bring ziploc bags for snacks and cookies you can take back with you and on excursions.

One of my favorite cruise hacks is to stay on the boat on a port day. Way less people on the boat means easy access throughout the boat including no lines. We did this at Nassau and it was great. We had a blast doing flowrider, the rock climbing wall and no lines for food.

I would like to add to the drink package hack. Let's say you are in a situation (like myself) where you don't really drink alcohol but you might get maybe two or three drinks the entire cruise and you also might want that speciality coffee once a day but you don't think the $500 for the drink package is worth it because you really don't think you're going to order that much. Instead of putting up your credit card remove the card and add cash to your room card. You can even equal the amount of the ultimate drink package if you want this way whatever you don't spend you can get back on the last night. Think of it as sort of your own personally funded on board credit. This can also work if you are in that situation where one person drinks and the other doesn't. For example if the drink package cost $500 each add $750 in cash (which 99% of people won't drink that much) and whatever is left over you can get back instead of paying $1000. If you actually do drink that much (not judging) then get the package but even with speciality coffee I've never spent more than about $80 on drinks (alcohol or otherwise).

For the frosted coffee hack - I’d recommend the reverse order! Get the ice cream first and then order espresso to pour on top. It’s called an affogato which is Italian for “drowned”. Letting the espresso sit in the cup for too long will cause the flavor to become bitter, so pouring fresh espresso on top of the ice cream is best 😌

Oasis class hack. Enter the Aquatheater from the jogging track on deck 5 to avoid the lines (and reservation requirements) on the Boardwalk for the Aquashow.

Agree with skipping the ports. We had the Solarium on Symphony to ourselves on our last cruise. Best seating and quiet.

My mom would do the "cup of soft-serve ice cream" hack and then take it out to a deck-chair and read her book. Oh, this was over 15 years ago!! Trend-setter!! hahaha.

Room service breakfast as a wake up call sounds a great idea, a good way to kick start a day. Thank you, Matt.

Oh my gosh! The stuff about staying on the ship for port days and the breakfast room service is totally something us cruisers do!! Haha literally after my first cruise I learned this. I mean, I love Nassau but there's only so many times and also just walking the ship and enjoying it is part of the excitement for me

Citrus reamer. If you want fresh squezed orange juice but didn’t get the drink package, bring a citrus reamer and grab a couple of complimentary oranges for some DIY fresh orange juice.

So grateful for this! I'm a non-drinker and my husband is - I had paid for the deluxe beverage package for both. Called today and was able to change mine to the refreshment package! Thank you!

For our last cruise I bought a small battery powered digital clock for the room with red LEDs. Those room can get really dark (especially interior rooms). If I wake up in the middle of the night I can easily see what time it is. I don't know why but this is comforting to me to be able to know the time. We have done the magnetic hooks, and we have brought swimwear in our carry-ons.

From what I understand, you need to drink 6 drinks per day to break even. That is a lot of calories. I think it would be cheaper to just buy it as you go.

I have definitely used all these hacks. I'll add, if you don't drink alcohol much but definitely want soda/specialty coffees/energy drinks/bottled water, get the refreshment package and bring your bottles of wine with you on embarkation day. You can purchase individual alcoholic drinks here and there. As long as you aren't buying multiple alcoholic drinks daily, this hack is a big money saver.

I usually bring an insulated mug w/cover for my coffee or tea (less refill runs). Maybe I'll also try a small thermos next time for hot chocolates in the room. One other tip is to see if you can do a back to back cruise on a repositioning cruise on the same ship. Lets you extend the vacation a little.

One hack I've been using for years is bringing your own plastic straws! Every time you get a drink, you get a paper straw, which I think is terrible! I don't want to be drinking my Mai Tia through cardboard! I get the long, colorful ones that bend. Not only that, but I even had people ask "where did you get a normal straw from???", I carry a lot, so I always give them one. If you enjoy drinking out of a smaller version of a toilet paper tube, then more power to you! But plastic straws are a must, specially for a drink package.

Hey Matt, 75 days till our Cruise on Wonder! This is our 7th RC cruise but still picked up great tips from this hack video. Thank you!

I don't know if its a hack or not, but on a day where I was feeling a little landsick/seasick after a port, the hubby and I went to the MDR. I tried to eat something but just couldn't. I went back to the room while he stayed to finish his meal. He had my meal boxed up and brought it to me. This was great because the food wasn't wasted and I was able to eat it once I was feeling better.

Next week on b2b on the Jewel, first Caribbean then Transatlantic Can't wait...

I bought the hooks! Omg thank you so much they are Sooooo helpful!

I will try that frosted coffee back in 2 weeks!

great hacks, Matt! We always get two connecting rooms for my son, daughter in law and their 3 young kids. Even with small oceanview rooms on Rhapsody, having the two connecting rooms made it seem really spacious.

Ordered the power strip! Great tip.

Love the hack on bringing a drink glass to the ice cream stand and fill 'er up!! :) I love the ice cream cones but sometimes want a little bit more. Great tip!

