When Icon of the Seas debuts in early 2024, she will be the first Royal Caribbean cruise ship to implement intelligent automation.

Intelligent automation is a way to to bring some level of automation to processes that incorporates a certain level of artificial intelligence (AI), but utilizes many more tools. Royal Caribbean is rethinking how the company does its daily work, and it employs intelligent digital solutions like machine learning in their strategy.

It's a burgeoning area of IT, and it has the potential to make crew members' workloads easier while also benefitting the cruise ship passenger experience.

Royal Caribbean's Senior Vice President and Chief Product Innovation Officer Jay Schneider spoke this week at a panel on intelligent automation, and it provided insight into how Royal Caribbean is using AI more in how it operates.

Mr. Schneider's job is to lead the digital transformation of the guest and crew experience, as well as the physical transformation of the guest experience, which includes new water parks, restaurant concepts, and technology.

Given that Royal Caribbean's cruise ships are complex technological marvels to begin with, integrating automation into them is no simple feat. After all, cruise ships incorporate resorts, food and beverage, supply chain, entertainment, gaming, Broadway shows, and moving people logistically around the world. 

Mr. Schneider calls it a "data ecosystem" and sees opportunity in balancing how to deliver experiences to people and how to lower costs.

"We spend a lot of time with our crew at sea understanding how do we generate job function automation that delivers value to them so they can spend more time with our guests day in and day out."

One of the innovations to come out of that exercise was a stateroom automation program that could leverage algorithms to prioritize work.

"We learned that crew on board our ships had access to reports and data on a regular basis that was often latent, and it was information that we had on our ships in our data centers that we could automate, create algorithms around to help them prioritize work, understand when people weren't on ship in a way that allowed them to spend more time with our guests."

IA on Icon

Royal Caribbean's next cruise ship to launch will be Icon of the Seas in January 2024, and there's already intelligent automation integrated onboard.

The cruise line saw an opportunity to balance the guest experience along with being environmentally savvy with the air conditioning in passenger cabins.

Mr. Schneider explained, "if you've ever stayed in a hotel, oftentimes your housekeeper moves your stateroom into eco mode and you return to your room it's super hot and you're very dissatisfied. But it saved that hotel money. It was better for the environment."

"We have data on our ships that know when you get off the ship. And so we connected those two systems to say, well, wait a minute, we know when your whole party gets off the ship, let's let's have this ship automatically move your room into eco mode."

"And then when you the first person pings back on the ship, we slowly start to bring your room back to the experience level that you expected. Our ships are big enough by the time you get back there. We have a shot that we're getting closer and closer to what the level is that you wanted."

It's still being worked out, but there seems to be wins across the board if implemented properly, "That's something that we're testing to make sure that we're delivering our service promise, but also, again, reducing our environmental footprint and then frankly, saving cost as well."

A white paper ship

When you have a blank slate, integration of new technology is a heck of a lot easier than with an existing model.

The Icon Class is Royal Caribbean's first "white paper ship" in about a decade, and it allowed Royal Caribbean to build its most innovative cruise ship yet.

Icon will include heat recovery systems that repurpose energy across the ship, and it will be the first ship in the fleet to be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG). It includes six LNG-powered engines that provide 67,500 KW of energy to run the ship.

The 365-long (1,198ft) Icon of the Seas – 250,800 gross tonnage – will be able to take 7,600 guests when it debuts in January 2024, making it the largest cruise ship ever built. 

Icon of the Seas will sail from Miami and offer 7-night cruises to the Caribbean.

Ready to catch up on what's happening with Royal Caribbean cruises?

With a fleet of 26 ships, there are always going to be things happening and in an effort to keep everyone up to date, here's a quick run through of the latest news from this week.

Think of these as quick hits of changes and news that you should be aware of that changed in the last few days.

Confirmation of the once-daily cabin service

We reported that Royal Caribbean is methodically converting over its ships to once-per-day cabin housekeeping for non-suites, and that looks to be confirmed now.

Instead of cabin attendants servicing a passenger cabin twice per day, it will occur just once per day in either the morning or afternoon (at the discretion of the passenger).

There's been no announcement by Royal Caribbean of a fleetwide change, but our readers confirmed this is going to spread to all ships in the fleet later this year.

