I love going on Royal Caribbean cruises with my kids, but there are at least a few things I don't think are worth buying for them.

Family vacations are perfect on a cruise ship because of how we get to spend a lot of time together, but there are also opportunities for the kids and parents to have fun on their own as well.

Part of the fun of a cruise is indulging in certain add-ons, such as fun shore excursions, family photos, or a cabana rental. However, there are a few extras I personally don't think are worthwhile for my kids and I generally steer clear of them.

In most cases, these are things that I don't think are worth it for them, or it's simply excessive.  As a parent, you want your kids to have a good time, but spoiling them isn't in the cards (that's what grandparents are for).

While my kids might think I'm being "the worst" dad ever, these are cruise extras I won't bother buying for them on any cruise.

Drink package

Royal Caribbean's drink packages are a great value, but I don't think it's necessary for kids, especially kids that aren't teenagers yet.

I look at any drink package purchase as a question of "breaking even" on the investment, meaning can I consume enough drinks every day of the cruise to get value from the package in lieu of paying for drinks individually.

My kids are still young enough that they'd only ever have one sugary drink at home, and on vacation, more than 2 or 3 feels excessive for them from a health perspective. Plus, they have enough energy without a sugar kick to keep going most days.

For anyone new to cruising with Royal Caribbean, it's also important to know which drinks are included with your cruise fare.  It's not like the kids are relegated to water for the duration of the sailing.

It also greatly helps that they are Diamond Plus members in Crown and Anchor Society, so they get a few free drinks per day from their perks.

Ultimately, I'm all for them splurging on a cruise, but a drink package seems excessive for them.

Jewelry

I have two girls, and as of yet, I don't think jewelry makes a lot of sense to buy for them.

My kids have some jewelry, but the sort of jewelry you can buy on the ship's shops are over the top for their personal attention to detail.  

Essentially, the risk of them misplacing or damaging jewelry is quite high, so investing in something nice would be more of an exercise in futility than anything else. 

When they get more responsible, I think there's a good rationale to reward them with something nice from a shop onboard or on shore, but for now, the cheap stuff from our mall is what they need.

Prepaid arcade credits

We usually make a pilgrimage to the ship's arcade at least once per cruise, but I never buy the prepaid arcade credits.

There's two reasons why I don't purchase the arcade credit package pre-cruise on Royal Caribbean's website.

First, it seems there's always left over credits that you're trying to figure out the right combination of arcade credits and extra credits to finally get rid of your balance. It's just easier to pay for credits as you go, rather than rely on a balance ahead of time.

Second, it's not uncommon for certain arcade machines to be out of order, which means there are less games appealing to them and that leaves us with arcade credits we end up spending for the sake of spending them.

Candy from the duty free shop

My kids eat plenty of junk on a cruise, so we don't need to spend extra money on the duty free candy.

Besides the bottles of liquor you can purchase onboard, there's also large quantities of candy you can buy in the duty free store.

I find there's many treats to enjoy around the ship for no additional cost. Plus, we'll bring a few extra snacks onboard the ship from home to have so they can nosh in the cabin from time to time.

I have no idea if the candy sold in the duty free shop is any kind of deal, but I think it's unnecessary for us to buy for our kids.

Dining package

I don't buy my kids a dining package on a cruise, but not because I'm being cheap or think it's excessive.

My oldest daughter really loves specialty dining, so we visit our fair share of specialty restaurants during a cruise.  I'll buy a dining package for my wife and I, but I'll skip the kids.

At any specialty restaurant, kids ages 6-12 can dine there for a flat $12.99 cover charge. Kids 5 years old and under eat free. Just show up and I pay for the kids on the SeaPass account.

Another reason I don't buy them a dining package is sometimes they eat elsewhere. My youngest daughter is super picky, and we often get her a couple of slices of pizza from Sorrento's. The staff doesn't mind that we bring the food with us while the rest of us enjoy the meal at the restaurant.

Kids get charged less and it provides more flexibility in case they prefer to eat from another venue.

Historically or culturally significant shore excursions

I admit I struggle with taking my kids on certain shore excursions that have a great deal of significance, but I know they wont appreciate.

On the one hand, I want to expose my kids to the world and have them learn about the things, places, and times that shaped our world. It's important for everyone to know these things, including kids.

But, no matter how many times you tell your kids something they are seeing or doing is important, you can't force them to actually appreciate it.  Or at least have them stop complaining they're bored.

As an example, when we took a cruise to Cuba, we left the kids onboard because we knew they were too young to care about Cuba's political history. 

I know that if I ask them if they'd be interested in certain tours, I'm sure they'd say no to just about anything not involving ice cream or the beach. There's a certain level of filtering you have to do as a parent to know what's best for them.  In other cases, there are certain excursions that are definitely better for a more mature audience.

More information

• 50 best cruising with kids tips & secrets
• Best Royal Caribbean ships for kids
• Eight lessons I learned by going on a cruise with kids
• The ultimate kids cruise packing list
• From a former cruise kid: Why you should go on a cruise ship with your kids

Taking a Royal Caribbean cruise in May opens the beginning of the summer cruise season.

If you have a cruise planned in May, this article is aimed at giving you a preview of what to expect for sailing this month, as well as helpful tips.

With spring break over, May is generally a slower month in terms of demand (with the exception of Memorial Day Weekend) because school is in session, and most families either just took vacation over spring break, or are about to take vacation next month when school is out.

It's also the month when Royal Caribbean's European cruise season begins in earnest with all the ship that will sail from the region in place to start service.

The Memorial Day holiday in the United States can see a bit more demand for cruises, although primarily for weekend cruises.

Certainly there is less demand for cruises in the first three weeks of May.

The Alaska cruise season will also fully start up in the month of May. Royal Caribbean will have four cruise ships sailing to Alaska in 2023.

Read more: Comparing the Royal Caribbean ships sailing in Alaska 2023

May weather on a cruise

It's going to get warmer in May in the Caribbean, so expect high temperatures to reach the high 80s and low temperatures not getting below the 70s.

In terms of rainfall, the wet season will resume in some areas. You will see lots of passing showers in places like San Juan, Puerto Rico or Antigua.

