Jeff and Meagan Mapson share their experience cruising from Tampa on Serenade of the Seas, which was one of the first sailings to restart from Tampa.
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A lot of people get ready for a cruise vacation by hitting the mall or online shops to purchase a few items they think they will need onboard, but I've walked away later on regretting some of these purchases.
Whether I thought they would make my life easier, or just improve the vacation experience, in practice, some items I've bought for my cruise ended up not being what I expected.
Typically what happens is I will be browsing the internet and run across someone with a neat gadget, or read about something that might make my day at the beach or in my cabin better. At the time, it sounds like a revelation and I usually end up buying it because I think to myself how could I not buy it to improve my vacation.
Just like rompers, duck-faced selfies, or flat brim hats with the sticker still on it, we just aren't as hip as we thought. Or perhaps the product ended up not living up to the hype.
Here is my own list of things I bought for a cruise that ended up being a terrible purchasing decision for me.
A few times in my life, my late-night television browsing has come back to bite me, and this happened when I saw a commercial for smart luggage.
Smart luggage is supposed to be an enhancement to traditional bags you pack, where it not only optimizes the space better, it can charge your mobile devices, and maybe even last forever. In a world of traditional luggage that rips too easily and looks boring, why wouldn't I go for one of these bags?
After I bought it on a whim, I realized first and foremost that it was quite expensive. While you can find luggage at all sorts of prices, smart luggage are anything but cheap in cost.
After the new luggage arrived at home, I realized how small it was. Clearly, it was meant for business travelers who want to do a carry-on only kind of trip. Since cruise ships do not charge for luggage, sticking with just carry-on bags has never been a priority.
And then you have the smart features, like being able to charge your device or even tracking. Sounds neat, but in practice, it's more of a gimmick. In fact, the lithium-ion battery packs are sometimes not permitted by airlines.
So essentially, I overpaid for luggage that did nothing more than I had before, but with less space.
If you watch YouTube enough, you will run across some amazing videos of people doing some really fun activities and it is all captured on action cameras that can handle wind, water, heat, and sand, while delivering incredible high-fidelity pictures.
I bought a GoPro so that we could capture our family trips, especially when on shore excursions. I thought the GoPro would be perfect for the kids and we could remember all the times we swam, jumped, and dove.
My issue with buying a GoPro isn't the quality of the video or anything the GoPro promises. It is exactly as advertised when you edit and upload your footage.
The problem is video editing is downright awful. If you want your video to not be a snoozefest, you will need to invest many hours editing it all down. This is tedious and has a steep learning curve.
Moreover, the particular model I bought had no viewfinder or way to see what I'm filming, or review it later. Subsequent models of GoPro have a small screen, but I was filming blindly and hoping it looked okay later.
After one trip and many hours of editing later, I stopped bringing the GoPro because I could not be bothered to spend the necessary time making it all look good. Perhaps that's just the perfectionist in me, but it seemed more trouble than it was worth.
The worst part of any beach day is if you accidently step on a rock, crustacean, seaweed, or anything else pointy or slimy in the ocean. So the obvious answer is to buy water shoes, right?
I have bought at least 3 pairs of water shoes over the years to address this problem and every time I come to the same conclusion that I wasted my money.
All water shoes feel weird when you wear them in water. They are clingy and make my feet feel like they are trapped in a rubber/silicone bag. So yes, I feel better about not touching seaweed or something else mysterious underwater, but I still feel icky.
Equally important is the fact the bottoms are not puncture proof, so you still have to walk gingerly to avoid stepping on something really sharp.
Worst of all, after you are done in the ocean, you are stuck with a soaking wet (and likely sandy) pair of shoes that are a burden to bring back to the ship. Not to mention the added bulk of carrying them with you.
Another "I can't wait to bring on my cruise so I can get amazing video" idea was to buy a drone.
My plan was buy one, and then take amazing aerial footage of my cruise ship and the places I visit.
The problem is Royal Caribbean prohibits anyone from operating a drone on the ship or at their private islands.
On top of all of that, every country has its own rules about where you can operate drones and the last thing I want to do is get in trouble with the local authorities because my drone went somewhere it should not.
Ultimately, I regretted buying a drone because you cannot use it near the cruise ship and footage of my backyard is just not that exciting.
Royal Caribbean does not have any self-service laundry option on its ships, and dry cleaning is pricey, so washing clothes is tough on a cruise ship.
You can hand wash small items in your bathroom sink, but you are really limited to smaller garments. Plus, it can be a big mess.
I remember running across a Facebook ad for a device that you could toss your clothes into and similar to Shake n Bake, wash your clothes easily without much fuss.
This item is really intended for campers, but it seemed the perfect way to get pants and shirts clean for another use.
I don't think it was much of an improvement in terms of effort over filling the bathroom sink or tub with water and washing clothes there. So it ended up being money I did not need to spend to achieve similar results to what I had going before.
Richard Fain announced he will step down as Royal Caribbean Group CEO in January 2022, leaving behind an incredible legacy over his 33 years at the helm.
With Mr. Fain moving away from the day-to-day operations of the company, it makes sense to look back on some of his many accomplishments.
