Royal Caribbean made big news last week with its Perfect Day Mexico, beach club, and Lelepa news that shared everything we can expect to do there. But there are 3 questions Matt has about what it'll be like when these all open up.
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Before you cruise, I want to share the best Royal Caribbean secrets that you can take advantage of on your sailing!
These are the things the cruise line doesn't tell you, but they're a thing you can still do. These are the sort of things only people that cruise a lot would know about.
Because a cruise is a very personalized experience, certain elements of the vacation can be enhanced based on your preferences. Meaning, there are secrets here that might be more valuable to you than someone else.
I came up with a list of things Royal Caribbean doesn't necessarily advertise, but you should know about before you sail.
Every cruise point represents a night on a ship, although there are some ways to get more points quicker.
Royal Caribbean will give you an extra cruise point per night if you book any suite.
You can also earn an extra cruise point per night if you happen to cruise alone in a cabin.
When you stay in a suite by yourself, you'll earn 3 points per night. This is the most points you can earn per night on any cruise.
Some people actually book two cabins just to earn points faster.
Want a table for just you and your family without sharing it with strangers?
Seating in the Main Dining Room can sometimes involve being seated with other cruisers. It's a cruising tradition going back decades, and some people really like it as a way to meet new people and make dinner more interesting.
If you booked Traditional Dining and prefer to sit alone, send an email to [email protected] about 2-3 weeks before your cruise and ask for a smaller table for just your party.
If you're on a Radiance, Voyager, or Freedom Class ship, the best spot for sailaway is the helipad at the front of the ship.
Located on the bow, guests can walk to the helicopter pad and enjoy the unobstructed views that you can only get from the helicopter pad. The perspective from this spot is hard to beat and many guests do not know it is possible to go here.
To access the helicopter pad, go outside on the outdoor promenade deck and then walk forward, climb up a set of stairs, and continue walking forward until you reach the helicopter pad.
On most Royal Caribbean ships, the balcony dividers are removable.
This is useful if you book two balcony cabins next to each other. By removing the divider, you get an extra large balcony space that feels significantly more spacious.
You can ask your stateroom attendant to do this. As long as you booked cabins next to each other, they can do this.
On ships that have a ice skating rink onboard, there's open skate sessions offered.
It's free to participate, but you need to wear socks and pants. On Caribbean cruises, you might not have these items packed with you.
If you booked an inside cabin, there's no natural light, so a workaround is to use your television.
Tune the TV to the bridge view channel, mute the sound, and you've got a nightlight when the sun comes up.
A lot of new cruisers are unaware there's no limit to the amount of food you can order at the Main Dining Room.
You can order multiple entrees, appetizers, or desserts, and there's no extra charge.
If it sounds gluttonous, it's really not for two good reasons: first, you might want try a new food or are unsure which dish you might prefer.
Second, serving sizes tend to be on the small side compared to restaurants on land. I find ordering two entrees is a must-do because I might not feel full with just one.
Moreover, you can order multiples of the same dish. If you love the French Onion Soup, ask for a second or third!
Cruise cabin doors and walls are made of metal, which means you can affix magnets to them quite easily.
Heavy duty magnets are helpful to bring on a cruise because you can use them to hang things up, which helps tremendously with clutter around your cabin.
I bring a pack of magnetic hooks with me so I can hang swimsuits, hats, or jackets. It not only keeps things off the floor or couch, but also frees up space in drawers.
Royal Caribbean charges for room service, except for one breakfast option.
It's easily overlooked, but there's a continental breakfast room service choice that is immune to the normal fee.
This includes pastries, fruit, coffee, and juice and can be delivered to your stateroom free of charge.
On Perfect Day at CocoCay, there's a menu item you have to ask for by name because it's not on the menu.
The Snack Shack has a secret, off-the-menu dish you can ask for by simply requesting "the secret sandwich."
You can top the crispy chicken sandwich with mozzarella sticks and marinara dipping sauce, and you'll end up with a tasty chicken parmesan sandwich.
My favorite thing about the Windjammer are the cooking stations.
The food is here is made the way you want it, and it's cooked on the spot fresh.
At breakfast there is an omelet station. For lunch and dinner, there's usually a rotating option of stir fry, pasta, and more.
