Last week was a pretty busy week with Royal Caribbean news, and this week continued that trend with lots of changes and announcements. Luckily, we have a summary of all of the news from this week to make certain you did not miss any of it.

The news that garnered a lot of attention (and even more comments) this week was the announcement Royal Caribbean will begin charging for room service.

The cruise line will charge guests a fee of $7.95 per order of room service from the All Day Menu and the American Section of the breakfast menu.

As part of the change, Royal Caribbean is also introducing a new fleet wide room service menu, The new menu features upgraded items such as the Royal Wagyu Burger, a classic Philly cheese steak with shaved rib eye, chicken wings with a choice of four sauces, and a healthy grilled salmon dish with cucumber mint yogurt, to name a few.

Royal Caribbean News

• Royal Caribbean announced its 2018-2019 Caribbean, Alaska and Northeast itineraries.
• Royal Caribbean entered into a joint partnership to upgrade a port in Malaysia.
• Guests can begin spending onboard credit via the Cruise Planner on select ships.
• We shared a new Symphony of the Seas construction photo update.
• The azipods for Symphony of the Seas have arrived at the STX Franch shipyard.
• We will be live blogging from Anthem of the Seas beginning this weekend.
• Royal Caribbean was named one of the world's most ethical companies for the second year in a row.
• We have a photo tour of the new Chops Grille on Adventure of the Seas.
• Legend of the Seas embarked upon its final sailing as a Royal Caribbean ship.
• There are two new bottled alcohol packages to purchase.

Royal Caribbean Around the Internet

The 189th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, and we are previewing Matt's upcoming cruise on Anthem of the Seas.

In this episode, Matt is about to cruise on Anthem of the Seas and he is sharing why he picked this ship, what his plans are onboard and some of the new experience he has lined up.

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

CruiseHabit reported on the deal Royal Caribbean's parent company signed with Port Everglades.

Cruise1st.com.au has 9 cruise dining hacks that will save time, effort and money (#2 is particularly well-written).

TTG indicated Symphony of the Seas will host travel agents from the UK next year.

 Royal Caribbean has hired a former "mastermind" behind Walt Disney World's Magic Band mobile app to help create the cruise line's new smart phone app that is set to debut this summer.

TechRepublic is reporting four months ago, Royal Caribbean hired former Walt Disney Co. guru Jay Schneider as senior vice president of digital to lead its digital transformation. After joining the company in November 2016, the real work began in earnest on the new mobile app.

"We have no dates yet on how soon this [app] might roll out, but with six ships scheduled [to have it] in 2017, it means we're going quickly," Schneider said. Privacy and security is an important consideration. Guests' privacy is crucial, so Schneider said he has his team working from the ground up to create best practices for privacy in the devices.

There are few details known about the app, which is being referred to internally as Project Excalibur. Royal Caribbean CEO and Chairman Richard Fain told analysts earlier this year to expect the app to debut sometime this summer.

Fain said he's not worried about competition from Carnival Corp. "We started developing our WOWband two years ago, so because we had that head start, we will have this in 20% of our ships by the end of the year, compared to 1% [on Carnival]. We'll have it on more or less 50% of our ships by the end of next year."

One of the ways that Royal Caribbean will be able to move quickly, Fain said, is because "we're using more open source technology that makes it easier to build as the world of technology improves."

Friday is here and we are sharing our readers' favorite Royal Caribbean cruise photos so that we can all get into a "cruise mood" for the upcoming weekend!

We kick things off this week with a throwback photo by Ken of Voyager of the Seas in Labadee before there was pier.  Does anyone else remember visiting Labadee by tender?

Jason Nolan sent us this photo and titled it, "wondering what is behind me". After a few seconds, I think you will understand too!

Next we have a photo of Ovation of the Seas being floated out at the Meyer Werft shipyard, taken by Thomas Lemmer.  Can you believe it has been just about a year since this happened?

Ron Hiller sent in this photo of a perfect sunset from aboard Navigator of the Seas. Love it!

I like Christopher Johns-Klein's style as he enjoys sailaway from an aft balcony on Rhapsody of the Seas.

Check out this photo by Jordan Pin of Harmony of the Seas and Freedom of the Seas docked in Cozumel.

We wrap up this week's edition of Friday Photos with this shot of Ovation of the Seas in Sydney harbor, taken by Clayton Powell. Love how he got the bridge in the background.

Thank you to everyone who shared their photos with us this week. As always, we welcome all of our readers to share their favorite Royal Caribbean photos by using this form to submit them. Have a great weekend!

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd announced it has entered into a joint venture with Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) to upgrade and improve Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal (SPCT) in Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia. The upgraded pier will accommodate berthing of larger cruise ships.

Plans for the facilities include extension of the existing berths to 688 metres from its current length of 400 metres. This will enable the terminal to berth two mega cruise liners carrying over 4,900 passengers each at any one time.

In addition, the redevelopment will include spaces for tour buses to ease the flow of traffic in the areas around SPCT. The USD35 million project will further focus on improving accessibility for the aged and physically challenged throughout the terminal from ship to shore. This planned development has received unyielding support from both State and Federal government and associated government agencies including Tourism bodies, and will be a focal part of Malaysian Tourism EPP6 plan to create a “Straits and Borneo Cruise Riviera”.

Royal Caribbean will own a 40% stake in the venture, and the project will be managed by both parties.

Royal Caribbean is scheduled to make 38 calls in Penang in 2017.

The azipods for Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas have arrived at STX Franch shipyard earlier today, and were unloaded to make their way to the ship for installation.