Mr. Fain joined the company at a time when Royal Caribbean was still deeply rooted in the beginnings of modern cruising, and ushered in innovations and changes that fundamentally changed what the public thinks a cruise ship can be.
There is no way to perfectly encapsulate all of Mr. Fain's accomplishments in one post, but as Royal Caribbean and the industry wish Mr. Fain a fond farewell, we look back at some of his major achievements.
In the 1980's, Royal Caribbean was a middleweight contender in the cruise industry, and it quickly reached a crossroads of what to do next.
Song of Norway had ushered in a new era of cruising, but by the end of 1983, the company was considering what expansion would make sense. Economies of scale, already realized onboard Song of America, were clearly the wave of the future.
Like any sensible enterprise pondering its next step, Miami's management went shopping for advice, turning to the Cambridge-based consulting firm of Arthur D. Little.
The highly respected organization was asked to undertake a survey of the cruise industry with an eye to determining Royal Caribbean's position and potential within it.
At the time, Richard D. Fain was the vice-president of finance for one of the original investors in Royal Caribbean, Gotaas-Larsen.
In the 1970s, Fain had served as treasurer for both Gotaas-Larsen and its parent company, International Utilities, becoming increasingly involved in Royal Caribbean's financial operations.
Richard Fain chaired that committee, an appointment to which two of the founding families of the cruise objected (Skaugens and the Wilhelmsens) because his chairmanship would give Gotaas-Larsen double representation.
But Fain, in turn, promised to remain impartial. Fain discovered that by holding meetings in Miami, he was able to guarantee the attendance of key corporate personnel, who had a wealth of information to enrich Arthur D. Little's accumulating data.
As of 1984, the report pointed out, Royal Caribbean had an eleven percent market share, compared with NCL's fourteen percent and Carnival's fifteen percent. Although the conclusions were the result of a strategic thought process and were not motivated by the importance of being big, immediate expansion was recommended: additional newbuilding and/or a merger with another cruise line.
"Expansion" was the operative word, expansion not only of Royal Caribbean's next class of vessel but its size of operations as well.
This report galvanized Royal Caribbean, and in 1984, the world's largest purpose-built cruise ship, Sovereign of the Seas, was conceived. And the committee that bad been assembled to assist with the Little report evolved into Royal Caribbean's Steering Committee, with Fain remaining in the chair.
Mr. Fain began his career as the CEO of Royal Caribbean right around the time Sovereign of the Seas launched, and the cruise world was once again changed when Voyager of the Seas redefined what a mega ship is.
He realized that the image problem the cruise industry had among the public of being outdated, boring and, as an industry joke put it, full of "the newlywed and the nearly dead".
Mr. Fain believed to attract a new kind of customer, he needed a new kind of ship. To build it, he hired Harri Kulovaara in 1995, a Finnish naval architect who made a name for himself designing passenger ferries.
Kulovaara was brought onboard to help run the company’s shipbuilding department.
Originally, Royal Caribbean was looking to commission a carbon copy of Sovereign of the Seas. "We’re not going to build that, Harri,” Fain told him. “We need something better."
That "better" idea ended up being Voyager of the Seas.
Voyager of the Seas launched in 1999, and introduced the first ice-skating rink at sea, the first rock climbing wall at sea, and indoor promenade. It was also 75% bigger than the previous-largest cruise ship, exceeding Panamax – the width of the Panama Canal, an industry-standard measurement.
"You wanted things that helped convey that this [cruising] was an unusual activity, that you could do what you wanted," Fain said. He said Voyager of the Seas was instrumental in continuing to shift the idea that cruising was for everyone.
Like Song of Norway and Sovereign before her, Voyager of the Seas would innovate ship design for decades and become the new standard going forward.
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Turning the cruise industry on its head is something Richard Fain started getting good at, and history would repeat itself yet again with the most ambitious project yet for Royal Caribbean with Project Genesis.
Six years before Oasis of the Seas would be launched, Mr. Fain and the team at Royal Caribbean started out with the concept of wanting to do something new and different.
We decided to start with a blank sheet of paper and said, "What do we want our guests to do? What activities do we want to offer them?” The name of this project was Project Genesis. The idea was to indicate that this was a fresh start in terms of design. We didn’t actually start out intending to build something quite so large."
Copyright :©BRIANSMITH.COM
"The whole thesis was to give people more choice. So instead of one large pool deck divided into two we wanted to have a series—one just for families, one just for adults, one just for sports … When we added up all the things we wanted to provide for people to do, it turned out the ship was much bigger than originally expected, as we were also able to provide much more in terms of activities and amenities. "
Royal Caribbean brought in architects and designers to help take all the ideas the company had and create a revolutionary cruise ship.
At 225,000 tons, the Oasis of the Seas weighs as much as four Titanics.
Beyond her size, Oasis of the Seas introduced the crowd-control concept of "neighborhoods", with seven in total. Oasis also was the first ship to have a split-back design that opened the back of the ship up (Boardwalk), as well as an open-air park featuring 12,000 plants in the middle (Central Park).
Then there's the first AquaTheater at sea, the first zip line at sea and much more.
In short, Oasis of the Seas continued Royal Caribbean's legacy of revolutionary cruise ship design. Any new mass-market cruise ship built since has had to compare itself to the game-changing Oasis of the Seas.
