Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast Episode - All about Royal Caribbean sales

Royal Caribbean will hold a conference call on November 7, 2017, at 10am to discuss its third quarter 2017 financial results.

The call will be available on-line at the company's investor relations web site, www.rclinvestor.com. To listen to the call by phone, please dial (877) 663-9606 in the US and Canada. International phone calls should be made to (706) 758-4628. There is no passcode or meeting number.

A replay of the webcast will be available at the same site for a month following the call.

Understandably, many guests are concerned about their upcoming Royal Caribbean cruises that leave out of San Juan, Puerto Rico, or just apprehensive about booking a cruise departing from there. The damage caused by recent hurricanes can still be felt across the island.

Royal Caribbean has released a new set of frequently asked questions to address the current state of affairs in San Juan, and what guests can expect.

This information was up to date as of October 30, 2017.

What is the current status of Puerto Rico, more specifically the city of San Juan?

Rebuilding is underway! The Puerto Rico Tourism Company has collaborated with government agencies and the private sector to provide relief following the damage caused by recent hurricanes. The safety of all visitors and residents remains a top priority as the island takes steps towards a full recovery. Airports, hotels, and cruise infrastructures are operational and are on a steady path to rebuilding an even stronger Puerto Rico.

Is the port of San Juan open and fully functional?

San Juan Harbor is open and has resumed homeporting operations.

Have airports in Puerto Rico returned to normal flight patterns?

Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan is fully operational with scheduled domestic and international flights. Other airports in surrounding areas are operational with limited service.

Have hotels reopened? Is there availability?

At this time, approximately 69% of hotels are operational and accepting reservations. Availability varies by hotel and can change at any time.

Has electrical power been restored across the island?

Roughly 70% of Puerto Rico remains without power. 

Are services available to safely transfer cruisers to-and-from the airport?

Though transportation services remain somewhat limited, ongoing clean-up efforts and increased availability of fuel are improving the outlook. Currently, 83% of gas stations on the island are functioning. To assist in this arena, those Royal Caribbean guests arriving and departing San Juan on the embarkation and debarkation days of their cruise vacation are eligible to receive complimentary transfers from the airport to the pier and vice versa. This service will remain complimentary for Jewel of the Seas and Adventure of the Seas guests traveling through December 31, 2017. Specific flight parameters apply.

Have cell towers and telecommunication services been restored across the island? 

Nearly 70% of the island’s cell phone towers and telecommunication services are working in full capacity.

What attractions and/or tours are available for cruise guests to participate in?

The following tourist locations have been restored:

• Old San Juan / Old City shops
• Some restaurants & bars
• City has been cleaned but some debris and damaged buildings will be visible in New San Juan
• Plaza Las Americas (Mall of San Juan)
• Biking, Segway, & Walking tours
• Food tours
• Yoga on the Green

What humanitarian efforts are available should cruise guests wish to assist?

Guests can opt to participate in relief assistance through monetary contributions or through the donation of much-needed, essential supplies. For many of these recovering islands, tourism plays an instrumental role in their overall economic status, impacting local jobs and livelihood. Now more than ever, these impacted islands need you!

Happy Sunday! We are so happy that you stopped by and hope you are having a wonderful weekend. Grab a mug of your favorite hot beverage, sit back, and check out the latest in Royal Caribbean news.

Royal Caribbean shared some great news this week, with dates of when it will return to some hurricane-ravaged islands in the Eastern Caribbean.

Royal Caribbean will return to San Juan, Puerto Rico and Philipsburg, St. Maarten, which will be a, "major milestone towards the revival of these Caribbean gems which were impacted by recent hurricanes."

Royal Caribbean has been working closely with the governments of Puerto Rico and St. Maarten, and local businesses, and plans to offer destination experiences that will allow guests to enjoy the natural beauty, historic landmarks and culture of these idyllic islands.

Royal Caribbean News

• Royal Caribbean released new Symphony of the Seas construction photos.
• We interviewed Royal Caribbean's top cruiser, who has over 7000 Crown and Anchor Society points.
• What you need to know about self-disembarkation on Royal Caribbean cruises.
• Eight awesome reasons to buy an unlimited alcohol package.
• Here is a list of free beaches in the Caribbean to visit.
• Royal Caribbean won two awards at the Travel Weekly Asia awards.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

Royal Caribbean announced some of the activities, restaurants, and amenities coming to Symphony of the Seas, and we discussed every inch of the big announcement.

In this week's podcast episode, Matt and Michael share their thoughts on what was revealed.  It is an in-depth look at some of the exciting features coming to Royal Caribbean's next cruise ship.

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.

