Because of how lucrative the suite market is for the cruise line, Royal Caribbean has developed larger and more opulent suites that feature multi-deck layouts, in-suite slides, and private jacuzzis.

Read more: 5 best cruise ship suites on Royal Caribbean

A suite on an older ship will still be a lovely experience, but when you try a suite on the newer ships, I think the variety of perks stands out more.

More information

• I sailed on Royal Caribbean’s newest and oldest cruise ships: here's what it's like to cruise on each
• Does it matter how old your cruise ship is?

No matter which Royal Caribbean cruise ship you sail on, there's going to be a few thousands other passengers onboard with you, but that doesn't mean the ship will be crowded all the time and everywhere.

In some cases, a crowd is a good thing. It's nice to have the energy of a crowd for a theater performance, during a sing-a-long in a bar, or as part of the sail away party.

Royal Caribbean designs its ships to distribute guests around so crowding doesn't become problematic.  This is through a combination of placing venues at different ends and decks of the ship, as well as scheduling competing events at the same time.  

While these methods help reduce crowding, it's not going to feel like a private yacht or anything quite that empty.  That's to be expected to some degree on a mass market cruise line, but there's still a few ways to keep crowds to a minimum.

Depending on your cruising style, budget, and energy to seek out alternatives, you can enjoy a Royal Caribbean cruise without nearly as many crowds.

If your goal is to find ways to minimize crowds on your cruise, here are some strategies to side-step the crowds while enjoying your cruise.

Book a suite

If you want to throw money at the problem, staying in a Royal Caribbean suite gives you certain privileges that can assist with avoiding crowds.

Your suite cabin is going to be substantially larger than a standard balcony room, and that gives you private space to enjoy every day. This is especially nice with your suite balcony, which is quite a bit larger than a regular balcony.

Another way staying in a suite can give you an uncrowded experience is access to suite-only areas, such as the suite lounge and suite sun deck.

The suite sun deck is a popular option, because it allows you to enjoy the bright sunny days at sea without having to compete as much for a lounger.

Having your own bar and lounge in the suite lounge really makes a difference too, especially since drinks are complimentary here in the evening.

Looking ahead to Icon of the Seas, Royal Caribbean has dedicated the most space ever for suite guests in an entire neighborhood.

Icon’s expanded Suite neighborhood will include a new Mediterranean restaurant in The Grove, a multideck outdoor area with a pool and hot tub, reserved for suite guests.

Of course, staying in a suite isn't a cheap option, and it may be out of the question for most people's budgets.  But if you can afford one, staying in a suite is one easy way to avoid crowds.

Seek chairs away from the pool

If you want to enjoy time outdoors in a chair or lounger, there are usually lots of seating choices if you don't mind being away from the pool.

While the pool is a focal point for sea day activities, you'll find lots of seating choices on the outer decks if you venture further aft or forward from the middle of the deck.

What I love about getting a lounger away from the pool is it's quieter and a better chance of getting a lounge chair in the shade.

There are also chairs on the promenade deck that wraps around the outside of the ship on deck 4 or 5 (depending on the Royal Caribbean ship class).

Go indoors on sea days

If you value a quiet day on a sea day, head indoors when everyone is outside at the pool.

During the day, the bars are open on sea days and you'd be surprised how uncrowded some of these venues can be in the morning and afternoon.

A bar indoors will be quieter and sparsely crowded because a lot of other guests want to be outdoors to enjoy the sun or activities. If your goal is to read a book, watch a movie, or chat, being in an indoor venue isn't a bad idea at all.

Plus, you'll still find activities held indoors to keep you busy.

Cruise in the shoulder season

While Royal Caribbean ships rarely sail less than full capacity, picking a cruise during the shoulder season can feel less crowded, especially in the ports of call you visit.

The term "shoulder season" refers to the beginning and end of a cruise season when demand is less. Some examples of shoulder season are:

• Alaska: May or September
• Europe: May or September
• Caribbean: January, September or October

These times of the year are when demand is less because of weather or school schedules, and the result is (generally) lower prices and less demand.

While I don't think your cruise ship will be half empty by any means, one advantage of shoulder season cruising is fewer ships in port. That makes shore excursion touring far less crowded, especially in cities or at popular beaches.

Avoid Windjammer on embarkation day

When you board a Royal Caribbean cruise, the first place you may run into a crowd is at the ship's Windjammer buffet restaurant.

A lot of people boarding want to grab lunch before enjoying their first afternoon onboard and that can result in a busy lunch crowd.

Instead, get something to eat at another venue.

Depending on your ship, there's usually a couple of alternatives you could choose from for an embarkation day lunch.

Park Cafe, El Loco Fresh, Cafe Promenade, or Sorrento's are all complimentary options you could enjoy a lunch at for no extra cost.