There is no way to talk about Mr. Fain's legacy without also acknowledging the tremendous work he did publicly and behind the scenes during the Covid-19 pandemic.
No company was properly prepared for the government mandated shutdown of the cruise industry, which was the only industry to voluntarily shut down on its own but then face stiff opposition to prevent it from returning.
From the onset of the shutdown, Mr. Fain began producing short videos posted online for travel agents that shared his outlook on the situation, as well as hope for the future.
While these videos may have been intended only for the trade, they became a beacon of hope in a shroud of unknowns. For many cruise fans, it provided helpful insight into what may come next, as well as much needed optimism.
Behind the scenes, Mr. Fain championed the creation of the Healthy Sail Panel, a group of renowned health experts who established safety and wellness protocols to restore confidence in cruising safety.
It was fitting he announced stepping away as CEO in a video update for travel agents, bringing his tenure to a close in the same way he provided updates for more than a year.
The best cruise line may be a very subjective question, but U.S. News & World Report has released their opinion of the best lines across various categories.
The 2022 Best Cruises rankings were announced on Tuesday, which is an annual look at which cruise lines rank among the top picks.
There are six categories of categories for ranking 17 different cruise lines.
Royal Caribbean did not come out as the winner in any one category, but did rank near the top in a few.
U.S. News & World Report scouted the cruise lines across six categories to give readers an idea of the strengths each line has.
Royal Caribbean came in the top 3 for two categories this year, Best Cruise Lines for the Money & Best Cruise Lines for Families.
Royal Caribbean came in fourth place for Best Cruise Lines in the Caribbean, and almost last for the Mediterranean rankings.
Best Luxury Cruise Lines
Best Cruise Lines for the Money
Best Cruise Lines in the Caribbean
Best Cruise Lines for Couples
Best Cruise Lines for Families
Best Cruise Lines in the Mediterranean
If you're reading these rankings and want to know how winners were picked (or why one line did better than another), then here is the methodology used.
Here is how U.S. News & World Report explained the way they got to their rankings.
Expert Rating (30 percent weight): Our editors assign each ship an Expert Rating between 1 and 5 based on the ship's level of luxury, with 5 being the highest score. This score represents our editors' analysis of a ship's atmosphere, facilities, activities, cabins, cuisine and service.
Traveler Rating (50 percent weight): A ship's traveler rating is provided under license by Cruiseline.com. Reviewers assign a rating between 1 and 5 based on their level of satisfaction with their cruise experience.
Health Rating (20 percent weight): A ship's health rating is based on sanitation inspection scores published by the Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Individual ship inspection reports can be found here. The CDC defines "Satisfactory Scores" as those that are 86 or above (out of a possible 100 points). A ship's Health Rating is the average of the vessel's individual inspection reports from the 22 months prior to the calculation of the U.S. News Best Cruises rankings. For our rankings, CDC scores are translated to a five-point scale as follows: Vessels with average CDC ratings greater than 97.5 received a score of 5; vessels with average CDC ratings greater than 95 and up to 97.5 received a score of 4.5; vessels with average CDC scores greater than 92.5 and up to 95 received a score of 4; vessels with average CDC scores greater than 90 and up to 92.5 received a score of 3.5; vessels with average CDC scores greater than 87.5 and up to 90 received a score of 3; vessels with average ratings greater than 85.1 and up to 87.5 received a score of 2.5 and vessels with an average CDC rating of 85.1 or lower received a score of 1. If a ship has not received a health inspection score within the past 22 months, the average Health Rating of all CDC-rated ships within the cruise line is used as proxy in the calculation of the ship's Overall Rating.
Filtering Lists by Criteria: Cutoff points and other criteria are used to identify cruise ships or cruise lines that qualify for a given ranking list.
Traveler Type: Each cruise ship and cruise line's placement on our traveler type cruise rankings takes into account the aggregate traveler rating among specific types of travelers. Cruise ships and lines with the highest Overall Ratings and the greatest approval rating among a certain traveler type (e.g., families), appear on such lists. To qualify for a cruise ship traveler type ranking list, a ship had to have a minimum of 10 total guest reviews, and a certain percentage of reviews had to come from the specified traveler type; the percentage required varies by list.
Region: We rank the best cruise ships in seven popular regions: Alaska, Europe, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, Mexico, the Pacific and Hawaii. We also rank the Best Cruise Lines in the Caribbean and Best Cruise Lines in the Mediterranean. Regional scores are assigned based on percentage of itineraries a ship has in each of these regions over a 24-month basis. The ship-level regional scores are updated as new information is made available; however, the list of the Best Cruise Lines in the Caribbean and the Best Cruise Lines in the Mediterranean will only be updated once a year.
Price Class: A cruise ship's price class rating is based on its average daily price. Ships with average daily rates of $300 or more are rated 4; average daily rates of $150 to $299 are rated 3; average daily rates of $100 to $149 are rated 2; ships with average daily rates below $100 are rated 1. Cruise lines with average price class ratings of 3.5 and above are included in the Best Luxury Cruise Lines rankings. Cruise lines with average price class ratings of 2.5 or lower are included in the Best Cruise Lines for the Money rankings.
