Royal Caribbean has come away with a number of awards at the Travel Weekly Readers' Choice Awards, including the honor of being named the “Best Cruise Line Overall” and “Best Cruise Line in the Caribbean” for the 17th year in a row and “Best Cruise Line Sales & Service” for the 12th consecutive year.

~Me and Christi, with one of the gongs, @RoyalCaribbean won Best Entertainment, in the industry. #SymphonyoftheSeas is best ship (with... #Flight, #Hairspray, #HiRO, #1977) and a bunch more awards! A great year for us. @TWRCA @TWtravelnews https://t.co/2N47duWaKP pic.twitter.com/bHHLwlEHzV

— Nick Weir (@NickWeirShowbiz) December 13, 2019

The 2019 awards were held at the Conrad New York in New York City, and the awards recognize the best in travel, as voted on by the travel advisor community. 

The 2019 awards gala in New York City, recognizing the best of the best in travel as voted on by the growing travel advisor community, also honored the cruise line with the following awards once again: “Best Overall Individual Cruise Ship” for Symphony of the Seas and “Best Entertainment.”

The complete list of awards won by Royal Caribbean include:

• Best in Cruises Lines: Caribbean
• Best in Cruises Lines: Entertainment
• Best in Cruises Lines: Sales & Service
• Best in Cruises Lines: Overall
• Best in Cruise Ships: Overall Individual (Symphony of the Seas)

The awards are presented to suppliers considered by Travel Weekly readers as those that have led the way in product and service in the past year.         

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

Our first photo is by Lynne Easterbrook, and it is a view of Sydney Harbour from her balcony.

Next up is a shot of Julie's son, Dylan, enjoying his first visit to Perfect Day at CocoCay.

Gillian Barbara Sheila Miller sent in this photo of Independence of the Seas docked in Lisbon, Portugal.

Tyler Ryan sent in this photo from Navigator of the Seas, docked with another Royal Caribbean ship next to her.

We go back to Sydney for our next photo, with a look at Radiance of the Seas by Big Tule.

Kevin Lee snapped this photo while enjoying another fine day at Perfect Day at CocoCay.

Speaking of CocoCay, Maureen McFarland takes us back to the island before the Perfect Day changeover.

Our final photo this week is by Tammy Winklepleck, and it is a look at Oasis of the Seas docked in Labadee.

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

Royal Caribbean announced it will send the first Oasis Class ship to be home ported from Galveston, Texas in 2021.

In conjunction with the cruise line's announcement it has signed a long-term agreement to build a brand new state-of-the-art cruise terminal in Galveston, Allure of the Seas will sail from Galveston beginning in 2021.

Allure will sail 7-night Caribbean itineraries from Galveston and will be the biggest and boldest ship sailing from the Lone Star state. It appears the first sailing will be November 10, 2021.

“We are excited to partner with the Port of Galveston to develop a world-class facility which will allow us to sail our newest, largest and most innovative ships from Texas starting with Allure of the Seas, one of the largest ships in the world,” Michael Bayley, president and CEO, Royal Caribbean International. “The new terminal will allow us to increase our guests to the region by 50% generating a $100 million economic impact within the first year of operation.”

In November 2021, the newly completed terminal will welcome one of the largest cruise ships in the world, Allure of the Seas. 

Allure of the Seas is scheduled to under go a $165 Royal Amplification in summer 2020, that will add a variety of new amenities, activities and things to do onboard. 

Among the many changes, Allure will receive the Ultimate Abyss, the tallest slide at sea that touts a 10-story plunge; The Perfect Storm, a thrilling trio of multistory waterslides; and an array of culinary possibilities with more restaurants, including the introduction of Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen & Wine Bar and returning favorites Playmakers Sports Bar & Arcade and El Loco Fresh; and more.

Royal Caribbean revealed the 2021 sailings for Spectrum of the Seas from China and are available to book.

In 2021, Spectrum of the Seas will sail from Shanghai, China and offer a variety of sailings to destinations around the Far East.  Spectrum will also offer culturally-immersive sailings with stops at some of Japan’s most incredible destinations.

You can view all of Spectrum of the Seas 2021 sailings.

Royal Caribbean Crown & Anchor Society members can begin booking sailings on December 12, 2019, with the general public available to begin booking on December 13, 2019.

Royal Caribbean packs its cruise ships with so many fun things to do, and many have no additional cost to enjoy.

