The 5 best destinations you can visit on a Royal Caribbean cruise
Is a Royal Caribbean cruise on your bucket list? You'll find no shortage of options when it comes time to pick an itinerary.
The world's biggest cruise line by passenger capacity offers voyages in almost every corner of the world, from its home base in North America to the far-off waters of Australia and New Zealand.
Royal Caribbean operates more cruise ships than any other major line — 28 in all. This allows it to deploy vessels on all the classic cruise itineraries in places like the Caribbean, Europe and Alaska while still having ships left over for more off-the-beaten-path routes.
That said, Royal Caribbean has a distinct focus on the Caribbean and Europe — the most popular destinations for its regular customers. In a typical summer, the line will deploy about half its ships on sailings to the Caribbean, Bahamas and Bermuda while sending another seven or eight vessels to Europe. The line typically sends four ships to Alaska every summer.
During the winter, the line will move even more of its ships to the Caribbean, and send a few to Asia and Australia.
In all, Royal Caribbean's ships visit more than 300 different ports around the world. Here are five of the top destinations you can reach on a Royal Caribbean ship.
The Caribbean and the Bahamas
There's a reason the word "Caribbean" is in Royal Caribbean's name. The line got its start operating cruises to the Caribbean way back in 1968, and the region still accounts for a big part of its business.
In fact, the line typically deploys well more than half its fleet to the Caribbean and the Bahamas for at least part of the year. During the winter, the line will have most of its ships in the region. For the coming winter of 2024-2025, for instance, 23 of its 28 vessels are sailing in the Caribbean and Bahamas, including all of the line's biggest ships. These include the line's much-ballyhooed new vessel Icon of the Seas — the biggest cruise ship in the world — and its just unveiled Utopia of the Seas.
Utopia of the Seas, notably, has debuted on short sailings to the Bahamas — an unusual deployment for a brand-new ship.
Related: The best Caribbean cruise for every type of traveler
Royal Caribbean offers a broad range of Caribbean and Bahamas itineraries from over half a dozen home ports. If you're looking for something short, the line has you covered in the form of lots of quick, three- and four-night trips from Florida ports to the Bahamas (including those Utopia of the Seas sailings). It also offers an abundance of seven-night sailings to Caribbean and Bahamas ports and a handful of longer trips in the region that range from nine to 14 nights.
At the core of the line's Caribbean and Bahamas program are its seven-night sailings, which break down into three broad categories:
- Eastern Caribbean voyages
- Western Caribbean voyages
- Southern Caribbean voyages
A typical seven-night Royal Caribbean sailing in the Eastern Caribbean will include stops at St. Martin, St. Thomas and Perfect Day at CocoCay, the line's private island in the Bahamas. But the line sometimes swaps in stops at other islands such as Puerto Rico or St. Kitts. There are typically three and sometimes four calls on an Eastern Caribbean cruise.
Related: The ultimate guide to Royal Caribbean
Royal Caribbean's seven-night Western Caribbean voyages typically include three or four stops at some mix of the following destinations: Mexico (Cozumel or Costa Maya), Honduras, Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Belize. Some include a stop at Perfect Day at CocoCay and Labadee, Royal Caribbean's private beach destination in Haiti.
The line's seven-night Southern Caribbean itineraries are more destination-heavy, with five or even six separate calls. They sometimes include a couple of stops at relatively northward islands such as St. Thomas and St. Martin but focus heavily on southerly islands such as Tobago, Trinidad, Grenada, St. Vincent, Dominica, St. Lucia, Bonaire, Aruba and Curacao.
Related: The 7 classes of Royal Caribbean ships, explained
When sailing to the Caribbean, Royal Caribbean ships generally sail out of PortMiami, Port Canaveral, Fort Lauderdale's Port Everglades and Tampa in Florida; San Juan, Puerto Rico; New Orleans; Galveston, Texas; Bayonne, New Jersey (one of the ports for New York City); and Baltimore.
The line also recently offered its first-ever Caribbean sailings out of Barbados, though no other voyages from the island are currently on the line's schedule.
Australia and New Zealand
Royal Caribbean has been sending at least one ship — and sometimes several — to Australia every winter for many years. It offers a wide range of itineraries out of Sydney and Brisbane that make calls not just around Australia but also in New Zealand.
While the itineraries the line offers in the region vary in length — from just two nights to 15 nights — the shorter voyages are primarily aimed at a local Australian crowd looking for a quick getaway. Among North Americans, the most popular itineraries are the longer ones, which are often heavily skewed to stops in New Zealand.
Related: Everything you need to know about Royal Caribbean's loyalty program
Among several New Zealand itineraries are 12-night voyages from Sydney that feature an all-New Zealand lineup of calls: Bay of Islands, Auckland, Tauranga, Wellington, Christchurch and Picton.
A 15-night New Zealand itinerary out of Sydney features cruising in New Zealand's famed Milford Sound as well as Doubtful Sound and Dusky Sound. The ship also stops in Dunedin, Wellington, Christchurch, Tauranga, Auckland and the Bay of Islands.
Alaska
Royal Caribbean isn't the biggest player in Alaska cruises. The giants of cruising to Alaska are Princess Cruises and Holland America, which are sister lines to each other that control a large percentage of the market. Still, Royal Caribbean has a significant presence in Alaska, and its big, activity-filled ships are popular with families looking to visit the destination.