Best Luxury Cruise Lines: For our luxury cruise lines ranking, we include only cruise lines with a price class rating of 3.5 or above. Qualifying cruise lines are ranked highest to lowest based on their Overall Rating.
Best Cruise Lines for the Money: For our affordable cruise lines ranking, we include only cruise lines with a price class rating less than 2.5. Qualifying cruise lines are ranked highest to lowest based on their average Overall Rating, which carries a 40 percent weight and their price class rating, which carries a 60 percent weight.
Best Cruise Lines for Couples: This ranking factors in (1) each line's Overall Rating as well as (2) the aggregate traveler rating by "couples" travelers and (3) the percentage of a cruise line's reviews on Cruiseline.com that are left by couples. For example, a cruise line that receives a high percentage of its reviews from couples is more likely to be couples-oriented. Cruise lines are ranked according to the weighted average of their rank within each of these three factors. For a cruise line to be eligible for inclusion in this ranking, at least 62 percent of its total traveler reviews had to come from couples.
Best Cruise Lines for Families: This ranking factors in (1) each line's Overall Rating as well as (2) the aggregate traveler rating by "families with kids" and (3) the percentage of a cruise line's reviews on Cruiseline.com that are left by family travelers. For example, a cruise line that receives a high percentage of its reviews from families is more likely to attract family travelers. Cruise lines are ranked according to the weighted average of their rank within each of these three factors. For a cruise line to qualify for this ranking, at least 25 percent of its total traveler reviews had to come from families.
Best Cruise Lines in the Caribbean: This ranking is based on (1) each line's Overall Rating as well as (2) the percentage of scheduled itineraries in the Caribbean over a 24-month period (3) the number and variety of Caribbean itineraries available over a 24-month period. Cruise lines are ranked highest to lowest according to the weighted average of their rank combined with the annualized rate of scheduled itineraries and the number of total Caribbean itinerary options over a two-year period. The Overall Rating carries a 50 percent weight. Line coverage components are both weighted at 25 percent.
Best Cruise Lines in the Mediterranean: This ranking is based on (1) each line's Overall Rating as well as (2) the percentage of scheduled itineraries in the Mediterranean over a 24-month period and (3) the number and variety of Mediterranean itineraries available over a 24-month period. Cruise lines are ranked highest to lowest according to the weighted average of their rank combined with the annualized rate of scheduled itineraries and the number of total Mediterranean itinerary options over a two-year period. The Overall Rating carries a 50 percent weight. Line coverage components are both weighted at 25 percent.
This is also a good time to remind readers of how subjective online reviews of cruise ships can be, especially for a cruise line or ship, where everyone has different experiences. Everyone on a sailing does not interact with the exact same staff, do the same activities, or stay in the same kind of room.
The reality is cruise ships offer such a varied and experiential vacation that it cannot be properly reviewed in its entirety based on a single experience. Cruises are by their very design a "create your own adventure" experience. You could sit at the pool every day of the cruise and never do one activity, whereas the guy next to you could be zip lining, crocheting, belly flopping and dancing the night away. In short, we all cruise differently.
Read more: Why you can't trust online reviews of cruise ships
When 2022 begins, it will mark the end of an era for Royal Caribbean when the head of the company steps away.
Richard Fain, Royal Caribbean Group Chairman and CEO, announced on Tuesday he is stepping down as the CEO of the Royal Caribbean Group effective January 3, 2022.
Richard will remain Chairman of the Royal Caribbean Group Board and will stay involved in our new shipbuilding projects.
"I'm not disappearing from this industry we all love. I will remain as Chair and I will continue my involvement in our new building projects. But starting in January, I will no longer be involved in the day to day running of the business," Mr. Fain said in a video announcement.
Taking over as CEO will be Royal Caribbean's current Chief Financial Officer, Jason Liberty.
Replacing Mr. Liberty will be Naftali Holtz, who is currently the senior vice president of finance for the Royal Caribbean Group, responsible for corporate, capital and revenue planning and analysis, deployment planning, risk management and treasury.
For 33 years, Mr. Fain has been the CEO, taking the company from the Sovereign Class era to today.
Under Fain, Royal Caribbean introduced new ship classes that transformed the cruise industry, such as the Sovereign, Voyager, and Oasis classes.
Of course, Mr. Fain was also running sister brand Celebrity Cruises with the introduction of their Solstice and Edge classes.
Just as importantly, Mr. Fain was a stalwart figure over the last two years during the Covid-19 pandemic, keeping Royal Caribbean Group afloat during a massive shutdown that threatened the core business after over a year of no operations.
Fain joined forces with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings' CEO Frank del Rio to form the Healthy Sail Panel, a group of renowned health experts who established safety and wellness protocols to restore confidence in cruising safety.
Mr. Fain describes his decision to leave as an easy one, "We have been blessed with 33 years leading the best company in the world with some of the finest, most dedicated, most passionate people in the world.
"I couldn't be prouder of what that team has accomplished over these years, and I know without any doubt that I have had the very best job in the world."
Royal Caribbean Group's new CEO is Jason Liberty, who joined the company in 2005.
Mr. Liberty served in several financial, strategic and operational roles before becoming CFO in 2013.
Liberty is also responsible for Silversea Cruises, the Group's joint ventures with TUI Cruises and Hapag Lloyd Cruises, as well as the Royal Caribbean Group's strategy, technology, supply chain, port operations and legal functions.
