Royal Caribbean has a new way for guests to pay off their cruise in increments rather than waiting until the final payment date to pay the cruise in one lump sum.

The new FlexPay option was announced on Monday as a tool for travel agents to offer their clients an easier way to schedule payments.

Travel agents were always able to take partial payments prior to final payment date, but it required the client or the agent to arrange for those payments to occur on their own.  With the new FlexPay program, this can be scheduled and set up in advance.

At this time, it is only available if booking a cruise through a travel advisor. This means someone who books their cruise directly with the cruise line instead of a travel agent can not use this feature.

Read more: Top things you didn't know travel agents can do for your cruise vacation

Royal Caribbean hopes FlexPay will make it more convenient for both advisors and guests and save time.

Travel partners can now pre-schedule up to 10 automatic payments that can be arranged by date, amount and can even accept more than one credit card.  

There's no fees to using it, so FlexPay is totally free.

If client changes their mind or wants to modify their payment schedule, the agent make those alterations in a few clicks.

FlexPay is available immediately for use for both Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity.

More tools for travel agents

FlexPay is one of many new innovations aimed at making life easier for travel agents.

The pandemic brought with it a greater need for agents to be in contact with the cruise line, which contributed to longer hold times on the phone.

In an effort to combat the need to get on the phone, Royal Caribbean has been working on creating self-service tools to lessen the load on phone-based support.

Some examples of these tools include:

• Allowing travel agents to redeem future cruise credits (FCC) and check the status of a FCC online
• Send personalized FCC reminder emails to clients 
• Generate leads with eQuote
• Online tool for travel agents to access and share directly with clients the current protocols for the guest’s sailing date and itinerary
• Travel partners can explore the available offerings (i.e., shore excursions, dining options, beverage/dining packages, etc.) based on ship and sail date to better serve their clients 

Why use a travel agent to book a cruise?

Unlike other forms of leisure travel, a good travel agent can be a major asset for booking a cruise.

The actual booking of a cruise is simple enough for anyone to handle, but the nuances of navigating the many different options and promotions is challenging even for the most veteran cruiser.

Not only do travel agents have access to all the discounts Royal Caribbean has to offer, but a good travel agent may have access to special promotions provided by their travel consortium.

More importantly, travel advisors can save their clients time just as much money. Long hold times while trying to contact the cruise line are not limited to travel agents. Many cruise fans report long hold times to get through to ask even basic questions.

Equally important is when changes are needed to a reservation. Travel agents have access to automated tools that the public does not. In addition, travel agents should be clued into the various policies that could greatly impact the cruise fare price.

Read more: Top 5 things to look for in a good travel agent for your cruise vacation

Spring is here and it is also Sunday, which means we are celebrating warm(er) temperatures and Royal Caribbean news from this week!

Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas will sail from Miami when she arrives in the United States.

Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley dropped the news during an interview. The announcement came the same week the keel was layed for Icon of the Seas.

According to Mr. Bayley, Icon will first head to Southampton and then come to the U.S.

Royal Caribbean news

• Royal Caribbean's sixth Oasis Class cruise ship will be called Utopia of the Seas
• Royal Caribbean will send Icon of the Seas to the UK first
• Royal Caribbean releases 2023 west coast cruises from Los Angeles
• Royal Caribbean breaks its own record for most cruise bookings in a day and week
• Carnival and NCL raised their daily gratuities
• Royal Caribbean updates: Utopia of the Seas, new cruise ship orders & more
• 3 important cruise tips all those cancelled flights reminded us of this weekend
• Top 10 things to do in Ketchikan
• Top 10 things to do in Skagway, Alaska
• Matt live blogged from Oasis of the Seas this weekend

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 449th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, featuring advice for someone going on a cruise for the first time.

In an effort to share good first time cruise advice, Matt talks about how to approach going on your first cruise.

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

New RCB Video: How to communicate on a cruise ship

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 — How to communicate on a cruise ship — and don’t forget to subscribe here.

8 questions to ask yourself before picking a cruise ship

Before you book a Royal Caribbean cruise, it's a good idea to go over some important considerations.