RoyalCaribbeanBlog reader Paul VanderDonck shared an email correspondence he received from Royal Caribbean's Executive Office regarding the change.

The email confirms on an executive level that cleaning will go to once a day.

"Recent feedback on housekeeping service, and hospitality industry trends, show us that our frequency is beyond our guests' preference and expectations. In response to this feedback insight and in alignment with our commitment to reducing waste and overall environment impact, daily cleaning service will take place once per day."

"Of course, we've made sure our service stays at our Royal standards, including everyone's favorite, towel animals. During housekeeping service, you'll receive a thorough stateroom cleaning. Your towels and amenities will be replenished. Guests such as yourself staying in a stateroom with 3 or more beds, will have them made up in the evening and stored away during the daily cleaning."

"As always, your stateroom attendant is available for any additional requests throughout  your cruise, like extra towels or soap. Should you require assistance, contact them directly via the extension on their business card. We remain committed to making your time with us as an enjoyable and memorable experience!"

Speaking of the housekeeping change, many readers have been curious what happens if there is a pullman bed or sofa bed that needs to be converted in the morning and afternoon.

RoyalCaribbeanBlog reader Justin Ligas contacted Royal Caribbean and was told if you have multiple people in your room, and you are using the pullout or the pullman beds, you will get a morning service to put the beds away for the day if you wish.

It may not be a full morning service (towels, et al.), but you aren't expected to set up/break down your room daily.  The evening service for re-setting up the bed will be between 6-8 PM ship time, and the morning service to store the bed will be as your schedule allows.

Hideaway Beach update

We have new photos to share of the progress being made on the new adults-only beach at Perfect Day at CocoCay.

RoyalCaribbeanBlog reader Colby Burnett took these photos of the work being done.

In addition, Robert Dempster took this photo of CocoCay from his airplane that shows the construction progress.

The current estimate is for Hideaway Beach to open in late 2023.

Royal Caribbean's beverage program wins award

Royal Caribbean got recognition for its cocktails earlier this week.

Royal Caribbean International’s beverage team has taken home the 2023 Vibe Vista Award for Best Overall: Hotels, Casinos & Cruise Lines.

A panel of Johnson & Wales University beverage faculty, staff and alumni reviewed entries and based the win on a couple of factors including positive sales initiatives, efficient operational innovations, high quality standards and more. Finalists included prominent casinos and hotel chains across North America.

Royal Caribbean’s award-winning beverage program was recognized in 2022 with the following award wins:

• BevX Beverage Excellence Awards for Overall Hospitality Beverage Program
• The Exchange Awards for Idea of the Year in Beverage Excellence
• The SIP Award in Beverage Excellence

Latest on Wow bands coming back

It's still not crystal clear if Royal Caribbean is bringing back its RFID bracelets for good, or if they're just experimenting, but there's more information on what you might see related to them.

Known as Wow bands, they re-appeared for the first time in many years on Symphony of the Seas last month and other readers have reported seeing them offered on other Oasis and Quantum Class ships since.

Wow bands can be used in conjunction with a SeaPass card as a convenient way to do similar functions.

On Twitter, @thatchriscarley, shared screenshots from the Royal Caribbean app from his Harmony of the Seas cruise that talks about the Wow bands and that they will cost $9.99. They are complimentary for Sky and Star Class suite guests.

In addition, old Wow bands can be re-used as long as they don't have a muster station printed on them. The earliest Wow bands had that, while more recent bands do not.

The amount of wine you can bring on a Royal Caribbean is changing somewhat.

Passengers are not allowed to bring beer or liquor on their cruise, but wine is permitted in small quantities.

Up until now, Royal Caribbean has allowed guests to bring up to 2 bottles (750 ml) of wine per stateroom on the first day of the cruise.

In an update to travel agents, the amount you can bring will depend on how many adults are in the cabin. The same policy was also updated on Royal Caribbean's website.

Starting on March 3rd, 2023, the new wine and champagne allowance for Royal Caribbean will be one (1) 750 mL bottle, per adult of drinking age, per sailing.

This change means staterooms with more than 2 adults in the cabin could now enjoy more wine than before, such as in a Royal Caribbean suite.

The potential downside to this change is someone cruising solo in a cabin, or booked with only kids in their room will now be limited to one bottle per sailing.