In addition, some specialty restaurants are open for lunch on the first day, such as Chop's Grille, Johnny Rockets, Playmaker's Sports Bar, or Giovanni's.

Check a past Cruise Compass to get a sense of restaurant choices and operating hours.

Book with a group and rent out a venue

If you're sailing with a group of friends, you might be able to rent out a venue onboard.

Assuming you all booked with the same travel agent, Royal Caribbean's group department provides certain services, such as the ability to rent out a venue.

You could rent out a bar, specialty restaurant, water slide, or lounge. Depending on the size of your group, this might be something the equity generated by the group could cover partially or entirely in cost.

You'll need to have a group set up with Royal Caribbean's Groups department, but with some advanced planning, this can be a really fun way to enjoy certain venues of a ship without anyone else!

Do activities during dinner time

Want to ride the water slides, climb the rocking wall, or try the Flowrider without any lines? Go during dinner time.

Royal Caribbean usually operates its signature activities into the late afternoon and early evening, and this is one of the best times to go without much of a wait because most other guests are either at dinner or preparing to go to dinner.

Once the clock hits 4pm or so, the pool and sports decks start to empty out considerably because everyone wants to go to dinner. 

In the summer, there's plenty of day light in the early evening, and it's a great time to enjoy these venues that are otherwise super popular other times of the day.

Book a private shore excursion

I mentioned how shoulder season cruising can ensure a less crowded port day, but if you can't do a shoulder season cruise, another good option to avoid crowds is to book a private tour.

No matter which port you visit, there are bound to be private shore excursions you can book through third party operators.

A private tour means it's just for you and your group, so you don't have to worry about a crowded bus or waiting around for a large group to move.

Plus, your private tour will be more nimble than a large group, and that can allow you to get to and from hot spots in port before the larger crowds descend.

A private tour will cost more than a group tour, but if you value avoiding the crowd, a private tour is the way to go.

Happy Sunday! We hope you are having a great weekend and ready to talk a little Royal Caribbean.

Icon of the Seas is coming together nicely, and we have a new photo update of the progress being made.

Under construction in Turku, Finland, Icon of the Seas is looking more and more like a cruise ship (instead of a construction site). If you're like me, you want to see every update possible of what's happening there.

More water slides have been installed, the siding of the ship has been better revealed, and the ship looks to be getting prepared for her upcoming sea trials.

Royal Caribbean News

• Royal Caribbean cruise ship will experiment with new alternative fuel this summer
• Royal Caribbean Group CEO: more new cruisers than we had in 2019
• 7 most important crew members to meet on your cruise ship
• "Near-normal" hurricane season predicted for 2023: What that means for cruise ships
• 6 things to know before you book Wonder of the Seas
• 20 Celebrity Cruises Tips & Tricks

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 501st episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, featuring a local's guide to planning an Alaska cruise.

In this episode, Mollie live in Alaska and shares ideas for what to do in each Alaska cruise port.

Please feel free to subscribe via iTunes or RSS, and head over to rate and review the podcast on iTunes if you can! 

New RCB Video: Why you should eat at the buffet instead of the dining room

{"preview_thumbnail":"/sites/default/files/styles/video_embed_wysiwyg_preview/public/video_thumbnails/bdvA_GhVVec.jpg?itok=2gvjkxjY","video_url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdvA_GhVVec&t=43s","settings":{"responsive":1,"width":"854","height":"480","autoplay":0},"settings_summary":["Embedded Video (Responsive)."]}

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 — Why you should eat at the buffet instead of the dining room on your cruise — and don’t forget to subscribe here.

Inside a cruise ship captain's living quarters

Have you ever wondered what the Captain's quarters look like on a cruise ship?

Being in charge of the cruise ship, the Captain has many responsibilities along with a rather large stateroom.

Captain Kate McCue, the current captain of Celebrity Beyond, showed what her living quarters were like while she was the captain of Celebrity Edge. 

The costly mistake not to make planning a cruise

There are plenty of mistakes someone could make planning a cruise, but we picked one that would really be an expensive oopsie to overlook.

Of all the cruise mistakes to avoid, booking a flight the same day your cruise departs is probably among the worst.

Travel delays could mean a cancelled or delayed flight, and if you miss your cruise embarkation window, there goes your entire vacation cost.

Why I prefer Alaska cruises over the Caribbean

Would you rather take a Caribbean cruise or an Alaska cruise?

Jenna has done many cruises in both regions, but prefers an Alaska cruise because of how different it is from a traditional Caribbean sailing.

Despite the colder weather, she found 8 reasons why an Alaska cruise is her preferred cruise.

You'll meet lots of crew members on your cruise ship vacation, but there are a handful that are the most important to seek out.

The crew are so important because they can really enhance your cruise experience. Most guests have a great cruise regardless of which crew members they interact with, but if I've learned something over all my cruises, it's there are a few crew members that can greatly enhance it.

