Royal Caribbean is busy finishing plans to build its next cruise ship, Quantum of the Seas, and it has tapped design firm 5+design Studio to help create the cutting-edge venues aboard the ship.

Tim Magill, partner of 5+design, commented on designing Quantum of the Seas' venues, "There has never been anything like Two70 on land, let alone sea. It exemplifies our idea of transformational environments – creating the framework for wide range of activities and uses within one space.”

Royal Caribbean has tapped 5+design to create Two70 and Vistarama venues aboard Quantum of the Seas.

During the day, Two70 takes on the ambiance of a grand living room, perfect for games, lounging, reading or early morning coffee. An organic topography of elliptical spaces create a variety of intimate social spaces for friends, families and small groups. At night, Two70, aptly named for its breathtaking 270-degree panoramic sea views through vast, floor-to-ceiling glass walls, gradually transforms into a beacon of spectacular, mysterious and unbarred entertainment for guests to enjoy.

5+design sought to make Two70 an "outside" experience for an inside venue, so the area will also become a place for live performances.  The space was designed with multiple purposes in mind.

We're about 24 hours away from Royal Caribbean's big event in New York City to reveal more details about its newest cruise ship, Quantum of the Seas.  The special event will take place on Tuesday, April 16, 2013 at 10am eastern time, when Royal Caribbean will pull back the curtain a little more to share more about its latest cruise ship.

Quantum of the Seas is under construction in Germany at the Meyer Werft shipyard and there's lots of speculation as to what this ship will include.  Some experts are expecting two to three cruise ship enhancements that are not just new to Royal Caribbean, but to the cruise industry as well.  Some ideas of what these innovations could be include various multi-functional day-to-night public spaces, as well as state-of-the art environmental technologies.

We will provide live coverage of the event as well as any live video feeds that may be available.

Royal Caribbean has quietly announced that it will reveal more details about its brand new Quantum of the Seas during a special event in New York City on April 16, 2013.

Speaking with the Cruise Lines International Association, Royal Caribbean will offer a preview of the ship, in which it describes Quantum of the Seas will add new features as "a dramatic leap forward in ship design and guest experiences."

No further details are available as to what we can expect to hear during the April 16th event but it will be the first announcement of new details about the new class of ship since Royal Caribbean announced that Kristin Chenoweth will be the ship's godmother.

Photos of a water tank-testing model that purports to be the brand new Quantum of the Seas ship that is in development by Royal Caribbean were posted online today by a cruise blog.  

The model was spotted in a document released by the shipyard that is building the new ships, Meyer Werft.

In addition the following documentation was found: 

During the towing test, the shape and hydrodynamics of the ship which were developed on the computer are tested and optimised.

“Approximately 250 technicians and engineers are currently working on developing and constructing the project in detail. The construction of the first ship will begin in 2013. The ships will be completed in 2014 and 2015″.

“Sunshine will break new ground in terms of its hull shape and overall hydrodynamics. The design guarantees very low fuel consumption and ensures that the latest safety regulations are adhered to.” Henning Luhmann, Technical Design Manager

“With both Sunshine class ships, we will once again produce a totally new kind of ship in Papenburg. Very environmentally friendly and energy efficient – and at the same time the ship offers very innovative concepts in on-board comfort and entertainment.” Uwe Wulff, Project Manager.

“We are currently developing very innovative and exciting solutions for the hotel operations and the on-board entertainment with Royal Caribbean and selected suppliers in order to meet the highest passenger requirements.” Manfred Bresler, Accommodation Department Manager

Royal Caribbean's Executive Vice President, Global Sales and Marketing, Lisa Bauer, said passengers aboard the new Quantum of the Seas cruise ship would expect to be "wowed" when it enters service next year.

Bauer declined to reveal specific details about the ship but insisted that Quantum of the Seas will, "live up to its name."

Quantum of the Seas is scheduled to enter service in fall 2014 with its sister ship Anthem of the Seas coming online about six months later.

Bauer said the product remains a closely guarded secret.

"What I would say is that people should be prepared to be wowed. The Quantum class ships will live up to its name."