The cruise line still wants the wine to be brought via hand luggage/carry on and not in checked luggage. Moreover, Royal Caribbean recommends each guest bring their bottle in their respective carry-on bag for security purposes.

No beer or hard liquor may be brought onboard for consumption. Boxed wine and other containers are prohibited. Guests may only bring the wine onboard on embarkation day.

If guests wish to enjoy their wine or champagne in our dining or bar venues, there will be a corkage fee applied.

While it's Royal Caribbean's policy to charge a corking fee when opening a bottle of wine a guest brought onboard, in practice it is rarely enforced.

Back-to-back cruise wine policy

For consecutive sailings, guests of drinking age are allowed to bring one (1) 750 ml bottle of wine or champagne for each individual sailing.

Additional bottles will be stored by the ship and delivered, one bottle at a time, to the stateroom on the first day of each new voyage. Guests bringing more than one bottle at the start of the first sailing should have documentation for any consecutive sailings available to share with security.

Advantage of bringing your own wine

Being able to bring your own wine on a Royal Caribbean cruise has long been one of the best cruise tips for saving money on a cruise vacation.

Bringing wine onboard can be a great idea for those looking to cut costs while still enjoying all the good things that come with cruising. By bringing your own wine from home, you'll be able to choose from among a wide variety of wines, some of which may not be available in the ship’s bar or restaurant.

Plus, you can store it in your room, or take it anywhere else on board with you — perfect for sipping while watching the sunset!

But if you don’t finish the bottle in one night, what do you do?

The answer is simpler than you think: simply store it! Royal Caribbean offers wine storage services in order to allow passengers to save their unfinished bottles for later.

This makes it possible for guests to enjoy their favorite wines throughout the entire cruise without having the pressure of “using it or losing it”.

If you choose to enjoy dinner at a specialty restaurant or the main dining room instead of on your own stateroom, all you need to do is tell your new waiter that there's a bottle stored for you. Your waiter will ask for your stateroom number and within minutes your wine will appear at your table.

Cruise ship wine storage services are an excellent way for passengers to indulge in some extra luxury during their vacation without having to worry about finishing their bottles too quickly. 

It looks like Royal Caribbean has implemented a change in how many times per day your cruise ship cabin will be attended by the housekeeping staff.

For decades, Royal Caribbean has had stateroom attendants visit passenger cabins twice per day: once in the morning, and turndown service again at night.

That could all be changing in the near future.

Royal Caribbean is slowly changing over ships one at a time to once per day for non-suite cabins. Junior Suites and above will maintain 2 services per day.

Passengers have the choice if they prefer to have their stateroom attendants service their cabin in the morning or evening.

Royal Caribbean issued this statement regarding the policy change, "Royal Caribbean International is implementing a once-a-day cleaning service for staterooms across the fleet."

"Vacationers will still regularly see the familiar faces of their stateroom attendants, who will continue to do thorough cleaning, provide new towels, refresh amenities, and be available to guests for questions and stateroom requests throughout the cruise. Suite category rooms will continue to receive services twice a day."

Based on posts on social media, the change to once a day housekeeping has already occurred on:

• Quantum of the Seas
• Ovation of the Seas
• Spectrum of the Seas
• Independence of the Seas
• Wonder of the Seas
• Harmony of the Seas

There are rumors Symphony of the Seas will change over with the April 16th sailing.

It seems Royal Caribbean first made the change with cruises in the Asia and Australia cruise market, but the new policy has begun to affect North American cruises too.

Why the change?

Since Royal Caribbean has not commented or announced anything yet, guests are left to guess as to why Royal Caribbean is making the change now.

One cruiser reported that the change is necessary because stateroom attendants will be responsible for more cabins, thus reducing the total housekeeping crew members needed.

The cruise industry is no stranger to what the rest of the hospitality industry as experienced over the last 3 years: a shortage of workers.

It's possible this is part of the impetus for the change.

Environmental concern is another rationale for the change.  In the Cruise Compass daily newsletter, Royal Caribbean says the change is done "in an effort to be more sustainable and to align with global hospitality trends."

Matching other cruise lines

Royal Caribbean is not the first cruise line to make this kind of reduction in the frequency of housekeeping.

Carnival Cruise Line changed to once daily cleaning in early 2022.

