Royal Caribbean will now allow guests to transfer a future cruise credit to someone else.

Many people accrued future cruise credits from cancelled cruises during the pandemic, but the cruise line's policy was to keep the future cruise credits (FCC) non-transferable.

Future Cruise Credits are an option for guests who either choose to cancel their cruise up to 48 hours before the sail date via the Cruise with Confidence program, or have their cruise cancelled by Royal Caribbean. In either case, a voucher code is provided that can be redeemed for the value of the sailing.

During a webinar with travel agents on Wednesday, Royal Caribbean informed travel agents they can do a one-time transfer of an FCC to someone else.

Rita Stolze, Royal Caribbean Associate Vice President of Trade Support & Service, clarified that Royal Caribbean has changed the rule on giving someone else their FCC.

"I wanted to share that we actually are going to allow one time transfers of FCC. It currently does require a call into the call center, but we're actually working on an enhancement where it can be used through the real time redemption tool where we just don't have that enhancement completed yet, but very soon."

As of now, travel agents need to call in to make the one-time transfer request with Royal Caribbean, but a new automated tool is coming soon.

When the new tool is deployed, agents will be able to use an online form to request a transfer. Online forms have been a boon for Royal Caribbean because it speeds up requests while reducing the need for agents to call in and wait on hold.

This is a significant policy shift because it allows guests to gift their FCCs to someone else to use. When Royal Caribbean cancelled a cruise and issued a FCC, it would divide up the FCC among everyone in the cabin, which meant certain family members or friends may end up with a FCC they cannot or will not use.

With this new policy, it means that you can use someone else's credit for your own cruise fare or vice versa.

It's also worth noting that the expiration date for most cruise credits is rapidly approaching at the end of 2022.

This is one of many policy changes towards FCCs since the pandemic began in 2020.

Royal Caribbean's credit policy has evolved over time, such as allowing guests combine different FCCs together, allowing guests to start using a FCC towards a cruise fare deposit, and allowing leftover balances from a FCC not have to wait to apply it to a new reservation.

What are future cruise credits used for?

Royal Caribbean allows guests to use their future cruise credits to pay their cruise fare, including the deposit.

It cannot be used towards add-on purchases, like drink packages, shore excursions, port fees or taxes.

The cruise industry is poised for a major comeback, and Royal Caribbean sees better things to come over the next year and a half.

Speaking at Seatrade Cruise Global conference in Miami on Tuesday, Royal Caribbean Group CEO Jason Liberty shared his thoughts on the prospects for emerging from the depths of the pandemic.

"We expect the back half of this year to normalize and 2023 to look and behave like the pre-Covid period," Mr. Liberty shared when asked about his thoughts of the future.

Mr. Liberty expects this to be a transitional year, with 2023 performing better than pre-pandemic, "That means all ships back up and running and full capacity."

A strong 2023 has largely been Royal Caribbean Group's plan since talking to Wall Street in February.

During the company's earnings call with investors in February, executives said they expected a a return to profitability in the second half of 2022.

Part of getting customers back is establishing confidence in the experience, "By doing our jobs and building that confidence, the desire to cruise is back to where it was before Covid."

"Throughout the pandemic, we’ve learned a lot about the capabilities of our organizations, especially in terms of health and safety."

Joining Mr. Liberty at the keynote event was Carnival Corporation CEO Arnold Donald and MSC CEO Pierfrancesco Vago.

Mr. Donald also thinks things are looking brighter in the near future, "The overall trajectory for the cruise industry is good … it’s resilient and there is a tremendous amount of growth potential. The overall future for cruise is extremely bright."

Cruise industry resilience

The same day of the keynote, the cruise industry took a moment to celebrate some important milestones that point to more people wanting to get back on a cruise ship.

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) shared their new findings of how strong demand has been for cruises despite all the challenges.

In a statement, CLIA President and CEO Kelly Craighead talked about the recovery process, "As the industry resumes operations, passenger volume is expected to recover and surpass 2019 levels by the end of 2023, with passenger volumes projected to recover 12% above pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2026.

"Cruising is accessible, responsible, and experiential - making it the best way to see the world for people of all ages and interests. With the support of an incredibly resilient community, the future of the cruise industry is bright."