The prospect of a ski slope as one of the onboard features has been suggested. Bauer declined to confirm or deny any plans.

Ever since Royal Caribbean announced their new class of ships, originally called Project Sunshine and now officially called Quantum Class, there's been rampant speculation as to where these cruise ships would sail from.  Over the last two to three months, we've received a lot of tips from our readers that the new Quantum of the Seas or Anthem of the Seas will sail out of Port Liberty in Bayonne, New Jersey.

We haven't had any solid proof other than second or third hand reports but today we found two interesting tidbits that could point to where one of these new cruise ships will sail from.

The port of St Maarten in the Eastern Caribbean publishes the schedule of cruise ships that will call on the island at any given time.  For its December 2014 schedule, it lists a stop on December 5 by a ship called "Sunshine", which many believe is a reference to Project Sunshine.  This is followed by other monthly or bi-monthly calls by a ship of the same name.

Moreover, a dedicated fan took the time to compare cruise schedules in St Maarten for the next three years between Explorer of the Seas (the current Royal Caribbean ship based out of New Jersey) and this mystery "Sunshine" ship.

Monday, May 6, 2013 12:15 - 20:00 Explorer of the Seas
Monday, May 20, 2013 12:15 - 20:00 Explorer of the Seas

Monday, May 12, 2014 12:15 - 20:00 Explorer of the Seas
Monday, May 26, 2014 12:15 - 20:00 Explorer of the Seas

Monday, May 11, 2015 12:15 - 20:00 Sunshine
Monday, May 25, 2015 12:15 - 20:00 Sunshine

Adding more fuel to the fire of this rumor is the fact the Royal Gazette, a newspaper in Bermuda, published an article detailing a proposed wharf expansion that would accommodate larger cruise ships. In particular, the paper mentioned, "to determine the docks’ capacities to accommodate the latest cruise ships in production by both the Norwegian Cruise Line and the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line."

Since Explorer of the Seas currently sails out of Port Liberty and offers cruises to Bermuda in addition to the Caribbean, this seems like another indication that Quantum of the Seas or Anthem of the Seas might be based out of New Jersey.

All of this is speculation and we have no "silver bullet" proof quite yet.  Royal Caribbean is still slowly announcing details about the two new cruise ships and we will post news immediately about these two ships as they are announced.

Wonder how Royal Caribbean named its two newest cruise ships, Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas?  Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein shared some insight into the process.

According to Goldstein, Royal Caribbean worked with a naming consultant that provided several different names to consider (probably the list looked a lot like these).  The names offered a few different takes on the ship name including experiential names, cosmopolitan names, leading edge names and more.  However, the name Quantum fit the tone Project Sunshine Steering Committee was looking for.

After each member of the team voted on paper, the consensus reached was almost unanimous to Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas.

Goldstein feels that the names represent what the ships will hopefully offer guests, "The word anthem is defined as a song of praise and Anthem of the Seas is indicative of many of the best qualities and features of Royal Caribbean International. Quantum represents a step change in cruising and anthem is a song of praise for that step." 

Royal Caribbean has announced its new class of ships that has been referred to internally as Project Sunshine, will officially be called Quantum Class.  Additionally, the first two ships will be named Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas.

Quantum of the Seas will debut in 2014 and Anthem of the Seas will be ready in 2015.

  “We are extremely excited to celebrate this important milestone for our first Project Sunshine ship. After three years of design and advance planning this is the first step of the construction of the ship and I look forward to seeing it all come together in the coming months,” said Adam Goldstein, President and CEO, Royal Caribbean International. “The new ship will be such a leap forward in terms of vessel design and guest experiences that we thought the name Quantum of the Seas was perfectly appropriate.”

“Throughout our history we have made huge strides in cruise ship design and innovation and the Quantum class will be no exception,” said Richard D. Fain, Chairman and CEO, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. “We look forward to introducing consumers to Quantum cruising."

UPDATE 9:58AM: Royal Caribbean has officially confirmed the ship class name and names of the cruise ships.  In addition, the first piece of steel was cut for the first two Quantum class ships.  The steel cutting took place at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, where the two ships will be built.