8 ways to jump on this year's biggest travel trends with massive savings

Set sail with this incredible sale from Royal Caribbean around the world.

Back to work blues setting in? It’s never too early to start planning your next adventure and join in on some of the biggest travel trend predictions for 2024 and 2025. And it’s an especially good time to do so with Royal Caribbean’s wave season offer on all 2024 and 2025 sailings.

Known for providing the best holiday experiences – from unique shows and revues to RipCord® by iFLY® simulated skydiving to a FlowRider surfing simulator – guests can take advantage of buy-one-get-one 60 per cent off on all Royal Caribbean’s international sailings, including world cruises segments, until 11.59pm AEST on 31 January 2024.

Those hoping to explore closer to home can take advantage of up to 40 per cent off all local sailings to Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific, plus up to $600 in instant savings.

Find a wave pool and sky diving simulator on board Quantum of the Seas.

But how to choose which one to book? Tick off your bucket list, of course, or align your cruise to one of the predicted hottest trends for the next couple of years. From Tomato Girl Summer to the ultimate set-jetting experience, discover a brand new travel experience.

1. Make your next cruise a family reunion

Travel has always been a way to reconnect and make memories with loved ones, but multigenerational trips will only continue to rise heading into the new year. With everything to play, relax and stay in one place, cruising is a particularly good way to satisfy the holiday needs of all ages – particularly when that cruise is an eight-night South Pacific Cruise aboard Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas.

Departing from Brisbane on 27 March 2024, stop into Noumea, New Caledonia and Port Vila, Vanuatu, from $1449 per person for a balcony stateroom. Read our full review of this itinerary here.

Lounge at the adults-only Solarium while the kids enjoy the Adventure Ocean® youth program, onboard Quantum of the Seas.

2. Embrace the slow travel trend

‘Itinerary’ and ‘slow travel’ may not seem like two words that can be used together, but tour providers have begun learning the benefits of slowing things down, and will continue to do so into 2024. Avoid the crowds and get a more intimate acquaintance with New Zealand with a 10-night New Zealand adventure departing from Sydney on Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas.

This itinerary is perfect for travellers wanting a longer and more leisurely trip, stopping at Picton, Napier and Wellington before exploring the bucket-list landscapes of Dusky Sound, Doubtful Sound and Milford Sound. The next sailing departs on 12 March 2024, from $1999 per person for a balcony stateroom.

Explore the otherwordly Milford Sound.

3. Visit a famous movie set

Thanks to the dreamy locations featured on shows like White Lotus and Emily in Paris, ‘set-jetting’ has become a growing travel trend. What is it? Choosing destinations based on movies and TV shows.

Embrace the trend on Royal Caribbean’s ultimate White Lotus set-jetting experience by way of their 10-night Vietnam and Thailand cruise aboard Anthem of the Seas, departing from Singapore on 2 January 2025 with prices from $2562 per person for a balcony stateroom. Celebrate the third season of this hit show when you stop at featured locations around Asia.

Explore the bustling Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh and relax beachside at Nha Trang and Hue/Danang in Vietnam. Onboard, enjoy incredible dining options like New England style-seafood at Hooked Seafood, and American diner classics at Johnny Rockets.

Visit Bankok, the setting of White Lotus season three.

4. Open your mind to all-ages cruising

Cruising isn’t just for grey travellers anymore. The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) shows that a full 77 per cent of millennials are open to cruising, which means that people are considering taking a cruise from their late 20s and upwards.

No matter what your age, the young-at-heart will love the adventure aboard Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas, setting sail on the seven-night Cabo, Vallarta & Mazatlan itinerary. Departing from Los Angeles on 16 August 2024, get your thrills onboard the longest waterslide at sea and bigger pools and enjoy incredible dining options like the New England-style seafood and American diner classics. In between, relax on world-famous beaches in Cabo San Lucas and soak up the history of Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta in Mexico.

Dive into Navigator of the Seas’ Caribbean resort-style pool.

5. Longer cruises are in

More and more, people are packing up their homes and taking to sea for longer periods, as a hassle-free (and often better value) alternative to global travel involving planes, trains, cars, and hotels.

Royal Caribbean has answered the call of guests by offering extended world cruises like the 16-night Ultimate Australia & Southeast Asia cruise aboard Serenade of the Seas, departing from Brisbane on 11 March 2024. From $8287 per person for a balcony stateroom, start in the picturesque Airlie Beach and Cairns, before taking heading across the ocean to destinations such as Lombok, Benoa and Bali in Indonesia. Then, it’s off to the Philippines before disembarking in Hong Kong.

See the stunning coastline of The Philippines. (Image: Jake Irish)

6. Finally check Miami off your bucket list

There’s a reason Miami made it into the top 30 of National Geographic’s Cool List for 2024. Maybe we can thank the buzz of the Barbie aesthetic, but regardless, expect to start seeing this coastal Floridian city in the headlines this year.

Spend time at the largest waterpark at sea onboard Icon of the Seas.

Get there before the hype dies on a seven-night Eastern Caribbean & Perfect Day Cruise onboard Icon of the Seas. Departing from Miami, Florida on 13 September 2025 from $4100 per person for a balcony stateroom, spend time at the largest waterpark at sea in between stops at Philipsburg in St Maarten and Charlotte in St. Thomas, before heading to Royal Caribbean’s private island destination, Perfect Day At Coco Bay in the Bahamas. If that’s not a Miami vibe, we don’t know what is.

Experience Royal Caribbean’s private island destination.

7. Embrace a romantic European summer

Tomato Girl Summer is a laid-back aesthetic making its way from TikTok to the mainstream. It’s all about a dreamy European escape and it’s fuelling an obsession with travel through the Mediterranean. Don your cutest outfits and head onboard Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas for a seven-night Western Mediterranean cruise, departing 29 August 2024 from $2775 per person for a balcony stateroom.

Depart from vibrant Rome, before following this spectacular Mediterranean along the Naples coastline and off to Barcelona and Palma De Mallorca in Spain. Head back to Italy’s Florence before disembarking back in Rome.

Sail along the Naples coastline.

8. Book a limited edition cruise itinerary

Travellers have always wanted unique experiences, and this trend will continue to grow into 2024. But unique doesn’t have to mean long, thanks to the nine-night Ultimate Norwegian Fjords cruise offered on Serenade of the Seas.

From $8471 per person for a balcony stateroom, this cruise departs from Copenhagen on 10 August 2024 before sailing to Aarhaus and then making its way to rustic Scandinavian Fjords like Oslo, Kristiansand, Haugesund, Olden, Alesund and Bergen, Norway. Finish the journey in bustling Amsterdam.

Adventure through the stunning fjords of Norway.

Take advantage of Royal Caribbean’s wave season offer by heading to royalcaribbean.com before 11.59pm AEST on 31 January 2024.