57 Fun Facts About Royal Caribbean

Allure of the Seas was named in 2010 by Princess Fiona, a character from which studio's films?

DreamWorks characters such as Shrek, Po and the Madagascar penguins met guests on board under a deal with the line, which is how an ogre princess came to christen what was then the world's largest cruise ship.

In which city is Royal Caribbean based?

Miami has been home since the first ship began cruising from the city in 1970; the head office is on Dodge Island, the island that holds the cruise port, where a new headquarters was approved in 2019.

What was the name of Royal Caribbean's first ship, which entered service in 1970?

Song of Norway, built in Helsinki, was among the first ships designed purely for cruising; she ended her days as a floating casino in Asia before being sold for scrap in 2013.

Which rival is the only cruise company larger than Royal Caribbean Group?

Carnival Corporation widened its lead in 2003 with a hostile takeover of P&O Princess, a British group that had already agreed to merge with Royal Caribbean.

Which Royal Caribbean ship was the largest passenger vessel afloat when it entered service in 1988?

Sovereign of the Seas, once the biggest passenger ship in the world, ended up run ashore at a Turkish scrapyard in 2020, after the pandemic had finished off her last operator.

Royal Caribbean's private resort Labadee is on the coast of which country?

Haiti's northern coast holds Labadee, which the line has leased since the 1980s; though sometimes advertised as an island, it is a fenced-off peninsula joined to the Haitian mainland.

What was Royal Caribbean's private island CocoCay originally called?

Little Stirrup Cay is still the island's official name; it sits beside Great Stirrup Cay, which Norwegian Cruise Line took over in 1977, so the two rivals' private islands are next-door neighbours.

Roughly how much did Royal Caribbean spend turning CocoCay into Perfect Day at CocoCay in 2019?

$250 million paid for a pier, so ships now tie up instead of ferrying guests ashore in tenders, and for a waterpark with North America's tallest waterslide.

Which Greek cruise line did Royal Caribbean merge with in 1997, prompting its change of name?

Celebrity Cruises was founded by Greece's Chandris family, and the big X on its funnels is their mark: the Greek letter chi, the first letter of Chandris.

On which stock exchange did Royal Caribbean go public in 1993?

New York Stock Exchange trading began in 1993 under the ticker RCL, a quarter of a century after the line started as a private venture of three shipping companies; the group now sits in the S&P 500.

Which ship class was the first to feature an ice rink at sea and the Royal Promenade?

Voyager of the Seas opened the class in 1999; her Royal Promenade copied the shop-lined indoor street that one of the line's designers had earlier built into a Baltic ferry.

Which class introduced the FlowRider surfing simulator?

Freedom of the Seas brought the FlowRider to sea in 2006; the standing-wave surf machine was later fitted to older ships too, which gave up their inline-skating tracks to make room.

Which Royal Caribbean class is built to Panamax dimensions and powered by gas turbines?

Radiance of the Seas led four ships slim enough to pass through the Panama Canal's locks; their gas turbines give cleaner exhaust than diesel engines do.

Why did Oasis of the Seas lower her funnels while leaving the Baltic in 2009?

To pass under a bridge, Denmark's Great Belt link, the ship retracted her telescoping funnels and ran at speed so that she sat lower in the water, clearing the deck by less than two feet.

Which fairground ride turns on the Boardwalk of Royal Caribbean's Oasis-class ships?

A carousel with handcrafted wooden animals turns on the Boardwalk, an open-air strip that runs down the middle of the ship and splits the cabins above it into two separate blocks.

Which dry-slide attraction debuted on Harmony of the Seas in 2016?

The Ultimate Abyss begins about 150 feet above the sea at the stern of the ship; older ships such as Allure of the Seas later had the slide added during refits.

Which observation capsule on a crane arm is a signature of Royal Caribbean's Quantum class?

North Star lifts up to 14 guests at a time in a glass capsule and swings them out over the side of the ship, about 300 feet above the sea.

Which Quantum-class venue hosts bumper cars, roller skating and a trapeze school?

SeaPlex is an indoor sports hall with a full-size basketball court as well as the rides; the class dropped the ice rink found on the line's earlier big ships.

Which shipyard built the Quantum-class ships?

Meyer Werft, Papenburg built all five Quantum-class ships; the yard lies so far inland that each new ship has to be eased down the narrow River Ems to reach the sea.