In December 2022, Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) announced its guests would get once-a-day service in order to consolidate crew roles while saving energy and water.

NCL said its change was a result of a shift in the hospitality industry, which includes airlines and hotels.

Speaking of hotels, cruise lines still offer significantly more service than their land counterparts. A a growing number of hotels and resorts cut back sharply on housekeeping services (some are no longer offering daily room cleaning at all; others only offer it every few days).

Cost-cutting or reducing waste?

Cruise fans have reacted wildly since the policy started going into effect. Some see it as a cutback, while others questioned why twice a day housekeeping was necessary in the first place.

On the one hand, twice a day cabin cleaning has been in place for decades, and survived many economic downturns of the past. On the other hand, is it really necessary to have every cabin cleaned every 12 hours?

It seems cruise fans have the same conundrum.

On the RoyalCaribbeanBlog message boards, there are plenty of thoughts on the change.

whitsmom wrote, "Once a day is fine for me as long as I have clean towels before I want to shower and the trash emptied.  I make my bed as soon as we get up anyway; however, I do want ice in the morning plus some for my wine bucket."

Maggie M will miss having the room attended to twice per day, "I, too, would miss the evening turn-down service with the compass (if they even print them anymore), and towel animals - especially if we took a nap during the day if it was a sea day or we decided to stay on the ship."

BrianB wrote about NCL's decision, "Pretty cynical to try and couch this as an environmentally-friendly action when it's just about profits. In my opinion, they're just gaslighting by claiming they're taking these actions because they want to help save our planet. They're doing this because they want to save expenses and increase their own profits."

Twangster thinks the change was almost inevitable, "When you lose $43B USD there are bound to be service adjustments.  It's well known they've had a hard time recruiting crew so yes, gratuity has increased as they've had to entice recruits with higher compensation. "

While Explorer of the Seas may not have gotten her full amplification, she did get one big change.

Royal Caribbean sent Explorer of the Seas to dry dock for her regular maintenance schedule, which required the ship to sail to Europe and undergo work at the shipyard in Cadiz, Spain.

The nature of this work was primarily routine maintenance work related to the ship's technical maintenance. The dry dock started January 29, 2023.

Dry docks don't get announced or mentioned publicly by Royal Caribbean because unless it's a major ship upgrade, it doesn't seem to warrant attention from a marketing perspective. After all, maintenance work is not that exciting to most people.

However, there is one change Royal Caribbean included with this dry dock that is sure to be welcomed by many cruise fans.

A new pair of water slides are clearly visible atop of Explorer of the Seas.

These slides appear to be the racer slides that have been added to other ships, including Mariner of the Seas and Adventure of the Seas (among others).

Racer slides allow two people to slide down at the same time with the idea that they can compete to see who reaches the bottom first.

Other changes visible from photos of the vessel indicate it's been painted.

Explorer of the Seas is set to restart cruises in North American on March 12, 2023.

What is a dry dock?

When it comes to the routine maintenance and repairs of a ship’s hull, dry docks are an essential part of the process. While most ships will spend their time in the open ocean, they must occasionally be brought into a dry dock for maintenance and repair work.

A dry dock is essentially a large basin that can be filled with water, allowing ships to safely enter and anchor before the water is drained out. This allows workers access to the ship’s hull for inspection, cleaning, and repair. Dry docks provide a safe environment for these crucial maintenance tasks without exposing workers or ships to potential dangers found in the open sea.

Royal Caribbean ships are no different, typically requiring a dry dock at least once every five years. Before entering the dry dock, technicians fill up the basin with water so that ships can safely sail in. Once the ship is situated in its correct position, the gate is closed and water is slowly drained from the basin until it's completely dry.

Now that technicians have full access to the ship’s hull, they can begin inspecting it for any damage or corrosion that needs attention as well as performing any necessary cleaning or repairs needed to keep it seaworthy. After all tasks have been completed, then it's time to refill the basin so that ships can safely exit.

Dry docks are critical components of a marine fleet's maintenance program, providing technicians with an important tool for keeping vessels running smoothly year after year. Without them we wouldn't be able to ensure our ships remain in peak condition for years on end.

Not an amplification

At one point, water slides were just the beginning of changes Royal Caribbean had in mind for Explorer of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean began upgrading a number of its cruise ships, known as the Royal Amplified program.