Over in Europe, the sun will be shining in the Mediterranean without the larger crowds that will come later this summer. May is the best time for a Greek Isles cruise because there is very little rain combined with temperatures in the high 60s and 70s.

The one downside of May in the Mediterranean is sea temperatures tend to be still chilly. If you want warm ocean temperatures in May, the Caribbean is the place for you.

Read more: What is the best time to cruise the Mediterranean?

If you're cruising to Alaska in May, expect less rain than normal. May is one of the driest months of the season, with just a 25% chance of rain. 

The average high in southeast Alaska is 54 degrees and the average low is 39 degrees.

Read more: When is the best time to cruise to Alaska?

Sailings to the Mexican Riviera, expect more rain in the forecast. The months of May to October are the wettest months of the year (same for Eastern Mexico).

The eastern Pacific hurricane season begins May 15 and ends November 30. 

Is May a good month to cruise the Caribbean?

May is a great month to sail as it offers warm weather without the crowds that you'll find later in the summer.

Because May is a month where most kids are still in school, demand for cruises is less than April or June.  After all, families either just took a spring break cruise last month or are about to take their summer vacations next month.  So why take the kids out of school for a vacation in May?

The result is demand is generally lower, and prices tend to be lower for May cruises compared to other months of the spring and summer.

Read more: The best time to go on a Caribbean cruise

May is also the last month before hurricane season begins, so tropical disturbances are not a factor for cruises in May.  Between the lower prices and comfortable weather, May is one of the best months of the year to take a Caribbean cruise.

May is referred to as the shoulder season for both Alaska and European cruise season. This means it's a time just before the peak of the cruise season commences, and it's an ideal time to get a good price for a cruise to either destination.

Moreover, May is a month where the weather is warm without being sweltering hot.

In Alaska, May can still be on the chilly side, but when the sun shines, you should feel the warmth.  Likewise in Europe, May is a month where it's quite comfortable to be outside.  

Are cruises crowded in May?

In general, Royal Caribbean cruises are almost always sailing full, but demand for cruises in May is usually less than other months of the year.

Your ship may or may not be completely full, but one of the best chances for a few leftover cabins to be available would be in May.

The lessened family travel demand means potentially less cabins with third and fourth passengers, and that could make the ship feel a bit less crowded than if you sailed next month.

Royal Caribbean is still very early in developing a new kind of restaurant concept, but we have a first look at the direction they are considering.

As RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com first reported, the cruise line is working on a new restaurant concept that will rely on mixed reality and have a classic train dining car motif. The intention is to have it as one of the restaurants on Utopia of the Seas.

While many details are being worked out, Royal Caribbean wanted to assess the viability of this sort of a restaurant, and so it created a life-size mockup at its Miami, Florida headquarters.

The cruise line invited RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com to tour the concept and get a glimpse of the possibilities they are considering. It's important to note what we saw is just a proof point, and executives were adamant how early in the process this dining idea is, so expect the final product to look different.

In fact, our visit was more about better understanding the concepting process that Royal Caribbean goes through with designing its cruise ships. Royal Caribbean's position as a market leader is largely based on its ability to innovate and deliver to its guests time-honored favorites along with brand new ideas.

Regardless of what the final version of this restaurant looks like, it was a fascinating look in how Royal Caribbean does concept development.

Guests want more unique dining

Royal Caribbean started down the road of developing a mixed reality restaurant because their customers indicated they wanted something different.

Royal Caribbean's Senior Vice President and Chief Product Innovation Officer Jay Schneider said their customer feedback has told them guests, "want more immersive and unique dining."

Royal Caribbean has also seen a recent surge in immersive dining around the world, such as Sublimotion in Ibiza or Atmos in Fort Lauderdale.  Moreover, Disney Cruise Line has its own mixed reality restaurant on the Disney Wish and Carnival Cruise Line has Fortune Teller Bar on Mardi Gras. Princess Cruises has a 7-course meal in which guests are wrapped around a circular LED screen at their 360 restaurant.

While none of these restaurants are exactly what Royal Caribbean wants, Linken D'Souza, Global Vice President Culinary, Dining & Beverage, thinks it's a good starting point, "I think it gave us the first kind of introduction to this possibility of bringing a whole immersive experience into the dining world of what we do in world."

Part of the reason why Royal Caribbean wants something different is none of these truly brought the guests into the experience.

"It was part of that experience, but it wasn't really immersive. I mean, it was interesting. It was fun. It was cool to have the vistas around you, but it didn't draw you in necessarily into the experience the way that I think we envision what we're talking about to be able to do," said Mr. D'Souza.

Thus, Royal Caribbean had 4 primary goals:

• Creates an immersive experience with entertainment
• Highly unique and new to cruise
• Appeal to everyone, including families or someone on a date night
• Evolves over time to offer repeat guests new and exciting adventures

With those goals in mind, the team worked through various ideas and ultimately came to the idea of a train, assuming they could make the experience convincing enough, "is there an opportunity to make it feel like you're on a train, make it feel like you're on a dining car and bring to life this kind of new concept of a dining car restaurant experience," is what Mr. Schneider wrestled with early on with this project.

The train dining restaurant

The team admitted there's no name yet, and the final direction may change, but they wanted to share a look at one possibility.

Royal Caribbean is still playing with ideas and ways to make it convincing, but they came up with a story for this experience and even went as far as to model it out as a proof of concept.

The experience begins on deck 4 of Utopia of the Seas, where Izumi specialty restaurant currently exists.

Similar to how Wonderland on Wonder of the Seas has a themed motif to the elevator lobby that indicates there's something different about this floor, the elevator lobby and staircase near the restaurant will have a distinct look to it.

"As you're coming up the stairs or you're coming down the stairs, even the stairwell, " Mr. Schneider explained. 

"You'll start to immerse like you're moving into a space that is very different than what you're used to on the Oasis class, as well as just an experience we provide because even the stairs will start to feel no longer like a classic cruise stair, but they'll start to feel like you were walking up into a train station for the first time."

As you turn the corner, you'll see a train facade instead of the large Izumi sign against the wall.

