Royal Caribbean released new 2026-2027 cruises, and there's more Oasis Class ships doing short cruises, but some long-time cruisers don't love it.
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Royal Caribbean Group's CEO recently offered three predictions for trends that he's seeing for cruising this year.
During his company's fourth quarter earnings call a few weeks ago, Mr. Liberty pointed to a few trends he expects Royal Caribbean to encounter, and each one is likely to help its bottom line.
Consumers should pay attention to these trends as an indicator of what we can expect from a pricing standpoint. Key indicators such as demand, demographics, and booking volume all contribute to the prices we pay later.
As the cruise industry moves into 2025, there's a lot of momentum from last year, and with record demand, Royal Caribbean appears well-positioned to lead the market.
With the cruise industry experiencing some of the highest demand ever, the price and destinations your next cruise take could be determined by these market shifts.
Right at the onset of the call with Wall Street analysts, Mr. Liberty talked about the importance consumers are placing on travel experiences over material goods.
Liberty noted that American households are wealthier than ever, with continued wage growth and low unemployment driving strong consumer spending. This economic strength is leading to a shift in how people allocate their discretionary income.
That wealth growth is fueling this desire among consumers to spend more on a vacation that will deliver wow moments and make memories they can look back on fondly.
He believes a cruise vacation is particularly well-positioned to benefit from this trend, as it offers a blend of adventure, luxury, and relaxation in one package.
Liberty emphasized that consumers are planning to take more trips and increase their vacation budgets, "Consumers plan to spend more on vacations and take more trips in the coming year and our guests over index in their intent to spend more on leisure travel."
"We continue to see very positive sentiment from our customers bolstered by strong labor markets, high wages, surplus savings, and elevated wealth levels, at the same time; they continue to prioritize travel experiences."
He believes the combination of cruise ship diversity and private destinations positions the company well to meet this demand.
A big trend that you may have already noticed is that cruises are no longer for the "newly wed and nearly dead".
Mr. Liberty sees growing interest in cruising among young people, particularly Millennials and Gen Z travelers.
Earlier in 2024, he talked about how impactful younger people have been on a shifting demographic, "Millennials and younger generations have gained 11 percentage points share compared to 2019."
"And today, almost 1 in 2 guests are millennials or younger...it's a very powerful statement."
This shift is driven by several factors, including the affordability of cruises compared to traditional land vacations and the increasing desire for unique, shareable experiences.
Plus, Royal Caribbean has invested a lot of money in tailoring its experiences to younger passengers through technology, onboard activities, and entertainment.
They're using more AI in their business to make it easier to book restaurants, excursions and more, "We launched over 300 new digital capabilities across channels in 2024, improving the overall experience and reducing friction points while increasing spend."
Piggybacking on the first trend, younger travelers see a cruise ship as an easy way to explore different places in one trip, "Consumers place significant value on visiting multiple destinations and this is even more important to Millennial and Gen Z consumers; something that cruising is uniquely positioned to deliver on."
If 2024 was a record year in terms of demand for a cruise, the future looks bright heading into 2025.
Mr. Liberty mentioned at the beginning of the earnings call that Royal Caribbean experienced its best five booking weeks in company history at the start of the year, with bookings outpacing previous years across all key products.
This surge in demand is fueled by a combination of factors, including high guest satisfaction rates, the appeal of Royal Caribbean’s exclusive private destinations, and the growing appeal of short getaways.
This strong demand is helping the company keep their ships sailing completely full and at higher prices.
Royal Caribbean's move to deploy more of its ships to sail shorter 3- and 4-night itineraries has sparked heated debate among its loyal cruisers.
Royal Caribbean released new short Caribbean cruises this week, but some cruise fans don't love a notable shift in the cruise line's strategy.
Utopia of the Seas and Wonder of the Seas will have already made this switch in 2025, but Oasis and Harmony of the Seas will join the trend when they start sailing short cruises in the fall of 2026.
"It's so sad that Royal Caribbean is ruining most of the Oasis class ships with the short cruises," said Søren Hemmingsen on Facebook, and it echoes what hundreds of other die hard Royal Caribbean fans expressed about the new releases.
The big change is in winter 2026-2027, Royal Caribbean will have all but one of its Oasis Class ships sailing short cruises in the Caribbean and they're all less than 7 nights.
The reason so many cruisers are upset is the lack of itinerary variety and high cost for a short trip.
Some long-time cruisers feel a week is necessary to be able to fully enjoy these mega ship’s amenities, entertainment, and dining experiences. With more ships being allocated to short sailings, seasoned cruisers are feeling left out.