The goal was to add innovative attractions, pools, bars, and dining to each ship.  In addition, new staterooms were introduced on most vessels.

The Royal Amplified program focused on three main areas:

Pool Deck & Attractions: A re-imagined outside pool deck to discover everything under the sun – from pools specifically designed with prime ways to lounge, to those programmed with diverse activities day and night, plus the boldest attractions and first-of-a-kind thrills on deck.

Examples of these experiences are: Sky Pad, The Perfect Storm, Laser Tag and Escape Room.

Bars & Nightlife: We will give your clients the chance to drink, clink and live it up in distinct new bars and nightlife spots that deliver on the three tenets of a great night out: unique drinks, ways to be entertained, and good food.

Examples of these experiences: The Bamboo Room and Playmakers Sports Bar & Arcade.

Dining Mission: We will make delectable strides in delivering the cornerstone cuisines that guests have told us they crave – like great seafood, Mexican food, and Italian food – while upping our game in the fast, casual, grab & go category to keep our guests fueled between their adventures. Examples of these delicious culinary options are: El Loco Fresh, Hooked and Jamie’s Italian.

Explorer of the Seas was one of 10 cruise ships scheduled to get amplified, but due to the global health crisis of 2020-2021, the program was postponed due to financial reasons.

As far as we can tell, Explorer of the Seas did not undergo a full amplification during her time in dry dock this year.

Amplifications eventually

While Explorer of the Seas did not get a full set of upgrades, those plans are not cancelled.

Royal Caribbean's Senior Vice President and Chief Product Innovation Officer Jay Schneider spoke in November 2022 about the Royal Amplified program and how he believes those changes will still occur down the line.

"We stopped that program. We hope to pick that program back up. It's just a priority of how we've restarted our business, we will eventually get back to amplification of ships."

Explorer of the Seas restart plans

Once back in service, Explorer of the Seas will resume sailings in March.

Explorer of the Seas will sail from Miami and offer 6- and 8-night cruises to the Western and Southern Caribbean.

Her first sailing back is on March 12, 2023 and it will be a 6-night Western Caribbean cruises that visits Perfect Day at CocoCay; Falmouth, Jamaica; and George Town, Grand Cayman.

In late April, Explorer of the Seas will conduct her 15-night transatlantic crossing from Miami to Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy.

Explorer of the Seas will spend her summer in the Mediterranean and offer cruises from Venice (Ravenna), Italy to Greece and along the Adriatic. 

Happy Sunday, and I hope you had a great week. It was a busy week of Royal Caribbean fun, and I have a round-up of all of it in this hand-dandy blog post.

Royal Caribbean released new cruises you can book from the Northeast and elsewhere for winter 2024-2025.

Royal Caribbean’s 2022-2023 Northeast and Winter Caribbean cruises opened for booking, which include 13 ships.

Odyssey of the Seas will transition up to the New York city area, and Oasis of the Seas will return to her original homeport of Port Everglades.

Royal Caribbean News

• Royal Caribbean's next-gen cruise ship will have the largest water park to thrill all ages
• Royal Caribbean changed the sushi roll sizes for its fixed price menu: is it worth it?
• 9 Common misconceptions about a Royal Caribbean cruise
• Does it matter how old your cruise ship is?
• Top 10 Symphony of the Seas hidden secrets

New RCB Video: The Crown and Anchor perks you should use on every cruise!

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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 — The Crown and Anchor perks you should use on every cruise! — and don’t forget to subscribe here.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 488th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available with a list of things a lot of people new to cruising don't fully understand.

Matt shares his list of the top cruise misconceptions you should know about before you book or cruise!

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.

I had 36 cocktails with Royal Caribbean's drink package and I think it was worth the cost

Is a Royal Caribbean drink package worth the cost? 

Elizabeth tried out the deluxe beverage package for one week on Symphony of the Seas and while it wasn't cheap, she found value in the experience.

She spent $600 on the drink package and shared her thoughts on how it worked for her.

Royal Caribbean asked its fans for their best cruise tips

Royal Caribbean's top fans shared their best cruise tips this week.

The cruise line posted on social media to ask for the cruise tips and advice that have worked well for them, and it garnered hundreds of responses.

Here's the top pieces of cruise advice that cruise fans shared so you can benefit from it too!