Fresh food will always be a step ahead of prepared food, and the cooking stations are my first stop in the Windjammer on every visit.
Johnny Rockets is a specialty restaurant with a cover charge for lunch and dinner, but it's actually free for breakfast.
On Oasis Class ships only, Johnny Rockets is open for breakfast and it's complimentary.
For breakfast, Johnny Rockets serves up fried or scrambled eggs, breakfast sandwiches, pancakes, French toast, omelets and more.
Juice, milk, coffee, tea and hot chocolate are included in the meal as well.
Believe it or not, the tap water is not only safe to drink, but probably the cleanest water you'll ever drink.
Every Royal Caribbean ship has a meticulously maintained water treatment/storage system that supplies all of the ships potable water.
Relying on the tap water (or water provided at various drink stations or fountains) is a great money saving strategy.
One issue with the tap water is it may not be very cold, so ask your room attendant to bring ice to keep in your cabin.
Pools, whirlpools, and water slides are available to use on embarkation day, and you’ll often find that they are much less crowded than other days onboard.
I recommend bringing your bathing suit with you on embarkation day to hit the water slides as soon as you get onboard. The lines will be non-existent because a lot of people packed their bathing suits.
You can change in one of the public restrooms on the pool deck. Or simply wear your bathing suit onboard as you embark!
Royal Caribbean's water slides are fun, but you can make them more thrilling by doing two things.
Cross your arms and legs while going down the slide and arch your back. The less resistance in the water (and slide) that you have, the faster you will go.
You also want to have the least amount of clothing as you go down the slide. Rash guards, t-shirts, and more elaborate swimsuits will result in you slowing down.
Royal Caribbean charges a fee for cash withdrawals in the casino, unless you're a Prime member or higher in the casino loyalty program.
However, anyone can avoid the fee by going to a slot machine and pulling cash from there.
For some reason, there's no fee when you use the banker feature on a slot machine to get cash. You can then immediately cash out, go to the cashier and exchange it for cash.
At that point, you can go to the Blackjack table and try your luck, and you'll be up 5%!
I think Royal Caribbean has the best cruise line loyalty program, and the crown jewel is what you get at the Diamond tier.
One of the best changes Royal Caribbean made since restarting cruises in 2021 was to overhaul its free drink coupons from a happy hour and limited selections to vouchers that can be redeemed at any bar.
Diamond members in Crown and Anchor Society get 4 free drinks per day, every day of the cruise. They can be used at any bar, restaurant or lounge, and it's good for any drink up to $14 in value.
It gets even better as you move up the loyalty ladder, because Diamond Plus members get 5 drinks per day and Pinnacle Club members get 6.
When I tell people why I think Royal Caribbean's loyalty program is the best, I'll start off with the drink benefit because no other cruise line has anything remotely close to this offering.
Just this perk alone has saved me thousands of dollars over the years, and it's a key reason why I continue to cruise with Royal Caribbean.
While some loyalty perks are difficult to place a dollar value on, the complimentary drink vouchers at Diamond are as straight forward as it comes.
Everyone in the family gets four drinks at Diamond, and it's kind of like having a rudimentary drink package on every cruise that costs you nothing extra.
I'll still sometimes buy a Royal Caribbean drink package when the price is below $60 per person, per day, but quite often I'm content relying on my loyalty drinks.
Since I'm Pinnacle, I get 6 per day and that's a lot to start off with. The way I look at it, even if I use every single free drink voucher, I could probably pay for another 3-4 drinks out of pocket and still come out ahead compared to buying a drink package.
On my port intensive itineraries, such as when I've cruised to Alaska or Europe, I've skipped buying a drink package. Instead, I rely on the Crown and Anchor drink benefit.
It saves me money and it's practical too.
One lesser known side benefit of reaching Diamond is many of the perks you get extend to your children.
If your kids are under the age of 18, they share your Crown and Anchor status level. That means they get 4 drinks per day as well.
The only restriction is they can only order non-alcoholic drinks with their benefit, even if you order them with their card.
The fact they get free drinks every day means more money saved on the premium coffees, sodas, or mocktails that they'd otherwise be bugging me to get during the cruise.
I'll usually use one of their drinks for a coffee for me. I tell them as a dad, consider this a professional courtesy.
If you combine the Diamond drinks with the casino program, you could end up with one of the best values out there.