"I can’t seem to find it worth my time to drive 8+ hours or cost beneficial to fly for a 3 or 4 night cruise. This hurts those of us who are just far enough away that have to come in the day before," said Barry Akins.
The only Oasis Class ship that will remain offering week long cruises is Symphony of the Seas out of Galveston, Texas. It's not clear what Allure of the Seas will be doing yet.
Why is Royal Caribbean moving more of its ships to sail short cruises? The answer is at the heart of its business.
"Short cruises is really the onramp for new to cruise," Vicki Freed, Senior Vice President of Sales, Trade Support and Service for Royal Caribbean, explained to travel agents during a webinar yesterday.
"It's kind of the test drive, people don't have to invest a lot of time, they don't have to invest a lot of money... to see if cruising is the right experience for them."
Traditionally, older cruise ships sailed these short cruises but Royal Caribbean wanted to flip the script and attract new cruisers with the best possible ships.
The idea is offer the very best new cruise ship in the short cruise market to give new cruisers an obvious choice of which ship is best for them to try. Shorter cruises allow passengers to get a taste of the best that Royal Caribbean has to offer without committing to a weeklong cruise.
From a business standpoint, Royal Caribbean is doubling down on what works.
The cruise line is targeting a younger demographic and those who want a quick escape without taking a full week off work. Shorter cruises often sell out faster and at higher per-night rates, making them a profitable option.
One comment on the new deployment recognized the business reality, "A very short lesson in Cruising 101—Short cruises you can turn that ship twice and flip it and make more money—that only makes sense for the cruise lines! Fresh passengers buying more drinks and gambling more. This is nothing new."
The shift away from longer cruises on Oasis Class ships means there aren't many options for a traditional 7-night Caribbean cruise on an Oasis Class ship. There are sailings on Icon Class vessels, but right now Icon Class ships command the highest average cruise fares in the fleet.
One workaround is to book a back to back sailing, where you sail the same ship twice in a row to get a week on the ship. However, there isn't a lot difference in where your ship visits.
"I hate this!," wrote Susan Cliatt. "We have to fly and it is not worth the 3,4 or 5 days!
Royal Caribbean executives have repeatedly said the top two reasons people book a cruise ship vacation are for the destinations and the food.
Short cruises, especially 3-night sailings, usually only go to The Bahamas.
Cruise fans complained, "This caters to those that live close to the ports."
"They are only worth it if you live near the port."
Another frustration is many travelers feel that large, feature-packed ships like those in the Oasis Class are wasted on short itineraries, where there simply isn’t enough time to experience everything onboard.
Matt Anderson wrote, "Just don’t understand why all the Oasis Class ships are moving to short cruises. You have to take just as many days off work to go on the 4-day cruise since it’s Mon-Fri as a 7-day Sunday-Sunday cruise. Also, there is just way too much happening on these ships to only be on for 3 or 4 days."
Another person echoed this concern:
"Hmmmm can’t say I like this move. We don’t like Icon because it’s crawling with out-of-control kids and was perfectly happy going back to Oasis Class for our 7-night Eastern Caribbean."
You might have a few ideas for what makes the best beach day food, but it would change after you try Royal Caribbean's mozzarella sticks.
Specifically, the mozzarella sticks at Perfect Day at CocoCay stand out as being the perfect batch.
It's strange to think that this particular snack could be so darn good, but they really are. And it's even more surprising because the mozzarella sticks served on Royal Caribbean ships aren't nearly as good.
When Royal Caribbean first revamped its private island with new amenities, it totally re-thought the private island beach lunch. Traditionally it had just been burgers and hot dogs, but the new offering includes so much more.
One thing that quickly stood out were the outstanding food choices at the Snack Shack. There are now four locations around the island:
In terms of cruise ship private island food, I think CocoCay's mozzarella sticks are a prime example of how good Royal Caribbean's island food game has become. Best of all, it's totally free and you can order as many as you want!
If you haven't tried them yet, they're a must-eat on the island.
At first I thought perhaps I alone preferred the mozzarella sticks from the Snack Shack, but it turns out a lot of other people really love them too.
Adriana Scates wrote on Facebook her idea of a great day on the island is to, "get drinks, lay in the sun on South Beach and eat your weight in mozzarella sticks."
The secret ingredient has to be the breading they use for them.
I'm not sure exactly what's so different about the breading for the mozzarella sticks at Snack Shack versus the ones used on the ship, but they've figured it out.
Served with marinara sauce to dip them in, it's the perfect quick snack. It also helps when you order them they usually come out piping hot.
