Another Covid-19 protocols has been relaxed.

Royal Caribbean announced a change to its flexible dinner choice that would allow families with unvaccinated children to dine there once again.

In an email to travel agents, Royal Caribbean said unvaccinated guests seated with their traveling party are able to dine in My Time Dining once again.

Prior to this change, Royal Caribbean had restricted My Time Dining to vaccinated passengers only.

Here is the exact verbiage in the policy change.

"As we work through our health and safety protocols your clients can expect onboard, we wanted to share an update with you all. If unvaccinated guests remain seated with only his/her traveling party, we are pleased to share that My Time Dining is available to them."

This allows families with unvaccinated children to have the choice to eat at My Time Dining for dinner.

Read more: My Time Dining versus Traditional Dining

Currently, Covid-19 vaccination is recommended, but not required, for children age 11 and under.

Up until now, the Main Dining Room, which spans multiple decks, designated areas for parents and unvaccinated kids, and areas for vaccinated parties only. My Time Dining was not available to parties that include unvaccinated guests.

One of many relaxed protocols

Royal Caribbean has slowly rolled back a number of health protocols on its ships following the passing of the Omicron variant and the cruise line's decision to enter into the CDC U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) highly vaccinated program.

Having nearly everyone vaccinated against Covid onboard, Royal Caribbean has been able to remove or lessen certain Covid-19 protocols that were once universal across the cruise industry.

Face masks are no longer required at all indoors on Royal Caribbean ships for vaccinated guests, including in Adventure Ocean.

Masks were also made optional recently in the cruise ship terminals during embarkation or disembarkation, unless where local regulations require it.

Royal Caribbean has also done away with is separate areas for vaccinated and unvaccinated passengers. 

Royal Caribbean Group's first quarter 2022 earning call is scheduled for this week, and a lot of investors are going to be eager to hear about the financial well-being of the cruise giant.

Each quarter, every publicly traded company releases its financial results from the previous three months and then discusses what happened in-depth in a conference call that anyone listen to online.

Earnings calls are hosted by Royal Caribbean Group's top executives, and it is a combination of disclosures, prepared statements and answering questions from Wall Street analysts.

Royal Caribbean Group will host their call at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time, on Thursday, May 5, 2022.

To get a sense of the top things Wall Street wants to know this quarter, I reached out to Dan Kline, Managing Editor, TheStreet.

Have they seen a rise in average prices?

You don't need to be an investor to know that prices for cruise fares have been trending up lately.

Cruise vacations have always been a tremendous value, but like so many things in life, prices tend to go up over time.

People paying more for a cruise might not be what the average cruiser wants to see, but it is a good indicator for investors who want to see how quickly Royal Caribbean Group can knock down the debt it accrued during the pandemic.

Are people still spending more onboard?

Ever since cruise ships restarted sailing in 2021, guests have been spending more than ever beyond their cruise fares, and an update on that trend will be important to track.

Sometimes referred to as "revenge spending", consumers have demonstrated a strong desire to make up for lost time over the last couple of years by buying up drink packages, gambling in the casino, and booking lavish excursions.

It's not just cruise lines seeing this trend. Airline and hotel stocks have been surging this year thanks in part to what some are dubbing the "YOLO economy".  United  and American Airlines both reported strong earnings last week. Shares of Marriott, Hilton and Wyndham are near all-time highs. Theme park owner SeaWorld is not far from a record high, too. 

For Royal Caribbean, the question will be are cruise ship passengers continuing that trend.

How much of the record bookings use FCCs?

An important indicator of Royal Caribbean's demand is how many bookings are being booked with cash or existing future cruise credits (FCC)

Future cruise credits are something given out when cruises are cancelled, and to get a better sense of the company's financial state, comparing the amount of cash the company has versus FCC is another common question.

Are there plans to retire more ships?

With Royal Caribbean taking on Odyssey of the Seas and Wonder of the Seas in less than a year, and four more ships on order in the next few years, will existing ships be shed?