Which fuel powers the Icon-class ships?

Liquefied natural gas burns far cleaner than marine diesel in the Icon ships' engines, but it is no clean break: any methane that escapes unburned is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

What is the name of Royal Caribbean's loyalty programme?

Crown & Anchor Society is the loyalty scheme, its tiers running from Gold through Platinum, Emerald and Diamond to Pinnacle Club on points earned per night at sea.

Which footballer christened Icon of the Seas in January 2024?

Lionel Messi named the ship on 23 January 2024, four days before her maiden voyage; Royal Caribbean had just become the shirt sponsor of his club in Major League Soccer.

Which Icon of the Seas neighbourhood is designed for families with young children?

Surfside groups the family suites in one neighbourhood; the three-deck Ultimate Family Townhouse, which has an indoor slide, opens straight onto it through a private entrance.

Which venue at the top of Icon of the Seas stages the ship's high-diving shows?

AquaDome puts the high-diving show under a glass dome; on the line's Oasis-class ships the same kind of aqua theatre sits in the open air at the stern.

Thrill Island on Icon of the Seas is billed as what?

The largest waterpark at sea is the billing for Category 6, Thrill Island's six-slide park, which includes the Frightening Bolt, the tallest drop slide afloat.

Which shipyard builds the Icon-class ships?

Meyer Turku got its name in 2014, when Germany's Meyer family took over the Finnish yard, with the state as a temporary co-owner, after its previous owner STX ran into a financial crisis.

Which Icon-class ship entered service in August 2025?

Star of the Seas took her first paying guests out of Port Canaveral on 16 August 2025, after the line had pushed her debut back to the end of the month and then pulled it forward again.

Which sixth Oasis-class ship entered service from Port Canaveral in July 2024?

Utopia of the Seas is the biggest ship of her class, yet she never held the world record: a still larger new class of ship had entered service six months before her.

Which Oasis-class ship of 2022 held the largest-ship title until Icon of the Seas arrived?

Wonder of the Seas was built for the Chinese market and due to sail from Shanghai, but the pandemic's delays sent her to Florida instead.

Which ship was the fleet's first to resume sailing in the pandemic, from Singapore in December 2020?

Quantum of the Seas restarted on 1 December 2020 with short 'cruises to nowhere' from Singapore, open only to residents and with passenger numbers capped far below normal.

Which company's satellite internet did Royal Caribbean adopt fleet-wide in 2022?

SpaceX's Starlink was ordered for the whole fleet in August 2022, two months after US regulators cleared the satellite service for use on boats, planes and trucks.

As of 2025, under which country's flag do most Royal Caribbean ships sail?

Bahamas is the flag state of almost the entire fleet, which is why ships that sail year-round from Florida carry Nassau, their port of registry, lettered across the stern.

Which two ships went to Britain's Thomson Cruises in 2016 and 2017?

Splendour and Legend of the Seas went to Thomson Cruises, which became Marella Cruises in 2017, and sailed on as Marella Discovery and Marella Discovery 2.

Which cruise line did Royal Caribbean merge with in 1988, gaining the lease on CocoCay?

Admiral Cruises, itself formed in 1986 from Eastern, Western and Sundance Cruises, brought the island's lease into the merger; Royal Caribbean branded it CocoCay two years later.

Where did Royal Caribbean begin running tours in glass-domed railway cars in 2000?

Alaska was the setting: the land tours carried cruise passengers inland by rail under glass roofs, and within two years the line was selling similar cruise tours across Europe.

Which ship's 2014 norovirus outbreak sickened nearly 700 people and cut a Caribbean cruise short?

Explorer of the Seas had about 300 people ill on 24 January 2014; within days the count had passed 680, roughly one in six of those aboard, and federal health officials had boarded to investigate.

Passengers from which ship were among those killed in the 2019 Whakaari / White Island eruption?

Ovation of the Seas was docked at Tauranga while 38 people from the ship were on a shore excursion to the volcano; 22 of the 47 people on the island died.

What was the signature venue wrapped around the funnel of early Royal Caribbean ships called?

Viking Crown Lounge arrived in 1970 on the line's first ship and became its trademark, yet the lounge was removed from her funnel before she sailed for her new owners in the 1990s.

Royal Caribbean Group's holding company is incorporated in which country?

Liberia is where Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is incorporated, although the cruise group is run from offices in Florida, an ocean away from its legal home.