Mr. Fain believes Mr. Liberty is ready for this role, "Jason is exactly the right person at the right time to do so, and he is supported by an amazing team of innovative and imaginative leaders who will help drive that growth."
Black Friday is not only a major retail sales event, but the cruise lines get into the action as well with their own set of deals and promotions.
Royal Caribbean has not revealed what its 2023 Black Friday deals will be, nor if we can expect any kind of Black Friday promotion.
While we wait to see what deals might be offered in 2021, here is a look back at the last few Black Friday offers to get a sense of what has been offered in the past. It is important to note that past promotions are not indicative of what might be coming this year.
If you are unaware, Black Friday is a major sales event in primarily the United States, where there are major sales the day after the Thanksgiving holiday to kick off the unofficial start to the holiday shopping season.
Traditionally, retailers offer their best deals of the year on Black Friday in order to kick-start their best sales times, and you typically see crazy low prices on consumer electronics and other goods.
The cruise lines have gotten into the spirit of the event, by offering their own promotions. Cruise lines typically have their best offers in the early part of the year during Wave Season, but since so many consumers are looking for new sales, Royal Caribbean has offered some too.
Royal Caribbean's Cyber Week Sale in 2022 ran between November 17 - November 22, 2022.
There was a 30% off every guest and Kids Sail Free offer.
The Cruise Planner sale ran between November 18, 2022 and November 25, 2022. It had:
Full 2022 Black Friday offer details
The Cruise Planner sale ran between November 23 - December 1, 2021. It offered:
Full 2021 Black Friday offer details
Royal Caribbean's Cyber Week Sale in 2020 ran between November 24 - December 1, 2020 and offered a bundle of savings, with up to $550 off cruise fares.
Guests could combine the Cyber Week Sale with the November monthly offer, which provided 60% off the second guest, and kids sail free.
In addition, there was a Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale on pre-cruise add-ons, like drink packages, shore excursions, wifi and more.
Royal Caribbean offered a Black Friday and Cyber Monday deal in 2019, although it was effectively the same offer.
The Cyber Weekend sale ran between November 27 - December 2, 2019.
In addition, there was a Black Friday sale on pre-cruise purchases such as up to 50% off Beverage Packages. Plus, up to 65% off Internet, up to 30% off Shore Excursions, up to 55% off Dining Packages, and up to 40% off Gifts and Gear.
The Cyber Monday Cruise Planner sale runs between November 27 - December 3, 2019.
Royal Caribbean's Black Friday and Cyber Monday deal in 2018 offered a very similar deal to the 2019 offer.
The Cyber Weekend sale ran between November 22, 2018 – November 27, 2018.
The 2018 Cyber Monday Cruise Planner sale offered up to 40% off pre-cruise purchases, including up to 40% off drink packages, up to 25% off excursions, up to 60% off internet and 20% off specialty dining.
The pre-cruise planner sale ran between November 23, 2018 - November 27, 2018.
The Black Friday/Cyber Monday deal in 2017 had a sligtly different combination compared to 2018-2019.
The 2017 Black Friday Sale on Cruise Planner purchases offered up to 30% off everything in the store, such as beverage packages, shore excursions and more.
The 2016 Black Friday through Cyber Monday Super Sale ran between November 26 - 28, 2016.
There was also a Cruise Planner sale in 2016 for pre-cruise purchases on beverage packages, shore excursions and more.
In 2015, Royal Caribbean offered slightly different offers for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Black Friday offered:
The Cyber Monday sale was essentially the same as the Black Friday sale, but with a bit more onboard credit.
If you want to get the best possible deal, your best bet is to actually book a cruise or cruise planner purchase now and rebook if the price goes down later.
There is no telling what Royal Caribbean's Black Friday or Cyber Monday deals will be in 2020, but the best strategy for getting the lowest price is to book now at current rates and then compare to thee new prices if/when a deal is announced later.
By booking now, you can lock in the current rates. If there is a better sale between now and Black Friday, you can always get a price adjustment.
One of the overlooked, yet quite significant, benefits of the Cruise with Confidence program is Royal Caribbean's Best Price Guarantee has been expanded.
This means guests can now take advantage of price drops after final payment date, up until 48 hours before the cruise, and it applies to all countries.
Price variances will result in a rate adjustment if requested outside of final payment or a non-refundable onboard credit when inside final payment period.
Pre-cruise purchases for drink packages or excursions are even easier to cancel and rebook to take advantage of a lower price.
Since you can take advantage of price drops later, you do not have to worry that you missed a better deal in the weeks leading up to Black Friday.
Odyssey of the Seas cost Royal Caribbean nearly $1 billion, and it has so many things for everyone in your group to do that there's no room for being bored.
Whether you are into dining, activities, events, or games, there is a lot to see and do across Odyssey's sixteen decks.
Having a good time on Odyssey of the Seas doesn't mean you have to pay extra for fun either. Royal Caribbean includes a great deal of things to do that are included with your cruise fare.
Here is my list of 15 free things to do when you sail on Odyssey of the Seas.
Live music is something Royal Caribbean does well, and Odyssey has a really fun approach to hearing live music with the stowaway piano player.