You could also use the mozzarella sticks as the building blocks to customizing an even better sandwich.
Not listed on the menu, but you can order the "secret sandwich" from the Snack Shack.
Crew members learned this dark art from the launch of the restaurant, and it combines the mozzarella sticks, marinara sauce, and the chicken sandwich to create my go-to meal any time I visit.
It's essentially a chicken parmigiana sandwich, but instead of the cheese being melted on the chicken, you get the crunch of the mozzarella sticks.
On a recent visit to the Coco Beach Club, which has its own excellent food options, I walked out of the club and over the Breezy Bay to get a few mozzarella sticks because they're that good.
The next time you're at Perfect Day at CocoCay, order them with your meal. Not only are they included with your cruise fare, but it's a fantastic comfort snack.
While mozzarella sticks are wonderful, there's a lot of other food you ought to try while visiting.
At either Chill Grill or Skipper's Grill, I'm a sucker for the taco bar because you can customize it just the way you want.
I prefer to grab a plate and do my best attempt at creating a Chipotle-style bowl with the meat, toppings, and plenty of guacamole.
If you happen to buy admission into the adults-only area, the Island Guava Barbeque Chicken Pizza is a must-order every time.
I think the combination of sweet BBQ sauce with the salty cheese really blends well.
My kids would tell you to try the soft serve ice cream just because who doesn't like ice cream on a hot day?
They now always opt to make an ice cream sandwich instead of getting it in a cone.
Perhaps the top food at CocoCay is the entire menu at the Coco Beach Club restaurant, which has filet mignon and lobster on the menu.
I really think the filet here is just as good, if not better, than the filet served onboard the ship.
One of the targets of the Trump Administration has been cuts within the National Park Service, and that is going to likely impact the top tourist destination in Alaska's capital.
Juneau is a port of call that nearly every Royal Caribbean ship visits during the summer Alaska cruise season. The top destination is Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center, home to a glacier thousands of tourists see each year.
About 700,000 visitors each year visit the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area, according to the Juneau Visitor Circulator Study report that came out in February 2024. The city of Juneau expect more than 1.6 million people will visit the city by cruise ship this summer.
Unfortunately, the cut backs mean there could be major staffing issues resulting in impossible waits or delays.
The Juneau Convention & Visitors Bureau warned, "We don’t know at this time whether the visitors center or the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area will be open to the public, or how traffic and other visitor services will be managed."
How bad are the cuts? Recent Federal cuts have "trimmed staff at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center (MGVC) to a single person."
Why were all but one person fired from the park? The Trump Administration included it as part of their sweeping effort to reduce the size of the federal government workforce.
An executive order issued Feb. 11 read, in part: “Agency Heads shall promptly undertake preparations to initiate large-scale reductions in force (RIFs), consistent with applicable law.”
It's too early to know what impact these cuts will have for cruise ship passengers looking to visit the park.
The NPCA is an independent organization dedicated to protecting and enhancing the National Park System. According to Kristen Brengel, senior vice president of Government Affairs for the NPCA, these cuts could result in:
Juneau’s Visitor Industry Director Alix Pierce told KTOO the remaining park staff are trying to figure out exactly what will be different this year.
"Everybody has a lot of questions about what the next steps are," she said.
"I think the Forest Service staff that remain from what I understand are kind of in triage mode trying to figure out how to best allocate resources."
There are 260 independent businesses that are permitted by the Forest Service to run tours at the glacier, but they're concerned the glacier could be off-limits for the season.
Viewing one of the most easily accessible glaciers is the main draw of the park, as glacier viewing is the top thing to do in Alaska.
Not only can you see the glacier by driving into the park, but you can take one of the many tours that bring you onto the glacier by helicopter.
There's also kayak tours and other means to get very close to it.
The park serves as a way for visitors to learn about Alaska's natural beauty.
There's a thirteen-mile-long river of ice that culminates on Mendenhall Lake, where you can watch blue icebergs floating by.
My favorite spot is Nuggets Falls, which requires a very leisurely hike to reach. You then get to see a beautiful waterfall with the glacier next to it.
The park is also known for offering various hiking trails of varying skill levels.
Travel Juneau and the Juneau Convention & Visitors Bureau is asking everyone that is concerned about their ability to access parks like Mendenhall to speak to your representatives in Congress.
"Travel Juneau urges you to contact your federal delegation (senators and representatives) as soon as possible about reinstating critical funding to the US Forest Service," they said in a statement and to specify that this park falls under USDA/US Forest Service management.