CLIA's consumer research had some interesting facts:

• Intent to cruise is rebounding, with 63% of cruisers or potential cruisers indicating they are ‘very likely’ or ‘likely’ to cruise in the next two years.
• 69% of respondents that have never cruised said they are open to cruise, exceeding pre-pandemic levels.
• Millennial cruisers are the most enthusiastic about taking another cruise, with 87% indicating they will take a cruise in the next few years, followed by Gen X at 85%.

Royal Caribbean has rolled back the rule requiring children to wear masks in the supervised programming areas of the cruise ship.

When Royal Caribbean dropped its mask requirement for vaccinated cruisers in late February, the only area of the ship that still required mask wearing as in Adventure Ocean, regardless of vaccination status.

As of this weekend, it appears the mask rule in Adventure Ocean has been changed.

RoyalCaribbeanBlog reader AshleyDillo posted a new posted rule on Oasis of the Seas that says masks are now optional for kids in Adventure Ocean.

"Mask wearing is optional for children participating in Adventure Ocean. However, masks are recommended for unvaccinated children 2 and up."

"Children under 2 do not need to wear a mask at any time."

Adventure Ocean is the kids camp on Royal Caribbean ships, where parents can drop their children off.

The updated mask rules for Adventure Ocean matches the general guideline for masks on ships made last week, in which Royal Caribbean said masks are optional for vaccinated guests and recommended for unvaccinated children onboard.

The change in mask wearing for Adventure Ocean tied in with the cruise line relaxing mask rules in cruise ship terminals.

Masks on a cruise are virtually non-existent

Over the last couple of months, mask requirements are greatly eroded away to point now they are all but gone from cruise ships.

As cruise ships restarted operations in 2021, masks were a cornerstone of new cruise ship protocols.

It looked as though masks might have gone away as required in summer 2021, but a combination of the Delta and Omicron variants required Royal Caribbean to keep the requirement in place for much longer.

A combination of Covid cases dropping dramatically on land and Royal Caribbean opting into the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) highly vaccinated program has enabled the cruise line to progressively remove mask requirements.

Face masks are among the most visible signs of the pandemic, and the need to wear them has been a major pain point for cruise fans who want to get the cruise experience back to a sense of normalcy.

In late February, Royal Caribbean dropped the requirement to wear masks while indoors.

Just last week, the cruise line announced masks are optional in cruise ship terminals.  

Now with masks not needed in Adventure Ocean, the only time you would need to wear a mask potentially on a cruise is due to local regulations, such as in a port of call the ship visits or in some cruise ship terminals as mandated by local requirements.

The Kids Sail Free offer is back.

Royal Caribbean has brought back the Kids Sail Free offer for the last week of April, where children under the age of 12 booked in the same cabin as two adults will qualify for free cruise fare.

Families may find extra savings on a new cruise booked in which kids stay in the same cabin.

This is the second time Royal Caribbean has brought back Kids Sail Free since the pandemic, with the previous sale about a month ago.

In addition to Kids sail Free, there's also up to $550 off sailings departing May 27, 2022 or after, 30% off every guest, and even bonus bonus onboard credit when redeeming a future cruise credit.

Deal details

Kids Sail Free applies to new bookings made between April 25 – May 2, 2022 on sailings departing on or after June 1, 2022 – April 30, 2023, providing free cruise fare for third guests and higher who are 12 years old and younger as of Offer Cruise departure date on sailings 3 nights or longer booked in the same stateroom as the first two qualifying guests in a triple or quad- occupancy stateroom.

Kids Sail Free excludes Thanksgiving sailings departing November 18, 2022 – November 25, 2022, Holiday sailings departing December 21, 2022 – January 6, 2023, Spring break sailings departing March 10, 2023 – March 24, 2023, and Holy Week/Easter sailings departing April 1, 2023 – April 11, 2023.

Taxes, fees, and port expenses are additional and apply to all guests. 

Up to $550 off applies to new bookings made between April 25 – 30, 2022 on sailings departing on or after May 25, 2022, and provides instant savings of up to $550 USD per stateroom.