Depending on your preferences, one ship might be a better idea than another to sail on.

Here's a look at the questions you should be asking yourself prior to selecting a Royal Caribbean ship to ensure you find the best ship for you.

The self-service buffet is back on cruise ships

Royal Caribbean has switched from crew members serving guests at the buffet to allowing guests to serve themselves.

Cruises that departed on or after April 2, 2022 have the new policy in place.

Having crew members serve passengers instead of guests was one of the early changes cruise lines made during the Covid-19 pandemic in order to limit the spread from person to person.

What is the best time to cruise the Mediterranean?

If you are thinking about the best month to go on a Mediterranean cruise, it's important to weigh the pros and cons of each month.

 While there isn’t necessarily a “perfect” time to take a Mediterranean cruise, this guide should help you decide which season works best for you.

Our last day on Oasis of the Seas ends on a high note with a visit to Perfect Day at CocoCay.

I was ready for some fun on land today, and it turned out to be a very temperate day.  A weak cold front went through the area last night and the result was mild temperatures and low humidity.

We got off the ship at 9am and took the tram to the Coco Beach Club.

I booked a beach cabana at the Coco Beach Club for this visit. While I had stayed in the floating cabanas a few times, I've never done the beach cabanas.

We had cabana 25 for the day, and there was more living space than I was expecting, including a hammock to use.

I was concerned about it being too warm in the cabana, but the breeze was perfect.

Usually they serve you lunch in the cabana, but because the seagulls that stalk your meal are too annoying for my preference, I opted to dine at the Coco Beach Club restaurant for lunch.

The Mediterranean appetizers are vastly underrated, especially the hummus.

I had the filet mignon because of how good it has been on previous trips, and it was just as good this time around too.

After lunch, I wanted to get in the water so we went to the infinity pool.

About 3 weeks ago they installed heaters so the infinity pool is now heated to around 82-84 degrees Fahrenheit. Just warm enough to feel refreshing, but not too warm to feel like a bath.

I thought we might spend just a little while in the pool, but ended up spending the rest of the afternoon there because it was so relaxing.

All aboard was 4:30pm and we made it back to the ship at 4pm in order to take full advantage of our time at the beach club.

Back onboard, I showered and changed for dinner.

We had reservations for Giovanni's Table but a full day of CocoCay fun wore us out, so it was a casual meal in the Windjammer for dinner.

After dinner we played a little bit in the casino and then enjoyed jazz music in Jazz on 4.

Overall, it was a nice getaway cruise.  Certainly being at 92% capacity, the ship was not empty. Short cruises always have a different dynamic than longer sailings, but it just felt like the lines were just a bit longer than usual.  Perhaps I'm still adjusting mentally away from limited capacity sailings.

I thought Oasis really holds up well with her amplification, especially seeing Aqua80s again. And based on the guests on the pool deck, I think the pool deck overhaul there really was a hit with passengers.

Thanks for following along on this trip.  We've got two more live blogs coming in April, with other writers sharing experiences on Mariner of the Seas and then back again on Oasis.

My next cruise will be on Serenade of the Seas to Alaska in late May.

Our first full day on Oasis of the Seas is a sea day, which means time to check out the ship and relax.

When you're on an Oasis Class ship for just three nights, it leaves little time to try to see everything, but then again, a cruise is better than no cruise!

We started off our morning with breakfast in Coastal Kitchen, which is the complimentary restaurant for suite guests.

Our cabin is on Deck 17, which is the same deck as Coastal Kitchen and the Suite Lounge. It's very convenient to have our cabin so close, especially after being in an AquaTheater suite on a different deck and at the aft of the ship while we were on Wonder of the Seas.

One thing I quickly notice when we cruise without the kids is just how much more free time we have to take things easy. My kids always want to know what the next thing to do is, so this time around it's nice to take it down a notch.

We headed to the pool deck to enjoy some time outside with the ocean breeze.  The weather today was warm (high of 83 degrees fahrenheit), but the sea breeze kept things comfortable.