Kudos to Saint Nazaire, une ville à la mer for sharing these photos with us. Merci!

© Hervé GLAIS

Azipods are a multi-directional propulsion unit, which claims to use less fuel than traditional systems, and to provide greater maneuverability in all operating conditions. Royal Caribbean uses azipods to propel and safely maneuver its ships on the high seas.

In light of the announcement that Royal Caribbean will begin charging a convenience fee to guests who order room service, the cruise line has published a copy of what its new room service menu will look like, along with an explanation for the change.

Royal Caribbean announced it would begin charging $7.95 per room service order, which has generated a lot of guest feedback.  

In a statement by the cruise line's customer loyalty program, the Crown and Anchor Society, Royal Caribbean explained the new room service fee was added as part of a new room service menu.  Here is a copy of their statement to guests.

"Royal Caribbean International has introduced a new premium room service menu in order to enhance the dining experience and to provide more options for guests. The new menu features upgraded items such as the Royal Wagyu Burger, a classic Philly cheese steak with shaved rib eye, chicken wings with a choice of four sauces, and a healthy grilled salmon dish with cucumber mint yogurt, to name a few.

In addition, new breakfast selections also have been introduced to the menu to provide an upgraded in-room breakfast experience for guests. Continental breakfast items, which remain free of charge, will still be available to all guests.

A new convenience fee of $7.95 per order will be introduced for any orders including the new premium selections. This was introduced to better manage the high demand for this convenient and upgraded service. Breakfast items listed under the continental menu will still be free of charge.

The new room service menu will be rolled out across the entire fleet starting in March and will be onboard all ships by the end of May."

New Royal Caribbean room service menu

The new room service fee goes into effect on sailings after March 27, 2017.

Last week we posted about Royal Caribbean opening Chops Grille on Adventure of the Seas, and today we have photos from the new restaurant.

On Adventure of the Seas, Royal Caribbean opted to add Chops Grille on on Deck 4, across from the Schooner Bar. It is the same location Sabor Modern Mexican has been added on other ships.

In addition to the new restaurant, Royal Caribbean also opted to offer a new menu update to this Chops Grille location.  This is the first Chops Grille menu update since January 2014, when the Chops GrilleNavigator of the Seas received a menu revamp.

Among the menu changes, Chops Grille on Adventure of the Seas offers an angus filet mignon and grilled scottish salmon. Moreover, the French onion soup and dry-aged steak option (which carried an additional charge) has been removed from the menu. There is, however, a Chops Dry Aged Steak Burger option. The broiled Maine lobster remains the only up-charge entrée on the menu.

Royal Caribbean is offering up to $100 instant savings on cruises booked this weekend, in addition to its current 30% off all guests offer.

The Dash & Splash sale is valid on Royal Caribbean cruises booked between March 16 and 20, 2017 on sailings on or after April 15, 2017. Offer excludes China departures.

• 30% off the standard cruise fare for all guests in a stateroom
• Instant savings
  • Sailings up to 5-nights
    • Interior & Oceanview staterooms: $25 off per stateroom
    • Balcony & Suites: $50 off per stateroom
  • Sailings 6 nights or longer
    • Interior & Oceanview staterooms: $50 off per stateroom
    • Balcony & Suites: $100 off per stateroom
• Instant savings for Anthem of the Seas sailings departing on or after April 2, 2017
  • Sailings 5 nights or less
    • Interior and oceanview rooms: $25 off per stateroom
    • Balcony: $50 off per stateroom
    • Suites: $75 off per suite
  • Sailings 6 nights or longer
    • Interior and oceanview rooms: $50 off per stateroom
    • Balcony: $75 off per stateroom
    • Suites: $100 off per stateroom

30% Savings is combinable with adjoining Anthem Dollars Off, Crown & Anchor discounts, NextCruise offers and Shareholder Benefits. Anthem Dollars Off is not combinable with Crown & Anchor discounts or Shareholder Benefits. 30% Savings and Anthem Dollars Off are not combinable with any other offer or promotion, including but not limited to, restricted rates (for example, Seniors, Residents, and Military), Standard Group, Interline, Travel Agent, Travel Agent Friends and Family, Weekly Sales Events, and Net Rates.

Offer available to residents of United States and Canada.

Royal Caribbean has made a policy change in its room service offerings, where it will charge guests a fee of $7.95 per order of room service from the All Day Menu and the American Section of the breakfast menu.

Continental breakfast options will remain complimentary, so guests can still take advantage of room service without additional fees in the morning. The $7.95 fee will be charged for each room service order. Guests in a Grand Suite stateroom or above will retain complimentary room service.

The change goes into effect on sailings after March 27, 2017.

@AlexManero1 There’ll be a cost of $7.95 for room service. This is for the All Day Menu and for the American Section of the breakfast menu.

— Royal Caribbean (@RoyalCaribbean) March 15, 2017

@4kat4 Hi, Kathy. This charge will begin for sailings after 03/27/17.

— Royal Caribbean (@RoyalCaribbean) March 15, 2017

@JGrauvogel Hi there, Jared. Room service will remain complimentary for Grand Suites and above.

— Royal Caribbean (@RoyalCaribbean) March 15, 2017

The added fee for room service coincides with an update to the fleet-wide room service menu. 

Hey everyone! Episode 189 of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available for your listening pleasure.

This week, Matt previews his upcoming cruise on Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas, which begins this weekend.  Matt explores why we picked this cruise, the cool things to do on Anthemof the Seas, and his plans for each port of call.  

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 189. And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast via RSS 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!