"The idea is that you're going to go have dinner at what we're currently as a working project called the Dining Car," Mr. Schneider said and quickly noted that is not going to be the final name.

There will be multiple trains that you can board based on your reservation.

In fact, your name will be listed on the classic split-flap display that used to dominate train stations. You'll hear the sounds of a train and the split-flap display updating, the smell of the food, the look of the uniforms crew members will wear, and this all works towards that multi-sensory experience Royal Caribbean wants that goes beyond a digital screen.

One other idea they have is to give guests a classic looking train ticket in their stateroom that they can not only bring to the restaurant to confirm their reservation, but be able to keep it as a souvenir after the cruise.

As you walk in, there are a couple of options. As you enter what is today the entrance to Izumi on other Oasis class ships, you would find a train platform.

There will be a platform bar over to the right, and the entire train facade to the left of the entrance would be visible to you

"You'd see the full train built out on the right hand side. You may only see partial train, but you'll see the back of the train and then be able to enter the venue. Whether you're going to train one or train two or even the platform. But the idea is that you start to see the real thing."

As to where your train will go, the direction is still a work in progress, but one idea Royal Caribbean has is a train visit that takes you to multiple destinations.

"We would take you to say 4 or 5 destinations, and your journey would be fixed, much like your cruise itineraries fixed, your train journey would be fixed," Mr. Schneider explained.

"We can take you to 4 or 5 different journeys because we get the affordance of a train, goes into a tunnel, the tunnel gets dark, and when you pop out, if you think of the light experience you get coming out of a tunnel, you're going to go somewhere new."

As an example of one possibility the team is considering, your train might begin at Grand Central Station in New York with your first course of food and wine pairing, and when that is complete, your train enters a dark tunnel to take you to the next place in the journey, which could be the Canadian Pacific Railway. 

You're then served your second course with second pairing. Then you go through another tunnel and pop out in the next destination, which could be Italy for your third course.

Mr. Schneider reiterated that this is by no means the final concept, just one possible idea they have.

Other ideas is to have the train visit fictional places or places and times that no longer exist, such as the Polar Express or the old west.

One idea that Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley came up with for the project was to have the train visit the Southwest of the United States and see outside the window a man on a horse riding with a mask on, with a sheriff chasing him.  As time goes by, you hear noise and a bandit comes rushing through the train with gun drawn.

"It's just a surprise and delight overlay that this could give you to mash a little bit of entertainment."

"Food is the hero here. Entertainment is not. But that doesn't mean there's not an opportunity to dial up just a little bit of surprise and delight in the moment to get people just, again, immersed in the experience."

Speaking of the food, there isn't a specific cuisine outlined yet for the restaurant, partially because of how early it is still in the design phase.

"We may end up being in one country doing one experience that's really immersive in that space with the food that ties to that experience. We aren't there yet, but I think the idea here is that there is a ton of diversity of things you could do. It may flow through different destinations, but it definitely kind of brings this multi-sensory experience of the food along with the sight, sound, smell, taste, etcetera into it," Mr. D'Souza explained.

Can they make it feel real?

One question the team had to figure out was could they make the train experience real enough that it didn't feel as though you're eating and watching a television of scenery.

Additionally, would the visual of being on a train and it moving along with the ship's natural movement lead to problems with motion sickness for guests.

Mr. Schneider said this has been an ongoing research project for the cruise line, "we've been studying for a couple of years now, how far away from a screen do you have to be to make it never feel like a screen. How much light do we push onto it? How much? How much plexiglass or other do we put behind it? How do we make sure that you look this way? It looks like you're looking down an actual window."

In fact, that research was initially done to create an improved virtual balcony experience.  When the dining car concept was introduced, the team leveraged that research to help with this prototype.

Royal Caribbean took a 360 degree filming rig to Sweden and started filming in 8K resolution and experimented with various movement speeds.

"Speed is one of the things that we're learning. How fast is it moving? How fast do we want to capture? And then how much do we want to manipulate?"

They wanted to figure out at a very early stage, could they make it feel convincing enough that it's real, "do we believe at an alpha version that there's something here? Or should we just say, this was really great? We spent a couple of grand building a wooden box and borrowed some screens and a couple of grand with a dude in Sweden shooting some footage."

To better illustrate the concept, they built out the prototype because the concept was better understood once people sat in the mock dining car.

Mr. D'Souza thinks the prototype is a real selling point, even in this very alpha stage, "I think conceptually, everybody sitting here goes, wow, this is this could be a pretty cool experience. And I think that's the way we're thinking about it, is how do we take that and really bring it to life using all of your senses."

According to Mr. Schneider, the next step is to expand this prototype to exact scale of the one they intend to build on Utopia, "We're just going to build one train car. So then we can get a real sense of length, and then can go through the iterative process."

Icon of the Seas may still be months away from sailing, but the cruise line is already simulating how its new water park at sea will operate.

Thrill Island is the name of a brand new neighborhood coming to the first Icon Class cruise ship, and it will include six water slides, new dining venues, and lots to keep families busy.

It's a new approach to aquatic fun on a cruise ship for Royal Caribbean, and they want to ensure everything looks and works great before any passenger gets onboard or the ship is even complete.

At Royal Caribbean's Innovation Lab in Miami, Florida, the cruise line life-size mock-ups to give its executives and team members a real-world look at what their plans on paper will actually look like once built.

Royal Caribbean calls Icon of the Seas a "white paper" ship, which means it's designed from the ground up with new concepts. While that's exciting for passengers to look forward to new tings to try, it also introduces new challenges to make it work for the cruise line.

While touring the Innovation Lab this week, RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com got a first-hand look at what Royal Caribbean is doing to ensure its new aqua park is ready to go on day one.

First neighborhood dedicated to thrills

The appropriately named Thrill neighborhood on Icon of the Seas is Royal Caribbean's first fully themed neighborhood centered around fun activities designed to stimulate guests' senses.

Guests will find an entire water park, the FlowRider surf simulator, Crown's Edge experience, mini-golf, a rock climbing wall, and new dining venues inside this area.

Life-size testing

Royal Caribbean wanted to get a sense things would look and feel as intended before the final product gets built out, and that's why they set up scale mock-ups at their headquarters.

