On newer Royal Caribbean ships, the cruise line has made a notable effort to ensure that each bar has a distinctive feel. 

This has been captured incredibly well on Icon of the Seas, which has added a number of new bar concepts.

When you visit Lou’s jazz bar in Central Park or the Rye & Bean coffee bar in the Aquadome, you are visiting  unique concepts. These don’t feel like bars you’ve been to before, and their menus were created specifically for them.

Related: Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises fix key casino problem

That effort was taken to an extreme on Icon, but it’s yet more the case on the new Oasis-Class ship, Utopia of the Seas. That ship, sailing three- and four-day itineraries out of Port Canaveral, also has a number of distinct bars.

These include adding Mason Jar, a southern themed bar with a completely original drink menu. In addition to including some clever mixologist-created drinks paired with interesting garnishes, Mason Jar, like many of Royal Caribbean’s newer bars, also offers a menu of nonalcoholic choices.

Utopia also offers the first-of-its-kind Pesky Parrot, a Caribbean themed bar on the Royal Promenade specializing in frozen and fruity drinks. 

That bar, which appears where the former Robot Bar was on some Oasis-Class ships and where the R Bar appeared on others, has been incredibly popular. You literally see people come all the way down from the pool deck to order drinks at Pesky Parrot.

Royal Caribbean fixes two popular bars

Last year, Royal Caribbean made a specific effort to differentiate some of its bars. The cruise line had allowed many of its offerings to become generic.

It fixed that by introducing new menus at both its pubs and its Schooner Bars. Nearly every ship in the fleet has a pub, and the Schooner Bar is a Royal Caribbean staple that is on every ship.

The new menu in the pub features a number of gin-based drinks as well as some whiskey-forward options. It’s not a massive overhaul, but the cruise line seems more committed to having the drinks on the menu available.

More Royal Caribbean:

• Royal Caribbean has a beverage package policy you won’t like
• Royal Caribbean adds a partner passengers should be happy about
• Royal Caribbean shares a key warning to passengers

Each pub, which has its own name on each ship, also has what is usually the strongest selection of beers on board.

The Schooner Bar menu had more of a specific overhaul. It added a number of new drinks, including the virally popular Toasted Marshmallow Old Fashioned.

Again, the menu change was not that drastic, but it does give the bar more of a theme and make it stand out from the more generic bars on board.

Sign up for the Come Cruise With Me newsletter to save money on your next (or your first) cruise.

Say farewell to the R Bar

R Bar used to be a signature Royal Caribbean bar. It was never much to look at, but it had a specific menu of martinis, and the bartender was often a skilled mixologist.

The bar has been removed from many ships, and on the few where it remains, it now serves a generic menu. Gone is the famous  Lavender martini and other takes on popular cocktails.

(The Arena Group will earn a commission if you book a cruise.)

Have questions about booking a cruise? Schedule a free appointment with Come Cruise With Me’s Travel Agent Partner Postcard Travel Planning or call or text Amy Post at 386-383-2472.

R Bar will be removed from Allure of the Seas when it goes into dry dock later this summer. It will be replaced by the Pesky Parrot.

An R Bar remains on Voyager of the Seas, but it does not offer the classic menu. This one-time signature offering has become just another lobby bar, and days appear numbered.

Royal Caribbean has a lot of bars but could still use one offering a mix of classic cocktails and new mixology-created drinks.

Are you taking a cruise or thinking about taking one? Visit our Come Cruise With Me website to have all your questions answered.