Guarantee cabin saved $100 & I would do it again

One option when booking a cruise cabin is to let Royal Caribbean pick the room assignment in exchange for a lower price.

This will save money, but is the guessing game of where your cabin will be located worth the savings?

Here's one experience of how things worked out and what you should know before you book a guarantee room.

Royal Caribbean released new 2024-2025 cruises from the northeast United States and additional Caribbean sailings today.

As part of its scheduled deployment announcement, new sailings across 13 ships were posted.

Royal Caribbean’s 2022-2023 Northeast and Winter Caribbean cruises open for bookings today, February 23.

Let's dig into what Royal Caribbean published.

Northeast

There will be a new face from the New York City area when Odyssey of the Seas arrives in Cape Liberty.

Odyssey of the Seas will sail from Rome on her Transatlantic crossing and start regular service from Bayonne, New Jersey.  

Odyssey will sail from Bayonne between November 2024 and at least April 2025.

The new ship, which was launched in 2021, will offer a variety of 7-12 night cruises to destinations in the Caribbean and Bahamas.

Symphony of the Seas will also sail from the New York City area.

She will finish up her season in Fort Lauderdale, before moving up to Bayonne in May 2024.  From then, Symphony will offer 7- and 9-night cruises to the Caribbean, Bahamas and Perfect Day at CocoCay.

Liberty of the Seas will sail from Bayonne between May and October 2024, offering cruises to Bermuda, Canada and the Caribbean.

New England will have a new option when Grandeur of the Seas offers cruises from Boston to primarily Canada, although she does have a 15-night Greenland cruise too.

View the 2024-2025 Northeast itineraries:

• Grandeur of the Seas
• Liberty of the Seas
• Odyssey of the Seas
• Symphony of the Seas

Winter Caribbean

Additional Caribbean sailings were also released today. These new sailings are between fall 2024 and spring 2025.

Symphony of the Seas will move from New York down to Miami and offer 7-night Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises.

Serenade of the Seas will call Tampa home once again, offering 5- and 9-night Caribbean cruises.

Radiance of the Seas will also sail from Tampa after completing a 16-night Panama Canal cruise.  She'll then offer 7-night sailings.

Rhapsody of the Seas has 7- and 8-night cruises from San Juan, Puerto Rico that will visit the Southern Caribbean.

Oasis of the Seas will be based in Port Everglades and offer mostly 6- and 8-night sailings around the Caribbean.

Over in Galveston, Jewel of the Seas will offer 9-11 night cruises to the Western Caribbean.

Grandeur of the Seas will sail from Fort Lauderdale, beginning in November 2024.

Following her transatlantic from Barcelona, Explorer of the Seas will offer cruises from Miami. These are all longer sailings, with lengths of 10-12 nights.

New Orleans will get a Royal Caribbean ship in 2024 when Brilliance of the Seas starts service.

Brilliance will take a 14-night Panama Canal crossing and then offer 7-night cruises from New Orleans between October 2024 and March 2025.

View the Winter Caribbean itineraries for 2024-2025:

• Brilliance of the Seas
• Explorer of the Seas
• Grandeur of the Seas
• Jewel of the Seas
• Oasis of the Seas
• Radiance of the Seas
• Rhapsody of the Seas
• Serenade of the Seas
• Symphony of the Seas

More deployments coming this spring

Royal Caribbean has a few more deployments to come, but you'll have to wait a few more months.

New cruises from Australia and Singapore will come in May and July, respectively.

No date is yet set when China sailings might go on sale.

Planning on booking a cruise? These stories will help:

• 2023 Royal Caribbean Cruise Planning Guide
• Picking a Cruise Line and Ship
• 25 best Royal Caribbean tips, tricks & hidden secrets
• 5 Costly lessons learned on a cruise (and how to avoid them!)
• Top 10 Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas hidden secrets
• The differences between Royal Caribbean's ships
• How to choose the right Caribbean cruise sailing

Someone that is brand new to cruising might have a few ideas about the experience that don't match up to what it's actually like onboard.

There's a lot of nuances to cruising that makes it understandable why a first-time cruiser might have these concepts about what to expect. Given how frequently these mix-ups occur, it's clearly something that isn't just a problem relegated to a few people.

