For someone new to Royal Caribbean, one of the most common questions that is often asked is when exactly is the best time to book a Royal Caribbean cruise.

It is a simple question, but has major ramifications.  We all want to get a deal on our cruise vacations, or at the very least, save money where we can.

Here are some helpful guidelines to help you plan the right time to book your first (or next) Royal Caribbean cruise.

Book early

If there is one mantra everyone taking a Royal Caribbean cruise should know, it is to book cruises as early as possible.

In general, the best prices are found the earlier one books a cruise.

Royal Caribbean sells its cruises largely based on the concept of supply and demand. When a sailing is first offered, supply is at its highest because no one has purchase a stateroom yet. As time progress, more and more staterooms are reserved and stateroom inventory drops, so the price increases conversely.

The earlier you can book, the best chance you will have at getting a good price on your cruise.

When we say "early", it essentially means as early as you can.  Royal Caribbean puts its itineraries on sale as much as two years in advance of the sailing, and while that may be too far in advance for many to plan vacations, the earlier you can book the cruise, the better for that bottom line price.

Reprice when possible

Booking your cruise early not only lets you lock in a good price, but it gives you the maximum opportunity to ensure you have the lowest price.

Throughout the year, Royal Caribbean offers various cruise sales: BOGO deals, 72 hour sales, WOW sales, leap day sales and more are offered and each promotion comes with it different pricing and booking incentives.

From when you book your cruise until the final payment date of your cruise, North American guests can cancel and rebook under the new promotions without any penalty (residents of other parts of the world need to check local laws and policies).

Since Royal Caribbean pricing can change daily, or even hourly, re-checking the price of your cruise often is a good way to ensure you are getting the lowest price possible.

When it comes to re-booking (and booking in general), we are big fans of using a travel agent for the services they provide.  A good travel agent will not only be knowledgeable about Royal Caribbean, but take the time to re-book the cruise for you and even notify you when new promotions come out that you can benefit from.

Not when you book, but when you cruise

If you are wondering if there is an ideal time to book a cruise for the best price, it is not so much about when you book as when you want to cruise.

While there are times of the year that offer deeper savings than others (Cyber Monday has been a good time), finding the lowest fares has more to do with when you are actually going on your cruise.

In general, you will find lower fares if you are willing to cruise during the "shoulder seasons" and/or when school is usually in session.

This includes

• January (minus New Years holiday)
• Most of February
• May
• September
• October
• First two weeks of November
• First two weeks of December

Picking Royal Caribbean cruises that sail during these times of year often net the lowest fares because it is when less people have the opportunity or inclination to cruise.

What is your best tip for the best time to book a Royal Caribbean cruise? Share it in our comments!

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

Episode 140 is available for downloading where I will be reading more of your questions this week all about Royal Caribbean.

Matt is diving into the email bag this week to answer your emails all about taking a Royal Caribbean cruise, including booking shows, what to do in Roatan, Liberty of the Seas changes and a whole lot more.

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 140. And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Stitcher or on iTunes!

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

Royal Caribbean is offering guests the option of exploring select ports of call mid-voyage with new Multi-Day Adventures program.

Guests debark their Royal Caribbean ship mid-voyage, where they take part in a fully guided tour that includes hotel accomodations, meals, airfare (where applicable) and transportation, before rejoining the ship at another port.

Royal Caribbean is offering Multi-Day Adventures in destinations such as

• New Zealand
• Guatemala
• Greece
• Israel
• Bangkok

These Multi-Day Adventure tours offer the opportunity to venture beyond the coast and explore the "heart" of each destination - from the Holy Land’s sacred spaces and the ‘lost’ Mayan ruins of Tikal, to visiting the site of the first Olympic games in Ilia, or admiring New Zealand’s magnificent Milford Sound.

To avoid cancelation penalties, Multi-Day Adventures must be canceled 30 days prior to sailing.

Program requires a minimum number of participants to operate at the advertised price. Should this minimum not be met, Royal Caribbean reserves the right to offer the program to those already booked at an adjusted price for a private excursion, or cancel the departure completely.

We love to share photo updates from around Royal Caribbean's fleet, and today we have a great look at the pool and sports decks from Liberty of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean Blog reader Steve Ritter is back from Liberty of the Seas and shared these photos of the new kids pool area and the miniature golf course.

Both areas were added during Liberty of the Seas recent January 2016 refurbishment.