Royal Caribbean's casino has its own loyalty program, which also includes free drinks at the Prime tier.
The benefit offers unlimited drinks at the casino bar. The caveat is it's only at the casino bar, and the casino bar isn't open all the time. Nonetheless, it's a pretty good benefit.
To reach Prime status, you need to collect 2,500 points during the casino calendar year, which is April 1 - March 31. Points are cumulative, so you can add them all up across various cruises.
Once you hit 2,500 points, you can stop gambling and enjoy the free drink benefit immediately and Prime status is yours to keep for the following year.
Combining the free Diamond drinks with the Prime benefits is really good deal since you have an unlimited source of drinks in the casino, along with the convenience of the loyalty vouchers to use elsewhere.
On Royal Caribbean ships that have an easy to access casino, like the Voyager or Freedom Class, it's a very nice strategy for saving money on drinks.
There are many lucrative perks when you reach Diamond status with Royal Caribbean, but I think the free drinks are probably the most notable amenity out there.
Getting a free day of internet and various discounts is nice, but the free drinks are a game changer for a lot of people.
The more you cruise, the more times you can enjoy this benefit. I know it's saved me a lot, especially for my kids.
Considering you need 80 points to reach Diamond level, it's an attainable status for most people that are willing to cruise once or twice a year. At that pace, you'll hit Diamond at the same time you're clearly invested in cruising as a preferred type of vacation.
One of the centerpieces of Royal Caribbean's Perfect Day Mexico plans is an enormous water park that is all about one type of slides: rafts.
This will be the second water park that Royal Caribbean will operate, but this one is shifting its plans because the cruise line acknowledges that, "raft slides are by far the best slides that we offer our guests and what they're looking for."
Royal Caribbean revealed its plans last week for a new private destination in what is now Costa Maya, Mexico. By far the most visible feature is the addition of Loco Waterpark.
There will be more than 30 waterslides spread across three towers, and there will be many more raft slides compared to Thrill Waterpark at Perfect Day at CocoCay.
The decision to have more raft slides instead of body slides is something the cruise line decided after reviewing feedback from its customers.
"What we've learned is there's significant amount of guest demand for raft slides and a lesser demand on body slides. And so we are dialing back the number of body slides and dialing up the number of raft slides," said Royal Caribbean's Senior Vice President and Chief Product Innovation Officer Jay Schneider during a review of the park plans.
Why do passengers like rafts better? Because they can share the experience.
"What we've learned in this journey is people love family raft slides," he shared and said this includes any slide you can go on with someone else.
Moreover, this trend is going to be something Royal Caribbean is going to lean into even more with future projects outside of Costa Maya.
"That doesn't mean we walk away from drop slides or body slides, but you will see us go much heavier in raft slides here and likely in the future expansion of [CocoCay], go heavier in raft slides as you look at future Icons," alluding to work on new Icon Class cruise ships as well as adding more slides to CocoCay.
Loco Waterpark will encompass 15 acres, and have the world's tallest dueling waterslides. And it was designed with the help of a waterslide expert.
Alex Ojeda is an influencer with over 8.4 million followers on TikTok, and he's been collaborating with Royal Caribbean for years.
This time, Royal Caribbean hired him to help out.
"I was hired to help design this waterpark. Shaping slides, guest experience and how the thrill flows from tower to tower," he shared in an Instagram reel.
During the reveal event in New York City, Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley pointed out Mr. Ojeda and credited him with helping shape the vision for the waterpark.
Clearly, Mr. Ojeda's vision was to add big, thrilling, and fast slides.
Perfect Day Mexico will be home to the tallest water slide tower in the Americas. Standing over 170ft tall, you can ride the longest water slide coaster and two of the tallest family raft slides on Earth.
The park also features the world's first Sombrero waterslide, as well as a hydro launch slide that launches riders 40ft into the air.
Mr. Schneider said they want to hear people screaming on these slides, "we want the want the Jaguar to basically be just the sounding board of screaming."
Other slides you can expect include:
If that wasn't enough, there will be also a wave pool, along with an adventure pool for kids.
There's an admission cost to Loco Waterpark, but prices aren't available yet.
Royal Caribbean employs dynamic pricing based on demand, so there will be a range of prices that will be revealed closer to the opening of Perfect Day Mexico.
