If you are at least a Diamond member or above in Royal Caribbean's Crown and Anchor Society, here is a great way to maximize your savings on a Royal Caribbean Voom internet package for your cruise.

This deal assumes a few things for it to be worthwhile:

• You must be at least a Diamond member or above in Crown and Anchor Society (Diamond, Diamond Plus, or Pinnacle).
• You are interested in buying a Voom package for the duration of your cruise.
• You want to get the best possible price on a Voom package.
• The price of a one-device Voom package on Royal Caribbean's Cruise Planner before your sailing is $15.99 per day or higher.

For years, Royal Caribbean has been offering a pre-cruise discount on its Voom internet packages, which is an option on top of taking advantage of the onboard internet package discount Crown and Anchor Society provides.  Essentially, you can pick one, but not both.

Recently, Royal Caribbean has seemed to change the pricing of its Voom Surf and Stream internet package when purchased onboard, to be $19.99 per day (for one device).

The strategy

Thanks to Royal Caribbean Blog reader twangster, there appears to be a way to take full advantage of the onboard discount, which will yield better savings compared to the pre-cruise discount.

What you have to do is wait to book the Voom package onboard, and then wait to buy the internet package on day two of your cruise.

If you can skip buying the internet package on day one, you can reap significant savings.  Most guests will have cell phone coverage to provide internet access on day one for most of the day.  Assuming a 4pm departure time, it is likely you have just 8 hours until midnight of no internet access.  With dinner, entertainment and everything else going on during the first day, waiting until day two to book a Voom package is seemingly easy.

Here is a breakdown of the discount options:

7 Nights

On board - 7 * $19.99 = $139.93 - $22.99 Diamond discount = $116.94

Pre-cruise - 7 * $15.99 = $111.93

Best buy - On board Day 2 -  6 * $19.99 = $119.94 - $22.99 Diamond discount = $96.95

9 Nights

On board - 9 * $19.99 = $179.91 - $22.99 Diamond discount = $156.92

Pre-cruise - 9 * $15.99 = $143.91

Best buy - On board Day 2 -  8 * $19.99 = $159.92 - $22.99 Diamond discount = $136.93

12 Nights

On board - 12 * $19.99 = $239.88 - $22.99 Diamond discount = $216.89

On board Day 2 -  11 * $19.99 = $219.89 - $22.99 Diamond discount = $196.90

Best buy - Pre-cruise - 12 * $15.99 = $191.88

The Diamond discount is effectively between 9.6% and 28.8% based on cruise length. Longer cruise yield less effective discount.

Of course, if you really want to get some additional savings and are okay pushing off internet access for another day, waiting until day three of your cruise will yield even higher savings.

Gold, Platinum and Emerald members

If you are a Platinum or Emerald member in Crown and Anchor Society, you get less of a discount (15%) off onboard internet prices, but the result is pretty close to the same as Diamond members.  Just like Diamond members, the best buy is to wait until day two. 

• 4-night cruise: Diamond Voom discount: 28.8%
• 5-night cruise: Diamond Voom discount: 23%
• 6-night cruise: Diamond Voom discount: 19.2%
• 7-night cruise: Diamond Voom discount: 16.4%
• 8-night cruise: Diamond Voom discount: 14.4%
• 9-night cruise: Diamond Voom discount: 12.8%
• 10-night cruise: Diamond Voom discount: 11.5%
• 11-night cruise: Diamond Voom discount: 10.5%
• 12-night cruise: Diamond Voom discount: 9.6%

For anything longer than 7 nights, the Platinum and Emerald discount is better than the Diamond discount. 

For 12 night cruises, the Gold discount (10%) is better than Diamond discount.  

Royal Caribbean's Wave Season offer is now available, where guests can get 30% off every guest and get onboard credit.

The January Offer is valid on cruises booked between January 4, 2018 and January 31, 2018 on sailings departing on or after February 4, 2018.