Read more: 25 times Royal Caribbean crew members wowed cruise ship passengers with excellent service

That isn't to say if you don't meet these crew members you'll be at any kind of a disadvantage.  Rather, think of it like ice cream toppings: they make what is otherwise really good even better.

The next time you're on a cruise, see if you can find these crew members to at least say hello to and put a face to the name. Some may make a big difference, while others may simply be a good resource to be aware of, should the need arise. 

Stateroom attendant

It may seem obvious and obligatory that your stateroom attendant is on this list, but some cruisers don't really interact with their attendants and that's to their detriment.

Your stateroom attendant takes care of your cruise ship cabin every day of your cruise. She or he will visit it once per day to fresh up the room, and they're probably the crew member you'll see the most.

I recommend meeting your cabin attendant on the first day of the cruise so they can be aware of any special requests you may have, such as:

• Extra towels
• Splitting or combining the bed
• Providing ice in the cabin
• Laundry services

They're also the person to get a hold of if there's a maintenance issue with your cabin.

Over my years of cruising, I think the cabin attendant has had the most direct impact on my experience. From making towel animals that impress us, to transforming our kids' mess into organized order, cabin attendants have stood out for how helpful they can be on nearly every cruise.

Hotel Director

It took me years to fully appreciate what the hotel director does, and how they can impact your cruise.

The hotel director is in charge of the hotel operations of the cruise ship.  If you think of your ship has a floating resort, there's the hotel operations, marine operations, and food and beverage. A cruise ship hotel director is in charge of all aspects of the hotel-type operations, including everything related to your cabin and housekeeping.

While you want to start off with your stateroom attendant for nearly every issue, if a problem lingers or the resolution is not up to your liking, be sure to reach out to the hotel director.

You can always call down to Guest Services to get the extension of the hotel director and quickly get in touch with him or her.

Suite Concierge

If you booked a suite (Grand Suite or above), one of the best Royal Caribbean suite perks are the services provided by the suite concierge.

It is the job of the suite concierge to make sure everything is going well, and they are the problem solver for suite guests.

Part guest relations, part dining guide, and part event coordinator, the concierge is empowered to do a lot, especially when problems arise.

In a lot of cases, the concierge may have inside information on changes occurring onboard and know exactly who to reach out to about most situations.

The suite concierge will have regular hours they are available in the Suite Lounge, so be sure to stop in and say hello on the first day to not only meet them, but get a copy of their schedule.

Lead bartender in your favorite bar

Imagine this: You find yourself gravitating towards a certain bar for one reason or another. Maybe it's the live music, maybe it's the menu, or perhaps the atmosphere.  Whatever the rationale, you find yourself spending more time in one bar over another.

Look for a bartender who has a uniform that looks different from everyone else, and that's probably the lead bartender. And if you can't spot them, ask one of your other bartenders for whom it is.

The lead bartender has enough experience to catapult them up above the other bartenders, and these are great mixologists as well as crew members to get to know.

In my experience, the longer a crew member has worked for Royal Caribbean, the more "tricks of the trade" they seem to posses, and that's an asset to you. They can mix drinks better, might know cocktails not listed on the menu that you might want to try, and have enough stories to pass the time when the bar is slow.

Cruise Director

Every cruise director has their own style, but you'd be surprised how helpful a cruise director can be to your sailing.

They're not only the emcee for all the activities onboard, they can also help with other things to do.

One of my favorite TikTok cruise ship hacks I learned about a cruise is to ask the cruise director for an activity you might not see on the schedule.

You can ask the cruise director to add events to the calendar if there's something you think is missing.

An example was when a guest wanted more outdoor deck parties on a recent sailing instead of the one they had on the schedule.  They ended up adding one every day of the cruise as a result of the request.

Casino host

Not everyone gambles, but if you do, be sure to meet the casino host.

The casino host is more than a friendly smile. They are there to answer any and all casino questions you might have.

Royal Caribbean's Casino Royale program is complicated, but there are some seriously good benefits if you can get status with them.

Don't hesitate to stop by the casino host's desk and ask for more information on how the casino loyalty program works, how to play a new game, or what your progress looks like so far.

Read more: I gambled enough in Royal Caribbean's casino to get free drinks and a cruise

Loyalty Ambassador

I get asked many questions about Royal Caribbean's Crown and Anchor Society perks, and the best person to solve these quandaries is the loyalty ambassador.

This crew member's job is to look after every single member of Royal Caribbean's loyalty program, and you'd be surprised how much they can fix for you.

Explaining benefits, changing your preferences, answering frequently asked questions, the loyalty ambassador is the person to meet for these types of issues.

The biggest problem is locating the loyalty ambassador. On some ships, it seems their office is hidden around the ship.  But once you find them, they are a terrific crew member to know.