Royal Caribbean Rewrites the Fine Print

Royal Caribbean brought back its double Crown & Anchor points promotion on new bookings this week, still the fastest lever advisors have for moving loyal clients up a tier. But it returns with revised terms from its last run, so confirm current eligibility and booking windows before quoting rather than assuming the old rules carry over.

Separately, Royal Caribbean reinstated the non-alcoholic beverage package exemption, which lets one cabinmate buy the Deluxe Beverage Package while another opts out of alcohol entirely — previously the line required every adult in a cabin to buy the same package. The exemption is back, but now runs through a formal approval process, and Royal Caribbean says it will impose major penalties on guests caught using the carve-out to dodge the all-adults rule. Route these requests through the proper channel and set expectations that enforcement is real this time.

Royal Caribbean has canceled and refunded a wave of Port Day Casita bookings across all three Icon-class ships — Icon, Star, and Legend of the Seas — after guests booked the cabana-style day passes at steep erroneous discounts, in some cases near $120 against a corrected price above $380. The line is voiding the reservations rather than honoring the pricing error, consistent with cruise contract terms stating pricing mistakes aren't binding.

Advisors with affected clients should expect frustration and complaint calls. The useful response is to confirm the refund has posted and offer to rebook the casita at the corrected rate, or suggest an alternative onboard splurge. It's also a good moment to remind clients that an unusually low, urgent-looking price on a cruise line's own site is a reason to double-check, not a reason to rush-book.

Two Carnival advisories this week affect specific, dated departures. On Carnival Miracle's Alaska season finale from Seattle on September 17, guests must strictly follow their assigned Terminal Arrival Appointment — Pier 91 is being shared with another line's ship plus a routine Coast Guard inspection the same day, and early arrivals risk being turned away and told to come back later.

Separately, Carnival required full in-person muster drills instead of the now-standard e-muster check-in on Carnival Magic's September 13 Miami departure, and is requiring the same today, September 14, for Carnival Paradise's Tampa departure. Advisors with clients on any of these three sailings should message them directly — arrival-time discipline for Miracle, and a live safety-drill gathering instead of self-service check-in for Magic and Paradise — to head off day-of confusion at the pier or muster stations.

Explora Journeys is pulling EXPLORA I and EXPLORA V out of the Middle East and Red Sea entirely, replacing those itineraries with new South America and Mediterranean deployments for 2027-28 as the regional war continues to make the original routes untenable. The rebuild adds 20 new maiden ports for the brand, a meaningful expansion of its route map.

The immediate issue for advisors is any client already booked on the affected Middle East or Red Sea sailings — those need to move onto one of the new itineraries. Reaching out now, while cabin categories and pricing on the replacement sailings are fresh, gives clients first pick of the new ports rather than leftovers once the swap gets wider attention. It's the latest example of a luxury line redeploying rather than cancelling outright around the same conflict.

A federal lawsuit filed against Virgin Voyages and its spa operator, One Spa World, alleges a spa crewmember used the ship's internal booking system to arrange unauthorized after-hours massage appointments and then sexually assaulted a passenger during a June Alaska sailing aboard Brilliant Lady. The crewmember has already been federally charged, which puts the civil case on firmer factual footing than typical shipboard assault allegations.

Advisors selling Virgin Voyages, or spa services on any line, should be prepared for client questions about how spa bookings and after-hours crew access are supervised. There's no indication yet that Virgin Voyages has changed its booking or crew-vetting procedures in response, so for now the practical guidance is limited to reassurance and standard duty-of-care talking points rather than any new policy to relay to clients.