The offer includes:

• 30% off cruise fare for all guests’ in the stateroom
• Up to $100 onboard credit
  • 5 nights and less
    • $25 OBC for Interior and Ocean View
    • $50 OBC for Balconies
    •  $75 OBC for Suites on sailings
  • 6 nights or longer
    • $50 OBC for Interior and Ocean View
    • $75 OBC for Balconies
    • $100 OBC for Suites
• Start Wandering Offer
  • Cruises booked between 1/4/18 through 1/10/18 are eligible for additional onboard credit 
  • They will receive up to $350 per stateroom onboard credit when booking a non-refundable rate 6 months or more prior to cruise departure date and up to $250 to spend at sea when booking a sailing less than 6 months prior to cruise departure date.
  • Onboard credit is determined by sailing length and category booked:
    • Sailings 5 nights or less
      • $75 OBC for Interior and Ocean View
      • $125 OBC for Balcony
      • $150 OBC for Suite
    • Sailings 6 nights or longer
      • $100 OBC for Interior and Ocean View
      • $175 OBC for Balcony
      • $250 OBC for Suite
• Free Gratuities are available for those guests who book a Royal Suite class room sailing on Oasis Class or Anthem of the Seas sailings to Bahamas, Bermuda or the Caribbean departing on or after February 4, 2018.
  • Free Gratuities are for the first two passengers only.
• Free upgrade from Oceanview to Balcony exclusively on Anthem of the Seas and Adventure of the Seas sailings departing from May 1, 2018 – September 30, 2018
  • Free upgrade refers to purchasing a Balcony at the price of an Oceanview and Oceanview at the price of an Inside at standard/full fare.
• Free upgrade from Inside to Oceanview exclusively on Grandeur of the Seas sailings departing from May 1, 2018 – September 30, 2018.
  • Free upgrade refers to purchasing a Balcony at the price of an Oceanview and Oceanview at the price of an Inside at standard/full fare.

Offer open to residents of U.S. or Canada. Offer excludes China departures. Refer to Royal Caribbean for combinability guidelines.

A Royal Caribbean cruise is a fantastic family vacation choice, but before you book, you should arm yourself with some knowledge to ensure your cruise is terrific.  The saying "you don't know what you don't know" is certainly true when it comes to cruising.  First time cruisers make a lot of mistakes and there are many things that are simply impossible to know until you go.

With that in mind, we have written this guide with some important things that first time cruisers ought to know before they actually book a cruise.  There is plenty of planning to be done after booking a cruise, but here are some good things to consider prior to picking a ship and sailing.

Use a travel agent

Whether this is your first cruise, or you have cruised a ton, I always recommend using a travel agent.  Simply put, travel agents work to make your vacation planning easier on you and they are paid by the cruise line (not you) for your business. You literally have nothing to lose by using a travel agent.

For first time cruisers, a good travel agent is a great resource of information on Royal Caribbean in general.  Moreover, they can answer the kind of personal questions that no blog can ever tackle.  Often, many first time cruisers have questions about their particular circumstances, and a good travel agent can leverage their own experience to provide the right answer for you.

In addition, travel agents are knowledgeable about the many discounts and offers available by Royal Caribbean. If there are pricing questions, or changes to be made to the reservation, they are the ones that call Royal Caribbean and sort out the details for you.  That frees you up to do something far more interesting and fun.  Essentially, a travel agent is your advocate for any concerns you may have, including when you are on the ship.  All too often, new cruisers try to do it themselves because they can, and it leads to time and effort that could have been saved by using a travel agent.

When considering which travel agent to use, ensure you pick one that is deeply knowledgeable about Royal Caribbean, and does not charge any fees to you for changes.  Talk to them before even committing to book with them and ask questions about their experience and level of service they provide so you can feel comfortable in how they will work with you.

Try to learn the lingo

If you have not been on a cruise before, you may quickly run across terms, options, and phrases that are unfamiliar to you.  Frankly, it can be a bit overwhelming.