Great tips Matt! I have reached out to Customer Service via Twitter many times with great success! The response is almost always immediate. Once you Post your initial message all following responses are via DM. Another hint is bringing a USB strip (NOT a power strip) since the majority of people have USB devices now. Thanks again Matt!

8:20 I can confirm that reaching out to RC via social media is effective. I've had faster answers to all my questions via Facebook Messenger than by any other communication method other than a phone call.

Oooh! I'm totally telling my son about the float idea. I've never heard that one before! And I'm definitely doing that with the coffee! Thank you!

Your hacks are great information. Thank you. I tell myself everytime I've been to a port, I'm staying on the ship and you know what? I get off the ship. I do things I was unable to do before. One day I will listen and stay on the ship.😅😅

Thanks for the great videos!

Booking two adjacent, non-connected smaller cabins with at least one adult and one child family member in each cabin and using the exterior hallway to get between the two cabins is an even a better value than booking two connected cabins.

I have tried many of them. The ice cream hacks are my favorite. I am not a coffee drinker, so I substitute lemonade for the espresso and enjoy the Frosted Lemonade. I also have the Euro to US adaptors and a RCL approved extension cord for more plugs. Amazon has so many items available . I always check with RCL about which are appropriate for the ship I am sailing. 😊

I've heard reports recently that some lines are no longer allowing price matches after price drops. So buyer beware: your milage may vary here.

I use all of those tips (and more) on Royal Caribbean trips except that Sorrento is no longer does custom pizzas. I have tried to get pizzas that are not in the Daily Trio many times and they will not do it. You can order a full pizza but it has to be one of the pizzas dejour.

Great video ❤❤❤❤

I booked my cruise direct with Royal Caribbean, and when I noticed that the fare went down significantly, I called and they upgraded our room as well as lowered the fare by over $150 per person.

Johnny rockets breakfast is really awesome. Was cooked better than dining room or windjammer

Love the video Matt! We’re going on our first Royal Caribbean cruise (Liberty of the seas) as a couple in June! I’ve always loved RC, my boyfriend has never been!

On our next RC cruise, we will be traveling with a one year old, so we will bring a travel inflatable baby/toddler bathtub to bath our little one since most rooms have only a shower. With the tub being inflatable, it is easy to pack to down.

I’ve never had any issue getting my own price drops for my European coming up I repriced 3 times and the amount of money I saved was close to 4 figure.

That connecting cabin hack is even better than you know. On my upcoming cruise the cost to have 4 people in one internal balcony cabin of the same class vs two connecting internal rooms of that class were only $100 more for the entire party. Saving $100 is not worth being crammed into a single room.

We like Royal's coffee punch card. It's about $30 for 15 punches and whatever you don't use you can use on your next cruise. Definitely gonna try the coffee/ice cream hack. Love the connecting room hack. We like to do that with balcony rooms and then have the steward open the divider on the balcony and it gives you a bigger balcony.

Very helpful

12:00 Be ware that the room attendant may unplug it to plug in his vacuum, which usually has a European plug on cruise ships.

So if you don’t have the drink package but like cheap beer get Foster’s. On Oasis they were about $11 for a 24 ounce oil can vs $7 for basically all other beers.

Hey Matt. I have a cruise coming up in late May and I was wondering if the main gratuities can still be pulled off my ship board account and paid for separately as we have done since RCL started adding the gratuities to our account? My wife and I are diamond members and as of last April we were able to handle the gratuities on our own. Love your blog. Looking forward to your comments. Thanks Matt. Phil

For ice cream I go to the buffet and get a soup bowl.

What is the beach shown during the 8 minute mark? It's beautiful!!!

Off topic but do they have the Lime and Coconut drink at the pool bar on Symphony?

We have a European plug adapter that has two USB as well as the standard outlet.

Great ice cream hack. Can you use regular coffee from Windjammer??

Does anyone know what kinds of options they have for cow dairy free? I can have goat cheese and Feta if is actually made with sheeps milk. I can have nut milk options as well. Just curious if I should try to find out if I should bring my own

Is it possible to book three adjoining rooms for larger families or does a suite get to be better in that case?

Amazing hacks! Sailing on Icon next November and we're so excited!! 🎉🛳️🏖️

You can also have kids by themselves directly across the hall! You have to call but I saved money vs having all four of us in one ocean balcony or having 2 ocean balconies. I have an ocean balcony with one kid and the other kids are across the hall in a Central Park balcony

I got the refreshment package, I dont think i broke even the whole week. I even let the fam use it. Lol. As long as I only order 1 drink at a time, they didnt care. I'd go from one coffee bar to another to get coffee for others. Also I noticed the validity date on the soda cups is 2 weeks, does that mean you can get soda for 2 weeks (if cruising for that long) for the price of 1?

Hi Matt, does Odyssey of the Seas still has Zone Zero?

I stopped adding up the savings Brock Taylor from MEI travel has saved me through repricing and special offers he has. Most recently, he saved me $500 on our Aug Ovation Alaska cruise. So glad I listened to Matt, gave up a little control, and got an MEI TA!!!! Worth it!

I was busted for the boxed cereal hack. They said no food off the ship.