In this video, we have a look at some of my favorite things to do on a Royal Caribbean ship that is included with your cruise fare.

And if you love this video, we have lots of other great cruise videos to watch on our Royal Caribbean Blog YouTube Channel!

By the way, have you subscribed yet? Be sure to subscribe to our channel and never miss a single video!

So check out the video and then let us know: What is your favorite free activity on a Royal Caribbean ship?

Royal Caribbean's Season's Savings Sale offers guests 30% off every guest, Kids Sail Free and bonus onboard credit of up to $150.

Season’s Savings Sale applies to new bookings made between December 12 - 16, 2019

• 30% off cruise fare for all guests in the stateroom
  • Cruise must be booked between December 4 - 26, 2019
  • Offer applies to select sailings departing on or after January 4, 2020. 
• Kids Sail Free applies to new bookings made between December 4 - 26, 2019.
  • Kids Sail Free provides free cruise fare for 3rd guests and higher who are 12 years old or younger as of cruise departure date, booked in the same stateroom as the first two qualifying guests in a triple of quad-occupancy stateroom.
  • Kids Sail Free applies to select 4-night or longer Alaska, Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada, Caribbean, CaribNE, Coastal, Europe, Hawaii, Repositioning and all Serenade of the Seas Alaska 2020 sailings departing between January 4, 2020 - December 17, 2020.
  • Offer excludes Odyssey of the Seas Europe sailings, President’s Day sailings (Sailings between February 14 – 17, 2020), Spring Break sailings (Sailings between March 14 – 23, 2020), Holy Week/Easter sailings (Sailings between April 3 – 17, 2020), Peak Summer sailings (Sailings between May 15 – August 31, 2020) and Thanksgiving sailings (Sailings between November 21 - 28, 2020).
  • Taxes, fees, and port expenses are additional and apply to all guests.   
• Season’s Savings Sale offers up to $150 onboard credit per stateroom to spend at sea on select sailings departing on or after January 12, 2020.
  • OBC amount determined by category booked and sailing length:
    • Sailings 5 nights or less, $25 OBC for Interior and Ocean View, $50 for Balconies and $75 for Suites
    • Sailings 6 nights or longer, $50 OBC for Interior and Ocean View, $75 for Balconies and $150 for Suites
  • Onboard credit does not apply to China departures.   

30% Off Every Guest and Kids Sail Free are combinable with each other as well as with promotional OBCs, NextCruise offers, instant savings, restricted discounts (for example, Seniors, Residents, Military), Promo Code driven offers, Free Upgrades, Crown and Anchor discounts and Shareholder Benefits. Season’s Savings Sale is combinable with 30% Off Every Guest and Kids Sail Free, as well as with promotional OBCs, NextCruise offers, Instant Savings, restricted discounts (for example, Seniors, Residents, Military), Promo Code driven offers, Free Upgrades, and Shareholder Benefits, but not combinable with Crown and Anchor discounts. Offers are not combinable with any other offer or promotion, including, but not limited to, Standard Group, Interline, Travel Agent, Travel Agent Friends and Family, Weekly Sales Events, and Net Rates. Promo Code driven offers are based on select ships and sail dates and must be applied at time of booking; limit one promo code per booking.

Offer available to residents of United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and select countries in the Caribbean.

Royal Caribbean and the Port of Galveston signed a long-term agreement to build a new cruise terminal at the Port of Galveston.

Rendering of the new cruise terminal design

The Houston Chronicle reports the agreement was approved by the Port of Galveston's board on Wednesday, and will result in Royal Caribbean investing around $100 million to construct the 150,000-square-foot Terminal 3, which is slated to open in November 2021.

The new cruise terminal will be big enough to handle Royal Caribbean's largest cruise ships, including an Oasis Class ship or the new Icon Class ships slated to debut in 2022.

The facility will feature state-of-the-art technology, including mobile check-in and facial recognition to expedite guest arrival. The terminal will be designed and developed sustainably to meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental) certification standards.

Royal Caribbean has strongly hinted at the possibility of an Oasis Class ship coming to Galveston over the last year. Moreover, Royal Caribbean's schedule for its Oasis Class ships is released through early 2022, with the exception of Allure of the Seas. Allure has no scheduled sailings currently available to book beyond November 2021.

Terminal 3 will be built on 10 acres of land at Pier 10, and will be used by Royal Caribbean, which will lease the terminal land for 20 years. The cruise line will then have the option of extending that lease for an additional 10 years, up to four times.