Unlike other musicians onboard that have scheduled sets in a specific location, the stowaway piano player performs in random places at random times. The idea is you can stumble on him and literally run into a great performance.
The reason why the piano player is referred to as a "stowaway" is because the story Royal Caribbean tells is the piano player snuck onboard and is playing music for fun while avoiding getting caught.
Since there is no published times to find the stowaway piano player, keep an ear out for music emanating from an usual direction and then follow the tunes.
Odyssey of the Seas has its own Sky Pad, where you can bounce along on a trampoline to a virtual world.
After being hooked up to bungee chords, you put on a virtual reality visor and explore a virtual world while bouncing up and down on a giant trampoline!
There are three different games to try, including being transported to another time and planet to bounce over moon craters or compete in intergalactic games.
If you prefer, you can do this without the virtual reality helmet and instead look out over the ocean as you leap toward the sky.
While there are no water slides on Odyssey of the Seas, kids can splash around at Splashaway Bay.
This aqua park is designed for kids to enjoy, and does have a few short slides to enjoy, along with drench buckets, geysers, and pretty much any excuse to get soaked.
On sea days, you will find kids running through Splashaway Bay over and over again.
If you ever wanted to learn to surf or boogey board, Odyssey of the Seas has a Flowrider surf simulator on the back of the ship you can try.
The FlowRider is a simulator that sends water a very high speed across a small area that mimics what it is like to surf on the ocean.
Each guest takes a turn until they wipe out, and staff assist in trying to improve everyone's skills.
Any Royal Caribbean ship will have a rock climbing wall, where you can try your best to reach the top and ring the bell.
This is a great personal challenge that also has the added benefit of providing some fantastic views of the ocean from. Don't worry about safety, because you are harnessed in at all times.
North Star is a signature Quantum Class ship feature, where you can board an observational pod and go up more than 300 feet above sea level to see everything around you.
North Star moves slowly, and provides incredible views of the ship below and everything else around you for miles.
Rides on North Star cost extra on sea days, but it is still complimentary on port days.
Be sure to reserve a ride as soon as you can via the Royal Caribbean app to ensure you have a spot.
Plenty of people want to try sky diving, but having to jump out of an airplane seems a bit much. Luckily for them, Ripcord by iFly solves that problem.
After a safety briefing and putting on a flight suit, guests take turns going in the air tube where high powered fans provide the sensation of what it is like to sky dive.
Trained instructors are with you the whole time in a totally controlled environment.
RipCord is going to be one of those experiences that you tell your friends and family about when you get home because it's not too often you get to experience something like this.
There is a lot to do in the versatile SeaPlex, but the signature event held here is bumper cars.
This multi-deck facility offers basketball courts, ping pong tables, dance floor, circus school, dodge ball arena and even bumper cars to ride.
Strap into your car and then see how fast you can go while evading others, or be that guy and try to slam into as many others as you can.
Sometimes the bumper car sessions are themed, like "90's Bumper Cars" or teens-only sessions.
No matter how old you are, or what you're doing, a quick pit stop for free ice cream is a great idea.
You will find a soft serve frozen yogurt station on the pool deck where you can have as many ice cream cones as you like.
Complimentary ice cream can also be found in the Windjammer (among other places), which has a wider selection of flavors.
"The Book: Seven Chapters, One Adventure" is an original Royal Caribbean production that loosely tells a story of a librarian who explores the chapters of a book through song, dance, and music.
The Book is about a librarian who's in his mysterious library and he takes a few chapters from his favorite books, and then puts them into one bespoke book to take the audience on a journey.
The show features robots, performers dropping out of the ceiling, contortionists popping out of baskets, and the stage itself transforming throughout the performance.
The food and drinks at Playmakers Sports Bar are not free, but there is nothing stopping you from enjoying this space and all the games being shown without paying a dollar.
Across the dozens of televisions, you will find any game the ship receives, and when there is a big game being broadcast, this is the place to go. Sports fans will love the ambiance of Playmakers, and there is nothing quite like rooting your favorite team along with a crowd of other sport fanatics.
Did you know you can watch recent blockbuster films on Odyssey of the Seas?
A giant screen at the pool deck plays recent flicks for no additional cost, which means you can watch it from a nearby chair, the pool, or the hot tub.
Another must-see show on Odyssey is "Showgirl: Past. Present. Future", which pays homage to the dance style Las Vegas showgirls have made famous for decades.
A showgirl is a female dancer or performer in a stage entertainment show, and Las Vegas is famous for utilizing show girls in their acts, going back as early as the 1940s. Traditionally, Las Vegas Showgirls are classically trained dancers with skills in Ballet and Jazz dance.
Performed in the Royal Theater, Showgirl packs in a lot of energy and plenty of songs you likely know the words to.
Speaking of shows to see, add The Effectors to the list.
Royal Caribbean added this new show at the end of October 2021, and it incorporates the superhero genre into Royal Caribbean's entertainment lineup.
Some superheroes are known for powers like ultra-fast speed, laser vision and titan-strength — but The Effectors draw their powers from their ability to create. Now, this band of heroes will have to face off against the ruthless Crash™, their arch-nemesis who’s bent on stopping the show and destroying the world.