Which cruise line did Royal Caribbean Group take full ownership of in 2020?

Silversea Cruises, the Monaco-based luxury line, came in two steps: a majority stake bought from its owner Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio for about $1 billion in 2018, then the remaining shares in 2020.

How was Royal Caribbean's first ship made bigger in 1978?

An 85-foot midsection was inserted because demand for cruises had outgrown the ship within eight years; the stretch raised her capacity from 724 passengers to 1,024.

Which Vision-class ship was lengthened in 2005, lifting it above 80,000 gross tons?

Enchantment of the Seas went into a Rotterdam dry dock in May 2005 and came out 73 feet longer, with a bigger pool deck crossed by suspension bridges.

Which private destination did Royal Caribbean open in Nassau in December 2025?

Royal Beach Club stands at the western end of Paradise Island and is reserved for the line's own passengers; unlike its private islands, ships do not dock there but at Nassau's public piers.

Which South Pacific spot did Royal Caribbean pick in 2019 for a planned private resort?

Lelepa, Vanuatu was unveiled alongside the country's prime minister with a promise attached: the line said it would be the world's first carbon-neutral private cruise destination.

Which ship was involved in the 2005 disappearance of passenger George Allen Smith?

Brilliance of the Seas was between Greece and Turkey in July 2005 when Smith vanished overnight, eleven days after his wedding; his widow later accepted $1.1 million from the line, a settlement his family contested.

Which Quantum-class ship's 2021 debut was delayed after eight crew members tested positive for COVID-19?

Odyssey of the Seas had been due to sail from Fort Lauderdale in November 2020; after a string of pandemic postponements, the crew's positive tests in June 2021 cost her four more weeks.

Which Oasis-class neighbourhood holds thousands of live plants and trees?

Central Park is open to the sky down the middle of the ship; its 12,000 or so plants were only put in after the first ship of the class had crossed the Atlantic to Florida in 2009.

Which ship became Royal Caribbean's second when it joined the fleet in 1971?

Nordic Prince came from the same Helsinki yard a year after the line's first ship; sold in 1995, she sailed on under other names for two more decades and was broken up in India in 2015.

What name did Royal Caribbean give its fleet-wide refit programme launched in 2018?

Royal Amplified refits were adding waterslides and laser tag to older ships when the pandemic struck, so Allure of the Seas waited until 2025 for a makeover due in 2020.

Roughly how long did Royal Caribbean's Ultimate World Cruise of 2023–24 last?

About nine months: Serenade of the Seas left Florida in December 2023 and came home 274 nights later, from a voyage the line had put on sale more than two years before she sailed.

Which unusual amenity did the Radiance-class ships introduce as a first at sea?

Self-levelling billiard tables tilt against the roll of the ship so the balls stay where they are played; they went to sea on Radiance of the Seas in 2001, as did glass lifts on the outside of the hull.

Which Royal Caribbean ship caught fire at sea in May 2013 and diverted to Freeport?

Grandeur of the Seas was sailing from Baltimore when fire broke out near her stern in the small hours of 27 May 2013; the crew put it out within three hours and passengers were flown home from Freeport.

What is the robot-bartender venue introduced with the Quantum class in 2014 called?

Bionic Bar's robot arms, built by the firm Makr Shakr, shake and pour cocktails that guests order on tablets; the idea later spread from the Quantum class to other ships in the fleet.

What did the EPA fine Royal Caribbean nearly $475,000 for in 2024?

Hazardous-waste reporting lapses surfaced after inspectors at the port of Galveston found eight of the line's ships offloading waste there; the agency alleged that five years of it lacked the required notices and records.

Who succeeded Richard Fain as chief executive of Royal Caribbean Group in 2022?

Jason Liberty took over as chief executive in January 2022, while Richard Fain, at the top of the company since 1988, stayed on as chairman until Liberty took that title too in 2025.

Royal Caribbean Group holds a 50 percent stake in which cruise company that operates Mein Schiff?

TUI Cruises, a joint venture with Germany's TUI AG that began sailing in 2009, runs the Mein Schiff fleet and in 2020 also took over Hapag-Lloyd Cruises.

Which Madrid-based line did Royal Caribbean's parent company buy in November 2006?

Pullmantur, then Spain's largest cruise operator, came with two former Renaissance ships that were spun off the following year to launch the Azamara brand.