By AppHub Editorial Team · Updated August 3, 2026
Royal Caribbean International
Overview
Travel & Local
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
Free
Aug 10, 2017
1.75.4
9
No
May 5, 2026
Features
Explore cruises – from Europe to Alaska, the Caribbean to Asia, and Mexico to Australia – and book with just a few taps. Get great deals and buy gift cards to use on pre-cruise purchases and new bookings. Tackle all your travel planning, too. Find and book great deals on flights, explore transportation and lodging options, and plan your entire journey.
Learn more about our brands, ships, and destinations by watching exciting videos. And learn about the benefits of our loyalty program, the Cro...
Explore cruises – from Europe to Alaska, the Caribbean to Asia, and Mexico to Australia – and book with just a few taps. Get great deals and buy gift cards to use on pre-cruise purchases and new bookings. Tackle all your travel planning, too. Find and book great deals on flights, explore transportation and lodging options, and plan your entire journey. Learn more about our brands, ships, and destinations by watching exciting videos. And learn about the benefits of our loyalty program, the Crown & Anchor® Society, as well as one-for-one tier matching across all our brands. Enroll with a simple tap or track your tier and benefits if you’re already a member. Vacation planning, redefined When you book a cruise with Royal Caribbean, our app gives you everything you need to plan your vacation and create memories at sea. Find useful tips on what to pack, gather the travel documents you need, and get reminders to check in before sailing day. Reserve shore excursions for every port, purchase or upgrade a beverage package for endless toasts, and an internet package to stay connected and share your experiences in real-time, while at sea – though the app is free to use on your ship’s Wi-Fi network. Put relaxation on the calendar with spa packages and make dining reservations at distinctive specialty restaurants... you can even make all your Ultimate Dining Package reservations directly in the app. Explore other pre-cruise deals in the arcade, check out VIP Passes and make your cruise truly special with gifts and gear. And don’t forget to link reservations with your travel party so you can make plans together. Set sail like a pro To save time on sailing day, make sure to check in ahead of time using the app. You can also start your mandatory safety briefing and get your SetSail Pass, before heading to the terminal. Find all the shows and activities in the Daily Planner and build your personalized calendar, so you can plan endless fun. We’ll even remind you with a notification when you have plans. Be sure to smile for the camera because you’ll be able to view, purchase and download your photos right from the app (available on select ships). Find your way around with detailed deck maps and chat with your travel party through group or 1-on-1 chats. You can also chat with Guest Services on select ships, to get help and your questions answered at your convenience. Track your onboard expenses in the app (or not... you’ll be on vacation, after all) and learn how to book your next cruise while onboard for the best deals. After your cruise, you can continue to track your loyalty status and perks, keep up with the latest and greatest from our family of brands in the video library, and start planning and booking your next cruise. Because we know this won’t be your last! More than a cruise app Make sure you turn on auto-updates, so you never miss a beat with our app. Features may vary from ship to ship. App is free to download and use. In-app purchases available. Once onboard, connect to your ship's guest Wi-Fi network. No internet package required. We continue to develop and enhance the app and are looking for your ideas and feedback. Email AppFeedback@rccl. com and tell us what you’d like to see in the future.
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Ratings breakdown
129,000 reviewsDeveloper contact
Name
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
Address
1050 Caribbean Way Miami, FL 33132 United States
Website
https://www.royalcaribbean.comPhone
+1 847-302-1409
Support
AppFeedback@rccl.com
Privacy
View policyFrequently Asked Questions
Is the Royal Caribbean app free to use on the ship? high
Yes, the app is free to download and use. According to the app description, you can connect to the ship's guest Wi-Fi network without needing to purchase an internet package for basic features like the Daily Planner, deck maps, and chat.
Source: app_metadata
Does the in-app messaging work well for communicating with my group? high
User reviews from May 2025 to May 2026 consistently report that the in-app messaging, especially group chat, is unreliable. Multiple reviewers state that messages are frequently dropped, not delivered to all recipients, or fail to send notifications. This appears to be a significant, recurring issue with the app.
Source: user_reviews
Can I book things like excursions and dinner reservations in the app? high
Yes, the app description and at least one user review confirm that you can book dinners, activities, shore excursions, and even check in for your cruise through the app. The review mentioned it was 'indispensable' for this.
Source: app_metadata, user_reviews
Does the app have a feature to track onboard spending? high
Yes, the app description explicitly states that you can 'Track your onboard expenses in the app'.
Source: app_metadata
What Android version do I need to run this app? high
According to the app metadata, the Royal Caribbean app requires Android 9.0 and up.
Source: app_metadata
How to Use
The Royal Caribbean app is a comprehensive tool for planning and managing every aspect of a cruise vacation, from booking and pre-cruise check-in to on-ship activities and post-cruise loyalty tracking. (app_description)
Getting Started
Source: app_description_and_user_feedback_noted
- Step 1: Download the app for free from the Google Play Store.
- Step 2: Create an account or log in. If you are a member of the Crown & Anchor Society loyalty program, you can track your tier and benefits.
- Step 3: Link your cruise reservation. You can also link reservations with your travel party to coordinate plans.
- Step 4: Before your cruise, use the app to check in, complete your mandatory safety briefing, and get your SetSail Pass.
- Step 5: Once onboard, connect to the ship's guest Wi-Fi network to use all app features for free, including the Daily Planner, deck maps, and chat.