While the company can use virtual reality to help provide context for the flow and overall design of the ship, scale replicas convey the theme and aesthetics in the real world before it gets built out.

On the starboard side of the ship will be one entrance to Thrill Island, and guests will notice a great deal of theming even before entering the neighborhood.

The elevator lobby begins with a tropical look to it, leading you to the formal entry way. 

In the case of the signage leading to Thrill Island, the render provides how it will look, but you can't get as good sense of depth to it, "one of the discussions we had last week was, is it too high? Should it be lower or should it be higher? Because what you really want to see coming up the stairs is you really want to see how massively awesome the water park is. And so that's just something that we we look at."

Crown's Edge walkthrough in a parking lot

One of the feature attractions coming to Icon of the Seas is the Crown's Edge walkway, which combines a rope course with sky walk and obstacle course.

Guests are strapped in and walk 154 feet above the ocean for this experience.  It's a major feature on Icon of the Seas, and something never before done on sea or land.

Royal Caribbean first built out the safety briefing area where guests will gear up and learn what they need to do to enjoy the experience in a proper manner.

Royal Caribbean Senior Product Owner, Emily Rodriguez, talked about what they get from designing this space in the real world, "in building out this space, I think it helped us understand what that flow would look like, and how to think through all of the small details to how we brand the jumpsuits, how we brand the helmets, and what the photo and video experience would be like."

Royal Caribbean then used tape in their headquarters parking lot to map out to provide the scale of the experience, "We wanted to do here is tape out the experience to understand scale."

The climax of the experience is a drop through portion, which Royal Caribbean described as "pretty scary" when they tested out the drop harnesses with just a 4 foot drop in a warehouse in Bulgaria.

Crown's Edge will be about a two and a half minute experience, with 4 to 6 guests going at one time.

Building out the water park

The water park on Icon of the Seas will be called Category 6, and it will be the largest waterpark at sea.

There are two stair towers in the water park, the aft stair tower and the forward stair tower. But Royal Caribbean wanted to understand what that experience would look like from the from where the slides were placed to what the mat rack mat journey was going to be for the mat racers.

To that end, they built out a portion of water park in their lab. This provides operational learnings for the team to better understand if materials are too heavy, provide a flow study, and generally what things will be like once onboard.

"I think this is a really great exercise for us to understand what that flow was like, what that experience is like. And as we build these out, we capture lessons along the way," Ms. Rodriguez said.

The team even tested out the various chairs the neighborhood would use because Royal Caribbean anticipates while some members of the family will be doing the slides non-stop, other members of the family may want to take a rest and relax between slides.  As a result, Icon of the Seas will have different kinds of seating beyond a simple lounger.

"We wanted to make sure that we're creating an environment that offers just as much areas for you to refresh and recharge in between the thrills as well...We also wanted to talk through these unique seating opportunities and areas for you to really call your home base."

Basecamp

One area of Thrill Island is Basecamp, which will be a fast casual grab-and-go venue for Thrill Island that's going to serve handheld items.

"The idea of this is really a place for islanders to kind of hang out, swap stories in between thrills, catch a break, refresh on some great food, great bites," Ms. Rodriguez explained.

The exact menu offerings are still being worked through, so nothing is set yet. There will be some items that cost extra and other items that are complimentary.

Once again, creating a mock up of the dining area and surrounding attractions gives the team a better sense of flow, "we did want it to bring the whole experience together and look at how does furniture look like as well for the venue."

"So we pulled some of the sample furniture and really understanding if I was a guest and I wanted to grab a meal for my family while my kids are running the waterslides or playing mini golf right next door, what would that experience feel like?"

Gourmet milkshakes

Another new venue coming to Icon of the Seas is Desserted, which will sell gourmet milkshakes. You can even get milkshakes with alcohol in them.

Expect milkshakes with plenty of garnishes, such as sprinkles, donuts, candies, and churros.

The alcoholic version would have a little bottle of fireball sticking out of the top.

Ms. Rodriguez said, "So think over the top milkshakes," whereas Linken D'Souza, Global Vice President Culinary, Dining & Beverage, said, " We like to call Freakshakes."

I asked if the popular Royal Caribbean drink package would cover milkshakes at Desserted, and the team responded, "it's still a discussion."

The final menu is yet to be determined, but Mr. D'Souza expects there to be 3 or 4, "mega crazy milkshakes with all the toppings."

Guest flow through the waterpark

One issue the team discovered was Desserted and Base Camp were on the port side of the ship, but what about guests wanting a drink on the starboard side?

"We were having a lot of conversations internally and thinking through the guest flow, one of the things that we realized we needed was a way to get drinks on the starboard side near the water park."

So Royal Caribbean added a themed beverage cart to place near the FlowRider.  The cart will serve "ready to drink" canned beverages.

Getting back to the water park, the team is also working on something they're calling internally, "Eye of the Storm," where rain showers erupt randomly to the surprise and delight of passengers.

Located in one of the circulation areas where families will be walking through to get from slide to slide, you may hear a storm brewing, "Sounds of thunder, rain, wind, water will come from up above you. You don't really know where it's coming from. It really blends in with the environment and strobe lights as well to give that lightning effect and make you feel like a storm has just erupted."

Royal came up with different storm programming so it's not always the same experience.

No classic elevators on Icon of the Seas

One notable change Royal Caribbean has made with Icon of the Seas is the type of elevators.

Royal Caribbean's Senior Vice President and Chief Product Innovation Officer Jay Schneider talked about the change in elevators, "We don't have classic elevators on Icon, we have destination elevators."

"If you think of the difference between the two of them, a classic elevator: as I walk up, I hit a button, I walk inside, I hit a floor, off I go."

"A destination elevator is I go to a panel, I tell you where I want to go, it tells you what elevator you should go to, and then I go to it."

Carnival Horizon and MSC Meraviglia both offer these sorts of elevators, Royal Caribbean feels their implementation will be somewhat different. 

Part of the reason why Royal Caribbean is opting to go with destination elevators is crowd management on a ship the size of Icon, "Being able to effectively move up to 7500 passengers seamlessly and solve for some of the problems that we've seen from our elevator technology on other ships, this is a big step forward."