Savings amount varies by stateroom category booked and sailing length as follows:

• 5 nights or less, $25 USD savings for Interior and Ocean View, $75 USD for Balconies, and $150 USD for Suites
• 6 nights or longer, $50 USD savings for Interior and Ocean View, $100 USD for Balconies, and $550 USD for Suites

Up to $550 off is combinable with 30% Off Every Guest, FCC Kicker, and Kids Sail Free as well as with promotional OBCs, Next Cruise offers, Instant Savings, restricted discounts (for example, Seniors, Residents, Military), Promo Code driven offers, Free Upgrades, Shareholder Benefits, but not combinable with Ultimate World Cruise and Crown and Anchor discounts. Resident rates apply to select states on select sailings; valid state of residence must be provided at time of booking. 

Will I save money with this offer?

They say "beauty is in the eye of the beholder", and similarly, how lucrative a deal is depends on the person trying to book it.

The biggest drawback of any Kids Sail Free offer are the blackout dates, which greatly hinder many families ability to book a cruise that qualifies for the offer.

If you can find a sailing date that isn't blacked out, kids sail free offers can absolutely save money, especially for higher category rooms. Suites, in particular, offer big savings with kids sail free.

Of course, Kids Sail Free deal requires the kids to be in the same stateroom as the parents, so you cannot split across multiple rooms and use the offer.

Using a good travel agent, you can easily compare and contrast prices between sailings.

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

Royal Caribbean has dropped mask requirements in cruise ship terminals.

Following the overturning of a federal mandate for masks in transportation hubs earlier this week, Royal Caribbean announced masks would be optional in cruise terminals, unless required by local regulation.

Rival cruise line Carnival also announced a similar policy change.

Royal Caribbean News

• Royal Caribbean announces health protocols for UK cruises
• Royal Caribbean adds optional field to upload proof of booster in app
• Royal Caribbean updates: Rhapsody of the Seas drydock, Galveston terminal, & more
• Wonder of the Seas departs on transatlantic to begin inaugural European season
• Cargo ship hits Mariner of the Seas while docked in Freeport
• Royal Caribbean has spent the second most on TV travel advertising so far this year
• Guide to cruises from Fort Lauderdale

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 451st episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, in which Matt lists his favorite places to eat on Royal Caribbean.

Matt revisits this list to see which restaurants are his must-eats every time he sails.

Please feel free to subscribe via iTunes or RSS, and head over to rate and review the podcast on iTunes if you can! We’d appreciate it.

New RCB Video: The Royal Caribbean drink package mistake too many people are still making

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 Royal Caribbean drink package mistake too many people are still making — and don’t forget to subscribe here.

Mariner of the Seas live blog

Allie and Angie took a 4-night Mariner of the Seas cruise to see if they could get on the cheapest cruise they could find.

They also shared a daily look at what it's like on Mariner of the Seas right now, with updates from around the ship.

Not only did they share the onboard experience, but their cruise visited Freeport, Nassau, and Perfect Day at CocoCay.

Odyssey of the Seas vs. Wonder of the Seas

Which of Royal Caribbean's two newest cruise ships should you go on first?

Odyssey of the Seas and Wonder of the Seas offer the latest and greatest that Royal Caribbean has to offer, but they're different classes of ships with a different set of things to do.

Check out our look at how Odyssey of the Seas and Wonder of the Seas compare.

Alaska cruise guide

Alaska is one of the most beautiful places you can visit on a cruise ship, and you're going to want to know what to expect before your visit to avoid common mistakes.

Planning an Alaska cruise means considering the time of year, ports of call, shore excursions and what to pack.

Our Alaska cruise guide includes everything you'll need to know before you sail north.

The question of if you’ll have to wear a face mask before and after your cruise in the terminal is officially answered.  

In an update to guests, Royal Caribbean updated it’s health protocols by indicating masks are now optional while in cruise terminals. 

Following the overturning of a federal mandate for masks in transportation hubs earlier this week, the question remained if masks would be required since there wasn’t any announcements by the cruise lines initially. 

An email was sent to guests with the new policy, "Due to recent changes in mask guidance, we’ve updated our mask policy, effective immediately, for all of our sailings where we've announced protocols, excluding Singapore departures."

"In our terminals, masks are optional unless required by local regulation. Some destinations we visit may require masks."

Royal Caribbean also added that these protocols are subject to change.

Prior to Royal Caribbean making this change in policy, Port Everglades said it would defer to the cruise lines to craft a mask policy, "Our intention at Port Everglades is to allow the cruise lines to take the lead on instituting and maintaining their own safety policies in the cruise terminals and on their ships."

