Royal Caribbean is celebrating Crown and Anchor Society Member Appreciation Week by giving all Crown & Anchor Society members an exclusive perk to celebrate.

From August 15-22, 2016, all tiers will enjoy balconies and suites discounts for the tier above them on sailings departing on or after August 17, 2016, and it is combinable with our current offer of 30% off every ship, every guest! 

Gold, Platinum, Emerald, Diamond, Diamond Plus, and Pinnacle Crown & Anchor Society member will receive an increased discount for making a reservation for a sail date outside of six months.

Royal Caribbean's Crown and Anchor Society has posted an update that it will stop offering a balcony discount for members that book a cruise less than six months out.

As of September 1, 2016, balcony and suite discounts that Crown and Anchor members are eligible for, will only apply to sailing’s booked more than six months out.  Royal Caribbean has offered a discount on balcony and suite staterooms to Crown and Anchor Society members that were at least a Platinum level member on all cruises, but this will now change a bit.

In the event a guest purchases an upgrade within six months of sailing, the Balcony & Suites Discount will be protected.

UPDATE: Royal Caribbean shared on their Facebook page a little more insight into why this change is occuring: "We've found that a large majority of our Crown & Anchor guests reserve outside of the 6 month window. For those who do not, we've noticed that, due to the lack of promotional combinability, it's more beneficial for our guests to take advantage of other promotions offered. We appreciate your honest feedback, and are using it to research ways to improve our Crown & Anchor offerings."

What do you think of this change in the balcony discount? Will this change what stateroom you book? Tell us your thoughts in the comments.

The largest cruise ships in Asia, Ovation of the Seas, Mariner of the Seas and Voyager of the Seas, will be back in Singapore from October 2016 through May 2017 to offer Royal Caribbean's longest-ever homeporting season in Singapore.  The season will run for eight months, totalling 55 cruises and will bring about 200,000 guests to ports in Southeast Asia.

Photo by Royal Caribbean International

The 2016-2017 cruise season will see a 30% increase in Royal Caribbean's capacity in Southeast Asia over last year.

Ovation of the Seas, which is Asia's largest and newest cruise ship, will be back in March to April 2017 with a total of 10 new sailings, comprising three to five nights to Penang, Phuket, Bangkok (Laem Chabang) and a 12-night one-way cruise to Tianjin with calls at Ho Chi Minh City (Phu My) for an overnight, Hue/Danang (Chan May), Hong Kong and Seoul (Incheon).

Mariner of the Seas will offer 39 sailings until next March, ranging from three to seven nights to popular destinations such as Penang, Langkawi, Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang), Phuket, Bangkok (Laem Chabang) and Ho Chi Minh City (Phu My). The new itineraries for the season are the 3-night Penang Weekend Cruise which will feature night touring and the 4-night Phuket Cruise.

Voyager of the Seas is returning in May 2017 to offer six sailings of three to five night Southeast Asian itineraries to Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang), Penang, Phuket and an 8-night one-way cruise to Hong Kong, with stopovers at Bangkok (Laem Chabang) for an overnight, Ho Chi Minh City (Phu My) and Nha Trang.

Located in the Forward Centrum deck 10 of Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas, is a mixed media art display that features fighter jets that you might notice when taking a ride in one of the elevators.

This is not just a display of F-18 and F-16 planes, but actually the work of Italian artist Antonio Riello, entitled "Komba Tiepolo 30, 31 and 32".

If you look closely, you can see that Riello has taken fighter planes and decorated them with mythological fragments from Giambattista Tiepolo frescoes found in Italian churches and palaces.  The artist likes to explore the common territory and the curiosities of our collective imagination.  By turning what we desire or fear into a mix of the banal and the sublime, he creates the unexpected and the unpredictable.

Riello gathers his inspirations from the great amount of historical and artistic heritage found all over Italy - Roman ruins, medieval walls, Baroque churches and more.  He likes to mix these elements of the past with contemporary Italian life.

In this piece, Riello uses the Tiepolo frescoes to mask war instruments, which turns them into delightful and irresistibly bizarre paintings.