A wedding is supposed to be a happy celebration, but the logistics of having one often makes it seem daunting to plan.
Royal Caribbean wants you to have your wedding on one of their cruise ships, and they just overhauled their wedding department by bringing it all in-house.
While Royal Caribbean has offered weddings on their ships for years, frustrations with outsourcing the actual wedding planning to a third-party vendor left the line with less-than-ideal outcomes.
Now, the entire process has been gutted and the operation is conducted within the company, and they think it's an opportunity for a much better experience overall.
Jackie Diaz, Senior Supervisor of Royal Weddings, shared insights into the new wedding packages and how couples can enjoy a stress-free wedding at sea.
With Royal Caribbean’s newly enhanced wedding program, couples have access to dedicated wedding specialists who guide them through the entire planning process, ensuring that every detail is taken care of before they set sail.
Ms. Diaz explained, "We have a dedicated team of specialists who take care of everything from start to finish. Couples don’t have to worry about the logistics—they just enjoy their special day."
"Our onboard venues provide breathtaking settings that are unmatched, and our packages are designed to offer couples incredible value with premium inclusions."
The appeal of a cruise ship wedding is everything is included in one spot, from lodging, to vendors, to the ceremony and reception. Even the honeymoon can be taken care of by Royal Caribbean.
Because you can plan everything in one place with a Royal Caribbean cruise wedding, couples can reduce the stress of working with various vendors while being able to say “I do” in paradise.
Royal Caribbean offers three main wedding packages to accommodate different preferences and guest counts:
Forever Yours Package
Designed for intimate weddings with up to 20 guests, this package includes a private ceremony venue, a wedding officiant, décor, music, a wedding cake, and a sparkling wine toast.
Additional perks for the couple include a romantic dinner, breakfast in bed, and a couple’s massage.
The Knot at Sea Package
Ideal for larger gatherings, this package accommodates up to 75 guests and includes a DJ, a three-tier wedding cake, and an enhanced reception experience with a charcuterie display.
Couples also receive exclusive benefits like priority check-in and reserved show seating because The Key VIP package is included with the cost.
Love Sets Sail Package
This package allows non-sailing guests to attend the ceremony on embarkation day and enjoy a two-hour reception before disembarking.
It includes priority boarding, a bouquet and boutonniere, and an exclusive experience such as a helipad or North Star viewing for the couple and their close family and friends.
Who marries you depends on what you're looking for, but the ship's Captain is an option.
In order to have a legal wedding onboard, it must be officiated by the ship’s captain while at sea. That will get the couple a legally recognized Bahamian marriage certificate.
For those opting for a legal wedding on embarkation day, the marriage license is obtained from the state where the ship is docked before departure.
However, if you want to have your own officiant (or prefer not to be married by the Captain), you can opt for a symbolic ceremony. You get to choose your own officiant, but must obtain a marriage license on your own.
Royal Caribbean welcomes same-sex couples to celebrate their love with a Royal Wedding.
For couples who wish to have a legally recognized ceremony, same-sex weddings can be performed on embarkation day in a U.S. port under the Love Set Sail Package. However, due to Bahamian law, legal same-sex weddings cannot be performed at sea.
Instead, couples opting for an at-sea ceremony or a wedding at Royal Caribbean’s private destinations, Labadee or Perfect Day at CocoCay, can have a symbolic wedding ceremony.
Ms. Diaz assures, “We strive to make every couple’s wedding dreams a reality, and our team is dedicated to ensuring all love stories are celebrated beautifully on board.”
Vow Renewal Package
The Still the One Package allows couples to renew their vows in an intimate ceremony with up to 10 guests. It includes a private venue, an officiant, music, and several romantic amenities such as a celebratory cake, a champagne toast, and a special dinner for two.
Marriage Proposal Package
For those planning to pop the question, Royal Caribbean offers a thoughtfully designed proposal package. The proposal is disguised as a professional photoshoot, where the big moment is captured by the onboard photographer. The package includes a private setting, a celebratory toast, and a keepsake photo to remember the occasion.
Jackie Diaz explains, "Our vow renewal and proposal packages allow couples to create unforgettable memories at sea, whether they’re celebrating a milestone or beginning a new chapter together."
Ms. Diaz believes there is a great deal of choice in how you want to customize your special day, "We offer a level of customization that allows couples to make their wedding truly unique, from selecting their perfect venue to personalizing every little detail."
To personalize their special day, couples can add:
Instead of being married on the ship, you could have your ceremony at one of Royal Caribbean's private destinations, Labadee and Perfect Day at CocoCay.