At 10 stories high, Harmony of the Seas' Ultimate Abyss is not only the tallest slide at sea but also an amazing engineering feat. Get an inside look into the construction process with the manufacturing team as well as the world’s only thrill engineer. Hear what makes Royal Caribbean’s Ultimate Abyss such an epic adventure.

Royal Caribbean announced today that the brand new Ovation of the Seas will extend her maiden Australian and confirmed she will return for the 2017/18 summer season.

During Ovation of the Seas' first season down under, the ship will now offer four extra cruises during this forthcoming summer 2016/17 season.

In addition, it was confirmed that Ovation of the Seas will return for a second season in summer 2017/18 due to, "the extraordinary demand for the ship from Australians."

Final deployment details for the additional sailings and 2017/2018 season will be released later in April.  Royal Caribbean Australia is offering a newsletter to get more information when they do become available.

“The level of interest for Ovation of the Seas has exceeded all of our expectations; we’re currently over 90 per cent sold for next summer’s sailings,” said Adam Armstrong, managing director, Royal Caribbean Australasia.  “She is a true game-changer and such was the high demand for the ship that we’ve been able to secure four extra cruises from Sydney, which will extend the season into late February 2017.

“This extension of her maiden season – plus her subsequent return in summer 2017/18 – reaffirms Australia’s position as one of the most significant cruising markets in the world and Royal Caribbean’s position as Sydney’s leading cruise line,” Armstrong continued.

“We are delivering Australians the most modern style of cruising from their doorstep – a style they previously had to travel overseas for.  Australia has asked for more and we will deliver; four more cruises, a return at the end of 2017, and more opportunities to experience a brand new era of cruising on Ovation of the Seas, purpose-built for the Asia Pacific market,” Armstrong concluded.

We love looking at beautiful Royal Caribbean photos and today we have a handful of great ones to share.

Photographer Rob Starling shared these great shots of four different Royal Caribbean ships coming and leaving Port Everglades, Florida.

Liberty of the Seas

Legend of the Seas

Allure of the Seas

Allure of the Seas

Allure of the Seas

Independence of the Seas

All photos copyright Rob Starling.

Royal Caribbean announced that it was joining 16 other companies and the U.S. Wildlife Trafficking Alliance (USWTA) in a pledge to crack down on wildlife trafficiking and educate consumers on the dangers trafficking poses to animals around the world.

Royal Caribbean is joining the cause by building awareness of wildlife crime and influencing buying behavior through the education of its 60,000 crew members and upwards of 5 million travelers annually. The cruise line also will work to identify and eliminate any indirect sale of products and souvenirs made from illegal wildlife products, through its on board shopping vendors and suppliers.

The illegal wildlife trade not only threatens the survival of many species in the wild but generates approximately $10 billion per year in illegal profits for sophisticated criminal syndicates that are masterminding the killing, transport and marketing of illegal wildlife products.

These commitments are part of a broader effort towards sustainability by Royal Caribbean.  As part of its environmental stewardship program, Save the Waves, and global partnership with World Wildlife Fund (WWF), RCL will work towards ensuring that its ships, operations, suppliers, and vendors are not indirectly promoting illegal wildlife products, and has committed to removing high risk seafood species from their procurement.

To celebrate the launch of Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas in less than 100 days, we're counting down each day with some really cool about the ship. Check out our blog each day for a brand new post all about Harmony of the Seas.

Watching Harmony of the Seas sailaway

With Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas debut, it seems like everyone wants to see this new ship.  Certainly we would all like to cruise on her, but the next best thing would be seeing her in person!

In November 2016, Harmony of the Seas will homeport from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and anyone can watch her sailaway as she begins her regularly scheduled cruises.

To watch Harmony of the Seas (and likely other cruise ships too) depart Port Everglades, take a ride in your car or taxi to John U. Lloyd Beach State Park.

Parking at John U. Lloyd Beach State Park does have a parking fee.

• $6.00 per vehicle. Limit 2-8 people per vehicle.
• $4.00 Single-occupant vehicle or motorcycle.
• ​$2.00 Pedestrians, bicyclists, extra passengers, passengers in vehicle with holder of Annual Individual Entrance Pass.

After you enter the park, you will drive 2.2 miles from the gate to the parking lot for the jetty pavilion.  There, you can find a pier and beach area to watch all cruise ships sailing out of Port Everglades pass through.

Ships usually depart in the late afternoon, between 4 and 5pm and it can be a fun experience, especially if you are in town prior to your cruise leaving the next day or sometime thereafter.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post as we celebrate 99 days of Harmony!