The cruise company has always said they would be strategic with selling or transferring older ships out of the fleet.

Whether or not the resale market for cruise ships has improved since the depths of pandemic remains to be seen, and it's not clear what to expect from the aging Vision Class ships.

Do they plan to refinance more debt?

It will be a while before Royal Caribbean Group can emerge from under all those loans it had to take out during the pandemic, but they're going to need to be creative to avoid it becoming a massive boondoggle.

No one expects the debt to disappear tomorrow, but investors will want to hear about how Royal Caribbean Group plans to handle it all.

How you can listen to the earnings call

There will be full coverage of anything intriguing that comes out of Royal Caribbean Group's first quarter 2022 earnings call on RoyalCaribbeanBlog, but if you would like to listen on your own, here's how.

The call will be available on-line at the company's investor relations website, www.rclinvestor.com.  

You will be able to listen via the link provided close to the start of the call.

Royal Caribbean has filed two new trademarks that are likely intended for areas of its private island in The Bahamas.

It's no secret that Royal Caribbean intends to expand Perfect Day at CocoCay, having already talked publicly about plans for an adults-only area of the island.

Trademarks filed last week with the United States Patent and Trademark Office confirm one name and signal the name of potentially another new area.

Here's what Royal Caribbean filed and what it could mean, keeping in mind that not everything Royal Caribbean trademarks ends up being used.

Hideaway Beach

Already announced by Royal Caribbean as a project, Hideaway Beach was formally trademarked with a filing on April 27.

Hidewaway Beach will be an adults-only expansion of Perfect Day at CocoCay. It will be located west of the island’s pier, adjacent to CocoCay’s Thrill Waterpark. 

Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley confirmed the area will be an adults-only area. In March 2022, Royal Caribbean's Senior Vice President and Chief Product Innovation Officer Jay Schneider said the timeline for opening is mid to late 2023.

The trademark filing describes Hideaway Beach simply as, "Recreational services, namely island resort services". Trademark descriptions are usually quite vague.

Little else is known about what this new area will offer beyond the fact it will be limited to adults.

Secret Cove

Royal Caribbean also filed a trademark for Secret Cove on April 27.

Just like Hideaway Beach, the trademark lists in the description Secret Cove as being, "Recreational services, namely island resort services."

Royal Caribbean has not announced or referred to anything yet named Secret Cove, but a crew member YouTube video might share insight into what it could be.

Martina, a Royal Caribbean crew member onboard the Serenade of the Seas, posted a YouTube video from December 2021 that refers to an area of CocoCay beyond South Beach called "Secret Cove" that was being used as a crew member-only beach.

"This is the place to relax, to be ourselves, and to get a little bit away from the work," she says in her video.

She describes it as a place for crew members to hang out and enjoy time off.

Whether or not Secret Cove is intended to remain crew-only or become another new expansion area for cruise ship guests remains to be seen.

It's also entirely possible the trademark refers to something else completely unrelated to CocoCay.

Happy weekend! In case you missed any Royal Caribbean news, here is a look at everything that happened this week!

If friends or family still have a future cruise credit laying around, there's good news that came out this week.

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

The process requires a phone call to Royal Caribbean to make a one-time name change of a FCC, but the process is pretty simple.

Royal Caribbean News

• Royal Caribbean Group CEO: 2023 will be better than pre-pandemic
• Royal Caribbean updates: Alaska tour cancelled, Barbados, WWF & more!
• Harmony of the Seas: What it's like onboard right now
• What to do on a rainy day on your cruise
• How much does a Mediterranean cruise cost?

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 452nd episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, in which Matt answers emails from podcast listeners.

This week's episode focuses just on emails our listeners have sent to be answered.

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: What's you should know about a cruise contract

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 — What's in the cruise ship fine print that you should know about — and don’t forget to subscribe here.

I tried the cheapest cabin I could find

What happens if you try to book the cheapest cruise cabin you can find? Is it a great or not-so-great experience?