I walked around the Suite Sun Deck, which is an area reserved just for suite guests. There's not only ample seating that wraps around the elevated deck, but "cabanas" available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Next up was the Top Tier Crown and Anchor Society event in the AquaTheater.

It's unusual to have a top tier event on a 3-night cruise, but I guess it's easier to keep it going since Oasis mostly does 7-night cruises than stop for one sailing.

Before the event began, I met Miles from Manchester, UK.  He loves to cruise and started cruising when he was six months and one day old.  

Since then he's been on 33 cruises already, and has a goal of making Pinnacle Club status as soon as he can.  It's great meeting cruisers like Miles who love going on a ship so much.

After the top tier event, we walked down to the jogging track to see one of my favorite Oasis of the Seas hidden secrets: the aft facing chairs.

For lunch, we booked Izumi hibachi.

While dinner reservations booked up quickly before the cruise began for Izumi hibachi, lunch is usually available on sea days and not bookable online.

It was another great meal, and the food did not disappoint.

After lunch we went back to our suite to relax a bit. My wife enjoys going out on the balcony and reading her book.

I did a little bit of work from the suite, and then headed to Portside BBQ to check out the live guitarist.

Nate performs in Portside BBQ, and he was the guitarist in the pub on Mariner of the Seas back in 2019. It was great seeing him perform again on a ship.

I then headed to the back of the ship to enjoy the breeze at the Wipeout Bar.

As afternoon turned to evening, I headed back to the room to get ready for dinner.

On short sailings, Royal Caribbean doesn't call it formal night. Instead, they refer to it as dress your best.  "What's the difference", you ask? If you ask me, it's the same difference. Essentially, wear something nicer than you do the other nights.

It was time for dinner at 150 Central Park this evening.

Whenever we dine at 150 Central Park, it's an excuse to eat primarily the garlic bread they bring out at the beginning of the meal and the fried cheesecake for dessert.

Our after dinner drinks took us to Playmakers, since the temperatures had cooled down and it was pleasant being on the Boardwalk.

Tomorrow we will be at Perfect Day at CocoCay.

Stray Observations

When your cruise doesn't have very far to go, the Captain will take the ship in some interesting patterns.

Royal Caribbean just had one heck of a week in terms of record demand, echoing a strong desire for people to go on a cruise ship.

In a statement, Royal Caribbean said two different internal booking records were eclipsed during the week of March 26 - April 1, 2022.

The company saw both the most bookings in a single day and the higher booking volume booking week that it has ever seen in the entire history of the company.

The record number of bookings came via the Royal Caribbean website, over the phone, and through travel agents.

Royal Caribbean isn't surprised by the news given how well-received cruising has been among the 1.5 million people that have cruised since January 2021 on its line.

Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley thinks not only do people want to cruise again, but they are eager to get out and vacation, "The enthusiasm and excitement for the successful return of cruising is undeniable."

"We could not have reached this incredible milestone without the unwavering support of our loyal guests, our valued travel advisors and partners, and the Royal Caribbean International team around the world."

"Everyone has made an incredible impact and contributed to this accomplishment in every single way."

Royal Caribbean's strong rebound from two years of shutdown and a cautious restart stems largely from its effective health protocols that demonstrate how safe going on a cruise can be, especially when compared to land-based alternative leisure travel that require few, if any, protocols.

Today's announcement shows consumer demand remains quite strong for cruise ship travel.

Other cruise lines seeing big demand too

There's something in the water, as Royal Caribbean isn't the only cruise line that broke records recently.

Earlier this week, Carnival Cruise Line said it had the busiest booking week in its entire history between March 28 - April 3, 2022.

Oceania Cruises set a new single-day booking record for its 2024 Around the World in 180 Days voyage.

It's almost the weekend, and I've got a new report to share of various Royal Caribbean updates.

Between the major announcements, there are a good amount of smaller updates that occur every week, so this is a quick round-up of Royal Caribbean news from this week.

Many thanks to the RoyalCaribbeanBlog community for helping spot what has changed.

If you ever have a news tip, feel free to email it to [email protected] for possible inclusion in a future update!

