Royal Caribbean: The Latest News and What's Actually Happening
Royal Caribbean's Paperless Bills: Saving Trees or Just Saving Money?
Okay, Royal Caribbean is ditching paper bills on cruises starting December 15, 2025. Big whoop. They're framing it as some kind of convenience thing, patting themselves on the back about how you can now check your folio on the app, email, iTV, whatever.
The Digital "Convenience" Lie
Let's be real. This ain't about making your life easier. This is about cutting costs. Plain and simple. Fewer trees slaughtered? Please. If they really cared about the environment, maybe they wouldn't be building those monstrous, gas-guzzling cruise ships in the first place. You know, like the Icon of the Seas.
"For ease of communication, we are discontinuing the use of printed invoices…" Give me a break. "Ease of communication?" That's corporate speak for "we don't want to pay for paper and ink anymore." I bet the C-suite gets paper bills, though, right? Royal Caribbean is getting rid of the paper bill at the end of the cruise
And what about the people who like having a physical bill? The ones who want to sit down with a pen and highlighter and dissect every single charge? The ones who don't trust the damn app to be accurate, or even to work at all, offcourse? They're screwed.
Royal Caribbean has gone digital across many aspects of the onboard experience, starting with eDocs. Fine, eDocs are whatever. But now, this?
Beach Club Blues and Executive Exits
Speaking of things not working as planned, remember that Royal Beach Club Paradise Island they were supposed to open on December 23, 2025? Yeah, well, they had to cancel a preview visit because, surprise, construction is still ongoing. So much for "exceptional standards." Ongoing Construction Delays First Royal Caribbean Beach Club
It's like promising a kid a pony for Christmas and then showing up with a half-built stable and a bag of horse feed.
And then there's Ana Karina Santini, AVP of international destination development, leaving after 14 years. "Passion and dedication," blah, blah, blah. "Exciting new chapter," yawn. What's the real story there? Is she jumping ship before the whole thing sinks? Or did she just get a better offer? I'm betting on the latter.
Melissa Morales and Preston Carnahan are taking over her responsibilities. Good luck to them. They'll need it.
The Future of Cruising: All Glitz, No Substance?
Royal Caribbean, like other cruise lines, are always pushing the "deals" – especially around Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Up to 40% off, free this, complimentary that. It's all a distraction. A shiny object to keep you from noticing that the actual experience is slowly being eroded.
Are cruises becoming less about the journey and more about squeezing every last dollar out of passengers? It sure feels that way.
Then again, maybe I'm just getting old and cranky. Maybe everyone else is perfectly happy staring at their phones all day and getting nickel-and-dimed for every little thing. Maybe I'm the crazy one here.