By booking a cheap cruise fare, you can splurge on things like eating delicious food, drinking fun cocktails and exploring incredible cities.

Here's what happened when Allie went on Mariner of the Seas and booked the cheapest cabin she could find.

Check out our live blogs

This week we had a few live blogs from different Royal Caribbean cruise ships going, which provides a glimpse of what it's like on these ships.

Be sure to follow along with the fun of our live blogs across three ships!

• Oasis of the Seas live blog
• Freedom of the Seas live blog (Still ongoing!)
• Radiance of the Seas live blog in Alaska (Still ongoing!)

Guide to Royal Caribbean cruises in May

Check out what you should know about taking a Royal Caribbean cruise in May.

May is a slower month of the year, following the busy Spring Break season of the past two months. It's also a transitional month, with many ships starting service in Europe and Alaska.

You booked a Royal Caribbean cruise and now you want to figure out what you are going to do at the ports your ship will be visiting.

Where do you start?

Shore excursions are a major part of any Royal Caribbean cruise because a large part of your overall vacation is exploring the ports of call you will visit.  You have just a few hours at each stop, but it should be enough to get a taste of the city you are visiting.

The concern many guests have is figuring out what the options are to choose from and which ones are a good idea and which are a mistake.

The way to be assured that you have the most options and pick the right one for you, is to do your research ahead of time.  

Many of your fellow passengers will not do much, if any, research and will rely purely on the information Royal Caribbean provides them.  In fact, most will wait to get onboard the ship and then book something.

Besides risking a poor decision, they are also wasting time on their cruise from doing fun activities.

Let's explore what you need to know so that you can research your ports properly and make all of your reservations in advance, leaving you with more time onboard your ship to do what you really want to be doing.

Learn the basics about the ports

Before you even look at one shore excursion, you should research what each port is best known for.

Typically, the individual ports you visit are best known for something and there can be a few activities that stand out among the rest.

Depending on your itinerary, you may even know what each port is known for ahead of time, such as major cites like Boston, Rome, Barcelona, or Venice.

Start off with a list of the ports you will be visiting.  

The port you start and end your cruise with is a very important place because you may end up spending the most time of any ports here.  I recommend folks arrive to their embarkation port at least one day in advance to avoid travel delays impacting your ability to get to your Royal Caribbean cruise.  

Some people will tack on extra days beyond that on the beginning or end of the cruise, so you will find that you may be spending a lot of time in your embarkation/disembarkation port.  The most important factor can be aspects like an affordable hotel, dining and transportation to/from the ship.

For your embarkation port as well as the rest of the ports you are visiting, start off with some light reading.  I recommend doing an internet search for each city and learning about its significance.  

Wikipedia articles are often good starting points, because they will quickly get to why the port you are going to is frequented and some of the major attractions.

The goal of this step is to understand if you are visiting somewhere that is known for its beaches, or for its history, or for its culture, or for something else.  

Just because a port is known for its beaches does not mean you cannot take a tour of ancient ruins or go shopping, but you want to make sure you are not missing a big draw.  A good example would be going to Civitavecchia, Italy and not knowing that Rome is a quick drive from there.

Read more: 5 quick and easy tips for finding a great shore excursion on your own

Understanding the difference the two kinds of shore excursions

Before you look at one shore excursion, it is important to know about some fundamental differences between shore excursions.

At a very basic level, there are two kinds of shore excursions: shore excursions offered by Royal Caribbean and shore excursions offered by third parties.

Royal Caribbean shore excursions

Royal Caribbean shore excursions are sold directly by Royal Caribbean to its guests, and they are group activities managed by local companies in each port that Royal Caribbean has vetted and will stand by.  

Royal Caribbean also guarantees if you take one of its shore excursions, they will ensure you do not miss the ship if you are delayed on the excursion.  Even if the ship is slated to leave, the ship will wait for your group to return or provide transportation for your group to meet up with the ship at the next port.