The only catch is the wedding will be a symbolic one, not a legally binding one.
Royal Caribbean makes the process easy. Couples can contact the Royal Weddings team at 1-888-WED-RCCL to begin planning.
Once a wedding date is confirmed, a wedding specialist is assigned to coordinate the details leading up to the big day. Royal Caribbean even has its own wedding registry that guests can use and buy things for the couple.
Upon boarding, an onboard coordinator ensures everything runs smoothly.
According to Ms. Diaz, "Our team is with you every step of the way. From the moment you book until you walk down the aisle, we make sure everything is seamless and stress-free."
It's going to be even easier to hop on a short cruise, as Royal Caribbean is ready to expand its market reach with these types of cruises.
Royal Caribbean has posted its new 2026-2027 deployments for the Short Caribbean, and there are a lot of cruise ships sailing cruises less than a week.
Short cruises have the advantage of being easier to work into long weekends or simply use up less days off from work.
We spotted eight ships added to the calendar to offer cruises between November 2026 and April 2027, and each has short cruise options.
Here's a breakdown of what's been added and what you can expect with a short cruise.
Across five homeports in Florida and Texas, there's a few different options if you're looking to add a getaway cruise.
Beginning in Port Canaveral, you'll find three ships offering short cruises here.
Utopia of the Seas broke ground when she became the first Royal Caribbean ship to ever enter service with just short sailings.
Utopia will continue that by offering 3- and 4-night cruises to The Bahamas.
Fellow Oasis Class ship Harmony of the Seas moves back to Port Canaveral, and will sail 4- and 5-night cruises.
Harmony's 5-night cruises combine a visit to Perfect Day at CocoCay with Cozumel, Mexico. The 4-night cruises will visit Nassau, Bahamas and CocoCay.
That combination of going to either Cozumel or Nassau is no coincidence, as those are two ports where Royal Caribbean will have new beach clubs open to book.
Royal Beach Club Paradise Island is set to open December 2025, and Royal Beach Club Cozumel will open in "late 2026 on select Western Caribbean vacations."
There's also one 2-night sailing on Harmony.
Explorer of the Seas will also sail from Port Canaveral, and offer 4- and 5-night cruises.
Explorer's 4-night sailings will remain in The Bahamas, while its 5-night voyages offer different options that can go to the Dominican Republic, Labadee, or Cozumel.
Moving over to Fort Lauderdale, there are new entries to the short game market.
Oasis of the Seas is the latest mega ship to start offering shorter cruises.
Similar to Utopia, Oasis will offer 3- and 4-night cruises out of Port Everglades to The Bahamas, including Royal Caribbean's private island.
With Oasis of the Seas sailing short cruises, that sets Royal Caribbean up with an Oasis Class ship in each of the major 3 ports on Florida's east coast to have this option.
It's clearly a move to dominate the short cruise market by outflanking the competition with the very best ships.
The best budget option for a short cruise might be with Vision of the Seas.
Vision will offer 3- and 4-night cruises from Fort Lauderdale. The difference is Vision will also visit Bimini, Bahamas or Grand Bahama Island.
Grandeur will spend the summer in Fort Lauderdale with 3- and 4-night vacations to destinations across The Bahamas, including Perfect Day at CocoCay, as well as Key West in Florida.
In Miami, you'll find two ships with short cruises from this capital of cruising.
Wonder of the Seas remains in Miami to sail short cruises.
Later in 2025, Wonder will begin the shift from 7-night cruises to short sailings, and Wonder will remain doing that into at least early 2027.
Wonder's itineraries match Utopia and Oasis, with visits to CocoCay or Nassau.
In addition, Freedom of the Seas will depart Miami on 4- and 5-night cruises.
Freedom's destinations include Grand Cayman, Falmouth, Labadee, Cozumel, Dominican Republic, and The Bahamas.
In Galveston, there's a familiar face returning to this port.
Liberty of the Seas is going back to Texas, and will sail 4- and 5-night cruises.
Both itineraries visit Cozumel, while the extra night gets you a visit to Costa Maya.
Mariner of the Seas has 4- and 5-night Western Caribbean sailings to Costa Maya and Cozumel.
Tampa has one ship sailing short cruises, with Rhapsody of the Seas from that port with new 4- and 5-night adventures.
With Harmony and Oasis of the Seas moving to the short cruise market, it's clear Royal Caribbean sees a market need.
Ever since they announced Utopia of the Seas would enter service with short cruises, it's flipped the industry script on its head.
