In my opinion, one of the essential tools every Royal Caribbean passenger needs to have is their daily copy of the Royal Caribbean Cruise Compass.
This is the ship’s daily newsletter and is a guide to all the onboard activities, entertainment, and dining options, as well as any important announcements.
It helps passengers make the most of their time on the ship by providing a detailed schedule of all of the daily events and makes it easy for everyone to plan their days at sea.
On every Royal Caribbean cruise I’ve been on (which is a LOT!), one of the last things I do every evening is to have a quick read-through of the following day’s Cruise Compass.
It’s a great way to stay organized and informed about everything happening on the ship.
I can read through the various activities, shows, and events, choosing what interests me the most and ensure I don’t miss anything that important to me.
Additionally, the Cruise Compass also contains helpful information about the opening times of all the venues and restaurants, upcoming port visits, and any potential changes in the itinerary.
The Cruise Compass is a great resource for every Royal Caribbean passenger, ensuring that you can make the most of your cruise.
Understanding Your Cruise Compass
Physical vs Digital Copy
In the past, Royal Caribbean provided a paper copy of the Cruise Compass. This paper version would be delivered each evening to passengers’ staterooms, outlining the following day’s events.
However, Royal Caribbean is only now delivering paper copies on request. Instead, they now prefer you to download a digital copy of the cruise compass.
To download a copy, just look for the large QR codes located at strategic points around the ship. These are usually on the notice boards near the lifts. You’ll also see them on the racks where you used to be able to pick spare copies of the cruise compass.
To download a copy simply point your smartphone’s camera at the QR code and click the link to open it.
If you prefer a paper copy, simply speak to your Cabin Steward on the first day and and them to deliver a paper copy each day.
Cruise Compass vs Royal Caribbean App
If you have cruised with Royal Caribbean before, you will know that they have the Royal Caribbean App, and this app actually includes details of all the daily activities, venue opening times, etc.
So why have a Cruise Compass AND the App, if both basically provide the same information?
The app does indeed include all the information that the cruise compass does, but the way it is presented is very different.
Personally, I much prefer the layout of the cruise compass, as it has a very handy daily snapshot and tips and highlights for each day. It’s harder to see a summary like this on the App.
However, and here is the big problem – it’s really quite awkward to read the Cruise Compass on a small smartphone screen. So I always try to get a printed copy.
I am sure that Royal Caribbean’s long-term plan is probably to phase out the Cruise Compass completely. But I think they recognize that their App is a long way from being perfect.
On our most recent sailing on Wonder of the Seas in September 2023, the app performed well. It was still clumsy though to find certain bits of information. But it was definitely usable and very handy at times.
Jump back six months earlier to our cruise on Vision of the Seas and the App was truly awful. It was very slow and frequently crashed. So they are clearly working on continually improving this App.
So will it replace the Cruise Compass? We’ll see.
Royal Caribbean Cruise Compass – Actual Examples
Here are some real examples of the Royal Caribbean Cruise Compass.
Royal Caribbean Cruise Compass Wonder of the Seas
Wonder of the Seas currently sails two different alternating seven-day itineraries from its base in Port Canaveral. One week it sails to Perfect Day at CocoCay, Cozumel, Roatan, and Costa Maya.
The following week it goes to St Maarten, St Thomas, and CocoCay
This sailing was the itinerary that visits CocoCay, Cozumel, Roatan, and Costa Maya.
If you are sailing on this itinerary this Cruise Compass will give you a pretty good idea of the type of entertainment to expect on board each day.
Could You Share Your Cruise Compass With Us?
To help our readers it would be great to be able to show examples of the Cruise Compass from all the ships in Royal Caribbean’s fleet.
So if you happened to download a copy from your most recent cruise, would you be so kind as to send us a copy? That would be wonderful! Thank you so much!
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