Furthermore, if your ship cannot dock at a port for any reason, any shore excursions you booked with Royal Caribbean directly will be completely refunded.

The price of Royal Caribbean shore excursions are set in stone and are not negotiable.  The full cost of the shore excursion will be due upon booking and if you were to book a Royal Caribbean shore excursion onboard your ship, you could use onboard credit to pay for it.

The price of a shore excursion will be no less expensive if you pre-purchase it online.  In many cases, shore excursions are more expensive on the ship than compared to buying it online before the cruise. Not to mention pre-purchasing before you get to the ship will guard against the tour being sold out.

Royal Caribbean shore excursion pros

• Easy to find and learn about
• Guaranteed return to your ship
• Fully refundable if your ship skips a port

Royal Caribbean shore excursion cons

• Tends to be more expensive than third party shore excursions
• Group tours, which means tour will move at the slowest person in the group's pace
• Limited offerings

Read more: What to do if Royal Caribbean's shore excursions are sold out

Third party shore excursions

Third party shore excursions are essentially any tour or activity you do on your own that is not sold to you by Royal Caribbean.  This can be a group tour or an individual tour.  It can even be you taking a taxi somewhere and doing something on your own.

With third party shore excursions, you are responsible for planning all aspects of the tour, so you will have to find a company or person, negotiate the rate and then find them in port and ensure you return on time.

The policies of what happens if your ship cannot dock at the port and refunds can vary from tour guide to tour guide.  Many will offer a refund policy if your ship cannot dock, but it is something else to consider.

Prices for third party shore excursions can sometimes be negotiated, depending on the excursion and the guide.  Some excursions will require full payment at the time of booking, but many will require just a deposit to hold your spot, with full payment prior to the excursion beginning.

Third party excursions are far less limited than what Royal Caribbean offers, and you can price shop among many competing companies to find the one for you.  

Third party shore excursion pros

• Far greater variety of choices
• Tends to be less expensive than Royal Caribbean shore excursions
• Possibility for personalization and be more efficient with your time

Third party shore excursion cons

• You are responsible for getting back to the ship on time
• Requires more leg work to learn about them all
• You must handle any financial dealings, including cancelations.

Start with Royal Caribbean's shore excursions

Royal Caribbean's shore excursions are a good starting point because they are simple to find and will give you a basis to compare other options later.

To find all of the shore excursions for your cruise, it is best to register your cruise on Royal Caribbean's My Cruises section and then visit the Cruise Planner.

Shore excursions are divided up by the port you are visiting and then further categorized by the type of activity (culture, culinary, family, sightseeing, etc).

Go through each port and look at the various options to choose from.  

In addition of deciding if any of these excursions look appealing, you should be considering the following aspects of each shore excursion

• Cost (adult vs child)
• Duration (a few hours, half day, full day)
• Physical and age limitations

Be sure to read the descriptions of any shore excursions that sound interesting for all the aspects of the excursion. Often a main activity is accompanied with smaller activities, such as a zip line adventure also including a beach break and lunch.

How to find third party shore excursions

Whereas Royal Caribbean's shore excursions are nicely laid out for you, third party excursions require some leg work to discover.

Between your initial port research and looking at Royal Caribbean's shore excursions, you probably have a good idea of what each port offers but there is plenty more to discover.  There are two resources I always go to when I want to find shore excursion ideas.

TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor is a user submitted review site that has lists for hotels, activities, restaurants and more.  I find it to be a really good means of discovering popular activities as well as activities that float under the radar.

For each port, do an internet search for the port name and TripAdvisor.  If you are visiting Cozumel, then you would search for "Cozumel TripAdvisor".  The first result back should be TripAdvisor's page on Cozumel.  Going about it this way is faster and simpler than navigating TripAdvisor's site.

Click around and look at the activities mentioned.  You may find beaches, buildings, restaurants and other cultural spots listed, with reviews and photos from other people that have been there.

Read the reviews for insight into what the activity offers and what the people that left reviews liked and did not like about it.