The Alaska cruise season is a short one, lasting roughly from May to September. This year, Royal Caribbean has four ships in the region — all operating seven-night sailings.
- Ovation of the Seas and Quantum of the Seas: These 4,180-passenger sister vessels are Royal Caribbean's newest and largest ships scheduled to visit Alaska. They're sailing to Alaska round-trip from Seattle with calls at Alaskan ports such as Sitka, Juneau and Skagway; and Victoria, British Columbia. On many departures, they're also visiting Endicott Arm for glacier viewing.
- Brilliance of the Seas: The 2,142-passenger ship sails to Alaska round-trip from Vancouver with a visit to Tracy Arm Fjord and calls at three or four of the following Alaska destinations: Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Haines, Icy Strait Point and Sitka.
- Radiance of the Seas: The 2,143-passenger Radiance of the Seas mostly sails one-way Alaska voyages between Vancouver and Seward, Alaska. Calls include Hubbard Glacier and four of the following Alaska destinations: Ketchikan, Icy Strait Point, Juneau, Skagway and Sitka.
For the 2025 season, Royal Caribbean will replace Ovation of the Seas with Anthem of the Seas (the two ships are similar) and substitute Serenade of the Seas for Radiance of the Seas (also similar ships).
The appeal of the one-way sailings on Radiance of the Seas in 2024 and Serenade of the Seas in 2025 is that you can combine them with Royal Caribbean-organized land tours of Alaska. Land tours can last from two to five days in addition to the seven nights on the ship. So, all in all, you will have created a nine- to 12-night "cruise tour" as such trips are called in the cruise world.
The land tour portion of such trips brings visits to such well-known interior Alaska locations 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 player in Europe, with a wide range of itineraries in the Mediterranean and across Northern Europe.
Some of the line's signature Mediterranean routings offer the chance to see iconic destinations such as Barcelona, Spain, and the Italian cities of Florence, Rome and Naples in a single cruise. Or, you can sign up for a Mediterranean cruise focusing on the Greek Islands.
In Northern Europe, Royal Caribbean will take you to such famed Baltic cities as Stockholm; Tallinn, Estonia; Helsinki; and St. Petersburg, Russia, in a single sailing (although, for now, St. Petersburg has been removed from Royal Caribbean itineraries due to the war between Russia and Ukraine). Itineraries that zero in on the Norwegian fjords also are available.
Until recently, the line has deployed as many as 10 vessels to the region each year on a seasonal basis, with the ships staying from spring until fall. But Royal Caribbean has been cutting back on Europe sailings a bit in the wake of the wars in Ukraine and Israel, and it only plans to send six ships to Europe for the 2025 season.
Royal Caribbean's Europe voyages range in length from three to 16 nights.
Among the longest sailings that Royal Caribbean offers in Europe is a 16-night voyage from Barcelona to Southampton, England, that brings stops in Valencia, Cartagena and Malaga, Spain; Casablanca and Agadir, Morocco; Lisbon and Porto, Portugal; Cork, Ireland; and Cherbourg and Le Havre, France.
In Northern Europe, Royal Caribbean ships mostly sail out of Southampton, England; Amsterdam; and Copenhagen, Denmark.
In the Mediterranean, the line's hubs are Piraeus, Greece (the port for Athens); Istanbul, Turkey; Barcelona; and Civitavecchia (the port for Rome) and Ravenna in Italy. The latter port recently replaced Venice as a home port.
Asia
In recent years, Royal Caribbean has built up a big business selling cruises out of China ports such as Shanghai and Tianjin (the port for Beijing) that are aimed squarely at the Chinese market. They offer Chinese-language programming, and Chinese-centric food and activities. However, Royal Caribbean also markets some Asia voyages to North Americans.
Among the itineraries meant for a Western crowd are nine-night Thailand and Vietnam cruises out of Singapore that include stops at Bintan Island, Indonesia; Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; and Bangkok.
There are also 10-night Japan Explorer sailings that take in Aomori, Hakodate, Akita, Kanazawa, Sakaiminato and Kagoshima, Japan; and Busan, South Korea.
For 2025, Royal Caribean will have three of its 28 ships visiting Asia for at least part of the year: Anthem of the Seas, Ovation of the Seas and Spectrum of the Seas.
The line's main home ports in Asia for cruises aimed at North American travelers are Singapore; Yokohama, Japan (the port for Tokyo); and Hong Kong.
Bottom line
Royal Caribbean has one of the biggest fleets of oceangoing cruise ships worldwide, allowing it to offer a wide range of itineraries. If you're thinking of a Royal Caribbean cruise, you'll be spoiled for choice. The line is perhaps best known for its Caribbean sailings — at certain times of the year, it deploys almost all its ships to the region. You'll also find wonderful Royal Caribbean itineraries everywhere, from Alaska and Australia to Europe and Asia.
Planning a cruise? Start with these stories:
- A beginners guide to picking a cruise line
- The 5 most desirable cabin locations on any cruise ship
- The 8 worst cabin locations on any cruise ship
- A quick guide to the most popular cruise lines
- 21 tips and tricks that will make your cruise go smoothly
- 15 ways cruisers waste money
- What to pack for your first cruise
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