STX France shipyard reported Symphony of the Seas' first sea trials were a success.

The sea trials took place between February 15 and 18, where almost every onboard system was tested.  The ship is in its "completion phase", which means it is getting prepared to be delivered to Royal Caribbean in late March.

The sea trials included over 80 hours of sailing that covered 1,000 nautical miles off Belle-Île island.  During the trials, the full range of the ship’s systems were activated at sea, most of those being already adjusted and presented for commissioning, both to Royal Caribbean and to the classification society.

STX France reports each and every performance goal was reached.

There will be another short sea trial that will need to be schedule prior to delivery in order to perform "a few more nautical performance trials."

Happy Sunday and we hope you had a great week. It was a busy week of Royal Caribbean fun, and we have a round-up of all of it in this hand-dandy blog post.

The day Royal Caribbean will take ownership of Symphony of the Seas is now set, with a delivery date scheduled for next month.

STX France announced it will handover Symphony of the Seas to Royal Caribbean on March 23, 2018.

Symphony of the Seas will become the 25th ship in the fleet, and her first pre-inaugural sailing will commence on March 31, 2018.

Royal Caribbean News

• Royal Caribbean announced Michael's Genuine Pub will be removed from all ships.
• First batch of photos from the refurbished Adventure of the Seas.
• Meyer Werft has listed the gross tonnage for Royal Caribbean's Icon Class ships.
• Take a look at the latest CocoCay construction photos.
• Speedcast will increase internet bandwidth on Royal Caribbean cruise ships.
• We shared a copy of the new menu from Izumi on Adventure of the Seas.
• Here is a look at one design for Oasis of the Seas that was not approved.
• A look at how high-tech is helping enhance the performances on Royal Caribbean.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 237th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available that reviews a recent New Years Eve cruise.

In this episode, Matt Hince talks about his New Years Eve cruise on Liberty of the Seas and shares what it is like to cruise over New Years.

Please feel free to subscribe via iTunes or RSS, and head over to rate and review the podcast on iTunes if you can! We’d appreciate it.

Royal Caribbean Around the Internet

The Maritime Executive reports Royal Caribbean's CEO will be honored as a recipient of Seafarers' House International Golden Compass Award for 2018.

Travel Weekly says Royal Caribbean will increase the Ultimate Family Suite capacity on the fifth Oasis Class ship.

USA Today shared a lot of photos from their hard hat tour of Symphony of the Seas.

Happy Friday! We are celebrating the start of the weekend with our readers' favorite Royal Caribbean photos.

Our first photo is from Patty V, and it is of sunrise near Belize on Rhapsody of the Seas.

Robert Boik shared this photo from on Enchantment of the Seas.

Check out this photo by Tony Oleszczuk of Anthem of the Seas next to the Marcella Discovery, which was the old Splendour of the Seas, while docked in Antigua.

James Woodward took this photo of sunset while onboard Grandeur of the Seas, just after departing Halifax, Nova Scotia.

This photo is by Mindy Goll, taken in Willemstad Curaçao while visiting on Navigator of the Seas.

Jorge Toache sent in this photo of the pool deck on Anthem of the Seas.

Thank you to everyone for sharing photos.  You can submit your own questions by using this handy dandy form.

Royal Caribbean is in the midst of adding a number of improvements to its private destination of CocoCay in the Bahamas.  We have a recent look at the progress being made.

Royal Caribbean Blog reader MikeOzy15 took these photos on February 14, while on an Enchantment of the Seas cruise.

First and foremost, here is a look at the progress being made on the new dock, which is scheduled to be completed in June 2018.

Some of the work being done in CocoCay is hidden to guests by walls.

There is also a new large, "life size" pool table,bowling, bocce ball, volleyball nets and a basketball court for guests to use.

Royal Caribbean is offering up to 30% off select Cruise Planner purchases this weekend, with its Countdown to Cruise sale.

The weekend Cruise Planner sale promises savings on certain shore excursions and drink package purchases.  Guests can check which discounts, if any, are available for their upcoming sailing by visiting the Cruise Planner site. Keep in mind that not all sailings may see the sale applicable, nor are all offers significantly cheaper than previously posted.

To check if your sailing has this new offer available, log into the Cruise Planner on Royal Caribbean's web site and check which promotions you happen to see.

If you spot a better discount on something you already pre-purchased, you should be able to cancel the purchase and then re-purchase the same item under this promotion.

When Royal Caribbean designs its cruise ships, they consider a lot of ideas and possibilities.  Any company that designs a product or service will go through many iterations or concepts before settling on the final design.

This week, we take a look at an early design for Royal Caribbean's Oasis class cruise ships that incorporates many concepts that never made it to the final cut.