By offering short cruises on really impressive ships with lots to do, Royal Caribbean is hoping to entice the vast pool of people that have never cruised to try a cruise.
The new to cruise market is single handedly the lowest hanging fruit of potential new customers, and it's who Royal Caribbean wants to target to grow their business.
Weekend cruises in particular are very attractive to new cruisers because it's just a few days on the ship, lower cost than a week (with less PTO time needed), and most importantly, is less daunting as a way to try a cruise vacation.
The coup de grâce for this plan is by late 2026, Royal Caribbean should have two beach clubs open in Nassau and Cozumel.
These beach clubs are a brand new endeavor, which are paid excursions available only to Royal Caribbean customers.
Each will be an all-inclusive private enclave, where Royal Caribbean guests can book a spot and enjoy a day splashing in the pool or beach at a place that adheres to the same standards of a Royal Caribbean ship.
There are still more cruises to be announced in 2026-2027.
Seasonal Caribbean cruises will come out sometime next week, which represent primarily ships that move back to North America after spending the summer somewhere else.
Then we'll get China cruises during the week of March 10, 2025, followed by Singapore the week after that.
The final deployment will be Australia during the week of June 2, 2025.
While cruise ship casinos are a major draw for many passengers, the debate of allowing smoking in these venues has been a hot button topic.
While Royal Caribbean has not changed its policy at all, they have made an unexpected change on one of its cruise ships.
Freedom of the Seas went in for what was thought to be routine maintenance work at a dry dock in Spain, but returned with a brand new venue that could make a lot of would-be gamblers quite happy.
Confirming the news we were first to report, the Vintages wine bar on the Royal Promenade has been replaced by a non-smoking casino, providing a new alternative where non-smokers can gamble without any second-hand smoke issues.
Traditionally, cruise ship casinos are divided in half between smoking and non-smoking areas, but it's one large space where the smoke odor can easily travel between the two.
With Freedom of the Seas back in service, we've gotten our first look at this new venue.
The entrance to the casino is an open space, with tables inside and outside the venue.
Keeping tables nearby is likely an option for passengers to have when enjoying time on the Royal Promenade. Often these tables are used for a place to have a quick bite or drink, or sit and enjoy watching what's happening nearby.
When Vintages was still there, these tables were often used by guests that weren't ordering anything at Vintages.
The new casino is split into two sides, with a casino bar in the middle.
You'll find a variety of slot machines to play in this new non-smoking casino. While the footprint is smaller than the main casino, there's a good variation of machines to play.
Having a bar in this non-smoking casino is a feature not found on the Oasis Class ships.
While the non-smoking venues on Oasis Class ships have waiter service to get drinks, being able to quickly get a drink at the bar is far more convenient.
Plus, adding a bar to this casino reduces the workload on the casino bar in the primary casino.
We also spotted numerous televisions throughout the casino, including at the bar.
Since sport watching is so popular, there's now additional viewing opportunities when a game is on.
There's also a few table games in the casino, such as roulette.
The idea to replace a somewhat less popular venue with a casino was first introduced on Royal Caribbean's Oasis Class ships.
The genesis of the concept began on Wonder of the Seas, which was originally destined for the Chinese cruise market. In Asia, there's a need for more gambling venues so the original plan was to have a casino in lieu of Jazz on 4.
When plans changed and Wonder was re-routed to North America, Royal Caribbean decided to keep the idea.
Soon thereafter, all the Jazz on 4 venues were replaced by non-smoking casinos as a way to offer more passengers an opportunity to gamble.
This appears to be the same idea with Freedom, but this is the first time a non-Oasis Class ship received such a change.
There's been no official statement by Royal Caribbean or any official as to why they decided to make the change, but it's likely it has much to do with maximizing onboard revenue as it does addressing a need passengers have been asking for.
While Vintages was the only wine bar on the ship, the supply of wine should be unaffected to any passenger that wants it, since the bulk of the wine was always stored behind-the-scenes.
With this change to Freedom of the Seas, the next question becomes will other ships receive a similar change.
Royal Caribbean hasn't released any sort of update to indicate if it would. They didn't make any announcement with the Oasis Class either, but then systematically went through and made the change on each ship.
It's entirely possible other Freedom or Voyager Class ships would see their Vintages replaced with a casino, as the venue is nearly identical to Freedom's.
A few ships already had their Vintages replaced with something else.
Mariner and Navigator of the Seas have the Bamboo Room instead of Vintages, which is a tiki bar. Adventure of the Seas has Izumi Japanese Restaurant in its place.