The good news is many of these misinterpretations can easily be cleared up before someone steps foot on a ship, and the result is very likely a better cruise experience.

We get a lot first-time cruiser questions on our Royal Caribbean message boards, but I wanted to highlight the top concerns raised that end up being the opposite of what the person thought. Perhaps one or more of these concerns will assuage your own anxiety about trying a cruise!

Read more: Top 10 cruise questions first time cruisers are too shy to ask

In case you're wondering, here are the top cruise misconceptions you should know about before you book or cruise!

You need a drink package if you want drinks that cost extra

Royal Caribbean's drink packages are so popular and well-advertised that some people think you need to buy a drink package if you want to venture past what's included.

On any cruise, there's a certain selection of beverages included with your cruise cost, but alcohol, soft drinks, and specialty coffees will cost you extra.

Perhaps because of how prominent a drink package is in the pre-cruise advertising, some people think you'll need to buy a drink package in order to enjoy any of those libations.

The reality is a drink package is only necessary if you'd like to enjoy unlimited extra cost beverages for a fixed price.  However, if you just want a coke or two per day, or a beer or glass of wine, paying for drinks a la carte is definitely an option.

When you order a drink that isn't included in your cruise fare, you'll be charged for the cost to your SeaPass account.  You can do this as many times as you want. 

Drink packages are designed to provide a fixed cost so that people that don't want to worry about running up a giant bill can do so.  But you absolutely do not need to get a drink package, especially if you'll only order a few drinks per day.

In case you're wondering, on average, it will take 6-7 cocktails per day to break even on the Deluxe Beverage Package, whereas the Refreshment Package breaks even around 4-5 mocktails.  The soda package takes about 3-4 soft drinks per day to break even.

Read more: How much is the drink package on Royal Caribbean?

Kids need a drink package if adults get one

Because Royal Caribbean requires all adults in a cabin to get a drink package if one adult elects to buy the unlimited alcohol package, the question about kids pops up as well.

It's the policy of Royal Caribbean to require anyone buying the Deluxe Beverage Package that all other adults get one too (although there's a hack for this).  But this rule does not apply to minors.

Anyone under the age of 21 in your cabin does not need to get a drink package, regardless if an adult in the same room has the Deluxe Beverage Package.

Piggy-backing on the previous misconception, kids in general, don't need to get a drink package either.

While you could purchase the soda package or non-alcoholic drink package, you don't need to buy them one unless you think it might save you money.

Travel insurance covers any reason to cancel

I think almost anyone going on a cruise should purchase travel insurance to protect themselves, but travel insurance does not cover any scenario involving a cancellation.

First and foremost, travel insurance policies are not all the same. Similar to auto insurance, the exact coverages depend on the policy. So you'll want to check what the policy covers and doesn't cover.

Most importantly, most travel insurance plans do not allow a cancellation for any reason.  Unless you seek out a "Cancel for any reason" travel insurance policy, it only kicks in if a pre-designated scenario plays out that is typically out of your control.  

Typical scenarios for travel insurance to cover include:

• Loss of a job
• Death in the immediate family
• Travel interruption (i.e. cancelled flights)

There's plenty more, so check the policy.

The misconception about travel insurance is you can decide one day you don't want to go on the cruise when you still have the means to travel.  

A great example of this is when there's a hurricane. Someone who's booked on a cruise sees the storm out in the Atlantic and decided they want to cancel because of the storm, but the cruise is still happening and there's been no change to their flights. Travel insurance would not cover this situation.

Therefore, it's very important to double-check the details of any travel insurance policy you purchase to verify it would cover a scenario you have in mind.

The automatic gratuities cover all crew members

Royal Caribbean automatically charges a daily gratuity that you can either be pre-paid or will accrue every day of the cruise, but this doesn't cover every crew member or purchase made onboard.

The daily gratuity is for the complimentary dining room staff and your stateroom attendant only. 

This means drink, spa, souvenir, and any other purchase made onboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship is not included with that gratuity.  

As a result, you'll see an automatic 18% gratuity added onto these purchases and listed on the receipt.

You have to book a tour to get off the ship in a port of call

When your cruise ship visits a port of call, you don't need to book a shore excursion in order to disembark the ship.

Certainly excursions are the most common and popular way to explore the places your cruise ship will visit. These organized tours provide an easy way to experience the best of these places, but you aren't obliged to purchase one.