“Komba Tiepolo 30” The paintings are inspired by G.B. Tiepolo’s frescos in Wurzburg Residence. The aircraft is a copy of an F18 (Hornet).

“Kompa Tiepolo 31” Paintings are inspired by G.B. Tiepolo’s in Wurzburg Residence and Venice’s Ca Rezzonico. The aircraft is a copy of an F16.

“Kompa Tiepolo 32” Paintings are inspired by G.B. Tiepolo’s frescos in villas of the countryside in Venice. The aircraft is a copy of an F16.

The pieces are made of fiberglass, resin, metal wood and acrylic. 

Can you believe August is already here? It is the middle of Summer and there is a lot of Royal Caribbean news to catch up from during this week.

Royal Caribbean has added a new swim up bar at its private destination of CocoCay.

The popular island that is exclusive to Royal Caribbean guests now features a new bar that guests cans swim to and enjoy a drink, surrounded by the natural beauty of the ocean.

Royal Caribbean is in the midst of upgrading a number of experiences on the island, including new cabanas and even a dock for the island.

Royal Caribbean News

• Tropical Storm Earl forced Royal Caribbean to change itineraries for two cruise ships.
• Royal Caribbean has no plans to move ships away from China.
• Royal Caribbean added new Vision of the Seas sailings from Galveston through April 2018.
• A new Coca-Cola souvenir cup for the Olympics has been spotted on Royal Caribbean ships.
• How to get a table for two in the main dining room.
• How Spark Cooperative developed the Ultimate Abyss slide for Harmony of the Seas.
• A new specialty coffee beverage card was spotted on Serenade of the Seas.
• We compared and contrasted the Premium drink package versus the Ultimate drink package.
• 5 great local restaurants to try on your next Caribbean cruise.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 157th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, where we have an exclusive interview with Anthem of the Seas' Godmother.

In this episode, Matt talks with Emma Wilby about her role as Godmother to Anthem of the Seas, as Emma shares her story of how she was chosen to become the Godmother along with Emma's favorite aspects of Anthem of the Seas.

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

Travel Weekly has a summary of their recent cruise on Empress of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean has a look at how they are fostering fuel efficiency.

CNBC interviewed Royal Caribbean Ltd CEO Richard Fain about the state of the company.

Man Travels World has a look at what it was like to be a crew member on Adventure of the Seas.

Bloomberg has a photo tour of Harmony of the Seas.

The National provides a look at the high-tech that Royal Caribbean is investing in.

Royal Caribbean has added even more Vision of the Seas sailings from Galveston, Texas, with guests now able to book sailings through April 2018.

Royal Caribbean announced initial Vision of the Seas sailings for November and December 2017, but has now expanded those offerings to extend through April 2018.

Vision of the Seas will offer 4- and 5-night itineraries to destinations in the Western Caribbean, such as Costa Maya and Cozumel.

Vision of the Seas is the second Royal Caribbean ship offering cruises from Galveston, joining Liberty of the Seas.

Just in time for the 2016 Olympics in Rio, guests on Royal Caribbean can enjoy new souvenir Coca-Cola cups on their cruise.

The new souvenir cups are available on Royal Caribbean ships when a guest purchases one of the unlimited drink packages.

It is not clear how long these will be available, but it seems to be a recent addition.

These souvenir cups are compatible with the self-serve soda machines on the pool deck as well as the Coca-Cola Freestyle machines. The Coca-Cola souvenir cup has a special chip in it which activates the machine.

Spark Cooperative recently showcased some of their "Experience Design" works, which includes end-to-end development of The Ultimate Abyss slide on Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean commissioned Spark to push the envelope of what a cruise ship can contain and build on the cruise line's innovative reputation with a brand new, thrilling experience. 

The Ultimate Abyss is a pair of side-by-side 100 ft- high slides that guests can ride down multiple decks of the ship.  Spark worked to offer a slide experience that offered multi-sensory channels, including spontaneous audio effects, bespoke ride mats and custom uniforms and accessories.  The attraction is designed to thrill guests while maintaining a sense of heart-pumping anticipation.

As part of this engagement, Spark developed 3D renderings of the Ultimate Abyss, as well as the ride's story, logo, visual identity, and signage package.

