We have gotten reports of construction taking place on the Royal Promenade of Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas this week.
Royal Caribbean Blog reader James Carruthers sent us these photos of the construction walls that are up near Cafe Promenade.
No word yet on what the construction is there for, but it will be interesting to see what is there once those construction walls come down.
It is probably safe to assume most people really enjoy a good cupcake, but how about a giant cupcake?
On Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas, Royal Caribbean Blog reader Rich Freudenberg spotted this giant cupcake for those that enjoy cupcakes but wish they could be a meal.
If you are wondering just how giant this cupcake is, here is a normal sized cupcake compared to the giant variety.
That is a big cupcake!
Guests can purchase this giant cupcake in the Cupcake Cupboard on Freedom of the Seas and comes in your choice of colors, and even has a cherry on top.
You can have these giant cupcakes for a variety of occasions.
At $25, this cupcake costs as much as a meal, but it might make sense as a cake replacement idea (and certainly more interesting).
What do you think of the giant cupcake? Please let us know with a comment!
Royal Caribbean kicked off its newest sales promotion this week with the BOGO GETTER deal, and in the fine print, it alludes to which other Royal Caribbean ships will be getting high speed internet.
The deal offers free Voom internet package for one device for Anthem, Harmony, Allure, Oasis, Freedom, and Enchantment of the Seas on select cruises in 2016.
Royal Caribbean had promised Voom will be available on all Caribbean based ships by mid-2016, but it has been unclear which ships would receive the upgrade.
Given the deal for free Voom internet is only good for cruises that depart between May 1 - Sep 30, 2016, it is possible that Voom internet may not be available onboard either Freedom of the Seas or Enchantment of the Seas until those dates.
Voom internet is currently available on Oasis of the Seas, Allure of the Seas, Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas. Majesty of the Seas will be offering guests free Voom internet, following a scheduled 2016 refurbishment.
Voom internet is Royal Caribbean's exclusive high speed internet that allows guests to stream music and movies, upload pictures, video chat with family and friends using FaceTime or Skype, check their email, lookup their stock prices, surf the web and stay connected with work via VPN.
Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas rescued seven Cubans from a small raft at sea on Saturday.
Royal Caribbean Blog reader Keith Hect was on Freedom of the Seas and reported that the ship picked up the Cubans during their cruise.
Photo by Ron Lodowski
Local10 also confirmed the report and shared video of the rescue.
Videos by Desiree Stovall
Another guest onboard Freedom of the Seas reported that the group of Cubans had been out to sea for 10 days with nothing but "small amounts of water and crackers."
The United States Coast Goard coordinated the rescue with the Royal Caribbean ship.
Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas has a lot of different staterooms to choose from and today, we will look at the Grand Suite with Balcony (GS) stateroom to give you an idea of what to expect if you book this category.
This photo tour comes to us from Royal Caribbean Blog reader Ron Lodowski, who recently sailed on Freedom of the Seas.
Ron took photos of his Grand Suite, which was in stateroom 1598 on Oasis of the Seas during an October 2015 sailing.
The Grand Suite measures 401 square feet and has a balcony that is 107 square feet.
Grand Suite staterooms on Freedom of the Seas include two twin beds that convert to a Royal King, measuring 72.5 inches wide by 82 inches long, private balcony, sitting area (some with sofa bed) and private bathroom.
Also includes minibar, TV, stereo, DVD player, larger private bathroom with bathtub and double sink, vanity area, hair-dryer, phone, vanity table with an extendable working surface for laptop computers and 110/220 electrical outlets. Sleeps up to four people and can accommodate a rollaway bed and/or Play Yard.
All photos by Ron Lodowski
It is being reported that reality television star Judith Jackson was kicked off Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas after "getting into an altercation" with her travel companion.
Judi Jai was on Season 7 of the "Bad Girls Club" and its spinoffs.