Utopia of the Seas construction begins

As we reported earlier this week, construction formally began on Royal Caribbean's sixth Oasis Class cruise ship, Utopia of the Seas.

Among other changes, Utopia will be the first Oasis Class ship powered by LNG (liquefied natural gas) when she launches. Royal Caribbean believes LNG is the cleanest fossil fuel available to cruise ships today and additional environmentally friendly applications on board Utopia will boost energy efficiencies and further reduce emissions overall.

In addition to Utopia, Icon of the Seas will also be powered by LNG when she launches a year earlier in fall 2023.

Utopia of the Seas is expected to launch in Spring 2024.

Royal Caribbean considering ordering more new cruise ships

Speaking at the Celebrity Beyond delivery event in France, Royal Caribbean Group CEO Jason Liberty indicated ordering additional new cruise ships is something they are considering.

Travel Weekly reports Mr. Liberty said Royal Caribbean Group is considering ordering new ships for all three brands: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises & Silversea.

New ship orders would be placed "as soon as business is back to normal pre-Covid levels, which is not far out."

"It could be later this year, or next year, but we have ships still on order through to 2026, so we have a little time."

Currently Royal Caribbean has orders in place for Utopia of the Seas and three Icon Class cruise ships.

Hideaway Beach construction update

I have a new photo update of the progress being made on the Perfect Day at CocoCay expansion, which will add a new adults-only beach.

RoyalCaribbeanBlog reader Steve Cohen snapped photos of the Hideaway Beach construction from onboard Independence of he Seas.

Hideaway Beach could open mid to late 2023.

It's time to hop aboard Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas for a quick 3-night cruise!

I haven't been on Oasis of the Seas since late 2019, and when I saw a short cruise offering listed, I decided to book it and enjoy a weekend escape.

For this cruise, it will be just me and my wife sailing.  My parents flew in to stay with the kids, which means 3-nights of cruising fun for me, and 3-nights of my kids seeing how much they can get out of grandma spoiling them.

Oasis of the Seas sails from PortMiami, so I drove down the day before and stayed at the Hyatt Centric Las Olas hotel in Fort Lauderdale.  I stayed in Fort Lauderdale instead of Miami to help break up the drive from Orlando.

The morning of the cruise, we drove to Miami. With traffic, Google estimated it would take about 55 minutes.

For this cruise we booked a Category L1 Crown Loft Suite. I had originally booked a balcony, but then spotted a reasonable price to move up to a suite and thought why not try it.

Our check-in time was noon, but the concierge email a few weeks before the cruise indicated we could arrive an hour early than whatever time we had for check-in.

Sailing from Terminal A in PortMiami, we parked at the garage and were able to go right in to check-in.

Once onboard the ship, our first stop of the day was the Windjammer for lunch. 

This was our first time in the Windjammer since Royal Caribbean reverted back to allowing passengers to serve themselves, instead of the crew.

While I preferred crew members serving guests, serving ourselves is how the Windjammer was every time before the pandemic and I never thought twice about it then.

Our next stop was the Suite Lounge to meet the concierge.

Nadia welcomed us in and helped book all of our shows. While this is just a 3-night cruise, they are performing Cats, Aqua80s, and Frozen in Time.  

We booked reservations for Aqua80s and Frozen in Time, which the concierge took care of for us.

Nadia had booked specialty dining reservations before the cruise a few weeks ago when she sent a welcome email. The only restaurant she couldn't book was Izumi Hibachi, so we made a stop there to get a reservation for lunch on day two.

We spent the early afternoon relaxing on the pool deck. It was a warm day, but there was just enough of a breeze to keep it comfortable.

The cabins were ready at 1:30pm, so we went to drop our stuff off and check out the suite.

This is my second time staying in a Crown Loft Suite, although it was on Harmony of the Seas.

In terms of layout, the room looked the same on Oasis.  The split level design is a neat change from traditional cruise ship cabins, and the views you have from either level of the ocean from the giant glass windows is fantastic.

There are two bathrooms (one on each level) and a giant balcony.