Boston-based Wilson Butler Architects was a key creative force behind many of the features on what would become Oasis of the Seas. Wilson Butler has worked with Royal Caribbean since 1997, and responsible for the main theater designs for Royal Caribbean’s Voyager-class ships and theaters on its Radiance-class of ships, including the 900-seat Aurora Theater on the Radiance of the Seas, and the 915–seat Pacifica Theater on the Brilliance of the Seas.

A few years before Oasis of the Seas would debut, the firm had an idea for what was then referred to as Project Genesis.  It was an early design for the ship meant to introduce the neighborhood concept.

Design by Wilson Butler Architects

Wilson Butler proposed the design, which has a number of areas offering different attractions.  Some of these ideas would make the final cut (albeit in different forms), while others never made it.

"Studio Sea" and "The Midway" are two ideas that would be a part of the eventual final ship design.  Studio Sea would become the AquaTheater, while The Midway would be renamed The Boardwalk.  Interestingly, "The Midway" featured additional features not seen in the Boardwalk, such as a Lighthouse and Aquarium Light.

Arguably the most intriguing idea was "The Ocean Pass," which appears to have a blue whale at the top and a number of decks designed to look like an under the sea area.

The two areas of "Market Pier" and "The Coral Strand" are also interesting places, with each offering dining choices, separated by something called "The Coral Arch".

Design by Wilson Butler Architects

Another early design by Wilson Butler had an area known as "Great Blue Way," which sounds like a play on words for Broadway's nickname of The Great White Way. 

The design has two lounge ideas not seen on Oasis of the Seas today.  The Speak-Easy is likely what we now know as Jazz on Four, and Inferno sounds like a nightclub.

Which design element do you wish Royal Caribbean would put on a ship? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Speedcast announced today they have extended its relationship together, which will further increase the bandwidth delivered across all Royal Caribbean International cruise ships.

The expansion of this deal will lead to increased bandwidth for guests and crew members, which will improve the guest experience.

Royal Caribbean began parterning with Speedcast in 2006, when Speedcast installted the first Ku-Band VSAT antenna that helped with increased demand. The Speedcast network now delivers fully managed communications solutions and value-added services to 37 Royal Caribbean brand ships for shipboard administration, and guest and crew usage. Multiple antennas on each ship with seamless automatic failover between Ku-Band and C-Band ensures high availability and Service Level Agreements (SLAs).

"Speedcast has been an integral part of our long-standing efforts to implement the latest connectivity solutions that allow us to provide enhanced communications for everyone, from our guests onboard to our employees onshore," said Guillermo Muniz, director, Network and Satellite Engineering, Royal Caribbean. "We are consistently raising the bar on ship innovation and increasing requirements, and Speedcast is right there with us, collaborating to make sure that we have the infrastructure and support to deliver the best experience."

Our newest podcast episode is out to help give you a quick "audio escape" to a Royal Caribbean cruise!

Episode 237 is available for downloading, where we a podcast listener reviews his New Years Eve cruise on Liberty of the Seas.

In addition to discussing a recent cruise, listener Matt Hince talks about what it is like to ring in the New Year aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise and what others may find interesting if they were to give it a try.

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 237. And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Stitcher or on iTunes!

Take a listen and as always, let us know what you think! Please rate and review the podcast on iTunes and leave your comments below!

Ship builder Meyer Werft has listed the gross tonnage for Royal Caribbean's next class of cruise ships, which sheds a bit of light onto how large these ships will be.

The Project Icon ships were announced in late 2016 with few details, but the ship yard lists the ships will have a gross tonnage of 200,00 tons.

In comparison, 200,000 tons puts the ship between the size of Royal Caribbean's Oasis and Quantum class ships.

1. Oasis of the Seas: 225,282 tons
2. Project Icon: 200,000 tons
3. Quantum of the Seas 168,666 tons
4. Freedom of the Seas 154,407 tons

Gross tonnage is a nonlinear measure of a ship's overall internal volume.

At the time of the project's announcement, Royal Caribbean said these ships would accommodate approximately 5,000 passengers. The new ships are scheduled for delivery in the second quarters of 2022 and 2024.

Royal Caribbean has announced effective February 28, Royal Caribbean will be removing Michael's Genuine Pub on its Quantum Class ships and replaced with a new concept.

Royal Caribbean informed travel agents the cruise line is concluding its contract with Michael's Genuine Pub onboard Quantum of the Seas, Anthem of the Seas and Ovation of the Seas.

With the ending of the contract, the former locations will become these new venues:

• Harp & Horn on Quantum of the Seas — February 26th
• Brass & Bock on Anthem of the Seas — February 25th
• Amber & Oak on Ovation of the Seas — February 26th 

According to Royal Caribbean, the new pub experience, "will offer a wide selection of beer and specialty cocktails, and will also feature a menu of bites."