The Chicago Tribune reports "Judi Jai" met with Royal Caribbean cruise officials, where the company, "explained that her behavior was in violation of our guest conduct policy, which states 'inappropriate or abusive behavior, including violence, is strictly prohibited.'"
Judi Jai was asked to leave the ship at the ship's next port of call, which was Falmouth, Jamaica.
— IG: missjudijai (@JUDiJAiKRAZi) September 13, 2015Tip of the hat to Travel Pulse for finding this story.
Across Royal Caribbean's fleet of cruise ships, there are some interesting and unique staterooms that are slightly different than the rest of the staterooms in the same category.
Today we are taking a look at a balcony stateroom on Freedom of the Seas that has a really large balcony.
Photo by Jane Dandrea
Freedom of the Seas stateroom 1400 is technically a category D1 balcony. If you read the official description of a D1 stateroom, the balcony should be 68 square feet.
Photo by Jane Dandrea
Photo by wovenwonder
As you can tell, this aft balcony is much larger than 68 square feet and has plenty of room for multiple chairs, including lounge chairs.
Booking this stateroom can get you a ton of extra space for nothing extra.
There is a similar layout for stateroom 1700 as well. In fact, other Freedom class ships also have the extra large balcony and room as well, so you can book this stateroom on Independence of the Seas or Liberty of the Seas.
Perhaps the only downside to these staterooms is the fact there is support pole in the middle of the cabin. Then again, for all the extra space, the pole can be easily overlooked.
Would you want to book this stateroom? Tell us in the comments!
A passenger on Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas spotted a brand new self serve beer tap for guests to use onboard.
Photo by jules815
The photo was posted to Cruise Critic by the user jules815 and shows a beer tap that serves Stella beer.
These new machines have been added to the Royal Promenade as well as 3 machines on deck 11 near the main pool.
The new beer machine was added to Freedom of the Seas this on this week's cruise and jules815 stated that she heard the machines will be added to Oasis of the Seas next month.
To use the machines, guests will need to have one of the unlimited alcohol packages. Guests swipe their SeaPass cards and beer can be dispensed.
The machines appear to be from the company Draftserv, based in Suwanee, GA.
September 14 update: Guests aboard Freedom of the Seas report these machines have now been removed from all locations onboard.
Guests booking Freedom of the Seas can earn an extra three points in Royal Caribbean's customer loyalty program, Crown and Anchor Society, when each guest spends a minimum of $450 per person on pre-cruise and onboard purchases.
If you can act fast and book a last-minute Freedom of the Seas cruise on one of the following sailings, you will qualify for the deal
This is a pilot program by Royal Caribbean to award additional Crown and Anchor Society points to those that spend a certain amount of money on their cruise.
The total qualifying spend must be greater than or equal to $450 times the number of adults in the stateroom. If this is met, each guest in the stateroom will receive three aditional points.
The following purchases qualify towards the $450 threshold:
The deal excludes these types of purchases
Gold status and higher Crown & Anchor members over the age of 18 will receive an additional three cruise points per sailing when each member in the stateroom makes $450 USD or more in purchases during the sailing and after all credit and refunds have been applied, if any. Onboard credits do not count towards the $450.
All adults in the stateroom must meet the minimum amount independently.
Amount of guest’s purchases will be calculated upon the end of the cruise.
Points will be added to eligible Crown and Anchor Society member’s account 60 days after cruise completion.
Royal Caribbean announced the boarding time for Freedom of the Seas will be changed due to the predicted path for Tropical Storm Erika,
Royal Caribbean is asking all guests on Freedom of the Seas that are departing this Sunday to arrive to the ship between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. The ship will now depart at 3:30 p.m.
Royal Caribbean has previously changed the boarding time for Independence of the Seas and altered Adventure of the Seas' itinerary due to Tropical Storm Erika.
Royal Caribbean also indicated they are monitoring Erika's path and changes could be coming to Enchantment of the Seas & Majesty of the Seas.
Royal Caribbean will announce any further changes, with the next update coming on August 29 at 5pm.