Planning your first Royal Caribbean cruise? We’ve been there earlier than. Having now sailed with Royal Caribbean many instances, we’ve discovered a factor or two about planning a cruise with this cruise line. In reality, we’ve picked up various helpful ideas and methods that may make reserving and crusing with Royal Caribbean a breeze. So, earlier than you enterprise off in your maiden Royal Caribbean voyage, listed here are 12 issues it’s good to know.
1. They Have Six Classes of Ships
From the world’s largest class of cruise ships, the Oasis-class, to the fleet’s smaller Vision-class, Royal Caribbean has vessels in all sizes and styles. The number of ships implies that there are cruises on Royal Caribbean crusing to locations all around the world. It additionally implies that not each ship comes geared up with all the line’s signature eating places, onboard leisure, and facilities (like mountain climbing partitions or the FlowRider browsing simulator). Review the completely different ship courses rigorously to seek out the best one in your subsequent journey.
2. The Line Caters to Families
While there are many {couples} on a Royal Caribbean cruise, nearly all of cruisers can be households. These households may have loads of facilities to take pleasure in together with water parks, actions like bumper automobiles (on Quantum-class ships), and a devoted youngsters’ program often called Adventure Ocean. If you propose on taking the little ones, remember to register them for this system as quickly as you board. If you might be crusing sans kids, most ships provide a Solarium which is an adults-only retreat to allow you to escape from the remainder of the households onboard.
3. You Can Get the Best Rate by Booking Early
Royal Caribbean is all the time operating promotions, however an excellent rule of thumb is to guide your journey a minimum of 8 months out; that’s your finest shot at getting the bottom fare, particularly on the road’s largest and latest ships. If the worth drops inside 48 hours of you reserving, you possibly can name to get the decrease price.
We typically guide a yr or extra prematurely to reap the benefits of these decrease costs. Of course, if one thing comes up and it’s good to cancel, you are able to do so up till 75 days previous to crusing with no cancellation penalty.
4. Cruise Costs Depend on Cabin Type and Location
From inside rooms to luxurious multi-story suites, the cabin choices accessible on many Royal Caribbean ships are as different because the ships themselves. The low costs you see marketed are almost definitely for inside cabins on the decrease decks of a ship. If you wish to safe a cabin on a better deck, and maybe one with an out of doors view or balcony, the per-person cruise fare will rise accordingly. Don’t be stunned if the whole cruise prices greater than double or triple by choosing a unique cabin class, particularly for those who go for one of many suites onboard.
5. You Have A Few Main Dining Options
Royal Caribbean maintains two choices for eating in the principle eating room on most of their ships. With Traditional Dining, cruisers are assigned a particular desk and eat on the identical time every evening. The identical wait employees and table-mates are there to greet you nightly throughout both an early seating (often round 6 pm), or a late seating (round 8:30 pm). With My Time Dining, you can also make reservations forward of time to eat at a unique time every evening. Or, My Time Dining visitors can stroll as much as the principle eating room and wait to be seated at any time, much like eating places on land.
6. Not All of Your Dining is Included
Like many cruise strains, Royal Caribbean ships provide quite a lot of complimentary eating together with informal spots, a buffet, and the principle eating room. Many of the road’s bigger and newer ships additionally embrace various specialty eating places. These eating places will not be coated in your cruise fare. Most Royal Caribbean specialty eating places cost a per-person, flat price (typically between $25 to $55 an individual) which features a three-course meal with a number of starters and desserts included.
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7. There is a Digital Cruise Planner
Before you board the ship, you’re going to wish to use the Cruise Planner. Whether you guide immediately with the cruise line or use a journey agent, it is best to arrange a web based account as quickly as you’ve gotten a reservation quantity. For most cruises, you possibly can guide issues like shore excursions, eating, spa therapies, and different further packages utilizing this on-line portal. You may even want to finish your pre-cruise check-in on-line, which can assist prevent time on embarkation day.
8. Some Entertainment Requires Reservations
On Royal’s bigger ships, some leisure requires reservations. You can wait to order your spot onboard or you possibly can reserve your picks pre-cruise. We all the time guide our leisure on-line earlier than cruising to make sure we by no means miss a present we wish to see.
If your cruise ship consists of some reveals that require reservations, we extremely suggest you guide earlier than you set sail, as most well-liked present instances do refill rapidly. For reveals that don’t require reservations, we advise attending to the venue about half-hour earlier than present time for a greater seat choice.
9. Purchasing Packages Pre-Cruise Can Save You Money
Who doesn’t like to save cash? With a Royal Caribbean cruise, it can save you probably the most cash by pre-paying for sure packages. The cruise line often reductions gadgets like beverage packages, web packages, and even some shore excursions for those who guide them forward of time. By checking your on-line account routinely, you possibly can rating the best deal. If you buy one thing and the worth drops, name Royal Caribbean and so they could refund you the distinction.
10. The Deluxe Beverage Package Covers Almost All Drinks
Royal Caribbean has one alcohol bundle, known as the Deluxe Beverage Package. Onboard costs begin at $63 a day, and the bundle covers most beers, cocktails, and wines by the glass as much as $14. The bundle additionally covers bottled water, soda, and specialty coffees and teas (but it surely doesn’t cowl drinks at Starbucks). We often purchase this bundle and discover it to be an excellent worth. Of be aware, if a drink prices greater than the allotment, you’ll solely pay the distinction in worth.
A nonalcoholic bundle can be accessible, masking issues like soda, specialty coffees, fresh-squeezed juices, and mocktails beginning at $29 per day. A soda bundle is obtainable for $13 per day.
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11. You Should Use the Royal IQ App and Internet
Royal Caribbean has among the quickest web at sea, particularly now that the road has applied SpaceX’s Starlink satellite tv for pc web on board. If you wish to keep related to your social media, e mail, and be capable to browse the web, we recommend buying one of many web packages. The plans are charged on a per-day price, and prices fluctuate primarily based in your browsing wants.
Even for those who resolve to not buy an web plan, nonetheless obtain the Royal Caribbean app. This app is free to make use of and allows you to keep knowledgeable of what’s occurring all through the cruise. It connects to your reservation so you possibly can see what you’ve gotten scheduled, make or change reservations, and examine what is occurring onboard every day.
12. The Cruise Compass is Your Onboard Guide
If you aren’t tech-savvy, or choose the printed web page, then you will want to get your fingers on every day’s Cruise Compass. The Compass features a full rundown of all onboard actions, leisure, buying, reveals, and eating occasions occurring that day. The digital model of the Compass is a part of the Royal Caribbean app.
If you need a paper model, you’ll must ask Guest Services or your cabin steward for one, as Royal Caribbean doesn’t routinely go away them within the stateroom every evening anymore. If you want a duplicate in one other language, you too can ask for that at Guest Services. We all the time assessment the cruise compass earlier than retiring for the night to see what awaits us on the following day of our trip.
With these helpful ideas, you possibly can benefit from your Royal Caribbean cruise trip. So, begin planning now. Who is aware of, we would even see you onboard!
By Don Bucolo
Don Bucolo is the editor of Eat, Sleep, Cruise, which could be discovered at EatSleepCruise.com.
This article was initially printed in March 2017. It was most just lately up to date and republished in February 2023.