Royal Caribbean Around the Internet

Cruise Habit shared 11 tips for staying connected while on a cruise ship.

Moms of the Seas talked about how safe the child care is on a Royal Caribbean ship.

Seatrade Cruise News posted the departure of Royal Caribbean's Chief Human Resources Officer.

Royal Caribbean has shared new photos of Symphony of the Seas' construction progress.

Symphony of the Seas, Royal Caribbean's newest Oasis-class ship, under construction at the STX shipyard in France. The ship is scheduled to be delivered in 2018.

Royal Caribbean's Daring Deals Sale offers guests 50% off the second guest, kids sail free, and up to $200 in instant savings.

Royal Caribbean cruises booked between October 27-31, 2017 on sailings departing on or after November 27, 2017 are eligible for this offer.

Offer includes

• 50% off cruise fare of second guest who must be booked in the same stateroom as a first guest who books at full fare.
• 25% cruise fare savings for 3rd guests and higher booked in the same stateroom as the first two qualifying guests
• Kids Sail Free offer provides 3rd and 4th guests 12 years and younger free cruise fare.
  • Guests 12 & under sail free on 4 nights or longer Europe, Bahamas and Caribbean sailings departing November 1, 2017- December 31, 2018.
  • Excludes Symphony of the Seas sailings and sailings departing 11/17/17-11/27/17, 12/17/17 – 1/8/18, 2/15/18-2/20/18, 3/10/18-4/1/18, 5/15/18-9/1/18, 11/17/18-11/22/18 and 12/15/18-12/31/18.
• Daring Deals sale provides instant savings determined by category booked and sailing length:
  • $50 savings for Interior and Ocean View on sailings 5 nights or less
  • $75 savings for Balconies
  • $100 savings for Suites on sailings 5 nights and less
  • $75 savings for Interior and Ocean View on sailings 6 nights and longer
  • $125 savings for Balconies on sailings 6 nights and longer
  • $200 savings for suites on sailings 6 nights or longer.
• Deck the Holidays Deals offer provides onboard credit for guests who book a holiday sailing departing from December 19, 2017 through December 31, 2017 and December 18, 2018 through December 31, 2018.
  • Onboard credit determined by category booked and sailing length
    • $25 to spend onboard for Interior and Ocean View on sailings 5 nights or less
    • $50 to spend onboard for Balconies and Suites on sailings 5 nights and less
    • $50 to spend onboard for Interior and Ocean View on sailings 6 nights and longer
    • $100 to spend onboard for Balconies on sailings 6 nights or longer
    • $150 to spend onboard for Suites on sailings 6 nights or longer

Daring Deals sale and Deck the Holidays offer exclude China departures. 

BOGO offer is combinable with Kids Sail Free, NRDB OBC, promotional OBCs and instant savings, NextCruise offers, restricted discounts (for example, Senior, Resident, Military), Crown and Anchor discounts and Shareholder Benefits. Deck the Holidays, Kids Sail Free and Daring Deals sale are combinable with NextCruise offers, NRDB OBC, and restricted discounts (for example, Senior, Resident, Military) but is not combinable with Shareholder benefits and Crown and Anchor discounts. BOGO50 bookings made for China departures are combinable with NextCruise offers and Crown and Anchor balcony/suites discounts only. All offers are not combinable with any other offer or promotion, including, but not limited to, Standard Group, Interline, Travel Agent, Travel Agent Friends and Family, Weekly Sales Events, Net Rates.

Offer available to residents of United States and Canada.

Happy Friday to everyone! When the calendar hits Friday, that means we are sharing our readers favorite Royal Caribbean cruise photos!  

Each week we invite our readers to send us their favorite Royal Caribbean photos and we showcase them all right here!

We begin this week with a photo from Anoop of a sea day on Anthem of the Seas.

Justin Amrhein shared this photo of Grandeur of the Seas heading out of Baltimore.

Here is a photo of Brilliance of the Seas in the Mediterranean by Bill Griemsmann.

Our next photo is by Krisztina Benko, and it is of sunset as seen from the AquaTheater on Allure of the Seas.

Here is a behind the scenes look at the galley, taken by The Cruise Wolf on Anthem of the Seas.

Kinny Lee took this photo of the Royal Promenade in the early morning hours.

We wrap up this week's edition with a shot of the cabanas on CocoCay, taken by David J.

We want to share your Royal Caribbean photos too! Send us your favorite, best, most awesome Royal Caribbean cruise photos by using this form and we will feature them in an upcoming Friday Photos blog post!

There are lots of great activities to enjoy while visiting the ports of call on a cruise to the Eastern or Western Caribbean, including spending the day at the beach.