Thankfully, we have taken precautions to help you adjust to a Royal Caribbean cruise in advance.  Our Royal Caribbean cruise ship term glossary will break down everything from Adventure Ocean to WOWband so that you understand everything in the cruise planning process.

Compare ship features

Royal Caribbean has 24 ships in its fleet, and while they share a core experience across them all, the ships in Royal Caribbean's fleet vary from class of ships and even between individual vessels.  This means, you need to be aware of what each ship offers, and which features each ship you are considering has and if it is important to you.

In short, Royal Caribbean breaks up its many ships into classes.  Ship classes are groupings of ships that share a common structure and layout.  Think of ship classes like types of cars: you have pickup trucks, sedans, minivans, etc.  Within each type of cars, you then have individual car models.  That is fairly similar to how Royal Caribbean categorizes its ships.

In addition to just size and tonnage, each ship class tends to include similar entertainment, activities and onboard amenities.  What you want to do is think about which features you want on your cruise ship, and then see if that class has what you want.  If water slides are important, then Oasis or Freedom Class ships would be a good pick.  If you want a nursery, then skip Majesty of the Seas.   Again, a good travel agent can greatly assist with narrowing down the choices for you.

You should also be aware that while ships within each class are similar, Royal Caribbean has added new features to some ships over the years that have differentiated them more than in the past.  Basically, do not assume one ship in the class is identical to another ship in the class (especially on the newer ships).

Book as early as you can

A very common question before you book a cruise is, "when is the best time to book a Royal Caribbean cruise" or "when should I book my Royal Caribbean cruise."  The simple answer is: as early as you can.

For years Royal Caribbean has urged its customers to book early. It is a mantra that used to be simply marketing, but these days, is absolute gospel. 

The best prices for cruises on Royal Caribbean are when the cruise line first starts taking bookings. Prices tend to rise as you get closer and closer to your sailing date, so waiting to book can actually cost you more money.

Why does the price increase as you get closer to the sail date? For one, it's a matter of supply and demand. The more people that book, the less supply there is and therefore, the price rises. In addition, Royal Caribbean wants people to book early so it can fill up their ships and by giving early birds financial incentive to book early, it helps Royal Caribbean accomplish that goal. These days, Royal Caribbean cruises are incredibly popular and ships sail full routinely.  So trying to wait for a "deal" is not advisable because it may never actually show up.

Time and time again, the lowest pricing for all sailings comes when they first go on sale.  

The caveat to this tip is you have to be prepared to book a cruise 1-2 years in advance.  For a lot of folks, that is not very practical since work and school calendars are rarely published that early.

Your best bet is to book something with just a deposit and have the flexibility to change it later.  Even if you book only 7 or 8 months in advance, that is still better than trying to book 4-5 months in advance.

Check airfare prices

Odds are that you may not live close enough to be able to drive to the cruise you will eventually book, so that means you will need to book a flight to get there.  Before booking a Royal Caribbean cruise, consider airfare costs because that may make or break your cruise plans.

Airfare prices are anything but predictable, so you will want to start looking into flight options to ensure the best possible price. Just like cruise fares, the best prices for airfare seem to favor those that book well in advance.

What you want to do is when considering different cruise choices, check on airfare for each cruise to ensure you are not picking a great sailing that will come with an expensive or impractical flight choice.

Be sure to also consider nearby airports that could save you a lot of money. As an example, if your cruise leaves from Port Everglades in Florida, nearby airports of Miami, Orlando, Tampa and West Palm Beach are close enough to be an easy car ride over, especially if that helps bring your total airfare price down.

Read an old Cruise Compass

When trying to pick the right ship and sailing for you, you will likely have questions about what there is to do onboard.  In fact, the available activities may play a major role in which ship you end up booking. 