Cruise ships go through a lot of food in order to feed a small city worth of people each week, and this leaves the potential for massive quantities of food waste.
Every ship has multiple restaurants, from buffets to elegant sit down restaurants, and not all the food gets eaten. Once food is put out at a buffet or served, it can't go back into the kitchen, so it's either eaten or thrown away.
Food waste isn't just a cruise problem, it's something affecting every restaurant, bakery, supermarket, and theme park.
Thankfully, Royal Caribbean's commitment to responsible management of the food it sources and uses onboard has a built-in plan for minimizing the waste of perishables.
Over the last couple of years, the cruise line has embarked on a new mission of minimizing how much food ends up in the trash.
In 2021, Royal Caribbean set out to truly reduce food waste across all of its ships with a new program that went beyond just one restaurant.
The parent company, Royal Caribbean Group, set a goal of reducing food waste across the fleet by 50% by 2025. As of early 2024, Royal Caribbean says it's already reduced food waste by about 33% across its fleet, saving tens of millions of dollars a year and literally tons of food.
"Reducing food waste is the single easiest and most impactful thing every one of us can do make a positive impact to the planet," is what Linken D'Souza, Royal Caribbean Senior Vice President, Global Food & Beverage, said of this program that he calls "Win on Waste".
There are five main focuses on how they plan to achieve that, and all of them are already in place as they work towards reaching their initial goal:
Leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) allows chefs to better estimate how much food should be produced, prepped, thawed, and ordered, on a given day, at any given time.
They do this by entering the demographics of passengers onboard, where the ship is sailing, and even the weather to come up with the right amount of food and type of cuisine that will fit passengers on that sailing.
Data dashboards are reviewed by ship and corporate leaders to inform adjustments and track initiative progress.
The purpose AI serves is to prevent generation of the food waste in the first place.
Some of the changes are less technical, but make logistical sense, such as food procurement.
A ship is supplied with all sorts of food, but it needs to be ready for every day of the sailing. Royal Caribbean orders bananas at various stags of ripeness and held separately to ensure perfectly ripe bananas are available throughout each sailing.
At the buffet, there's been changes to how much food is prepared and how it's served to guests.
While there's still the traditional trays of food, many hot items are prepared using small batches and "À la Minute" cooking methods. Plus, cooking or carving stations ensure proper portion sizes and preserve quality, while engaging guests.
You'll also see less perishable food displays and decorations at buffets.
When there is food waste, frequently wasted items are noted to inform future adjustments. Waste datasets are reviewed daily by ship Food & Beverage leaders.
Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas is the biggest cruise ship in the world, and can accommodate up to 10,000 people that all have to have thousands of meals prepared every day.
When Icon departs Miami, it has more than 130,000 pounds of food onboard so that all of the more than 40 restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues are fully stocked.
To not only ensure they have enough food but also make sure as little as possible is wasted, Royal Caribbean has equipped this ship with a new AI system.
The new AI system will be able to better predict exactly how much food, down to individual ingredients a vessel will need for a specific cruise.
By leveraging AI, Royal Caribbean can tell their chefs and crew onboard how much meat, vegetables, and other food they'll need to match the needs of passengers on that specific sailing.
When Icon of the Seas first started sailing, the AI system was able to ensure the ship was utilizing 86% of its food onboard.
A fun fact about the food waste on Icon of the Seas is that the ship's waterpark is actually partially powered by it.
The power for the water slides here is generated partly by food waste, trashed cardboard and bio waste. They get converted into pellets that, when heated, give off steam that generates power.
It pains me when I see cruise passengers making easily avoidable mistakes, but I saw many again when I was on my Utopia of the Seas cruise last week.
I just sailed on Royal Caribbean's Utopia of the Seas for a 3-night cruise, and it was a great escape for a few days to some of the best weather I've ever had on a cruise.
This particular ships is so adept at appealing to people that have never been on a cruise ship before, and that's great for the cruise line's bottom line to grow their customer base.
Unfortunately, first time cruisers are among the most likely to commit a cruise ship faux pas, and it was evident on this sailing too.
Before you go on Utopia, make sure you aren't making any of these mistakes.
It's so easy to walk up to a bar and ask for a drink by name, but you ought to do one other thing.
When you order just the drink name, a majority of the time you're going to get well liquor, which is the cheapest brand and those brands tend to have the worst "bite" to them.
Name brand liquors tend to be smoother, or they have a particular flavor that you might prefer.
It's less an issue with a cocktail Royal Caribbean has created for a specific bar, like the PB&J Old Fashioned at the Mason Jar, or the Goalpost Margarita at Playmakers.