Every evening features different music and parties, but one of the most fun has to be the HUSH Silent Party.
Held in the Music Hall, guests are given headphones to wear, which can be tuned to one of two music stations. Put on the headphones, choose your music, and then rock out.
Depending on which station you select, the color of your headphones change so you know who's listening to which track. Since everyone is wearing headphones, in reality everyone is dancing in a room without any music playing unless you have the headsets.
Onboard Odyssey of the Seas you will find different gameshows you can play or be a part of, and see how far your fellow guests will go to win.
Shows such as Majority Rules, Blankety Blank, Family Feud and more are offered during your sailing.
These shows have no additional cost, and it's up to you if you want to participate or just watch the fun from the audience.
There is nothing quite like karaoke because you get all sorts of guests who step up to the mic to belt out their favorite songs.
There is usually karaoke on every night of the cruise held in the Music Hall and there is no cost to watch or sing.
The casino is about as far from free as you can get on a cruise ship, but the staff do offer complimentary lessons if you want to learn how particular games are played.
These sessions are about educating guests on how table games work, including crap, blackjack, and more.
If you have ever wondered how the games are played, but are not ready to put money down to try yet, then these complimentary gaming lessons in the casino might be a good (and free) start.
If you are looking for the best nightclub party on Odyssey of the Seas, check out RED - A Nightclub Experience.
Held in Two70, RED is planned to be the party onboard with all the hits, dimmed lights, and yes, lots of red lights all around.
Perhaps one of the most well-known cruise ship activities, there are multiple trivia contests held every day of your cruise.
Trivia is primarily held in the Schooner Bar, and there is usually a theme to each session. Music, geography, Broadway, and even pro wrestling, you will find all sorts of topics to tackle.
Teams of guests compete to get the most correct answers, with the winning team walking away with a novelty gift, such as a highlighter or pen.
Read more: Top 10 Odyssey of the Seas frequently asked questions
What is your favorite thing to do on Odyssey of the Seas? Have you sailed and tried one of these? Share with us your top picks in the comments below!
Happy Sunday! Temperatures may be dropping, but there is plenty of Royal Caribbean news to share. This is your weekly summary of all the Royal Caribbean news from this past week, perfectly fitted for your consumption.
Wonder of the Seas was delivered to Royal Caribbean this week, marking her arrival as part of the fleet.
The new largest cruise ship in the world departed the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire on Friday.
Wonder of the Seas' next stop is Marseilles, France, where she will get some finishing touches before she begins sailings in March 2022.
The 429th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is available to enjoy, where Matt walks through how to use the at-home Covid-19 test that Royal Caribbean accepts.
The Abbott at-home test is a convenient and easy way to get your pre-cruise test done, and Matt shares what you should know about taking the test for the first time.
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.
Have you subscribed to the Royal Caribbean Blog YouTube Channel? We share some great videos there regularly, all about taking a Royal Caribbean cruise! This week, we are sharing our latest video — Royal Caribbean updates how full cruise ships will be! — and don’t forget to subscribe here.
Everyone makes mistakes on a cruise, especially if it's your first time taking a cruise to Alaska.
Jenna recently sailed on Ovation of the Seas to Alaska, and there were several things she did right, but also several mistakes too.
From packing for Alaska's unpredictable weather to rushing to make a flight home, here are a few takeaways and lessons learned from her Alaska sailing.
Royal Caribbean took delivery of its newest ship, which has become the largest cruise ship in the world.
Wonder of the Seas was delivered to Royal Caribbean at some point last week, and departed the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire on Friday.
The newest cruise ship in Royal Caribbean's fleet is headed to Marseilles, France, where she will spend some time to get additional work done.
Delivery of a cruise ship means ownership of the vessel is transferred from the shipyard to the buyer, Royal Caribbean.
Photos by @loirepilot
While the ship now belongs to Royal Caribbean, her first sailing is not scheduled until March 2022.
Construction on Wonder of the Seas began in April 2019 with a steel-cutting ceremony.
Wonder's debut was pushed back from 2021 to 2022 due to the global health crisis. The impact of worldwide port and shipyard closures has created delays in the construction schedule and delivery of Wonder.
The pandemic not only impacted Wonder's delivery date, but also where she would sail from. Instead of sailing from Shanghai, China to become the first Oasis Class cruise ship to be homeported in Asia, she will now sail from the United States and Europe initially.
Chantiers de l'Atlantique General Manager, Laurent Castaing, celebrated the delivery of Wonder, "At our yard, we are aware that we have designed and built one of the most exceptional ships in the history of the cruise market."
"Wonder of the Seas is a unique synthesis of innovation, state-of-the-art technologies, and savoir-faire of thousands of engineers and skilled workers. This splendid ship is really a symbol of the faithful and fruitful partnership we have established with Royal Caribbean International for nearly four decades."
Le dernier salut nazairien de l’atlas des mers. La cité flottante quitte son chantier naval #saintnazaire #WonderoftheSeas pic.twitter.com/qws0kcwDvY
— Thierry Hameau (@ThierryHameau) November 5, 2021
At 236,857 gross tons, Wonder of the Seas is the fifth Oasis Class cruise ship and takes the title from Symphony of the Seas as the biggest in the world.