Unless you're in a country that requires a visa to visit (Russia, China, Vietnam, et al), you can walk off the ship and walk around and explore on your own without any tour booked.

Some people will just walk around the port area, while others will venture into the city or countryside via taxi, bus, or even on foot.

Neither Royal Caribbean nor the place you are visiting places restrictions on getting off the ship to explore.

The same holds true for Royal Caribbean's private destinations of Perfect Day at CocoCay or Labadee.

Read more:

• Best shore excursion in every Caribbean cruise port
• Top 10 cruise ship shore excursion mistakes to avoid
• 5 cruise ship shore excursions I tried and instantly regretted
• When should I book my Alaska shore excursion?

If you don't pay for specialty dining, the food is going to be sub-par

Similar to the drinks, a lot of first-time cruisers think the food included with your cruise fare is going to be disappointing and specialty dining is the only way to go.

Food is extremely subjective, but the food Royal Caribbean includes is more than adequate and enjoyable.

Whether in the main dining room, Windjammer buffet, or host of other grab-and-go locations, you wont go hungry on a Royal Caribbean cruise.  And I think you'll find plenty that's appetizing too!

The specialty restaurants get a lot of attention because they are advertised quite a bit.  After all, these are sources of additional revenue for the cruise line, so they're going to make sure you're well-aware of them.

However, Royal Caribbean prides itself on the complimentary food served and you'll find lots of frequent cruisers who dine primarily in the complimentary venues.

There's nothing wrong with indulging in a specialty restaurant or buying a dining package, but don't buy them simply because you think it will be a terrible culinary experience otherwise.

Read more: Food on a Royal Caribbean cruise

You can bring marijuana on your cruise because it's legal where you live

This has become a major source of confusion for new cruisers because of changing local laws related to marijuana in the United States.

In short, Royal Caribbean doesn't allow marijuana (or any illegal drugs) to be brought onboard.

The reason isn't because Royal Caribbean is being a stickler or is taking any kind of moral stance. Rather, it's because of the places you visit.

The cruise contract clearly states it's against the rules to bring marijuana on your cruise, even if it's allowed where you're from:

"Marijuana possession and/or use, including medical marijuana, and possession or use of any illegal drugs, is strictly prohibited in many jurisdictions visited and on the Vessel at all times, as well as in terminals, during shore excursions or any other part of the cruise, regardless of any local, state, or other laws which might
permit use or possession of marijuana."

The issue is the laws of the countries you are visiting, which are outside the jurisdiction of your home state or country.

Royal Caribbean goes onto warn about the stiff penalties with bringing marijuana on a cruise ship:

"Passengers who violate the laws of any jurisdiction are subject to being reported to law enforcement or customs authorities, arrest and prosecution. Passengers who bring on board dangerous items, marijuana in any form, or any illegal drugs or controlled substances are also subject to immediate disembarkation or denial of boarding."

You'll get loyalty program points if you pay for someone else

The scenario is you pay for someone else's cruise fare and assume you'll get the Crown and Anchor Society points.  

Whether they sail with you, or you're paying for them to go and you stay at home, the only person to get loyalty program points is the person taking the cruise.

It doesn't matter who pays for the cruise, the bottom line is points are only awarded if you actually go on the sailing.

This is the same policy that the airlines use in how points are earned.

You can cancel or change a cruise without penalty

If there's one billing discrepancy that pops up the most among new cruisers, it's what happens when someone wants to change their cruise reservation.

Admittedly, it's not easy to understand Royal Caribbean's deposit types and cancellation terms. It's why I always recommend everyone use a good travel agent when booking their cruise.

Essentially, you can't change or cancel a cruise anytime, and when you can, there can still be a penalty.

Royal Caribbean offers refundable and non-refundable cruise fare. Non-refundable cruise fare is cheaper, but incurs a penalty if you change the ship and/or sail date. 

Then there's the final payment date, in which once you past final payment, a new set of penalties kick in if you decide to change your cruise. 

And no, extenuating circumstances don't matter. The policy applies to everyone.

It's critical to understand the cancellation and change policies before you book a cruise.  Once again, a good travel agent can help you with this (and so many other possible issues).  Plus, a good travel agent should cost you nothing extra to use!