All 15 Royal Caribbean hacks, free to read right on this page: drink package math, Cruise Planner sale tricks, crowd-beating moves, cabin upgrades, and dining secrets. No signup, no download needed.
1. Do the drink package math. The Deluxe Beverage Package breaks even at roughly 5 to 6 cocktails a day. Be honest about your habits before you buy, and always buy pre-cruise in the Cruise Planner, where it is cheaper than the onboard price.
2. Watch the Cruise Planner for sales. Drink packages, specialty dining, and excursions regularly go on sale in the Cruise Planner. Buy early, then check back: if the price drops, cancel and rebook at the lower price. It takes two minutes.
3. Specialty dining is cheaper at lunch. The same specialty restaurants charge a lower cover at lunch than at dinner. Same menu quality, smaller bill. Chops Grille and Jamie's Italian are both great lunch picks.
4. Skip the Windjammer rush at noon. On embarkation day, nearly everyone heads straight to the Windjammer buffet. Eat in the Main Dining Room instead (open for lunch on day one), grab a specialty spot, or just wait until after 1:30 when the crowds thin out.
5. Port days mean an empty ship. When everyone is ashore, the pools, slides, and FlowRider have almost no lines. Stay aboard for at least one port day and you will have the ship's best attractions nearly to yourself.
6. CocoCay: go early for the best spots. Perfect Day at CocoCay fills up fast. Head ashore early for the best beach chairs and cabana locations, and hit Thrill Waterpark before 10 a.m. to beat the lines at the tallest slides.
7. Try a virtual-balcony interior. Interior staterooms on many newer ships have a floor-to-ceiling LED screen that live-streams the view outside. You get the feel of a balcony at an interior price.
8. Turn a price drop into an upgrade. Before your final payment date, watch your sailing's price. If the fare drops, call and ask for the lower rate or a cabin upgrade. A price drop is the easiest upgrade you will ever get.
9. Crown & Anchor perks start at 3 points. Enroll in the Crown & Anchor Society for free before you sail so your very first cruise counts. Just 3 points earns Gold status, and every sailing builds toward balcony discounts and upgrades at higher tiers.
10. Bring 2 bottles of wine per stateroom. Royal Caribbean lets every stateroom bring two 750ml bottles of wine aboard on embarkation day. That is the policy per stateroom, not per person, so even solo travelers get two.
11. Free Main Dining Room lunch on sea days. The Main Dining Room serves a proper sit-down lunch on sea days, and most passengers never realize it. Quieter, calmer, and far nicer than fighting the buffet crowds.
12. Reserve My Time Dining early. My Time Dining slots in the Main Dining Room fill up before you sail. Book your preferred times in the Cruise Planner or the app ahead of time instead of hoping for walk-in availability.
13. Book shows in the app on day one. Headline shows on Oasis, Icon, and Quantum class ships fill up fast. Open the Royal Caribbean app as soon as you board and reserve every show you want. The best time slots go first.
14. Book FlowRider slots on day one. Surf and boogie-board sessions on the FlowRider are limited, especially on sea days. Reserve your spot as soon as you board or you may not get a turn all sailing.
15. Adventure Ocean = free date nights. The kids club is free during the day and evening, so parents get real date nights at no cost. (Late-night sessions after 10 p.m. carry a small hourly fee.) Register the kids on day one.
The free PDF version lives on our Gumroad page; the full text is right here on this page.