A day at the beach can come in many different ways, and prices, but nearly every Caribbean port has at least a few beaches open to the public and we took some time to list some of the more popular ones.  In many cases, there are more beaches without an admission fee, so consider this list a jumping off point.

We should also define the word, "free" before the comments section of this blog post erupts with corrections.  We are defining a "free beach" as any beach in which it costs you nothing to sit down on the sand and enjoy the surf and sand.  There are some inherit costs associated with a day at the beach that are simply part of anywhere you go, such as transportation to/from the cruise terminal, food and drinks, chair/umbrella rental, etc.   

It is also worth noting in many ports, all beaches are technically open to the public, but facilities and other amenities offered may not available to you. 

Nassau, Bahamas

Junkanoo Beach

Cabbage Beach

Cozumel

Playa Palancar

Playa Azul

Costa Maya

Mahahual

Grand Cayman

Public Beach

Falmouth

Burwood Beach

St. Thomas

All the beaches in the Virgin Islands, including St. Thomas, are public.

Lindquist Beach

Emerald Beach

St. Maarten

Maho Beach

Orient Beach

San Juan, Puerto Rico

All beaches on Puerto Rico, even those situated near luxury hotels, are open to the public.

Public bathing beaches, with lifeguards and facilities, are called balnearios and charge for parking and for use of lockers and showers. Admission to the beach is free.

El Escambrón public beach

Isla Verde public beach

Roatan

All beaches on Roatan are supposed to be open to the public, but we have heard of some resorts in West Bay circumventing this.  The West End beaches, however, tend to be open and not charge entry fees to go to the beach.

Camp Bay public beach

Did we miss a great public beach? Tell us about it in the comments!

This week's podcast episode is ready to go, as we present episode 221 of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast for your downloading pleasure.

This week, Matt and Michael talk about Royal Caribbean's recent Symphony of the Seas reveal, where many new restaurants, entertainment, and staterooms were announced.  The guys discuss their thoughts on the new additions coming, as well as what else they think may be coming next.

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 221. And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast via RSS or on iTunes!

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

Royal Caribbean announced today the cruise line will return to two major cruise ports largely impacted by hurricanes earlier this year.

Royal Caribbean will return to San Juan, Puerto Rico and Philipsburg, St. Maarten, which will be a, "major milestone towards the revival of these Caribbean gems which were impacted by recent hurricanes."

On November 30, Freedom of the Seas will be the first ship in the fleet to call on San Juan, Puerto Rico

Grandeur of the Seas will follow suit on December 17 as the first cruise ship to sail into, St. Maarten since Royal Caribbean’s Majesty of the Seas arrived to provide humanitarian relief last month.

As of November. 30, all scheduled calls to San Juan and St. Thomas across 10 ships in the Royal Caribbean fleet will operate as planned

This announcement comes on the heels of Royal Caribbean’s recent news that Adventure of the Seas will be the first ship to call on St. Thomas on November 10.  

"Royal Caribbean is encouraged by the commendable progress that has been made by the governments of Puerto Rico and St. Maarten towards the recovery of these destinations and it means a lot to us that we are heading back home. We have been part of the Caribbean community for almost 50 years, and for all of us it has been paramount that we focus on supporting our long-standing partners – who feel more like family after so many years," said Michael Bayley, President and CEO, Royal Caribbean International. "Supporting these destinations that are so reliant on tourism is key to the future of the islands and the best thing we – as travelers and businesses – can do for the islands."

Royal Caribbean has been working closely with the governments of Puerto Rico and St. Maarten, and local businesses, and plans to offer destination experiences that will allow guests to enjoy the natural beauty, historic landmarks and culture of these idyllic islands. Power and transportation is on track to be readily available in San Juan by November 30.

Similarly, the return of power and water to most of St. Maarten means that a majority of the shops, restaurants and bars, and tour operators around Philipsburg will be fully operational for guests to experience a diverse and extensive array of dining, shopping and activities in the area. The sun and vistas of the region’s best beaches, Great Bay Beach and Kimshaw Beach, will be a beacon for guests wanting to dive into the turquoise blue waters and admire the sea life, whether by boat or catamaran, or from the relaxing comfort of a beach lounger.

The scheduled visits to St. Maarten will operate as planned starting on Dec. 17 with the exception of Oasis of the Seas, which will make its first call to the island on January 1 during her New Year’s Eve cruise. Additionally, the global cruise line will return to St. Croix on January 8 with the arrival of Jewel of the Seas, which will sail from San Juan. All calls to Dominica are cancelled through June 2018 and the cruise line is working closely with the local government on a return date to the destination.