Royal Caribbean Brings a Bold New Idea to Cruising

The cruise line has a unique plan that parents and kids of a certain age might be very happy about.

Royal Caribbean Group (RCL) - Get Free Report and Carnival Cruise Lines (CCL) - Get Free Report cater to families with their namesake cruise lines. 

That's in a broad sense -- with ships having rock-climbing walls, water slides, various water features for younger kids, arcades, minigolf courses, and everything from ice skating to bumper cars depending upon what ship you are on -- and in a very specific one.

Both cruise lines have robust children's programs that serve kids from roughly six months through age 17. The youngest kids, of course, get babysitting so that parents can get a much-needed break, while the programs for older kids are as much about the kids making friends as giving the adults free time.

When you get to the oldest groups -- 15 to 17 in most cases --  the programs become drop-in, where teenagers can bounce between dedicated club space and exploring the ship on their own. These kids programs are major focuses of Carnival and Royal Caribbean, with elaborate areas devoted to each age group.

But once you turn 18, you age out of these programs. That puts older teens and anyone under the legal drinking age of 21 (on ships sailing from the U.S.) in a weird position. You may still be a "kid" traveling with your parents, but with special activities it becomes hard to meet other people your age.

Royal Caribbean has been testing a plan to fix that problem.

Royal Caribbean Tests New Activities

For adults, a lot of cruise-ship activities are built around bars and drinking. The larger Royal Caribbean ships have dozens of bars on board, many with themes, musical acts, and even a robot bar. Underage passengers are allowed into these venues, but people who are under 21 don't get the full experience.

Passengers who are at least 18 but under 21 are in a grey area on cruises. A lot of activities should appeal to them, but none are geared specifically for them. 

That's something Royal Caribbean has been trying to address with a new offering called Hyperlink, targeting passengers ages 18 to 25, Matt Hochberg of the Royal Caribbean Blog first reported. 

The program has been in a trial phase on Symphony of the Seas (which is also the ship on which the cruise line has been testing new main dining room menus). Hyperlink, which has also been spotted in the Cruise Compass daily program on other ships, includes activities like dodgeball specifically for cruisers in that age group.

Activities include meetups, dedicated nightclub time, and other events organized by the onboard-activities staff.

"It appears the goal is to gather passengers of this age so they can meet and spend time together with the intention of fostering new friendships," wrote Hochberg, whose blog is not affiliated with the cruise line. 

"Just like other events, there's no preregistration needed. Guests of this age can simply show up at the selected time and location."

Royal Caribbean Looks to Build Future Cruisers 

Most people 25 and under who are on a cruise likely did not pay for that cruise themselves. They might still live with their parents (likely if they are under 21), but even if they have moved out, someone else is likely footing the bill.

Creating programming for that age group accomplishes a couple of things for the cruise line. 

First, it gives that somewhat overlooked age group a much better chance of having a good time on their cruises. That's important because if younger folks find cruising boring. it becomes hard for the cruise line to get them to sample again when they have families of their own (or have the means to cruise when mom and dad aren't paying). 

Second, Royal Caribbean's Hyperlink program should build friendships and maybe even love connections that may lead to people wanting to cruise more. If you have friends that like to cruise, it's natural that you may plan future cruises with those people (just as many older adult cruisers do).

Royal Caribbean is solving an onboard problem here while also building for its future.