Hey I have a cruise 🚢 booked on the independence of the seas at the end of June. My 2 boys ages 20 & 14 have never been on a cruise & this is my wife & my 2nd. My question which I haven’t seen an answer for is how to stay in contact with your kids if they don’t have a cell phone? Or am I going to have to buy one?

Will the staff fill the cup instead of making you a cone? We use to do that when RCCL was self-serve

Wow, wish we could go. Were foster parents, andalways wanted to go.

You can only access the diamond lounge if your Diamond or above

Anyway to avoid the giant room service trays? I LOVE room service but hate the bulky trays as it never fails my kids knock them over and they take up way more space than what’s available. Any tips?

We were never given a wake up call for our dine in breakfast service on Princess!

I use the Royal chat and ask for price drop and any benefits

I have an upcoming cruise on icon of the seas that is about a year away. I noticed that there are no drink packages or dining packages available for purchase yet. In your experience, do you have a rough estimate of when these packages might become available?

My visa was rejected 20 days before joining and now when I asked my hiring partner, he said that RCL will send the new LOE and after that I will get the visa appointment. ...now I wanted to ask whether the new LOE will be issued before the joining date

What beach is that at 8:02?

How do I reprise my cruise?

UP NEXT!

Yeah, about the lower price "hack". Went through an agent found through your site and when prices dropped for a cruise booked, he told us that it went up. Needless to say, we missed out on saving a LOT of money by trusting one of your agents.

we did connecting on two CCL ships and it ws cheaper than a suite.

I’m booking the icon for 2026. Either Jan, Feb, or march. Can people chime in on which month is the best from a weather perspective please?

i didn't see anything that looks like soft-serve ice cream. I saw frozen yogurt and something that may have been refrozen ice cream. But all of the clips you showed looked like they had huge frozen crystals. That either means it isn't cream based or that it thawed and refroze in the machine.

Some good info but speaker talks to FAST that sometimes could not understand him.

What to do if you’re running late to a cruise? Embarkation day and port day?

Can’t take food off the ship in Australia 😢

The issue that I’m running into is the fact that I want the Soda Package for myself, but my wife doesn’t drink Soda. She would likely want either Coffee or Water Package, but we were told that both of us have to get the same package. If this is true, it kinda sucks that they’d make someone buy something that they won’t or CAN’T drink.

The custom pizza did not work on the Wonder. I asked and they said they would not do it.

It's really sad that the captions for this video misspell the name of the cruise line.

Sounds as a LOT of work for a Coffee , BUT it's V-K so what the HECK ...We rally get off the Ship on Port Days especially one's We been to Before. Just more INFO !!!!

265 days until Adventure of the Seas

Have to call something out. The crew do not know the chicken sandwich you have to order the chicken sandwich and the mozzarella sticks separate. We have tried many times to order together and always get a confused look. Also at sorrentos. They never allow us to order a pizza. We have tried on many ships and are always told they don’t do that.

Sailed Independence of the Seas last year, Sorrentos told us they would not make us a whole pizza.

Be careful with adapters that go from the European Type E/F to US. The European voltage is 240V at 50 Hz. US is 120V at 60 Hz. If you're plugging in something like a laptop or phone charger, it should be able to handle the higher voltage. Laptops and phones run on DC, so the frequency of the original sine wave is irrelevant. The European Type E/F outlets in the room are used by the cabin stewards to vacuum. If you use that outlet, they might need to unplug it to clean the room. You're better off with a multi USB port charger that has fast charging that goes into the US outlet. These European Type E/F adapters are more useful if you need power around the ship. They come in handy if you need to plug in your phone/laptop while at the bar.

Me and my friend use the connecting room hack so that way we can still hang out but when it's time to go to bed his snoring ass will be far enough away so I can sleep lol

Where's the, "Up Next!?"

How does one actually reprice???

Matt, thank you for bucking the corporate line and pronouncing “cay” in the traditional, historical way! (Key)

Pity that the cruise lines now want drug money for a cruise when your a solo.

I would hardly call anything on this video a "Hack" Some of the ideas are good others are not.

Who would go to that much trouble for a coffee. I would never go on a cruise. Not only do i get seasick easily, but just the idea of so many people swarming around me, a trip to hell

You talk too fast dude

A mudslide or similar drink with vanilla ice cream is great

Matt, I love ya, but please stop saying "hacks". You are not encouraging your viewers to chop down a tree or break into Royal Caribbean's computer system. What you are providing are tips, so you should just say "Top 18 Royal Caribbean cruise tips". And while these are all great suggestions, they are not hidden secrets like the term 'hacks' would suggest. 😉

I really don't like royal caribbean

I always bring an extra colostomy bag to the bar on free margarita night! Tip the bartender $20 and he'll fill it up for you TO-G0!. Just don't confuse the two when you get back to your cabin!

Something I found disappointing when we skipped a port day is that things like the Flowrider and other onboard activities were very limited. I understand that the crew need a break and all of that, but we specifically chose to stay on board for one of the three port days but found that what we should have been able to do onboard weren't operating.