There is no way to know in absolute terms what your upcoming Royal Caribbean cruise will or will not offer, because Royal Caribbean does not publish its activities or entertainment in advance. What you can do to learn about what to expect on your sailing is to consult a past Cruise Compass to see what was available on those similar sailings.

A Cruise Compass is Royal Caribbean's daily newspaper that is distributed to guests on each day of the cruise.  Generally speaking, Royal Caribbean sailings on a particular ship do not change that much from week to week in terms of the activities or entertainment offered. There will be some discrepancies, but an old Cruise Compass can give you a good ballpark of expectations to plan around.

Your thoughts

Are you looking to book a cruise and have a question or concern?  Have you taken many cruises and want to share something you wish you have known before your first cruise? Share what is on your mind in our comments!

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. announced Laura B. Miller has been named senior vice president and chief human resources officer. Miller will report directly to Richard D. Fain, chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

Miller joins Royal Caribbean with more than 25 years of experience implementing human resources strategies for leading companies, and most recently served as SVP and chief human resources officer for ADT Corporation.  Prior to that, Miller was the chief human resources officer for Coca-Cola Refreshments, a $20B subsidiary of the Coca-Cola Company, where she lead a team of over 650 HR professionals that were responsible for supporting 70,000 employees in over 600 locations.

"At Royal Caribbean, we know it takes all 67,000 of our employees working together to surprise and delight almost 6 million guests each year," said Fain. "Laura understands the importance of teamwork, and her background and skills are ideally suited for the role of leading and managing our HR organization as we strive to identify, hire, develop, motivate and retain the best employees, both shipboard and shoreside, responsible for providing our guests with extraordinary vacations."

As of December 31, 2017, Royal Caribbean's global brands employed over 67,000 employees, including 61,000 shipboard employees as well as 6,000 full-time and 100 part-time employees in our shoreside operations.

Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas is an incredible cruise ship that offers families the kind of cruise experience that they will likely be talking about for years to come.  Step foot onboard this ship, and it is sometimes hard to believe you are actually on a cruise ship.  

Anthem of the Seas offers so much for families to do onboard, and we present this list of 10 awesome things about Anthem of the Seas.

Live stream from anywhere onboard

In the past, using the internet on a cruise ship could be an expensive and slow ordeal, but Anthem of the Seas offers high speed internet access all over the ship, so you can use Facebook Live, watch Netflix, play Xbox Live or Skype friends and family at home.

Royal Caribbean offers the same kind of high-speed internet service on Anthem of the Seas that you would expect to find on land. It works whether you are docked in port, or somewhere in the Caribbean. Royal Caribbean calls this service, Voom, and it is perfect for (not-so) humbly bragging about how much fun you are having onboard.

The best part is the price to use Anthem's high-speed internet is much cheaper than you might think.Royal Caribbean offers a variety of internet plans that a cost between $10-$20 per day (with online discounts that bring the price down as much as 30%).

Go sky diving

Have you always wanted to feel the exhilaration of sky diving without risking life and limb jumping out of a perfectly good airplane? 

Tepid thrill-seekers can experience what it is like to fall gracefully through the sky without fear of ending up like a Wile E. Coyote cartoon on Anthem of the Seas. Ripcord by iFly offers guests of all ages the thrill of skydiving out on the deep blue ocean.

Ripcord is situated on the aft (rear) of the ship and is a large wind tunnel that is 10 feet in diameter and 23 feet tall.  Guests put on a jumpsuit and goggles and then soar up to 23 feet in the air for a two-minute adrenaline rush. And the best part is Ripcord by iFly is included in your cruise fare!

Hit up bumper cars

On Anthem of the Seas, you can get behind the wheel of a bumper car and get in on the action thanks to custom designed electric cars.

Bumper cars are available in Anthem of the Seas' SeaPlex, the largest indoor active space at sea. Guests can race around the rink in a two-seater bumper car and enjoy running into other guests' cars while trying to avoid being hit themselves.  Whether you employ fancy driving skills to out maneuver everyone, or smash into everyone else head on, this activity is sure to bring back childhood memories.