Our next stop was to take a ride on the Rising Tide bar, which is an Oasis Class signature venue where the bar slowly moves between the Royal Promenade on deck 5 and Central Park on deck 8.

This was not only my first drink of the cruise, but my first time trying the new biodegradable straws. 

Compared to the paper straws that this replaced, it felt much better and did not degrade at all in my drink.

Friends of mine made it onboard and we went to check out Portside BBQ.

One of the best changes to Oasis from her Royal Amplification in 2019 was the addition of a new restaurant concept in Portside BBQ.

While I had eaten lunch already, I just couldn't resist having a plate of smoked turkey and cornbread.

I would also be remiss if I didn't talk about how great the brookie dessert is, which is half cookie and half brownie.

Next up was welcome aboard trivia in the Schooner Bar.  Trivia is always such a fun activity, and I learned how many presidents Bosnia & Herzegovina has had (3).

We sailed away from Miami around 5pm.

Dinner this evening was at Chops Grille.

Our evening entertainment was Aqua80s in the AquaTheater, which is a show set to the music of the 1980s.

I love this show the most of any AquaTheater show simply because I know all the songs and I think the energy level here matches the music perfectly.

Tomorrow is a sea day.

Stray Observations

I purchased Royal Caribbean's chat feature to try it out again.

I activated it first on my phone and was able to send messages to my wife and she receive them without paying for the feature on her phone yet. This would be a good scenario for kids to buy it for them so they could send one-way messages potentially.

I also tested out the chat notifications and got push notifications when the phone was not actively being used, and even to my wife's Apple Watch.

There were a lot of reminders for passengers to do the muster drill via the public address system. Certainly more than I recall hearing on one sailing, and most were in Spanish.

Royal Caribbean has been quiet on just about every detail of its new Icon Class cruise ships, but we now know she'll start cruising first in the UK.

The cruise line has reveled very few details about the ship, but it sounds like more information will be revealed sooner than later.

Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley confirmed when Icon of the Seas debuts, she will sail from the UK at the start of her career.

Speaking to TTG Media, Mr. Bayley emphasized how important the UK cruise market is by mentioning Icon of the Seas will sail from Southampton.

"I promise you will bring Icon of the seas into Southampton. The UK will be the first country and market that we will bring this incredible ship into [when it launches] in ’23."

This is not the first time a new Royal Caribbean cruise ship went to the UK first, before heading to the United States after.

Harmony of the Seas was the last Royal Caribbean cruise ship to do so. She started off with a series of short getaways to Northern Europe from Southampton, followed by cruises from Barcelona before heading to the United States shortly thereafter.

Royal Caribbean opted not to send Symphony of the Seas to the UK when she debuted because Harmony was poorly received by the British press.

More details coming soon

Mr. Bayley went on to talk about just how impressed he is with Icon while not divulging any additional details, "This ship is unbelievable."

"What's fascinating about Icon is the sheer scale of the product."

He talked about the fact details of the new ship have been shared internally at a closed-door event in Miami recently among key marketing and sales and revenue people. This could point to more information coming soon.

Mr. Bayley also said Royal Caribbean is working out details for timing of an event in New York later this year to announce more information.

Last month, Royal Caribbean Senior Vice President and Chief Product Innovation Officer Jay Schneider said the public can expect to get more details on Icon between April or May.

It looks like Royal Caribbean's sixth Oasis Class cruise ship has a name.

At a steel cutting ceremony in Saint-Nazaire, France, the shipyard revealed the name of the next new Oasis Class cruise ship will be Utopia of the Seas and marked the official start of construction by cutting the first piece of steel.

The name Utopia of the Seas was trademarked in December 2021 among 23 other possible cruise ship names.

Photos by Véronique Savard

The order for the ship was originally placed with the shipyard in February 2019. Delivery is scheduled for the end of May 2024.

It will be 362 m long, with about 2,800 cabins. That is 50 less cabins because of the space that is needed to install the LNG tanks.

It is not yet known where Utopia of the Seas will sail from, nor what itineraries she will visit.

Do you like the name Utopia of the Seas? Share your thoughts on the name in the comments!