Saving time and avoiding lines is everything to me in the world of travel, and that's why I usually carry my luggage off the ship at its end.
While I usually opt for convenience in many aspects of travel, the disembarkation process is one notable exception.
When a cruise concludes, Royal Caribbean gives its guests options in how to get their belongings off the ship. There's a simple way to have your luggage taken off the ship for you and delivered to the cruise terminal.
I used to always leave my bags out the night before the cruise ends and then have them brought to the terminal. It was simple and it did make it easier to get off the ship the next morning.
But since I started carrying my luggage off the ship, it changed my outlook for the speed factor.
The top reason I'll carry my own bags off the ship is because it's the fastest way to get off the ship, out of the terminal, and on my way.
Those carrying their own bags off the ship can disembark the ship an hour or more before the first bags are delivered.
When you leave your luggage out, Royal Caribbean gives you an estimated time they'll be ready. That's the earliest time you can disembark the ship and have the bags waiting for you. You could go later, if you're taking your time eating breakfast or enjoying a few more minutes on the ship.
In many cases, I want to get going and expedite traveling home. I might be trying to make a specific high speed train home, or a flight booking.
When I cruise close to home and I'm driving my own car, I simply want to get home. Getting off the ship is like ripping the band-aid off in that I don't want to belabor the end of vacation and would rather get it over with.
Another benefit of being early off the ship is it minimizes the potential for traffic. I find traffic tends to build later in the morning, and lines at the cruise terminal pickup area are worse later in the morning.
One more compelling reason I like self-assist is I don't have to pack everything up the night before.
Since I don't have to leave my bags out in the hallway, I have more time to pack and less issues packing up what I need for the next day versus what can be in the checked luggage.
Carrying your own bags off the ship sounds great when you're sitting at home, but there are a few caveats you should be aware of before you try it.
To start, you'll need to be comfortable taking your own luggage with you without any assistance.
Royal Caribbean offers the option to take your own luggage off the ship, but you need to be able to easily carry all of it on your own. Plus anything and everyone else you're traveling with.
If you have mobility issues, lack the strength to carry heavy suitcases down stairs, or are also trying to juggle kids, this might not be the option for you.
In fact, I only discovered the virtues of taking my luggage off myself once my kids got older and it didn't feel like we were trying to move the Army of the Potomac.
The other potential issue is actually getting off the ship in the morning. Elevators will be busy, and it can be a challenge to get an elevator.
Ideally, you'll carry the bags down the stairs but that's not always possible.
Conventional wisdom says if you can't get an elevator going down, take one going up and then wait for it to head back down later.
Other cruisers have found embracing self-assist carry is the way to go too.
OhiobornCAraised posted on Reddit why they prefer it too, "Getting through immigration and the cruise terminal was soooo smooth! No long lines, no big crowds to work through. It was marvelous. 10/10 experience and hope to be able to do it more in the future."
Substantial-Face-363 added, "Totally agree! We disembarked from the Encore a couple weeks ago at 6:30 am. We took all our bags and walked right off. No wait, no lines. It was amazing!"
"Just got off a ship a week ago . We did just this for our first time. Worked out great due to a tight flight schedule," wrote OldAdministration735.
I'll aspire to carry my own luggage off the ship whenever possible, even if I'm not in a rush to disembark necessarily.
I simply like being in control of when I can leave, and usually the time guests carrying their own luggage off the ship starts quite early.
I can't say I'm able to do this on every cruise, but I've definitely shifted towards embracing carrying my own bags off more and more.
Royal Caribbean's Star of the Seas is drawing closer to its debut in August 2025 by starting sea trials.
The company's second Icon Class ship departed the shipyard in Finland on Monday to begin tests. The vessel has been under construction at Meyer Turku shipyard.
"Star of the Seas departed our shipyard early Monday morning to begin her sea trials. We wish her and her crew sunny skies and smooth sailing!" is what the shipyard posted on Facebook.
This is an important milestone in the construction of any new ship.
Think of sea trials like putting a car through its paces. It's a necessary step to ensure all of its systems work the way they should, while putting stress on the vessel itself.
While a lot of work can be done while the ship is docked, certain navigation and technical systems need to be tested in real world situations.
Sea trials are the final step of a ship's construction prior to being delivered to the cruise line. It ensures the vessel is functionally ready before officially joining the fleet.