In most cases, you will not find a vendor here, but you will discover the places you want to visit.

Message boards

Next, visit the RoyalCaribbeanBlog message boards for excursion ideas and recommendations.

Message boards are a little tricky to browse, but they are a wealth of knowledge.  What is great about this message board is you will not only find a list of things to do, but the activities here are focused on what cruise passengers will be interested in and often there are recommendations for which guides or companies to work with.

Read through the various forums for each port you will be visiting and read what others have to say.  You might even be inclined to sign up for the message boards and post your own question to get a more personalized answer.  

Like TripAdvisor, your goal is to narrow down what activities you want to do while in each port based on others advice as well as descriptions and photos you run across.

If you find individual companies at this stage, that's great but if you still have not found someone to work with yet, don't worry. The next step will take care of that.

Search for what you want to do

By this point you should have a really good idea of what you want to do in each port.  Maybe you know you want to spend the day at a particular beach or you really want to get a tour of a city's major historical landmarks.

For each port and activity, go to your favorite internet search engine and do a search for the port name and the activity.  Here are some examples

• Cozumel beaches
• New York landmark tour
• St Thomas guided tour

You should find a lot of listings for the kind of tours you are looking for.  If your search is coming back with too many results or they are too vague, try adding more keywords to specify exactly what you want.

• Cozumel Paradise Beach
• New York midtown tour bus
• St Thomas private tour

For each tour operator you find that looks promising, consider sending them an email or calling and asking some basic questions.

• Is the price the same for adults and kids/infants?
• What happens if our ship cannot dock in the port?
• What is your cancelation policy?
• Would you be willing to accept $____ instead?

Ask as many questions as you want and also consider asking for more a more personalized experience.  The worst they will say is no, but often these people and companies want your business quite a bit and will work with you.

Make the decision

At this point, you have a pretty good idea of what each port offers, the prices and options available to you and expectations for the excursions.

Booking the excursion for you and your group is now a matter of weighing the pros and cons of booking with Royal Caribbean or not, as well as between individual excursions in each port.

Decisions such as, to book with Royal Caribbean or not, or which tour sounds the most interesting will vary from person to person and port to port.

By engaging in the steps listed in this post, you should have a good understanding of what each port offers, which activities are of interest to you and the right price.

Although this may further complicate the decision, it is important to note that there is always a third choice in any of the ports of forgoing an organized tour all together and exploring the port on your own.

Many ports are conducive for walking off the ship, taking a taxi and exploring the port on your own.  

In the end, the decision can come down to price and one's comfort level with booking on their own versus Royal Caribbean.

You do not have to make a decision right away, but the longer you wait, the greater the risk of the shore excursion you want filling up.  This is especially true with Royal Caribbean shore excursions.

You should treat each port individually and not be concerned with if you book something on your own or go with Royal Caribbean across all ports. 

With this information, you should have the tools to make an informed decision and pick a great shore excursion before you set foot on your ship, leaving you more time onboard to enjoy the cruise.

Common shore excursion questions

Can you get off a cruise ship without an excursion?

Yes, in almost every port of call, you can walk off the ship with no tour or excursion booked and walk around on your own.

Depending on the port, there may or may not be much to see or do near where the ship docks.

Most ports have at least a few shops, bars, or restaurants near where the ship docks. These are usually not authentic offerings, but you cannot deny the convenience of having them so close to the ship.

Some people will walk to a downtown area, or take a taxi as well.

What are the different categories of shore excursions offered?

There are a few common types of shore excursions:

• Accessible Shore Excursions
• Active Adventures
• Culinary
• Culture
• Destination Highlights
• Family Friendly
• Sustainable Tours

Accessible excursions are tours that are designed for parties that have wheelchair accessibility needs.

An active shore excursion refers to a tour that centers around physical activities, such as swimming, paddling, hiking, or something else requiring physical effort.

How much exertion is required truly depends on the tour, but these are not tours that are passive where the passengers take a bus tour of the area.