The announcement comes on the heels of the United States Coast Guard announcing it would not enforce mask mandates.

Similar to how the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) enforced the mask mandate for air travel, the Coast Guard was responsible for doing the same for the cruise industry.

In an update to the Coast Guard's Maritime Transportation System, the armed force said that unless something changes, mask enforcement is out, "the Coast Guard will not enforce the directives requiring mask use on public transportation and in transportation hubs."

Royal Caribbean's announcement came the same day Carnival Cruise Line announced a similar change to its policy.

Carnival says masks are highly recommended during the embarkation and debarkation process. 

Warmer spring temperatures have also lead to Royal Caribbean news heating up, which means plenty more updates to share with you.

Not all Royal Caribbean news is necessarily worthy of its own post, so here's a quick rundown of important changes from this week.

If you ever spot cruise news that isn't posted here, be sure to share it with me by emailing [email protected].

Rhapsody of the Seas refurbishment

Rhapsody of the Seas is currently undergoing a drydock in Brest, France at the Damen shipyard.

While the Royal Amplification process is still on hold, routine maintenance work is still happening.

Thanks to Henrik Hessleklint for providing these photos.

In the case of Rhapsody, the ship is undergoing primarily mechanical work, in addition to checks of propeller blades, thrusters, stabilizers and more. 

Rhapsody will also get a new coast of paint on its hull, along with "minor updates" to the ship's interior.

Royal Caribbean Group first quarter earnings call scheduled

Royal Caribbean Group has scheduled its earnings call with Wall Street analysts for the first week of May.

The Q1 call will be held May 5 at 10:00am, eastern to provide a business update and discuss first quarter financial results.

The call will be available on the company's investor relations website, www.rclinvestor.com. To listen to the call by phone, please dial (833) 608-1479 in the US and Canada. International phone calls should be made to (270) 240-0549. The conference call access code is 4274546. 

Minimal damage to Mariner of the Seas

Earlier this week a cargo vessel made contact with Mariner of the Seas, but the good news is damage to the cruise ship is superficial at best.

On Wednesday, the Tropic Freedom vessel struck Mariner of the Seas while the two ships were in Freeport, Bahamas.

It appears the damage to Mariner is quite minimal, as seen by RoyalCaribbeanBlog writer Allie Hubers the next day when the ship was docked at Perfect Day at CocoCay.

Galveston cruise terminal construction update

Another week, another update at how Royal Caribbean's new cruise terminal is coming along in Galveston.

Construction is underway on the terminal 3 building that will be home to Royal Caribbean's ships, including Allure of the Seas.

This video is a better look at the topping off ceremony that was held last week.

The new terminal is scheduled to open by November 2022.

Royal Caribbean hires new government relations liaison

Royal Caribbean Group has hired Wendy McDonald to be its new VP government relations for the Caribbean.

In her new role, Ms. McDonald will be an intermediary between the Royal Caribbean Group and various leaders of Caribbean nations.

Previously McDonald was senior director, consumer communications for Cable & Wireless Communications, responsible for developing and deploying CWC's communications strategy for the Caribbean including government and stakeholder engagement and media relations.

In addition to uploading a photo of your Covid-19 vaccine, Royal Caribbean has added the optional ability to upload a photo of your booster card.

A third vaccine dose, or booster as it is commonly referred to, is not required by Royal Caribbean except in certain European countries, so the cruise line has added a new field to submit proof of a booster in those scenarios.

The new booster proof field appears to be available for most, if not all, sailings. 

Providing a vaccination record is a required field in the pre-cruise check-in guests can complete in the Royal Caribbean app, with the booster field marked as optional.

Thanks to RoyalCaribbeanBlog reader smokeybandit for noticing the new functionality has been added.

Royal Caribbean's app is available on the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store.

The advantage of uploading vaccine proof before the cruise

Whether boosters are required or not, uploading proof of Covid vaccination can expedite the check-in process in the cruise terminal.

Just as taking a selfie photo means one less thing to do in the terminal, a photo of the vaccine card allows Royal Caribbean to verify a passenger's vaccination status.

It's acceptable not to upload a photo of your vaccine card in advance, but you will have to wait for the port agent to take a photo while in the terminal.