What I'm talking about is when you simply ask for a Bloody Mary, Pina Colada, or Margarita.
You should always specify the liquor you want. If you have a drink package, it's included with the cost. Plus, it will taste better and perhaps be even more potent.
Since Utopia of the Seas visits Royal Caribbean's private island of Perfect Day of CocoCay every cruise, I thought I should include a CocoCay specific mistake too.
While I'm all for sleeping in on vacation, you really ought to get up early and hit the beach or pool before 10am.
Certain areas of the island will have chairs get taken up quite quickly, especially since there's almost always two ships in port.
Oasis Lagoon in particular seems to run out of chairs first, and Chill Island will only have chairs at the very far end left if you wait too late.
If you bought admission to the Coco Beach Club or Hideaway Beach, there are couches by the pool that are on a first-come, first-served basis. Those pretty much get gobbled up in the first hour the ship is docked.
Personally, I don't want to have to search for a chair and umbrella. Or relegate us to sharing just one or two chairs because that's all that's left.
Another added bonus of getting off the ship early is during the summer months when afternoon thunderstorms are common.
If you get to the island in the morning, that's usually when you'll find the best weather. It's coolest in the morning hours, and the greatest chance of precipitation is in the afternoon.
When I sat down to play Blackjack in the ship's casino, I saw at least two different people request cash to play from the dealer and they got hit with a 5% fee.
Royal Caribbean charges a fee for cash withdrawals in the casino, unless you're a Prime member or higher in the casino loyalty program.
However, anyone can avoid the fee by going to a slot machine and pulling cash from there.
For some reason, there's no fee when you use the banker feature on a slot machine to get cash. You can then immediately cash out, go to the cashier and exchange it for cash. At that point, you can go to the Blackjack table and try your luck, and you'll be up 5%!
I doubt people waiting to buy a Royal Caribbean beverage package on the cruise ship ever goes away, but plenty still do it.
If you sit at any bar on embarkation day, sooner or later someone asks the bartender to buy a drink package and they'll end up paying full price.
On Utopia of the Seas, it was $115 per person, per day to buy a drink package on the ship!
That same drink package could have been had for 30% less or more if they had pre-purchased before the cruise began.
If there's even a remote chance you'll want the drink package, always pre-pay to save money.
If there's one area Royal Caribbean doesn't get enough credit for, it's their cocktail menus.
I totally understand why pina coladas, margaritas, and daiquiris are so popular because they're essentially ubiquitous with a tropical vacation.
While it's not a mistake to order one, Royal Caribbean has spent a lot of time coming up with fun new cocktails that are way more interesting.
There are so many great choices available, and they all work with a beverage package.
Here are some ones to look out for:
There's plenty more, but keep an eye out for new ones to try. They might end up being your go-to favorite.
I'm guilty of this mistake too, but the best alternative restaurant you're not eating at on Utopia of the Seas (and other ships) is the Solarium Bistro.
Solarium Bistro is complimentary and open for all three meals. It's a combination of buffet and sit down restaurant, and it's probably way less crowded than the Windjammer.
I'd argue Solarium Bistro is the best choice for a more laid back breakfast, and it's usually a ghost town at dinner.
Plus, it has beautiful windows to see the ocean from.
And yes, kids are allowed in this restaurant even thought it's in the adults-only Solarium.
No matter which ship it is, it seems inevitable someone tries to disembark the ship on the last day without their SeaPass card.
Before you can leave the ship at the conclusion of a sailing, you need to scan your SeaPass with the ship's security one last time. The purpose is to check you out of the ship.
This means you'll need to have your SeaPass with you as you leave. Unfortunately, there are a few people who don't have it, and it stops the line dead in its tracks.
At this point, security needs to look them up in the system and manually check them out, but this takes some time and it slows down the disembarkation line. On Royal Caribbean's older ships, this backs up the line and it inconveniences everyone.
Make sure you have everyone's SeaPass card with you when you leave your ship on that final morning.
Something else related to the last day of the cruise is the table of prohibited items I saw for pickup.
Royal Caribbean bans a lot of things from being brought on a cruise ship because they are a danger, risk, or troublesome.
By far the two most common things people bring on a cruise that are absolutely not allowed are clothing irons and steamers.
On the final morning, there was a table full of them.
But here's the other problem with packing something you're not supposed to have: it holds up your luggage delivery.
When the ship's security sees you packed a prohibited item, your suitcase is held back and you have to go down to security to retrieve your bag.
Make sure you read through all the things you cannot bring on a cruise before you start packing.