Culinary tours center the experience around food or drinks, usually the sort of eats the port you are visiting is known for.

Culture tours tend to highlight the historical sites and people of the country.

A destination highlight excursion will take you to the major tourist attractions your port is known for.

Family friendly tours ensure the tour is appropriate for children of all ages, which avoids any experiences that may have a height or age restriction.

Sustainable tours are certified excursions that are not hindering the local environment in anyway.

Are shore excursions cheaper on the ship?

No, shore excursions will not be any cheaper if you wait to book it onboard. In fact, it may cost more.

Royal Caribbean regularly discounts its shore excursions before the cruise on its website. So booking a tour online before the cruise will cost you nothing more.

How far in advance can you book excursions on Royal Caribbean?

Royal Caribbean will usually begin loading in shore excursions for booking up to 8-10 months before your cruise.

There is no set timeline for all sailings to expect shore excursions to be added, but you can start to look for tours once you are less than a year from your sail date.

You'll be able to book a tour up to 48 hours before your cruise begins via the Royal Caribbean website.

How much do you tip a cruise excursion guide?

It is customary to tip your excursion guide at the conclusion of the tour, but the exact amount will depend on your experience.

Tipping the driver of your vehicle is also common.

How much to tip depends on what you are comfortable with, but usually tipping per person in your group is a good plan.

More information

• Is it better to book excursions through the cruise ship?
• How to save money on cruise excursions
• Best travel clothes for women on shore excursions

Do you book shore excursions through Royal Caribbean or on your own? What shore excursion research benefited you the most? Share your thoughts in the comments!

No one likes to think about it, but occasionally there is a need to cancel a Royal Caribbean cruise.

Whether you are flat out cancelling the reservation or opting to postpone the cruise to a future sail date, there are important rules and policies to be aware of before you call in to change your booking.

No matter what the rationale, here is what you need to know on how to cancel a Royal Caribbean cruise.

Updated: February 9, 2023

Know the cancellation policy

Before you cancel, you should be aware of the terms of cancellation you agreed to when placing that initial deposit.

Cruise Fares

There are two types of cruise fare deposits: refundable and non-refundable.  

If you booked refundable cruise fare, and have not yet made your final payment, you can cancel for a full refund of your deposit and any money paid.

If you booked a non-refundable cruise fare, and are outside of final payment, you will receive a Future Cruise Certificate in the amount of the cruise deposit, less a $100 per guest change fee.

Once you pass the final payment date, you may be subject to cancelation charges that vary depending on how close you are to your sailing. 

A traditional cruise cancellation will provide cash back, but potentially with penalties.

Cancellation Window

Once you pass the final payment date, cancellations that occur may incur a cancellation charge that depends on how close to sailing you decide not to cruise.

How to cancel a cruise

Once you determine you want to cancel your cruise, you need to contact whomever you booked your cruise with to make the change.

If you booked directly with Royal Caribbean, you can call Royal Caribbean to cancel the reservation.

If you booked the cruise with a travel agent, and/or any website other than Royal Caribbean's site, you must go through your travel provider to cancel the cruise.

Can I get a refund on my Royal Caribbean cruise?

You may be able to get a refund for your cruise, depending on how far in advance you cancel you cruise and the type of cruise deposit booked. It is critical you understand the terms and conditions of your cruise contract before booking a cruise to prevent any surprises if you decide to cancel later on.

Refer to the chart above for specific cancellation charges, but if you inform Royal Caribbean at least 90 days prior to your sailing date for 5-night or longer cruises (including Holiday sailings and Cruisetours), or 75 days for 1-4 night cruises (including Holiday sailings), you may qualify for a full or partial refund.

The type of cruise fare deposit on the reservation and timing of the decision to cancel will ultimately dictate how much of a refund you will receive.

Does travel insurance cover the cost if I cancel my cruise?

Travel insurance covers a great deal of scenarios, but cancelling your vacation because you want to cancel is usually not covered.