Challenge yourself in the escape room

If you are looking for something different to do on a cruise, the escape room game on Anthem of the Seas might be the perfect fit.  The "Escape from the Future" game is an activity on Anthem of the Seas, where a team of guests try to solve riddles and puzzles to find the key to "escaping" the room.

The challenge of the Escape room is you have just 60 minutes to figure it all out, which forces you and your teammates to consider all options when trying to figure it all out. There are word searches, patterns and other challenges designed to get you thinking in a lot of different directions.

Enjoy time on the suite sun deck

If you are lucky enough to book a suite, Anthem of the Seas offers a private sun deck exclusively for your use.

The suite sun deck is available only for guests staying in a suite, and offers a private area with sun beds, seating and lounge chairs reserved just for you.  The sun deck is the perfect spot to enjoy a sunny day by the pool and a private escape designed with suite guests in mind.

Take a ride on North Star

The most prominent feature on Anthem of the Seas is the North Star observation pod.

Royal Caribbean's North Star takes guests 300 feet above sea level for amazing views of the area around the ship. You can get an amazing view around Anthem of the Sea, taking in what is sure to become amazing photos of the scenery.

Whether at sea or in port, the views from North Star are stupendous and a one-of-a-kind experience.

See a West End show

Did you know some Royal Caribbean ships offer full Broadway shows? On Anthem of the Seas, guests can enjoy the hit musical, "We Will Rock You."

Written by British-comedian Ben Elton, this hilarious award-winning and record-breaking phenomenon is built around 24 of the greatest hits of British rock legend, Queen. The best part about the show is it is included in your cruise fare!

Have a robot make you a drink

Anthem of the Seas features the Bionic Bar, where two robot bartenders create custom crafted beverages, delivered in plastic cups via four conveyor belts.

Built by Makr Shakr, the idea is simple: guests place orders via tablets and then can watch the robot bartenders start mixing the cocktails. Bionic Bar combines two big trends, robotics and mixology.

The single armed robot will get the ice, mints and lemon and then squeeze and shake them to make your drink. Eventually, there wont be a limit on what the drinks the robots can make. The customization is what Royal Caribbean is aiming for.

Shows in Two70

Two70, Royal Caribbean's transformative space onboard Anthem of the Seas fuses highly advanced robotic and projected technology with live performance, creating an unparalleled entertainment experience on land or sea.

As its name implies, Two70 offers a two hundred and seventy degree view from the aft of the ship. An expansive ocean view that is two decks high allows you to see an amazing view during the day. At night, Two70 transforms to offer a seamless video projection, robotics and human artistry.

Get an inside room with a view

Inside rooms on Anthem of the Seas feature a virtual balcony — a full high-definition 80-inch screen that is connected to a live camera with audio outside the ship, so you can enjoy the same sights and sounds as someone with a balcony or oceanview room.

Virtual balcony staterooms transform the experience of an indoor stateroom without the balcony stateroom price and the picture quality is amazing.

In addition to the real-time views, the virtual balcony provides audio as well and unlike a real balcony, you can simply press a button on your remote and turn it on or off at your discretion.

Your thoughts

Have you been on Anthem of the Seas yet? Is there a feature that has caught your eye in your research?  Share what you think is incredibly cool about Anthem of the Seas in the comments!

The two words that seem to strike anxiety into so many new cruisers are "formal night".  Something about this dress code generates a lot of questions about what to expect.  

No one wants to feel out of place, and Royal Caribbean's dress codes certainly have some basic requirements.

Here is an overview of what you need to know about formal night on your Royal Caribbean cruise.

Basics

Let us be clear: formal night (and other dress codes) apply only to the main dining room.  Whether it is formal or casual dress code, it only applies to what you wear to the main dining room, and not elsewhere onboard the ship.  Other restaurants (like specialty restaurants) have their own dress code, which supersedes the main dining room dress code.

