Table Of Content
Crew members like my Panamanian cabin attendant seem to work 24 hours a day. A waiter from New Delhi tells me that his contract is six months and three weeks long. After a cruise ends, he says, “in a few hours, we start again for the next cruise.” At the end of the half a year at sea, he is allowed a two-to-three-month stay at home with his family. As of 2019, the median income for crew members was somewhere in the vicinity of $20,000, according to a major business publication. Royal Caribbean would not share the current median salary for its crew members, but I am certain that it amounts to a fraction of the cost of a Royal Bling gold-plated, zirconia-studded chalice.
Current fleet
Tomorrow, I will spend more time with him, but first the ship docks at St. Thomas, in the U.S. Charlotte Amalie, the capital, is more charming in name than in presence, but I still all but jump off the ship to score a juicy oxtail and plantains at the well-known Petite Pump Room, overlooking the harbor. From one of the highest points in the small city, the Icon of the Seas appears bigger than the surrounding hills. As I slink back to the ship after my brief jailbreak, the locals stand under umbrellas to gaze at and photograph the boat that towers over their small capital city.
BOOK WITH ROYAL CARIBBEAN
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Some, such as the Royal Loft Suites found on Oasis Class ships, are two decks high with sweeping views across the top of the vessel. Icon of the Seas has a suite that is three decks high — the tallest suite in all of cruising. Also, overlaid across most ships are high-end suites, eateries and services that are at a luxury level, and the line draws a good number of luxury-seeking travelers.
What are the Freedom Class ships?
My wife recommended that I bring one of my many T-shirts featuring Snoopy and the Peanuts gang, as all Americans love the beagle and his friends. But I naively thought that my meatball T-shirt would be more suitable for conversation-starting. Forget the age of these ships, there's lots to do for every age, from the sports court, to the ice rink, to the rock wall. These ships feature plenty of live music, a mini-golf course, surf simulators, and more. Both the Freedom and Voyager Class ships are very close in size, look, and amenities, but the Freedom Class's extra size gives it more room for more fun with plenty of activities. The Freedom Class ships were designed for families that want a lot of things to do onboard.
Other interior attractions and activities
On any given night, one of three dress codes will apply — casual, smart casual or formal. Royal Caribbean has one of the fastest Wi-Fi systems at sea — so fast that you're able to watch Netflix from your room on your mobile device. Pricing changes over time, but recently has been priced at $17.99 per day per device for a package that includes streaming. There also are multi-device packages that are less expensive on a per-device basis.
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RCI-Royal Caribbean to open second Royal Beach Club in Cozumel, Mexico
Here is a look at the seven classes of Royal Caribbean ships in more detail. The over-the-top megaresort experience on a Royal Caribbean ship varies from class to class, though. Over the next two years, for instance, Rhapsody of the Seas is sailing out of such less-common home ports as Colon, Panama; Cartagena, Colombia; and San Juan, Puerto Rico. If you're sure that Royal Caribbean is your line, look for a travel agent who specializes in trips with the brand. You want someone who knows all 34 of those cabin categories that we mentioned above and, preferably, has done ship inspections to see them firsthand.
Brilliance of the Seas (
Royal Caribbean currently has three new cruise ships on order, all of which will be among its biggest cruise ships ever — if not its biggest. Like the other ships in the series, it's significantly smaller than the line's newer Oasis Class and Quantum Class ships. However, it still is loaded with venues, including more than a half-dozen places to eat, three pools, whirlpools, a rock climbing wall, a miniature golf course, a sports court and an adults-only solarium. Still, Mariner of the Seas and its four Voyager Class sisters have many of Royal Caribbean's signature attractions, including rock climbing walls and ice skating rinks. Wonder of the Seas was the world's biggest cruise ship until the arrival of Icon of the Seas, and it remains one of the biggest ships ever built by any line. A day or two before I got off the ship, I decided to make use of my balcony, which I had avoided because I thought the view would only depress me further.
Utopia Of The Seas
Crew members from every part of the global South, as well as a few Balkans, are shepherding us along while pressing flutes of champagne into our hands. By a humming Starbucks, I drink as many of these as I can and prepare to find my cabin. I show my blue Suite Sky SeaPass Card (more on this later, much more) to a smiling woman from the Philippines, and she tells me to go “aft.” Which is where, now? As someone who has rarely sailed on a vessel grander than the Staten Island Ferry, I am confused. It turns out that the aft is the stern of the ship, or, for those of us who don’t know what a stern or an aft are, its ass.
As I fall asleep that night, I realize another connection I have failed to make, and one that may explain some of the diversity on this vessel—many of its passengers have served in the military. I also get reserved seating for a performance of The Wizard of Oz, an ice-skating tribute to the periodic table, and similar provocations. The very color of my Suite Sky SeaPass Card, an oceanic blue as opposed to the cloying royal purple of the standard non-Suite passenger, will soon provoke envy and admiration.
The two more Icon Class ships debuting soon will be equally over-the-top in size and venues. The vessel is one of four in the line's Vision class, featuring ships much smaller than the typical Royal Caribbean vessel. With this class, the experience has more to do with the ports the ships visit than the onboard experience. Dating to 1997, Rhapsody of the Seas is one of Royal Caribbean's oldest and smallest vessels, and it lacks nearly all the gee-whiz attractions for families found on newer Royal Caribbean ships. You won't find big water parks, kiddie splash zones, zip lines or bumper car pavilions on this ship. Called the Suite Neighborhood, the complex offers some of the biggest (and priciest) suites at sea, including the sprawling, two-deck-high Royal Loft suites that measure more than 1,500 square feet.
This is the biggest cruise ship ever built, and I have been tasked with witnessing its inaugural voyage. Royal Caribbean's smallest ships are a half to a third smaller than the Oasis Class and Icon Class vessels and lack many of the above features. They have a much more intimate feel, at least in the pantheon of relatively big, mass-market ships, and they hold far fewer people. While Oasis Class and Icon Class ships can hold more than 5,400 passengers at double occupancy, the line's four oldest vessels (known as the Vision class) are only designed to carry about 2,000 passengers at double occupancy.
The name on your reservation must be exactly as it is stated on your passport or other official proof of nationality. The heart of the program, called Adventure Ocean, has free, supervised activities daily for children ages 3 to 12. Royal Caribbean has one of the most extensive children's programs at sea, with programs and activities for children as young as 6 months old through the age of 17. On Oasis Class ships, there's also an outdoor Boardwalk area with a hand-carved carousel.
Freedom of the Seas features an updated version of the Italian restaurant and new menu, known as Giovanni's Italian Table. Independence of the Seas has an expansive Playmakers Sports Bar area to watch the game from, as well as a very large Izumi Hibachi room. Liberty of the Seas is the only ship in the class to have a Mexican cuisine restaurant at Sabor.
Each also has several specialty restaurants in addition to the main dining room and casual buffet; specialty restaurants include a version of Royal Caribbean's signature Chops Grille steakhouse and an Italian restaurant. Like its newer sister Independence of the Seas, it's smaller than Royal Caribbean's giant Oasis Class ships but still is big enough to pack in a lot of options for cruisers. You'll find many deck-top attractions, eateries, lounges and bars across this vessel. In general, Royal Caribbean's newest ships are far bigger and much more amenity-packed than its older ships.
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