"It's a big step forward, though, that we've been obsessively trying to study to make sure we don't we we don't run into some of the challenges that some of our competitors have seen."

After 17 years of cruising with Royal Caribbean, I'm less than two cruises away from reaching the highest tier of the cruise line's customer loyalty program.

There are 6 levels of the Crown and Anchor Society, but the very top level requires a great deal of dedication to a single cruise line to achieve.

Pinnacle Club status (henceforth referred to simply as "Pinnacle") means you accrue 700 points in Crown and Anchor Society.

I didn't have a goal when I first started to reach Pinnacle, but the more I cruised, the more apparent it became I would reach it sooner than I expected.

When I sail on the June 16, 2023 cruises on Navigator of the Seas, I should hit lucky number 700 early in that sailing.

Most cruisers will never get close to the 700 points needed, but if they do, there is a slew of new amenities and benefits, along with a distinct culture to Royal Caribbean's upper echelon of cruisers.

Reaching 700 points

I was never one to cruise more in order to attain a higher loyalty program status. 

Unlike the airline industry that places a great deal of emphasis on attaining status (primarily driven by business travelers), some of the best benefits for cruisers are when you get to the upper-middle tiers. However, Pinnacle status shares some similarities with the airline programs in terms of offering the most perks at the top.

I got into cruising because I liked the idea of visiting different ports, and the benefits I received along the way sweetened the experience.

I remember thinking about how lucrative it was to get to Platinum status and be eligible for a balcony discount.  Then I thought when I became a Diamond member and getting complimentary drinks every day of my cruise was just about the best I could hope to achieve.

It's a long way from Diamond Plus at 175 points to the 700 threshold for Pinnacle.  Two factors catapulted me significantly faster to 700 than I thought would otherwise.

First and foremost, I live in Florida, and that means I have access to year-round cruises without the additional cost of airfare. 

Florida is the cruising capital of the world because of all the cruise ships based here, and being able to drive to your cruise (especially when there's a cruise deal) enables far more cruising than living anywhere else.

I live in the Orlando area, and that puts four different Royal Caribbean home ports less than 4 hours of driving away.  Two of them are just about an hour away.

Compounding my Florida residency is of course the fact I've been working on RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com as my full time job.

Being able to "cruise for a living" meant I started going on many more cruises than I ever did when I had my former day job.  Similar to how retirees have the time to cruise a lot, I didn't have to balance vacation time needs. 

Of course, having a wife and two school-aged kids means I'm not sailing every week by any means.  It's a struggle to balance the school schedule, especially considering how much I love going with my kids on sailings around the world.

And in case you're thinking I get to cruise for free from various media cruise giveaways from Royal Caribbean, there are very few free cruises given to me (maybe twice per year), and most importantly, I receive zero Crown and Anchor points for media cruises.

But if there's one factor that got me to Pinnacle faster than living in Florida or even working on this blog, it was the double points promotion.

From 2020 through the end of 2022, Royal Caribbean offered double the normal amount of loyalty points for cruises booked during the cruise industry shutdown.

It was a strategy by the cruise line to spur new bookings at a time when many people were hesitant to book cruises on sailings they weren't sure were actually going to sail due to the uncertainty related to the industry's return to service.

Going on week-long cruises and getting 28 points per sailing (sailing in a suite or solo multiplied by 2) moves you up the ladder a heck of a lot faster.

Everyone in Crown and Anchor Society benefitted from the double points, and it certainly accelerated my points trajectory.

Why reaching Pinnacle means something

When I got to Diamond Plus status (175 points), I thought I had reached the mountain top of Royal Caribbean status for what was realistic for me, and I was content being there because I didn't truly grasp the value of getting to Pinnacle.

The more you cruise, the more friends you'll make along the way, and I've gotten to known many wonderful people that were already Pinnacle members or turned Pinnacle later.

Everyone has a story how they attained what seemed like the impossible: seven hundred points!

In speaking with them and observing other cruisers, it's clear being a Pinnacle is more than just a different color on your SetSail pass or an extra free drink every day.

Royal Caribbean itself places a ton of emphasis on its top tier cruisers. In short, they want other cruisers and crew members to know someone is a Pinnacle compared to any other Crown and Anchor status.

Pinnacles get gold SeaPass cards, are able to check-in with the suite guests, get mentioned at Top Tier events onboard, and receive a gold lapel nametag to wear around the ship.

While I personally don't care for the badge as something I want to wear, it's incredible how much emphasis the Pinnacle program gets from the company.

I think any customer wants to feel valued, whether at a sandwich shop, car dealership, or on a cruise ship. Certainly most companies talk about how much they love their customers, but Royal Caribbean backs it up with action.

Beyond the added benefits listed later in this article, it's more than lip service. When policies are amended, the cruise line often makes special stipulations just for Pinnacle Club members.

In my observations, it seems Pinnacles also get a lot of officers onboard speaking to them to not only get to know these people, but take care of concerns they may have. 

I don't want it to seem like Pinnacles get everything they want and the cruise line is perfect in their handling, but Pinnacles get more attention than any other tier.  I can appreciate that Royal Caribbean cares beyond form letters and freebies.

The extras you get with Pinnacle status

In case you're wondering what extras you can expect if you reach 700 points, here's a breakdown of the benefits Royal Caribbean lists for its Pinnacle guests.

• Flexible arrival
• Personalized lapel pin for Pinnacle Club
• Pinnacle Club SeaPass Card with exclusive privileges
• Daily breakfast at a specialty restaurant
• Exclusive nightly pinnacle club event
• Milestone cruise certificate valued at the prevailing rate of a 7-night balcony stateroom for 700 and 1050 cruise points
• Milestone cruise certificate valued at the prevailing rate of a Junior Suite stateroom for 1,400 and every 350 cruise points thereafter
• Bigger discount on Balcony & Suite staterooms compared to a Diamond Plus member

The free cruises for continuing past 700 points is a really nice option that adds a tremendous amount of value.

After hitting the Pinnacle Club level, you’ll get an additional free cruise every time you accumulate another 350 points. That means you will get an initial free cruise after hitting 700 points, and then additional cruises at 1,050 points, 1,400 points, 1,750 points, etc.