On select nights of your cruise, the main dining room will have formal dress code suggested. These are evenings where Royal Caribbean suggests guests dress up the most.  

It's also important to note that the formal night rules are not really enforced, and there is a great deal of flexibility provided.

Royal Caribbean lists this as formal night suggested dress for formal night: Suits and ties or tuxedos for men (black tie is optional), cocktail dresses or pantsuit for women

How fancy is formal night

Despite the name, formal night is not nearly as fancy as you might think. Formal night is certainly the most dressed up evening attire required on your Royal Caribbean cruise, but it is not as ornate as you might imagine.

Evening wear for formal night will vary, and you will see some guests wearing tuxedoes and gowns. It is our observation that most guests tend to dress a bit less fancy than that, with men wearing suits or sports coats and women wearing cocktail dresses.

Essentially, it is clothing that is a bit nicer than you might wear on other nights of the cruise.

In practice, the dress code on any night is rarely enforced, so don't expect any crew member to inspect what you have on.  In fact, expect a lot of other guests to be dressed casually, regardless if it's formal night or not.

If the idea of formal night really bothers you, the good news is you absolutely do not have to get dressed up on your Royal Caribbean cruise. The formal night dress code is only for the main dining room and specialty restaurants, so anywhere else on the ship is fair game for shorts, flip flops and tank tops.

The Windjammer and other quick service venues will be open and without any formal wear.

When is formal night and how many will there be on my cruise?

There can be 1-3 formal nights during a sailing and is at the ship’s discretion. 

• 3/4/5 night cruises - usually on Day 2
• 6 night cruises - usually on day 2 and 5
• 7 night cruises - are usually on Day 2 and 6
• Oasis and Allure use Day 2 and 5 on Western itineraries and Day 2 and 6 on Eastern itineraries.
• 14-night and longer cruises will have three formal nights.

There are no formal nights on Empress of the Seas sailings.

Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship, Symphony of the Seas will not offer the DreamWorks Experience onboard when it launches in 2018.

Hi, Serguei. We don't have Dreamworks characters on Symphony; however, we have so many awesome activities on this ship, you'll find something to keep you and your family busy. Get to know Symphony a bit better by clicking here: https://t.co/1HOOsVgMTO. -Gabbie

— Royal Caribbean (@RoyalCaribbean) December 31, 2017

Hi, Marcus. I'm sorry for the confusion, but you're correct: there is no DreamWorks show onboard Symphony. There's quite a bit to do though! Visit us here for more info: https://t.co/kCG87DdM1P. -Zack

— Royal Caribbean (@RoyalCaribbean) December 31, 2017

Royal Caribbean confirmed via Twitter that its fourth Oasis class ship will not have the DreamWorks characters or events onboard, which is a departure from the other three Oasis class ships.

The partnership with DreamWorks Entertainment allows Royal Caribbean to offer character meet and greets, parades, shows, television programming and more. 

Symphony of the Seas will be the first newly constructed Royal Caribbean ship since Allure of the Seas not to offer the DreamWorks Experience.

Happy Friday! This is the last Friday of 2017, and for this edition of Friday Photos, we decided to go back through all of this year's Friday Photos posts and find our favorite photos to share once again.

Photo by Ken "CookingYo" Licwinko

Photo by Mike Dinsmore

Photo by David Berenbaum

Photo by Pascal Everard

Photo by Keith Davis

Photo by Jill Snyder

Photo by Andy

Photo by Jan

Photo by Austin Harris

Photo by twangster

Photo by Krisztina Benko

Photo by Kelli Staack

Thank you to everyone that sent in their photos this year, and if you have Royal Caribbean photos that you want to share, well, we want to see them!  You can use this form to send us your photos and we will feature them on an upcoming Friday Photos blog post!

