Editor’s Note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers.
Is one Royal Caribbean cruise on your bucket list? You’ll find no shortage of options when it’s time to choose an itinerary.
The world’s largest cruise line by passenger capacity offers voyages to almost anywhere in the world, from the Caribbean to the waters around Australia and New Zealand.
Royal Caribbean operates 26 cruise ships — more than any other major cruise line. This allows it to deploy ships on all classic cruise itineraries in places like the Caribbean, Europe and Alaska while remaining ships for more exotic routes.
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That said, Royal Caribbean has a distinct focus on the Caribbean and Europe — the most popular destinations for its frequent flyers. In a typical summer, the carrier would deploy about half of its ships on voyages to the Caribbean, Bahamas and Bermuda while sending another six or seven more to Europe. The airline typically sends three to four ships to Alaska each summer.
During the winter, the carrier will move more ships to the Caribbean and also send a few to Asia and Australia.
In total, Royal Caribbean ships have visited more than 300 different ports around the world. Here are five of the top destinations you can visit on a Royal Caribbean ship:
The Caribbean and the Bahamas
There’s a reason the word “Caribbean” is in the name of Royal Caribbean. The service began operating cruises to the Caribbean in 1968 and the region still accounts for a large portion of its business.
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In fact, the airline typically deploys better than half of its fleet to the Caribbean and Bahamas for at least part of the year. During the winter, the service will have most of its ships in the area. For example, this winter, 22 of its 26 ships are sailing to the Caribbean and the Bahamas.
Related: The best Caribbean cruise for every type of traveler
Royal Caribbean offers a wide range of Caribbean and Bahamas itineraries from over half a dozen home ports. If you’re looking for something short-term, this line will cover you in the form of lots of quick, three- and four-night trips from Florida ports to the Bahamas. It also offers plenty of seven-night cruises to Caribbean and Bahamas ports as well as a number of longer regional cruises that last between nine and 14 nights.
At the core of the route’s Caribbean and Bahamas program are seven-night trips, divided into three broad categories:
- East Caribbean Trip.
- West Caribbean Trip.
- South Caribbean Trip.
A typical seven-night Royal Caribbean cruise in the Eastern Caribbean will include stops at St. Martin, St. Thomas and Perfect day at CocoCay, its own island in the Bahamas. But the route sometimes swaps stops at other islands like Puerto Rico or St. Kitts. Usually there are three and sometimes four calls on an Eastern Caribbean cruise.
Related: Royal Caribbean Ultimate Guide
Royal Caribbean’s seven-night Western Caribbean trips will typically include three or four stops at some combination of these: Mexico (Cozumel or Costa Maya), Honduras, Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Belize. Some include stops at Perfect Day at CocoCay and also Labadee, Royal Caribbean’s private beach destination in Haiti.
Its seven-night Southern Caribbean itineraries include more destinations with five or even six separate calls. They sometimes include a few stops at relatively northern islands such as St. Thomas and St. Martin but focuses more on the southern islands of Tobago, Trinidad, Grenada, St. Vincent, Dominica, St. Lucia, Bonaire, Aruba and Curacao.
Related: 6 classes of Royal Caribbean ships, explained
When sailing to the Caribbean, Royal Caribbean ships often sail out of Port of Miami, Port Canaveral, Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades and Tampa in Florida; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Galveston, Texas; Bayonne, New Jersey (one of New York City’s ports); and Baltimore.
This line also recently launched First Caribbean trip out of Barbados. Trips out of Barbados are all South Caribbean trips. Using Barbados as a hub allows Royal Caribbean to offer South Caribbean trips that are heavily concentrated in the southern islands.
Australia and New Zealand
Royal Caribbean has sent at least one vessel — though often multiple ships — to Australia every winter for many years. It offers a range of itineraries beyond Sydney and Brisbane, making calls not only across Australia but also in New Zealand.
While the itineraries it offers in the region vary in length — from just two nights to 15 nights — the shorter itineraries are primarily aimed at local Australians looking for a quick getaway . For North Americans, the most popular itineraries are the longer ones, often deviating greatly from stops in New Zealand.
Related: Everything you need to know about Royal Caribbean’s loyalty program
Among several New Zealand itineraries including 12-night trips from Sydney include a range of stops in New Zealand: Bay of Islands, Auckland, Tauranga, Wellington, Christchurch and Picton.