Wonder of the Seas is 1,188 feet in length and has a maximum passenger capacity of 6,988 passengers, in addition to 2,300 crew.
In fact, Wonder has 100 cabins more than Symphony of the Seas.
Not only is Wonder of the Seas bigger than her sister Oasis Class ships, she has an extra neighborhood onboard dedicated just to suite guests.
The eighth neighborhood offers Royal Suite Class guests private spaces, such as an exclusive deck with its own pool, bar and plenty of sun loungers, as well as nooks for lounging.
Read more: Wonder of the Seas tour
In case you're wondering, Wonder of the Seas is not the last Oasis Class ship. A sixth Oasis Class ship that is yet unnamed is expected to have her inaugural cruise in the second quarter 2024.
The inaugural sailing of Wonder of the Seas is scheduled for March 2022, when Wonder of the Seas departs from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
She will then transition to the Mediterranean, beginning May 2022.
You might know you should book certain things, or check-into other things on your Royal Caribbean cruise, but did you know there's an advantage to going back in later and doing it again?
Things can change when it comes to planning a cruise in the weeks and months leading up to the sailing, and sometimes it can be worthwhile to double check there is not a better deal or option available.
Whether it can save you time or money, Royal Caribbean will sometimes adjust what it offers and those that take the extra step to go back into the Cruise Planner, booking engine, or app may end up benefiting from these updates.
Here are the top things that definitely worth checking again, even if you already took care of it earlier.
The time you can check-in for your cruise on embarkation day can sometimes get additional options after check-in opens up.
Ever since Royal Caribbean began enforcing check-in times, getting an early time has become important to many cruise passengers because they want to maximize the amount of time onboard the first day.
While check-in times will open up for everyone on a certain date leading up to their cruise (right around 45 days before your cruise departs), Royal Caribbean has been known to open up earlier times later on.
It is becoming somewhat common for earlier check-in times to suddenly appear, many days after check-in times were first available. There's no notification or alert of these earlier times, you just have to check back periodically.
The good news is you can easily go back into the check-in process in the app and select a new time.
In the app, below the "View SetSailPass" button is a link to "Edit Check-in". Click that and then click "Arrival Time" to see if there are any earlier times to select.
You will have to repeat this process for every guest on your reservation.
It is hard to beat the feeling of saving a lot of money, and you should be checking the price of your cruise regularly to see if the price has dropped.
Up until your final payment date, if you see a lower price for the same cabin category on the sailing you are booked on, you can get the difference refunded back to you.
With Royal Caribbean's enhanced Best Price Guarantee, you can get the difference as onboard credit if you spot the lower price after final payment date.
If you do see a lower price, contact your travel agent to have them re-price it for you. If you booked directly with Royal Caribbean, then it is up to you to contact the cruise line to make the adjustment.
Read more: Do cruise prices drop?
Just like cruise fares, the price you paid for drink packages, wifi, shore excursions, and more can all get lower in price.
Royal Caribbean makes it easy to cancel and rebook something before the sailing in its Cruise Planner website.
If you spot a lower price than you paid, you can instantly cancel your previous purchase and then go back and re-purchase it for the lower price.
If you used onboard credit to pay for some or all of it, the onboard credit will come back instantly to your account after you cancel the previous purchase.
There can often be wild swings in prices for certain pre-cruise purchases, especially the drink package, CocoCay cabanas, and wifi.
Read more: How to cancel and rebook pre-cruise purchases on Royal Caribbean's Cruise Planner
Depending on when you booked your cruise, Royal Caribbean could add more shore excursion options later.
What to do in the ports you visit is always a popular topic, and shore excursions can be limited depending on the port and how many other guests are booking excursions.
Royal Caribbean does sometimes add new tours to choose from. This is especially true if you checked tours more than a year before your sailing is scheduled to begin.
In addition, if a guest cancels a tour, suddenly a previously sold out excursion is bookable again.
Read more: How to book a Royal Caribbean shore excursion
Consumers have no choice but to be vigilant about staying up to date with new health protocols these days, and you should keep an eye on the health protocols for your cruise leading right up to embarkation day.
In short, health protocols can (and often do) change often. Technically, you should get an email with any update to health protocols but do not rely on that.
Instead, check back on Royal Caribbean's website for any new health protocols, especially in the month leading up your sailing.
Ignorance is never an excuse, and too often there is a family that misses their cruise because they were unaware of a change to testing or vaccine requirements.
Read more: This should be your approach to getting a Covid test before your cruise
Whether for a price drop or option not available before, it is a good idea to check if new staterooms have opened up for your cruise.
The best time to check if there are new stateroom options or a lower price is right around final payment date.
Since a lot of people will have to decide at final payment date if they want to actually go on the cruise or cancel it, this is when you typically see the most cabins come back on the market to book.
If there is a better room location, or more desirable cabin category that you have had your eye on, it behooves you to check back for rooms that someone else cancelled.
If you booked a guarantee stateroom, it may be worthwhile to check not only if a room has been assigned, but where it is and if you can move it.
After booking a guarantee stateroom, Royal Caribbean will assign you a specific cabin. You have the option of changing that room assignment to another unsold cabin of the same category.
It needs to be the same room category, but checking your room assignment again after booking may get you a better location than you were previously given.