Onboard the ship, there will be a combination of shipyard employees and crew members.
Icon of the Seas had two sets of sea trials, but Icon was the first in the class. Typically subsequent ships in the same class usually have one sea trial. No word yet if Star will have one or two sets of sea trials.
Star of the Seas will have her first cruise with paying passengers in August.
Her first cruise has been moved up a few times with a series of showcase sailings being added.
Technically, her official maiden voyage is a 7-night cruise on August 31, 2025. However, there is a 3-night cruise on August 20, followed by two four-night preview sailings.
Star of the Seas will join Icon as being the two biggest cruise ships in the world, and a ship that size has lots to do.
You'll find the world’s largest waterpark at sea that has six water slides, and it's designed to be like a floating resort with different pools and over 40 ways to dine, drink and be entertained onboard.
The ship weighs in at an estimated 248,663 tons and measures close to 1,200 feet long. It also holds about 5,610 passengers and 2,350 crew members
"Icon will be the best family vacation in the world," said Jay Schneider, Royal Caribbean's Senior Vice President and Chief Product Innovation Officer.
There are 20 decks across the ship, featuring eight neighborhoods that help divide up the ship into distinct areas.
Icon has been a commercial and critical hit, and now Royal Caribbean wants to repeat that success with Star.
The Star of the Seas will set sail from Port Canaveral on 7-night Eastern and Western Caribbean vacations all year round, where passengers can visit popular tropical destinations like the Bahamas, Mexico, St. Maarten and Honduras, as well as Royal Caribbean's private island, CocoCay.
Royal Caribbean ships are known for fun things to do onboard, and a big part of that are the theme nights and parties.
One of the top questions we get is what to pack for a cruise, and that includes these events.
"When and where do you find out about theme nights on different ships? We cruise in a month and would love to be able to plan for packing," is what one person wrote on Facebook recently to ask about it.
Royal Caribbean is now sending emails that help address that question.
A few of our readers with upcoming cruises received emails from the cruise line that are aimed at making it easier for guests to understand what to expect onboard.
It's an informational email, offering expectations of the different themes and parties.
"We have a lineup of thrilling events and activities planned onboard, and we’re encouraging all our guests to participate in the festivities," the email reads.
In one example, the email was sent to guests booked on the June 13, 2025 sailing of Anthem of the Seas, which puts it about 26 days prior to the start of the cruise.
It starts off listing four theme nights and what each one is like:
The email also says there will be a formal night onboard, which Royal Caribbean refers to as "Dress Your Best night".
The amount of formal nights on any sailing depends on the length of the cruise:
The email is something I haven't previously seen by Royal Caribbean, but it's clearly an attempt to make it easier for guests to participate.
It's important to remember that the themes are not mandatory, and you don't have to participate if you don't want to.
It's been a cruising tradition for years to have these events, and it offers a way to have fun on vacation. Basically, theme nights are an excuse to get dressed up and join in.
Not only are there evenings to enjoy together, but it makes for fun family photos.
Part of the appeal of a theme night is you get join in with your own take on the outfit to wear. You could go for an over-the-top look that's meant to get laughs, or see if your family can really get into the spirit of the event with a cosplay-level look.
Ultimately, these themes are really about how you look around the ship. No venue or restaurant will deny you entry if you don't participate in one of these themes.
While this email is a good start, it doesn't list exactly when each theme night will occur. Nor do you know what else is happening that day to coordinate plans.
My advice is go one step further than the email and get the answer.
There are two tried-and-true ways to find out the theme nights for your Royal Caribbean cruise.
You could look up themed nights from past sailings on the same ship and itinerary.
We keep an archive of past Cruise Compasses, which list all the events that happened on a given sailing.
The reality is if you look up a recent sailing on the same ship and itinerary as yours, the theme nights are all but certainly going to be the same.
Another idea is to look in the Royal Caribbean app.
About 2-3 weeks before your cruise, the app will update with the theme nights and other activities.
Scroll under the “Daily Planner” section to preview the hourly details and event descriptions.
Happy weekend! In case you missed any Royal Caribbean news, here is a look at everything that happened this week!
A lazy-crazy river and water slide towers are just the start of Royal Caribbean's plans for Perfect Day Mexico.