Guests will still need to bring their vaccine card with them, but taking the photo at home will allow the embarkation process to move just a little bit faster since the terminal staff will not have to take time to take photos of everyone's card.

Will Royal Caribbean require booster shots?

As of right now, Royal Caribbean has no plans to require a booster shot for most sailings, including cruises from the United States.

Ever since boosters became available, Royal Caribbean has been steadfast in labeling them as optional and recommended, but not required, for cruise ship passengers.

In all the health protocols released this year, Royal Caribbean, "strongly recommends" guests get boosted before their cruise. In fact, they have been warning future protocols may require boosters as far back as February 2022.

Boosters are now part of the mandatory vaccination program for crew members. Royal Caribbean began a booster campaign for its crew several months ago.

Crew members have the option to get their booster in their home countries prior to rejoining the ship. Or they will be given the opportunity onboard.

Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship is on her way to Europe.

Wonder of the Seas departed Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Wednesday to begin her transatlantic crossing.

Wonder of the Seas' departure concludes a brief stay in North America for her inaugural sailings, and she now heads across the pond to sail the Mediterranean waters this summer.

RoyalCaribbeanBlog reader Larry Richman is onboard the crossing and shared some interesting facts about the guests onboard:

• 3648 passengers, which is about about 52% occupancy
• 2102 Americans and 1546 from 50 other countries (53% vs 47%)
• On night seven, Wonder of the Seas will have Royal Caribbean's first balloon drop since before the pandemic and a New Year's Eve party. 

The itinerary has already been changed due to rough weather predicted. Royal Caribbean Chief Meteorologist James Van Fleet shared an update that explained Wonder skipped a scheduled stop in Nassau, Bahamas to get ahead of a storm system that is predicted to develop on April 25.

Trans Atlantic Weather Forecast update for Wonder of the Seas (Odyssey and Jewel will be added as we begin crossing too as an FYI): pic.twitter.com/Kbyk1ksOKf

— James Van Fleet (@JamesVanFleet) April 21, 2022

Mr. Van Fleet said Wonder of the Seas will sail a bit further south than originally planned to avoid the path of the storm and to avoid seas as high as 5 meters for multiple days in a row.

The move across the Atlantic also caught the attention of Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley, who took to social media to celebrate the milestone.

"It's a BIG day," Mr. Bayley wrote on his Facebook page. "Wonder of the Seas has departed Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to begin her 14-night transatlantic crossing for her first season in Europe!"

"I want to thank the crew onboard Wonder for their work in launching the world’s largest cruise ship! Your passion is what drives our success!"

"Cheers to what lies ahead, and to an amazing season of European explorations! Wonder of the Seas will be back in Florida in November 2022!"

Summer in Europe

Once Wonder of the Seas arrives in Europe, she will begin offering cruises from Barcelona & Rome (Civitavecchia) in May 2022.

From May 8, through October 23, Wonder of the Seas will visit La Spezia, Civitavecchia, Naples, Marseille, Barcelona, and Palma de Mallorca.

Royal Caribbean will have six cruise ships operating in the Mediterranean this year, including another brand new Royal Caribbean cruise ship, Odyssey of the Seas.

Guests sailing onboard Wonder of the Seas can expect from Spain or Italy can expect similar protocols to that of cruises from the United States, with vaccines required for all passengers 12 years or older.  Boosters are required if the second dose of the vaccine was administered more than 270 days ago.

For cruises sailing from Italy, all fully vaccinated guests must show a negative result for a PCR or antigen test taken no more than one day before boarding day. For Spain, this timeline is extended by an extra day, so testing two days before boarding day. 

Protocols for these Mediterranean cruises are valid through May 31, at which point they will be extended and/or updated.

Return to Florida

When the European cruise season wraps up in October, Wonder of the Seas will return across the Atlantic to offer year-round cruises from Port Canaveral, Florida.

Beginning in November 2022, Wonder of the Seas will offer Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises, including stops at Perfect Day at CocoCay.

Planning a cruise? Here's some helpful articles:

• 2022 Royal Caribbean Cruise Planning Guide
• Guide to cruising with kids on Royal Caribbean
• Answers to common Royal Caribbean unlimited alcohol package questions
• Guide to Royal Caribbean's onboard activities
• How to find a deal on a Royal Caribbean cruise