Key Features (from app listing)
Source: app_description
- Book cruises and view deals
- Manage reservations and check in for your cruise
- Plan daily activities, shows, and excursions via the Daily Planner
- Navigate the ship with detailed deck maps
- Book dining, spa treatments, and shore excursions
- Purchase beverage and internet packages
- Communicate with your travel party via in-app group or 1-on-1 chat
- Track your onboard expenses
- View and purchase your cruise photos (select ships)
- Track your Crown & Anchor Society loyalty status
This tip is derived directly from a dominant pattern in the user reviews, specifically reviews #1, #2, #4, and #5, which all cite failures in the in-app messaging and notification system.
How this content was created
Content type: pattern_analysis_of_user_reviews_and_metadata
AI generated: Yes
- Google Play user reviews (12-20 preferred; may be smaller if source data is limited per app), March 2026 to May 2026
- Google Play ratings distribution
- App Store listing metadata
- Review samples are not statistically representative of all user sentiment
- A small sample of 5 reviews was used, which may not reflect the overall high 4.6-star rating
- No high-engagement or mixed review data was available
- Claims labeled 'low confidence' are based on single-review observations only
- No real-world app testing was conducted
- Feature availability may vary by region, device, and app version
Pros & Cons
Based on analysis of Google Play user reviews
Pros
- The app is widely used and considered essential for cruise planning and daily activities like booking dinners, excursions, and checking in (recent pattern). low
Review #3 (5-star) explicitly states the app was 'indispensable' for these tasks. This is a recurring recent pattern from a single review in the recent_bucket.
Evidence (1)
“The app was indispensable on our cruise! We did everything from it. We were able to book dinners, activities, excursions, even check in and out. It was especially helpful as we traveled through timezones and our phones didn't always update as quickly, and the app always showed the local time.”Rating: 5★ May 09, 2026 1 likes - The app's event planner and notification system for scheduled activities works reasonably well (recent pattern). low
Review #5 mentions the app is 'good with listing things to do and events' and 'even gives notifications for some of them'. This is noted as a positive feature even in a 3-star review that criticizes other aspects.
Evidence (1)
“App is good with listing things to do and events that are happening that day. It even gives notifications for some of them.”Rating: 3★ May 10, 2026
Cons
- The in-app messaging feature, particularly group chat, is unreliable with messages frequently not being delivered or not sending notifications (recent pattern). high
This is the dominant theme across multiple recent_reviews. Review #1 mentions group chat 'kept dropping messages' despite getting a notification. Review #2 states 'with a group chat you could never rely on anyone getting a message'. Review #4 warns 'Don't count on the messaging to notify you at all'. Review #5 says the app 'gives u NO notifications if someone in your group sends u a message'. This is a cross-bucket pattern within the recent reviews sample.
Evidence (4)
“Using the chat feature is great for keeping in touch with your party but the group chat feature kept dropping messages eventhough you would get the notification that you got a message. To receive messages, I would have to shut down the app and t”Rating: 3★ March 07, 2026 11 likes“but the messaging is a joke. With a group chat you could never rely on anyone getting a message because sometimes only half the group received them.”Rating: 3★ May 02, 2025 73 likes“Don't count on the messaging to notify you at all.”Rating: 2★ May 03, 2026 2 likes“it gives u NO notifications if someone in your group sends u a message. This was annoying as when we were trying to find ppl in our”Rating: 3★ May 10, 2026 - The app is a necessity onboard but is considered poorly designed and sometimes unusable (recent pattern). medium
Review #4 calls it 'Maybe the worst app ever' while acknowledging its necessity. Review #2 criticizes the overall design, stating the app is 'trying to do too many things'. Review #4 also mentions the 'planner is halfway useless'. This pattern emerges across three reviews.
Evidence (2)
“Maybe the worst app ever, but an extra star for working some of the time and being the ONLY option onboard. Tip: Turn your phone to landscape view to use the guest services chat.”Rating: 2★ May 03, 2026 2 likes“The app is good but it's trying to do too many things.”Rating: 3★ March 07, 2026 11 likes
Recent Reviews
Angelo Delegeane
3★The app is good but it's trying to do too many things. Using the chat feature is great for keeping in touch with your party but the group chat feature kept dropping messages eventhough you would get the notification that you got a message. To receive messages, I would have to shut down the app and then re-open it to see the message (if it appeared at all).
Amanda Fees
3★The app is fine for things like tracking your account balance and events, but the messaging is a joke. With a group chat you could never rely on anyone getting a message because sometimes only half the group received them. Even paying for the internet package to use a different app isn't worth it because half the time that drops as well. I think walkie-talkies would be the way to go.
Deidre Carter
5★The app was indispensable on our cruise! We did everything from it. We were able to book dinners, activities, excursions, even check in and out. It was especially helpful as we traveled through timezones and our phones didn't always update as quickly, and the app always showed the local time. I did wish that the app would show the current location when out at sea.
Julie Hartman
2★Maybe the worst app ever, but an extra star for working some of the time and being the ONLY option onboard. Tip: Turn your phone to landscape view to use the guest services chat. Don't count on the messaging to notify you at all. And the planner is halfway useless showing your reservations sometimes, other times at the wrong time, and other times not at all.
Mike Adams
3★App is good with listing things to do and events that are happening that day. It even gives notifications for some of them. Reason I gave it a 3 star rating is because it gives u NO notifications if someone in your group sends u a message. This was annoying as when we were trying to find ppl in our party it was hard to communicate as no one got any notifications.