With 2017 nearly complete, it's time to look back on the year and see which news stories generated the most interest.  There's no doubt that 2017 was a busy year for Royal Caribbean and so it is interesting to see which stories rose to the top of people's interest.

This year's top ten list is based on the Royal Caribbean stories we feel generated the most buzz and interest.  There are some stories that made the top ten list that surprised me and others I'm more surprises did not make the list.  Let's dive in!

Royal Caribbean brought underwater adventures to Snapchat

In a first-of-its-kind social media innovation, Royal Caribbean hosted underwater Snapchat experience thanks to its Snapchat Spectacles, known as SeaSeekers.

The mask was custom engineered by the cruise line for use with Snapchat Spectacles. It allows the wearer to snap while underwater and will give those above the surface a unique perspective into the intriguing underwater world of marine life.

Three dives took place in June that showed off this new innovation, in places like Cozumel and Belize.

Royal Caribbean celebrated the Great American solar eclipse

On August 21, 2017, millions witnessed a total solar ecliplse, and Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas provided the perfect viewing celebration.

Dubbed the, "Total Eclipse Cruise," Oasis of the Seas offered a 7-night Caribbean sailing, which cruised to the optimal spot at sea for guests to witness the total solar eclipse. 

In addition to viewing the eclipse, there were dance parties, lectures, and a special performance by Bonnie Tyler and DNCE onboard.

Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria

A series of powerful hurricanes wreacked havoc on Royal Caribbean's cruise ship plans, in addition to inflicting horrific damage on certain islands in the storm's path.

The storms impacted a variety of sailings, with delays and even cancellations of some sailings.  In fact, Royal Caribbean opted to cancel a few sailings and then use the cruise ships to act as floating hotels and supply delivery mechanisms.  

The result was Royal Caribbean providing an incredible amount of relief and support to the peoples of Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and St. Maarten.  The relief efforts lasted a number of weeks, and brought much needed help in the early days of recovery.

Royal Caribbean announced expansion of CocoCay

In March 2017, Royal Caribbean International CEO Michael Bayley announced plans for the cruise line to make major enhancements to the cruise line's private destination in the Bahamas, CocoCay.

The expansion will include construction of a pier, additional guest features and amenities, and new opportunities for vendors and craftsmen to promote the culture of The Bahamas to visitors. The pier will be able to handle Oasis class cruise ships.

Bayley described the new additions coming to CocoCay as, "innovative" and "entertaining". He also indicated the construction will take a multi-phased approach, with some elements of the new construction ready in 2018, and construction complete sometime in 2019. In the meantime, Bayley said ships will continue to stop at CocoCay without any disruption.

Royal Caribbean announced new fleetwide technology roll out

Royal Caribbean was forward leaning when the company held a big reveal event in Brooklyn to announce an array of technological innovations that aim to make things simpler and easier for guests going on a cruise.

At the heart of the new technology overhaul is a new smartphone app that will be rolled out to every Royal Caribbean ship over the next two years. The app promises to eliminate check-in lines at ports, equip crew members to anticipate guests’ needs, and enable giant cruise ships to sail through the water on a fuel-saving curtain of air.

The new tech will spread across the fleet by the end of 2019.

Royal Caribbean requiring all adults in same stateroom to purchase unlimited alcohol package

Royal Caribbean decided to change the rules regarding its unlimited alcohol package, and begin requiring all adults in a stateroom to purchase a drink package if one adult in that room elects to purchase one.

The change begins in 2018, but the rule change came out in October 2017.  The change occured following an earlier announcement it was going to test the change first on select Harmony of the Seas sailings.

Royal Caribbean introduced non-refundable deposit program

Royal Caribbean announced in May 2017 a new non-refundable deposit program, which is an addition to the traditional refundable deposit model.

When making a cruise reservation at least 6-months prior to sailing, guests who opt to take advantage of nonrefundable deposit fares will automatically qualify to earn up to $100 per stateroom to spend at sea. Early booking credit is combinable with the existing promotional offer available at time of booking.