Opening in fall 2027, Royal Caribbean revealed this week all of its plans for Perfect Day Mexico.
Also announced are the plans for its two beach clubs, as well as a new private destination in Vanuatu.
Trust, these travel tips really work, even if they sound bizarre.
New cruisers might be surprised by a few cruise tips that get shared because they either sound unintuitive or something completely different than they're used to.
I can vouch from experience these cruise tips really do work, even if they sound very odd.
The newest non-smoking casino is open.
Royal Caribbean opened another non-smoking casino on Utopia of the Seas, this one replacing the comedy club onboard.
Construction took a month, but a second non-smoking venue is now open on the ship.
Jenna just got back from a trip to Europe, a few essentials made a big difference during the flight.
Flying to Barcelona to check out Allure of the Seas meant taking an economy class flight across the Atlantic. By no means is that an enjoyable experience on its own.
After careful testing, certain travel accessories really do help improve the flight when traveling that long a time.
Among all the ports you can sail from in Florida, Tampa is clearly the best if you're on a budget.
Cruises from Tampa are easy to access, and probably the cheapest fares you'll find right now.
With cruise prices only seemingly going up, the best deals are on Florida's west coast.
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 — Royal Caribbean just shared Perfect Day Mexico, Beach Club Info & More — and don’t forget to subscribe to our channel.
Instead of picking a ship, you might be picking the private destination as the top reason to choose a cruise.
Royal Caribbean revealed the full details of four different beach destination projects it's working on, and collectively it's evolving its product offering forward beyond any other cruise line or resort.
"Now, guests are choosing to sail with us so that they can go to CocoCay," said Royal Caribbean's Senior Vice President and Chief Product Innovation Officer Jay Schneider. "Sometimes it's actually more important CocoCay than it is the ship that they're on."
The success Royal Caribbean has had with its Perfect Day at CocoCay project lead them on the path to spawn an even bigger project in Mexico, along with two beach clubs and a new private destination.
According to Schneider, visiting destinations is the top reason their customers choose a Royal Caribbean cruise. But new Royal Caribbean exclusives could change how people think of picking a vacation.
"The difference is, in addition to saying, I want to go to Aruba, they're going to continue to say... I want to go to Perfect Day at CocoCay."
That change in approach to picking private destinations as a primary factor could be a real difference maker for Royal Caribbean.
By the time we get to the end of 2027, Royal Caribbean will have two Perfect Day operations open, along with two beach clubs, across the Caribbean.
It's not difficult to imagine itineraries where each stop has a top rated spot at each port that Royal Caribbean customers can enjoy.
Your cruise could sail away from Miami, stop at the Royal Beach Club Cozumel, then hit Perfect Day Mexico the next day, and conclude with a visit to Perfect Day at CocoCay before returning home.
Royal Caribbean isn't moving away from bringing its customers to everywhere else in the Caribbean, but they're also looking to offer its customers what they want: highly rated experiences that passengers love.
At the official announcement event in New York on Wednesday, Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley restated that Perfect Day at CocoCay is the number one rated place by customers their ships visit.
Like any business, Royal Caribbean wants to take that winning formula that makes its customers so satisfied and spread it around.
In the case of Nassau, the line wants to address a much-needed problem where passengers frankly hate visiting there.
In terms of guest satisfaction, Nassau ranks in the bottom 10% of ports, and that's a big reason why Royal Caribbean wants to build a club there.
But with Cozumel and Costa Maya, there are opportunities to add more and spread what worked at CocoCay so its passengers can have a great experience elsewhere.
In all cases, the goal is simple: elevate the experience by making things easier and better for passengers. Take that formula and apply it liberally.
Almost as soon as Royal Caribbean announced its plans for Perfect Day Mexico and its beach clubs, cruise fans began asking for sailings that visit them all.
"Would love to go to Coco Cay and Perfect Day Mexico on the same cruise," posted RCIfan1912 on the Royal Caribbean message boards.
aherrera04 posted on Reddit, "With all the new Perfect Day projects released I just need a cruise that stops in all of them maybe with a sea day in between."
"5 night from Orlando, stops at CoCoCay and Mexico… where do I sign up" added NathanJax.
It's going to be a busy few years as Royal Caribbean gets all of these new spots ready to go.