Refer to your travel insurance policy, but unless you have a 'Cancel For Any Reason' policy, most travel insurance does not kick in until an outside influence occurs that prevents you from going on the cruise, such as becoming ill or another covered scenario.

Non-Royal Caribbean related refunds

Of course, you may have other purchases made in conjunction with your cruise vacation that is outside of Royal Caribbean. 

Each company you work with will have different cancellation policies, with some being far more flexible than others.

The airlines have modified their cancellation terms to be more flexible, although each airline has different rules regarding travel credits, refunds, or both. One loophole to getting a refund is if the airline cancels or changes your flight time, you may be able to jump in on a refund request.

Hotels have traditionally offered flexible cancellation terms, provided you did not opt for a non-refundable deposit. 

Perhaps car rentals have the most customer-friendly cancellations available; but you will have to refer to your rental reservation. 

Regardless of which refund you are requesting, the key is to be persistent and polite about getting answers to options available to you.

More information

• How to cancel and rebook pre-cruise purchases on Royal Caribbean's Cruise Planner

I don't want you to miss any of the important Royal Caribbean changes from this week, so here's a look at some of the updates from the last couple of days.

With the industry moving closer to full capacity again, lots of changes are happening around Royal Caribbean.

Here's a quick wrap-up of what's new this week in the world of Royal Caribbean cruises.

Royal Caribbean renews partnership with World Wildlife Fund

Royal Caribbean Group has doubled down on its commitment to the environment by renewing its deal with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Royal Caribbean Group announced it has extended its existing partnership with the WWF with a new five year commitment.

The WWF provides Royal Caribbean Group with guidance and counsel in establishing environmental goals and sustainable business practices.

WWF and Royal Caribbean have been partners since 2016 in order to embed sustainability by promoting responsible tourism in priority coastal destinations and help protect the oceans by investing in conservation programs globally. This included establishing 2020 sustainability goals that the company has met or exceeded, with the exception of the sustainable seafood sourcing target, which was impacted by global suspension of service from the pandemic.

This year, WWF and Royal Caribbean Group will work together to establish sustainability goals across three key areas of Ship, Sea and Shore:

• Ship — Continuous improvement of operational sustainability, including emissions, marine mammal protection, seafood sourcing, plastics reduction, and food waste.
• Sea — Investing in ocean health through targeted philanthropy; engaging with a global science-driven agenda and consumer-facing education and fundraising campaigns.
• Shore — Embedding principles of sustainable development in projects and increasing sustainability and certification of tour operators.

Royal Caribbean Group will also continue to provide financial support to WWF's global ocean conservation work through a $5 million philanthropic contribution and collaborate with WWF to build global awareness about ocean conservation issues among Royal Caribbean Group's millions of guests.

Royal Caribbean cancels Alaska train shore excursions

Guests who had a shore excursion booked on the White Pass Railway for an Alaska cruise had their plans cancelled this week.

Royal Caribbean informed guests that the train tour operator was forced to temporarily suspend any train activities into Canadian territory.

The White Pass train tour is a popular excursion in Skagway. 

The good news is the train can still operate, although it must remain within the United States.

Thanks to RoyalCaribbeanBlog reader Steve Cohen for sharing the information.

Canadian Switch Health test kit accepted by Royal Caribbean

Good news for Canadian guests that the Canadian Switch Health test kit is accepted by Royal Caribbean for a pre-cruise test.

RoyalCaribbeanBlog writer Chantal McPhee asked the cruise line's social media team for clarification and it appears the answer is yes.

Similar to the Abbotts proctored tests for Americans, the Switch Health tests are available for at-home testing for Canadians.

Royal Caribbean deepens partnership with Barbados

Royal Caribbean announced a new strategic partnership with the Caribbean island of Barbados.

The agreement was signed in Miami earlier this week. Part of the deal will assist with employment opportunities for Barbadians onboard Royal Caribbean cruise ships.

For the cruise line, Royal Caribbean is looking to deepen the commercial relationships with the country.

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%.