In an effort to deter continual or late ship/sail date adjustments, a change fee of $100 per guest will be imposed to all reservations booked under a nonrefundable deposit fare that opts to change either the ship and/or sail date originally selected.

Symphony of the Seas reveal

Throughout 2017, Royal Caribbean announced details surrounding its fourth Oasis class cruise ship, Symphony of the Seas. Symphony of the Seas will claim the title of the largest cruise ship in the world when she debuts in April 2018 for her inaugural season in Europe.

In March 2017, Royal Caribbean formally announced Symphony of the Seas, along with some details surrounding the ship. This included some preliminary deployment details, along with the announcement it will be homeported in PortMiami.

In October, Royal Caribbean announced activities, restaurants and entertainment coming to Symphony of the Seas. New dining concepts and family activities, awe-inspiring theater, aerial, ice and aqua entertainment, and the most dynamic suite in family travel will join the lineup of Royal Caribbean exclusives on Symphony.

Spectrum of the Seas reveal

Speaking of cruise ship reveals, Royal Caribbean also shed some light onto another upcoming new ship, Spectrum of the Seas.

The first Quantum Ultra Class cruise ship will be based in the Asia-Pacific region and will join sister ships Quantum of the Seas and Ovation of the Seas. She had the first piece of steel cut in August and her keel laid in November.

Spectrum of the Seas is set to debut in 2019 and will be the first Quantum Ultra ship that will specifically be designed for guests in China and the Asia-Pacific region, and will feature cutting-edge and unprecedented experiences and amenities.

Royal Caribbean made its inaugural visit to Cuba

Royal Caribbean made history with the cruise line's inaugural visit to Cuba with Empress of the Seas in April 2017.

Empress has since followed up with a number of visits to Havana, Cuba, and Royal Caribbean unveiled new plans to expand Cuban sailings in the years to come.

Your thoughts

What did you think was the biggest Royal Caribbean news of 2017? Did we miss one? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Royal Caribbean is offering bonus instant savings during its Sail Into 2018 sale.

In addition to its current December offer, guests can save up to $100 instantly when they book during the Sail Into 2018 Sale, plus up to $50 extra on winter sailings.

The Sail Into 2018 Sale is valid on cruises booked December 28, 2017 through January 3, 2018 on sailings departing on or after January 28, 2018. Offer excludes China departures. Up to $50 additional savings for Caribbean and Bahamas sailings 6 nights or longer departing January 28, 2018 – April 30, 2018.

Offer includes:

• 30% off cruise fare for all guests' in the same stateroom.
• Kids Sail Free
  • Guests 12 & under sail free on 4 nights or longer Europe, Bahamas, Canada, Bermuda, Hawaii, Coastal and Caribbean sailings departing January 9, 2018- December 15, 2018. Excludes Symphony of the Seas sailings and sailings departing 2/15/18-2/20/18, 3/10/18-4/1/18, 5/15/18- 9/1/18 and 11/17/18-11/22/18.
• Instant savings determined by category booked and sailing length:
  • 5 Nights or Less
    • Interior / Ocean View: $25
    • Balcony: $50
    • Suite: $75
  • 6 Nights or Longer
    • Interior / Ocean View: $75
    • Balcony: $125
    • Suite: $150
• Summer Northeast Upgrade
  • Guests can purchase a Balcony at the price of an Ocean View stateroom on Adventure of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas on sailings from May 1, 2018 - September 30, 2018.
  • Guests can purchase an Ocean View at the price of an Interior stateroom on Grandeur of the Seas on sailings from May 1, 2018 - September 30, 2018.

30% off is combinable with NRDB OBC, Kids Sail Free, Free Upgrades, promotional OBCs and instant savings, NextCruise offers, restricted discounts (for example, Senior, Resident, Military), Crown and Anchor discounts and Shareholder Benefits. Sail into 2018 is 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. 30% off 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.