The 15-night New Zealand cruise in addition to Sydney includes cruises in New Zealand’s famous Milford Sound as well as the Doubtful Sound and Dusky Soun; In addition, the ship stops at Dunedin, Wellington, Christchurch, Tauranga, Auckland and the Bay of Islands.
alaska
Royal Caribbean is not the biggest player in alaska cruises. The travel giants to Alaska are Princess Cruise and Netherlands USA, are sister lines that control the majority of the market. However, Royal Caribbean has a significant presence in Alaska, and its large, action-packed ships are a popular choice with families looking to visit the destination.
The Alaska tourist season is short, lasting from May to September. For the upcoming 2023 season, Royal Caribbean plans to have four ships in the region — all operating on seven-night sailings.
- Ovation of the Seas and Quantum of the sea: These 4,180-passenger sister ships are Royal Caribbean’s largest and newest ships scheduled to visit Alaska. They will return to Alaska from Seattle with calls in Alaska such as Sitka, Juneau and Skagway; and Victoria, British Columbia. They will also visit the Endicott Arm to see the glacier.
- The splendor of the sea: The 2,142-passenger ship will return to Alaska from Vancouver with a visit to Tracy Arm Fjord and call into the following three or four Alaska destinations: Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Haines, Icy Strait Point and Sitka.
- Radiance of the sea: 2,143 Radiance of the Seas passengers will be making one-way Alaska trips between Vancouver and Seward, Alaska. Visits will include Hubbard Glacier and four or five of the following Alaska destinations: Ketchikan, Icy Strait Point, Juneau, Skagway, Sitka and Haines.
The appeal of one-way trips on the Radiance of the Seas is that you can combine them with land-based tours organized by Royal Caribbean in Alaska; Land tours can last from two to five days. So, in general, you will create a “cruise” lasting 9 to 12 nights. The overland portion of such trips offers visits to popular sites within Alaska such as Denali National Park and the town of Fairbanks.
Related: Everything you want to know about Royal Caribbean cabins and suites
Europe
Royal Caribbean is a major European company, with many cruises in the Mediterranean and throughout Northern Europe.
Several of its signature Mediterranean routes offer the chance to see iconic destinations like Barcelona, Spain, and the Italian cities of Florence, Rome and Naples in a single cruise. Or, you can sign up for a Mediterranean cruise with a focus on the Greek Islands.
In Northern Europe, Royal Caribbean will take you to famous Baltic cities like Stockholm; Tallinn, Estonia; Helsinki; and St. Petersburg, Russia, on a single voyage (although for now, St. Petersburg has been removed from Royal Caribbean cruises due to the war in Ukraine). Itineraries that do not engage the Norwegian fjords are also available.
In general, the service traditionally deploys about 10 ships to the area each year seasonally, and the ships stay from spring until autumn. Trips last from three to 14 nights.
Among the longest sailings Royal Caribbean offers in Europe are 12-night sailings out of Civitavecchia, Italy (Rome’s port), including an overnight stay in Piraeus, Greece (Athens’ port) and day stops in Rhodes, Greece; Kusadasi, Turkey (to visit the ruins of Ephesus); Ashdod and Haifa, Israel; and Naples.
In Northern Europe, Royal Caribbean ships mainly sail from Southampton, England; Amsterdam; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Stockholm.
In the Mediterranean, the service’s hubs are Barcelona, Civitavecchia and Ravenna, Italy (which recently replaced Venice as home port).
Asia
In recent years, Royal Caribbean has built a large business selling cruises from Chinese ports such as Shanghai and Tianjin (Beijing’s port) aimed squarely at the Chinese market. They offer Chinese programs and activities and Chinese-focused food. However, Royal Caribbean also markets some Asian trips to North America.
Among the itineraries for the Western crowd are 9-night excursions in Thailand and Vietnam out of Singapore, including stops at Bintan Island, Indonesia; Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; and Bangkok.
There are also 10-night “Explore Japan” trips to Aomori, Hakodate, Akita, Kanazawa, Sakaiminato and Kagoshima, Japan; and Busan, South Korea.
Note that some of its Asia trips have been delayed over the past three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Trips are in the process of resuming as countries in the region have lifted travel restrictions related to COVID-19.
bottom line
Royal Caribbean owns one of the largest cruise lines worldwide, allowing it to offer a wide variety of itineraries. If you’re thinking of a Royal Caribbean cruise, you’ll be spoiled for choice. This route is perhaps best known for its Caribbean voyages — at certain times of the year it deploys nearly all of its ships to the area. You’ll also find great Royal Caribbean itineraries everywhere from Alaska to Europe and Asia.
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