The free cruise is for two people, but you can bring a third and fourth guest. You'll just have to pay for their fares. 

The first two cruises are in a balcony cabin. After that, you quality for a junior suite.

If you don’t want to sail the Caribbean, you can ask for a cruise credit to use toward an itinerary somewhere else. Royal Caribbean will give you $2,400 toward the purchase of a cruise at 700 and 1,050 points, and $3,200 toward the purchase of a cruise at 1,400 points and above.

Two more cruises to go

With just about 20 points to go until I make Pinnacle, I find myself reflecting on the years of cruising.

If my math is right, I've taken 68 cruises so far and that means I'll reach 700 once I'm on cruise number 70, which will be Navigator of the Seas on the June 16th sailing.

If you were to ask what it feels like to reach Pinnacle, my answer would be "surreal".

I never thought I would reach Pinnacle quite this soon, but in doing so, it feels like a new phase of my Royal Caribbean cruising career will open, similar to how things changed onboard when I hit Diamond.

I'm grateful to my many friends who are already Pinnacle and have shared their experiences over the years. As one of our writers is fond to say, "cruising is what you make of it" and the Crown and Anchor Society is very much the same way.

I may not take advantage of every single Pinnacle benefit, but there are a few I'm very much looking forward to, such as priority embarkation and complimentary internet access.

Of course, the complimentary cruises along the way will be yet another good rationale for telling my wife we "need to book another cruise."

I hope sharing my experience will provide you with context for perhaps making it to Pinnacle as well some day, and what Crown and Anchor Society offers its most loyal cruisers.

Did you miss any of this week's Royal Caribbean news? No worries, because we have you covered with our wrap-up of cruise news!

Want to know the what is the best location for a cabin on a cruise ship?

It may seem like a simple question, but there's many factors that make it more difficult to answer because what's best for one person can vary greatly for someone else.

There's a variety of cabin locations, as well as cabin types to consider. However, we narrowed down the options to the kinds of cruise cabins usually booked up in high demand because of their great location.

Royal Caribbean News

• Royal Caribbean announces 2024-2025 Australia and New Zealand cruises
• Royal Caribbean Group outlines sustainability progress
• After 12 sailings on Mariner of the Seas, I’m convinced this ship offers the best value Royal Caribbean has to offer
• Royal Caribbean Grand Suite Perks
• I crossed the Atlantic Ocean on a cheap cruise. Here’s what it's really like to spend 10 days at sea
• 22 unpleasant cruise ship problems you aren't prepared for
• Cheap places in the US to fly to for a cruise

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 496th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, in which Matt discusses six things from his Mariner of the Seas cruise that stood out.

Matt just sailed on a 5-night Western Caribbean cruise on Mariner of the Seas and talked about changes and new options he tried on this sailing.

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.

New RCB Video: All The Things To Do As Soon as You Get to Your Cruise Cabin!

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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 — All The Things To Do As Soon as You Get to Your Cruise Cabin! — and don’t forget to subscribe here.

Really dumb cruise ship cabin questions!

We've seen just about any kind of cruise ship questions out there, including a lot of very basic question related to cruise ship cabins.

Whether asking if crew members sleep onboard or if it’s easy to fall off your balcony, we’ve received a handful of amusing questions over the years.

It makes sense someone new to cruising would have these sort of questions, so here are answers to cruise ship cabin questions.

The 5 easy ways to contact Royal Caribbean (and two to avoid)

When you have a question or concern, it can be downright frustrating if you can't get an answer easily.

Royal Caribbean provides customer service in many facets, but there are a few that stand out as being the best ways to contact Royal Caribbean customer service if you need them.

Knowing where to turn to when you have a nagging problem or time-sensitive issue can be frustrating if you aren't getting a response in a timely manner.

When is the best time to buy a drink package?

Royal Caribbean's drink packages are incredibly popular, but what's the best time to buy a drink package to get the lowest price?

There are three Royal Caribbean drink packages and pricing can vary depending on sail date, ship, and itinerary. Plus, the price changes in the months leading up to your cruise.

If you play it right, you can lock in the best possible price for a drink package.

When you need to get a hold of Royal Caribbean because you have a question or concern, knowing which way will get you an answer as fast as possible is important.

It's very common for people booked on a cruise to have an issue they want to raise with Royal Caribbean. Whether it's something simple like re-pricing a drink package, or altering the reservation, there seems to be a lot questions about where to turn first.

Royal Caribbean has many departments and means to get in contact with them, but they aren't all created equally. While I love cruising with Royal Caribbean, I've learned there are better ways to get assistance with an issue than others.

Knowing where to turn to when you have a nagging problem or time-sensitive issue can be frustrating if you aren't getting a response in a timely manner.

For anyone looking to get in touch with Royal Caribbean's customer service department, here are the best (and not so great) ways to get it done.

Call

Picking up the phone to contact Royal Caribbean customer service is probably the most obvious method, but it has its pros and cons.

Phone agents are available during the day time, but it's not a 24 hour operation, so if you try to call after hours, you'll have to wait until the next day.

Moreover, hold times on the phone can vary greatly. Sometimes there's barely a wait, while other times hold times can be over an hour.  This is especially true when there is something out of the ordinary occurring, such as a new cruise booking release, weather impact to existing cruises, etc.

Certainly a phone call is quite simple, but it's a bit of a guessing game how long you will have to wait until you get a hold of someone. Plus, Royal Caribbean has different phone numbers for reservations, excursions, groups, and more.  So you if you don't call the right department first, it may be more wasted time.

Still, calling Royal Caribbean on the phone is a good starting point.

The general Royal Caribbean customer service phone number is 1 (800) 256-6649.

If you are booking a new reservation, or need to modify a reservation you made directly with the cruise line, call 1 (866) 562-7625.

If you're going on a cruise the same day you're calling, the phone number is 1 (800) 256-6649 or (305) 539-4107 (Int'l)

If you already went on your cruise and have a question, you can call Post Cruise Assistance at 1 (800) 256-6649.

Social media

One of the best ways to get your concern routed efficiently is to contact Royal Caribbean on social media.