While some preliminary work has already begun on the terminal, construction of the terminal will begin in April 2020.

The port will be responsible for items including maintenance, a new surface parking lot, and improvements to the dock to accommodate the larger vessels. Royal Caribbean will help with the cost of improving the docks.

Royal Caribbean informed its guests that it will no longer offer shore excursions that visit a volcano.  

In the wake of the tragedy on White Island in New Zealand, the cruise line sent emails to guests with shore excursions booked for a volcano visit anywhere that those tours will be cancelled. 
 

In the next 24 hours, guests will receive an updated invoice advising of the full refund, which they can expect to see back on the  original form of payment within 7-10 business days.

Of the popular activities to try while a cruise ship is visiting San Juan, Puerto Rico, going to the beach is in the upper echelon of choices. The Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino offers day passes (Link contains affiliate link, which means I get paid a finders fee, but no additional cost to you) to purchase, where guests can enjoy access to the resort grounds and I decided to try it out on a recent visit with my family.

The Marriott advertises itself as a great choice for families of all ages to enjoy time under a palm tree at the beach, or at one of their three pools.  Given the fact it can get quite warm in San Juan, the idea of relaxing in the water sounded like a great idea.

Description

The Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino is located in an area of San Juan known as Condado Beach. It is a very short taxi ride away from where the cruise ships dock in Old San Juan, and perhaps a 5 to 7 minute ride from when you enter the taxi to when you exit it.

We purchased a day pass in advance from Resortforaday, and the website advertised you have access to the resort from 9am to 5pm with the pass, but when we arrived, the staff informed us we could stay as late as 11pm.

Upon arrival, you check-in at the front desk and pay the remaining balance due for the day pass. You are then given wrist bands that must be worn during your visit. There is a vigilant amount of security guards who monitor all entry and exit points of the resort to prevent people from accessing the Marriott who are not guests.

Here is exactly what is included with your day pass:

• $20 food & beverage credit per adult pass
• 20% discount on nail, massage & body treatments at on-site spa
• Beach access, pool access, whirlpool access
• Lounge chairs, umbrellas, beach & pool towels
• Water slide
• Children's pool
• Outdoor shower for casual clean up
• Bathrooms available for changing
• Sauna
• Beach volleyball
• Children's activities

Walking down to the pool and beach area, you will find multiple pools and even a water slide to enjoy.

Each pool area features plenty of seating, and the resort's tall buildings tend to cast a shadow on part of the pool area. This means you should be able to find seating in the shade or in the sun.

There is a swim up bar in one of the pools, and waiter service that is fairly easy to flag down when needed.

The water slide was a big hit with my kids, who relished going down it all the time. 

Of course, beach access is also available and the walk from the pool and resort to the beach is a mere few steps.

While the Marriott is not an all-inclusive, it does include $20 food & beverage credit per adult pass purchased. You will find pretty standard hotel food and drink, although I was happy to find some local craft beers available on the menu.

Comments

Our family enjoyed our visit to the Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino because it was exactly what we wanted: a place to enjoy time at the beach or pool, where the kids could splash and play to their hearts' content and my wife and I could relax while watching them.

Day passes are not a popular offering in San Juan, so options are limited, but I think we were satisfied with the choice to come to the Marriott. The taxi ride from the port was extremely short, and the resort amenities are exactly what I think most want in a day pass visit. There was plenty of seating (we arrived after lunch), and the resort is well-maintained.

We paid $60 per adult, which does include that $20 food and beverage credit.  So essentially, $40 each to spend a few hours at the resort. That is a pretty good value for access to the resort.

The food is not anything special, and we relegated ourselves to drinks and snacks.  We figured it would be best to spend money on a meal back in Old San Juan. I think most people visiting are interested in essentially a beach or pool day, with snacks and drinks mixed in as well.

Overall, if you are looking for some time in the water while visiting San Juan, the Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino fits the bill for a fun option. While it may not rank among my favorite day pass resorts in all of the Caribbean, it met every expectation I had for it.  Families should find this to be a good value for spending a few hours beachside or poolside.

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

Episode 332 is available for downloading which has a review of a listener's recent experience on Adventure of the Seas.

Kurt has returned from his cruise on Adventure of the Seas to share his experience.  Kurt talks about why he chose to sail on Adventure, what he and his family did onboard and how his shore excursion plans worked out.

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 332. And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Stitcher or on iTunes!

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