Perfect Day Mexico is slated to open September 2027, and Royal Caribbean will likely offer itineraries that visit both Perfect Day locales when they go on sale.
Expect the first batch of new cruises to be on sale in the fall, around November of this year.
Royal Beach Club Cozumel is expected to open in December 2026, and it sounds like it will be at the very end of December.
Royal Beach Club Paradise Island will be the first beach club to open, and that will start up operations in December 2025. Once again, expect a late opening in the month.
Finally, Lelepa will open sometime in early 2027.
Keep in mind you cannot book admission or tickets to any of the beach clubs yet. Royal Caribbean says more information and pricing will be released soon.
If you have the means and control, one of the best deals in cruising right now is through Royal Caribbean's casino program.
Ever since I discovered how lucrative the offers can be to essentially earn free cruises by doing the thing I'd already be doing in the ship's casino, I've been taking advantage of offers coming through Casino Royale.
My luck in the casino is up and down over the course of the year, and your results may differ from mine. Please gamble responsibly.
Just like a land casino, Royal Caribbean's casino operation is big business. They offer complimentary cruises if you gamble enough to reach certain point thresholds.
You really don't need to be a big gambler in order to benefit, and a recent change the casino program made just saved me more than any jackpot I've ever won from a slot machine.
There are a few ways to get a "free cruise" by gambling in Royal Caribbean's casino, but I'm going to focus on the annual free cruise you get from reaching the Prime level within the casino loyalty program.
Just like Crown and Anchor Society, Royal Caribbean's casino has its own loyalty program. However, it differs in that your status is based on how many points you earn over the course of one year.
You'll earn 1 point for every $5 wagered on a slot machine, and if you get to 2,500 points in a gaming year, you'll get the choice of a free interior room on a cruise up to seven nights in length.
The beauty of this free cruise offer is you can earn it over the course of a year. You might earn 500 points on one sailing, 1000 on another, and so on. You can earn it in one sailing or over multiple, and then stop and enjoy that perk later.
Plus, as a Prime member you get free drinks in the casino.
The catch with this annual cruise offer is it's only available to book the following year, and you must use and sail it within that year. Plus, there's an exclusion list.
Each year certain dates and ships are excluded, because they're too in demand. This means no holiday cruises and no sailings on brand new ships.
Star of the Seas, Royal Caribbean's next new ship was, as expected, on the exclusion list.
As I contemplated which cruise to use my free sailing offer, Royal Caribbean made a change.
Royal Caribbean message board users shared suddenly there were Star of the Seas and Icon of the Seas sailings showing up as available after previously being excluded.
"In case anyone has not booked their annual, Star is no longer excluded and there are open dates in January-March!" wrote Chart.
A brand new ship like Star of the Seas would command a premium price, and I looked into if I could take advantage of it.
I was already booked for a 7-night spring break cruise on Star of the Seas with my family in connecting ocean balcony cabins.
I booked it when the ship opened up bookings, and got two rooms for my family. Splitting up and getting two rooms instead of one is one of my favorite cruise hacks.
The price for each room was $7095.08, including taxes, fees, port expenses, and gratuities. That's a total of $14,190.16 for both cabins.
I alerted my MEI-Travel agent to what I had seen online and asked her if we could cancel what I had booked and re-book it with my casino certificate.
She found the reports were true, and I would be able to use my certificate for one room and my wife's certificate for the other room.
We'd get the interior cabin for "free", and the cost to upgrade to connecting ocean view balcony would be $2338.34 + gratuities per room. With fees and gratuities, it came out to $2597.34 per cabin.
After some work with the cruise line, my travel agent was able to get me rebooked with the casino offer, plus the difference in upgrading the cabin back up to an ocean balcony.
I went from a $14,190.16 bill to a $5,194.68 bill, saving me $8,995.48.
I wanted to share my experience as an example of how lucrative Royal Caribbean's casino program can be, provided you're willing to play responsibly.
To be fair, I don't have an accurate accounting of my losses in the 2024-2025 casino year to properly evaluate how much money I lost to get my 2,500 points and reach Prime status.
Of course, I also enjoyed other benefits of being a Prime member, such as complimentary drinks in the casino throughout that time and even this year too.
Gambling is addictive and inherently risky, but if you can play smart, you could net some big savings well beyond the casino floor.