Royal Caribbean's Twitter and Facebook pages are quite responsive with getting you pointed in the right direction.

They may not directly address your concern, but often they inform whom to contact.  If your question is fairly rudimentary, they can also answer questions for you.

Contacting Royal Caribbean's social media for your questions is actually one of the best cruise hacks.

Use your travel agent

One of the best reasons to use a good travel agent is to get answers to tough questions or problems you run into with the cruise line.

Billing discrepancies, changes to your sailings, policy updates and more are usually in any good travel agent's wheel house.

First and foremost, the travel agent is the one that may need to sit on hold for an extended period of time to get the right answer.  Let them do it, while freeing you up to do something else.

Plus, travel agents have resources guests do not, including more leeway with certain policies.  While no travel agent can guarantee they can solve any problem, I'm constantly amazed how some agents are able to "bend" or get exemptions to Royal Caribbean policies, thanks in part to their years of experience and relationships with the cruise line.

When I have a question or problem, the first person I turn to is my travel agent for help and it saves me so much time.

Crown and Anchor phone number

Did you know Royal Caribbean has a dedicated phone number exclusively for Crown and Anchor members?

If you've cruised at least once with Royal Caribbean, you're eligible to use this phone number and I've found on average the hold times to be less for this line.

It's a benefit you receive as a loyal cruiser, so you may as well take advantage of it before trying the main phone numbers.

The Crown and Anchor phone number is 1 (800) 526-9723.

Email the CEO

This customer service hack is becoming more well-known as a way to get help when you have a concern, and that's to email Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley.

It's quite clear his (public) email is monitored by a team of employees, so you probably aren't reaching Mr. Bayley.  However, the results speak for themselves.

Time and time again, I see anecdotal evidence from Royal Caribbean Blog readers who reach out to Mr. Bayley via email and get a prompt response. This is especially true for complicated issues related to a personal experience on a ship.

The other methods of contacting Royal Caribbean customer support will be sufficient for most issues, but for escalating a problem, emailing the CEO might work for you.

Michael Bayley's email is [email protected].

Don't email

In my opinion, don't both emailing Royal Caribbean with a problem, change, or concern.

I hear from so many cruisers who complain they emailed the cruise line to get an answer and haven't heard back, and that tells me emailing is not as efficient as the other ways outlined in this article.

Royal Caribbean has various email addresses it provides for many different facets of the business, as well as regions of the world:

• [email protected]
• [email protected]
• [email protected]
• [email protected]

Contacting Royal Caribbean customer service via your travel agent or social media is a much better idea.

Don't post on forums

If there's one waste of time in trying to get customer service, it's posting a lengthy message about your problem with the cruise line on a forum or message board.

Whether you try posting your problem that you want rectified on our Royal Caribbean message boards, or a Facebook group, or some other unofficial and unrelated website, you won't get a response from the cruise line.

Some people do this because they believe Royal Caribbean monitors certain sites. While this may be true, that doesn't mean they reach out to customers on unofficial sites to help them with their problem.

If you want to vent, that's fine, but if you want a response, go directly to the cruise line and not a forum post.

When someone wants to book a cruise, it seems the top question they have is where is the best location for a cabin on a cruise ship?

It seems like an easy question, but the answer is far more subjective because how personal in nature the options are.

Depending on your preferences, the perfect cruise ship cabin might be completely different from someone else. This is because we value different aspects of a cabin, as well as how we approach the cruise experience. The debate of if a balcony cabin is worth it is a microcosm of the issue.

You'll find a huge range of cabins all around the ship and at all sorts of prices, from the affordable to the outrageous.  From the petite to the sprawling. And quite often, the room you'll end up booking is somewhere inbetween.

Believe it or not, it's actually easier to answer the question of which cabins are a mistake to book rather than which cabins are truly the best.

But since this question comes up so often, here are the best cabins to book for most people and why they might be the right choice for you.

Midship

As a general rule of thumb, a cabin in the middle of the ship is a winner for most people.

Midship cabins are a great choice because they offer a centralized convenience to the rest of the ship, especially the elevators.  On Royal Caribbean's bigger ships, distance to the nearest elevator can be a major consideration,

Equally important is the fact a midship cabin will feel less movement than a cabin closer to the end of the ship (especially the front).

Avoiding seasickness on a cruise is a top concern of a lot of first-time cruisers, and one tried-and-true strategy is to book a room midship to minimize the sensation of movement.  A midship cabin wont be immune to all sensations of movement, but it helps.

Speaking of seasick, you not only want to be midship, but also on a lower deck too.

Aft balcony

The more I cruised, the more I started hearing from veteran cruisers about the virtues of booking a balcony on the back of the ship.

An aft balcony is a balcony that overlooks the back of the ship, but why are these rooms so desirable?

In short, aft balcony rooms offer a different perspective than a balcony on the side of the ship and a lot of people find this view more relaxing.  Plus, the balcony itself is usually wider, offering a better angle.

On many Royal Caribbean ships, the size of an aft balcony can be gargantuan compared to a balcony on the side of the ship. 

If there's a downside to an aft balcony it's the distance back to elevators.

Hump balcony

You might do a double-take when you first hear about these kinds of balcony rooms, but it's a real thing.

The so-called "hump" balcony cabins are the rooms on the outwards part of the curvy outline of the ship.  If you look at a deck plan, you'll notice around mid-ship, the hull design jets outward. 

Essentially, you pay the same price as a regular balcony but get extra space.

Plus, hump balcony rooms are usually midship, which double up on the benefits mentioned earlier about a midship room.

You'll find hump balcony rooms with massive balconies on Radiance Class, Voyager, Freedom, Oasis or Quantum, but look closely at the deck plan to see which balconies are larger.

Cheap cabins

For a lot of people, the best cabin is located wherever the price is right.

Cruises aren't free, so every dollar you can save on your vacation is a dollar you can spend on another cruise. For many cruisers, finding the cheapest cabin available for a good deal is the right choice for them.

Finding a bargain room is almost certainly going to get you an inside cabin somewhere, but the cost savings usually resonate enough.  After all, a lot of cruisers spend very little time in their cabin because of all the fun to be had around the ship and in the ports of call. So why invest money in a space you're not going to spend a lot of time in necessarily.

