Earlier this week, two cruise lines announced they would scale back their European cruises to only offer sailings from the United Kingdom, which prompts the question if Royal Caribbean would do the same.Both Princess Cruises and P&O Cruises announced instead of sailing to destinations around Europe, they would offer sailings around the UK due to the global health crisis.The Sky Princess, … [Read more...]

Royal Caribbean's next new cruise ship has a probable delivery date.Odyssey of the Seas is currently scheduled to be delivered to Royal Caribbean from Meyer Werft on March 24, 2021.Royal Caribbean International Senior Vice President of Hotel Operations, Mark Tamis, told travel agents during a webinar that the date the new cruise ship will be handed over on March 24."Now, technically, the ship is … [Read more...]

The first Royal Caribbean cruise ships to restart sailings are all from less than typical ports. Is this a trend or a big coincidence?Share with me your thoughts, questions and comments via...You can subscribe to the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast via iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher or RSS.Show notes Source: royalcaribbeanblog.com … [Read more...]

One of the most popular types of cruises was just released by Royal Caribbean today.As part of its new deployments, Royal Caribbean announced new 7-night Caribbean and Northeast cruises for winter 2022-2023.Symphony of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas will sail from Miami with stops in ports such as Costa Maya, Roatán, Philipsburg, Charlotte Amalie and San Juan. Most itineraries include a … [Read more...]

Royal Caribbean is set to announce Allure of the Seas will sail from Galveston.According to the Port of Galveston, Royal Caribbean will announce on Wednesday that Allure of the Seas will begin sailing from Galveston, Texas in November 2022.The information was divulged at a meeting of the Wharves Board of Trustees on Tuesday. More than likely, Allure's sailing from Galveston will be … [Read more...]

As we approach the one-year mark since cruises stopped sailing from North America, lines still find themselves passengerless, staffed by skeleton crews and clinging to revenue generated from bookings that haven't slowed, despite ongoing cancellations.But booking revenue isn't enough, and parent companies of the world's most well-known brands have had to take drastic measures to avoid completely … [Read more...]

This month marks exactly one year since Royal Caribbean, and the entire cruise industry, shut down due to the global health crisis. As things have not changed, many cruise fans are wondering why other embarkation ports are not being used.Each week I highlight a question from a RoyalCaribbeanBlog reader that I hope will be helpful to others wondering the same thing.Why don't the cruise lines use … [Read more...]

Royal Caribbean's next new cruise ship successfully reached the ocean to reach a major milestone in her construction.Odyssey of the Seas completed her conveyance over the weekend, which means the ship is now in position to enter the open ocean.Odyssey completed a journey that took over 10 hours to traverse 20 miles from Papenburg, Germany up the Ems River, to her current position … [Read more...]

Royal Caribbean Group Chairman and CEO Richard Fain posted a new video update talking about a variety of topics, including if passengers will be required to get the Covid-19 vaccine to sail.The debate among cruise fans of if cruise lines will or will not require a vaccine to cruise has been a hot topic, and it comes on the heels of Royal Caribbean announcing Odyssey of the Seas will sail from … [Read more...]

The global health crisis has wreaked havoc with Royal Caribbean's plans, including its schedule of new cruise ships.One of the big questions throughout the cruise industry shutdown has been what impact will there be on new cruise ship orders.As part of Royal Caribbean Group's fourth quarter 2020 earnings filing, the company included an updated schedule for new cruise ship deliveries.For a while we … [Read more...]

We now know which Royal Caribbean cruise ship will be the next to sail again, and it will be the newest ship in the fleet.Odyssey of the Seas will join Royal Caribbean's fleet and offer her very first sailings from Israel in May 2021.Royal Caribbean announced Israelis can sail on 3- to 7-night sailings departing from Haifa, Israel to the Greek islands and Cyprus. These new sailings are open to … [Read more...]

Happy Sunday, and I hope you had a great week. It was a busy week of Royal Caribbean fun, and I have a round-up of all of it in this hand-dandy blog post.We might finally be getting close to test sailings beginning.Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley told Wall Street investors during an earnings call an update on where things stand with the CDC.Mr. Bayley said that … [Read more...]

Royal Caribbean's next new cruise ship is on the move!Odyssey of the Seas began her conveyance to the North Sea early on Saturday morning to delight of many cruise fans.The ship began her slow journey down the Ems River in Germany, and local photographers have begun sharing photos.Photos by Jeroen HoutmanRoyalCaribbeanBlog reader Marga has also been sharing photos from the conveyance on our … [Read more...]

Planning your next Royal Caribbean cruise is going to look a little bit different.Royal Caribbean is beginning to debut its next generation cruise planning software, called My Royal Cruise.My Royal Cruise is a new look to the website guests access to browse options and add-ons for their sailing.It will replace the existing Cruise Planner platform on a roll out schedule beginning with Mariner of … [Read more...]

It now appears Odyssey of the Seas will begin her journey to the sea this weekend.A public notice for sailors in Germany confirms a series of closures to facilitate the transfer of Royal Caribbean's next new cruise ship from her shipyard in Papenburg to the North Sea.The conveyance will take place on the Ems River beginning at 4am on February 27, 2021. The ship is expected to pass through the … [Read more...]

A recent study has debunked yet another stereotype about cruises, this time about the air circulation onboard.An independent study conducted by University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) and the National Strategic Research Institute (NSRI) on Oasis of the Seas looked at air flow, and movement of particulate matter indoors.The study was conducted in July 2020 right in the middle of … [Read more...]

The uncertainty of when cruises might actually restart sailings again has a trickle down effect on second guessing a lot of other vacation decisions, including should you buy flights for a cruise that may or may not sail.Every week I pull a popular question that RoyalCaribbeanBlog readers have been asking in case others are curious about the answer.With the uncertainty of the Alaska cruise … [Read more...]

Canada's ban of cruise ships for an entire year has compelled the United States Congress to work together in trying to find a better answer.Members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee sent a bipartisan letter to the Canadian Ambassador to the United States yesterday, concerning the one year extension of the cruise ban in Canada.On February 4, 2021, Canada's … [Read more...]

While there are not going to be any Royal Caribbean cruise ships operating outside of Singapore, you might be wondering where the rest of the cruise ships are located.Royal Caribbean's cruise ships are in a state of warm layup around the world in strategically located areas to be near resupply ports.This allows the ships to easily get into port to offload waste, bring on new supplies, and … [Read more...]

While Royal Caribbean has not, another cruise line has cancelled its May 2021 cruises.Carnival Cruise Line announced on Wednesday it will continue their suspension of sailings through May 31, 2021.Cruises from U.S. ports are cancelled through May, but Carnival added that it is unsure when cruises might resume.In their announcement, Carnival said, "A date for the return of guest cruising operations … [Read more...]