It's important to understand booking the cheapest room could have consequences if luck is not on your side, such as a room on an extreme end of the ship, noise bleed issues from surrounding cabins, or very small living space.

Connecting cabins

If you're cruising with kids, I cannot understate enough the benefits of connecting cabins instead of one large cabin.

Connecting cabins are rooms that have a common inside door between them, which allows you to have two full cabins, along with separation between the two of them. Plus, each room has its own bathroom.

Booking two connecting cabins is a great way to get privacy, space for everyone, and an extra bathroom. 

You'd be surprised how affordable two connecting rooms can be versus booking a single larger room to fit 4 or 5 people.

The downside to connecting cabins is they are a terrible choice if you aren't booking both rooms.  The common door between the rooms is not as sound proof as the walls, so it is very easy to hear what's happening in the other room.

If you're not booking both connecting rooms, avoid booking a connecting cabin.

What about suites?

You might be wondering why there aren't any suites in my list, and there's two reasons why it's not here, but could still be a great choice.

First and foremost, the locations we talked about could include suites too. There are suites located midship, on the aft, and even suites that can connect with another room. So the rationale explained earlier in this post holds true whether if you are an inside room or a suite.

And then of course there's the price tag a suite commands. 

It's easy to assume booking a suite is like pushing the easy button for a cruise vacation. While I'm not denying there are a lot of great benefits you get for booking a suite, the significantly higher price tag makes it a challenge for many to afford.

In short, you don't need to book a suite to have a great room on a cruise.

Picking the best room on a cruise

There is no single option for everyone that is "the best." Rather, the best cabin for anyone is relative to their preferences, budget and tastes.

Royal Caribbean provides a great deal of staterooms to choose between on any cruise, that run the gamut of price, location and amenities.

When it comes to picking the best stateroom, you will have to weigh these considerations:

• Budget
• Cabin location
• Stateroom type & size

First and foremost, how much you can spend on a room will dictate largely your choices.  If you are cruising on a slim budget, suites and perhaps even balcony rooms are going to be out of the question.  If you have more to spend, then you will have more choices.

Perhaps the toughest decision is what type of stateroom to pick. There are good arguments to be made for every type of room, from inside rooms to balconies to suites.

An inside room will save you a lot of money, and makes a lot of sense since the ship has so much to see and do that you likely will not be spending much time in the room.  You could spend a little bit more and get an oceanview room and gain some natural light.  Or perhaps you go for a balcony room, which provides a private area to step outside and enjoy the ocean breeze as you see fit.  And of course, a suite means having the ultimate in luxury onboard and being in a room that nice, you will find good reason to enjoy time in there.

Choosing the right room for you is about how you like to cruise, and what you are looking to do onboard.  Shorter cruises means you will likely be running around trying to see and do everything, so investing a ton in an expensive room may not make financial sense.  On longer sailings, having a larger room means more space to spread out and enjoy to nap, read or watch the world go by.

Deciding if a balcony room is worth the price is something many cruisers have to consider with each booking. Ultimately, it depends on your budget and how much more it would cost to move up to a balcony room (or suite) from a lower category.

How important is location

Where your room is located plays a factor in determining what the best location is on a cruise ship.

The primary concern for most people when choosing a room is noise bleed.  The good news is that most rooms on Royal Caribbean do a good job at blocking out most noise, but no stateroom is soundproof.

A good rule of thumb when choosing a room is picking one that has no public spaces directly one deck above or one deck below it.

When choosing a room, you will need to look at if it's on a higher deck versus lower deck, as well as midship versus forward or aft.

In general, the most popular spot to be on a cruise ship is midship on a higher deck because these rooms are centrally located. Moreover, cabins towards the middle of the ship have the reputation of providing a smoother ride when the ocean is rough. The sensation of movement due to the ocean is perceived differently by everyone, but it is worth noting.

Staying on a lower deck has the advantage of being closer to popular common areas, such as the Royal Promenade, theaters and dining rooms. This means less dependency on elevators.

A room on a higher deck provides more desirable views, as well as being closer in proximity to the pool deck. On warm weather sailings, this may be a very convenient choice.

Which is the best side of a cruise ship to be on?

Many readers are curious which side of the ship they should pick for the room, and I believe it does not matter at all.

First and foremost, there is no set side that is always going to face one particular direction in port or at sea.  It varies depending on a variety of factors, and none of them are going to be known until you are onboard. Moreover, there is plenty to see in all directions when it comes to most sailings.

When docked, the crew can tie up a ship on either side. This means that one side does not consistently have better views when in port.

Ultimately, where your room is located on the ship (midship versus forward or aft) is an arguably more important consideration than the side of the ship.

Room upgrades & guarantees

If all of this has made sense up until now, here are two other stateroom options that may change up your decision, while potentially saving you money.

Bidding for a room upgrade

Royal Caribbean offers guests on most sailings the opportunity to bid for a stateroom upgrade through RoyalUp.

RoyalUp asks guest to provide a blind bid for a stateroom upgrade on the chance the room is available.  Once a bid is made, Royal Caribbean will consider it until such time that there is an upgrade opportunity. 

The advantage of upgrading your room via RoyalUp is that you could move up to a higher, more desirable room, for less than booking it outright.  However, there is no way to know if there is even an upgrade opportunity (the program is used quite often by the cruise line as a backup incase someone cancels at the last minute) and there is no way to know if your bid is "good enough" to win.

If your RoyalUp bid is accepted, Royal Caribbean will assign your room automatically, leaving little to no choice in its location.

Guarantee Cabins

If you want to save money on the a cabin, and are not particular about the exact location, then a guarantee room assignment might be the choice for you.

Booking a stateroom guarantee means Royal Caribbean will pick the exact room assignment for you, while guaranteeing you will get that room category or higher.  

So if you booked a balcony guarantee, you would be assured of getting at least a stateroom with private balcony somewhere on the ship, with the exact room assignment coming later.  Guarantee rooms could potentially provide a higher room category, although this is a rare occurrence.

For guests who do not care that much where exactly on the ship their room is located, a guarantee room booking can save a lot of money on the cruise fare.