Ronnie Farzad, Principle at Spark Cooperative, talked about what makes the work his company did on the Ultimate Abyss so unique, "Brands are increasingly using experiences as marketing differentiators.  Research shows customers pay more for a great experience and willing to return for it.  The work Spark did for The Ultimate Abyss around a holistic and integrated activation is focused around this need for a memorable guest experience."

It is Friday and with the weekend nearly here, that means we are sharing our readers' favorite Royal Caribbean photos.  Each week, we ask our readers to send us Royal Caribbean photos to share on the blog.

Who has two thumbs and enjoying a day in paradise? This guy! Roderick Jones sent us this photo from his Oasis of the Seas cruise from Barefoot Beach in Labadee.  Enjoy it!

Isabella sent us this photo of the donkeys from Santorini, Greece.  Fabulous view!

Meagan sent us this photo of Brilliance of the Seas, as seen from Cannes.  C'est magnifique!

Let's head back to Labadee with this photo by Michael Grillo, taken when he and his daughter were enjoy a summer cruise together. 

Here is a photo by Donald Barnett of one of the many towel animals their steward made during our stay on Freedom of the Seas. Love coming back to my room and finding one of these!

No Friday Photos is complete without a sunset photo, and here is one by Danielle from Grandeur of the Seas while on their way to Bermuda. Beautiful!

We are going, "old school" for this photo by John Siegmund, and it is of Crystal Olympia (former Royal Caribbean Song of America) sailing past Splendour of the Seas anchored off shore in Santorini, Greece May 2015. She still looks great!

Thank you to everyone for sharing these great photos.  If you want to include your photos too, please send them to us via this form!

The destinations Royal Caribbean brings you to are fantastic ports of call that are fun to explore each and every time you stop there.  For us, the local cuisine is a major attraction and it reminds us of the old saying, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" and that means sampling the culture of the area you are visiting by enjoying their food.

Each Caribbean port offers something different with influences from around the world. Dining at the restaurants locals frequent is a great way to get an authentic look at what the port offers, as well as pick up some new favorite dishes.  

We selected five restaurants across our Caribbean travels on Royal Caribbean ships to share with you as our top picks to try on your next Royal Caribbean cruise.

5. Cuzzin's Restaurant - St. Thomas

When we look for the best local food in a town we are new to, we always look at crowd sourcing reviews for a good idea of where to go, and the top ranked restaurant in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas was a little place called Cuzzin's Restaurant.

A short walk from the ample shopping of Charlotte Amalie, Cuzzin's offers some of the best Caribbean food available.

Curried chicken, conch, BBQ ribs, fried shrimp and more are just some of the authentic dishes that draw on the restaurant's local specialties.

In addition, there is a full bar that serves up something called, the lambada boomer drink.  Drink and enjoy the rest of the day!

4. Fish Fry's - Nassau, Bahamas

Many Royal Caribbean cruise ships make stops in Nassau, and if you are in the mood for something local, head over to Fish Fry's for reasonably priced local cuisine.

Fish Fry's is actually the name of a row of restaurants to choose from.  Most of the restaurants here have similar menus, with dishes like lobster, chicken, conch salad, shrimp, burgers and other of course, fresh fish.

You will find a wide selection of food made by locals and pretty good prices too.  The heart of these restaurants is offering fresh and authentic Bahamian food.

3. El Jibarito - San Juan

Old San Juan is full of wonderful restaurants, but if you want the best Puerto Rican food in the old city, you need to stop by El Jibarito.

What El Jibarito lacks in stately decor, it makes up for in its freshly made dishes. Mofongo, shrimp, yellow rice, tamales and more are all available here and it is the place to sample Puerto Rican food.

The word is out on El Jibarito, as there are often lines around meal times but it is worth a stop for the great food.

2. La Sucrière - St. Martin

The island of St. Maarten/St. Martin is half Dutch, and half French and that means there are lot of great spots to enjoy food from both cultures.  If you happen to be craving a traditional French breakfast, look no further than La Sucrière in the French capital.

Set right on the Marigot waterfront, La Sucrière bakes fresh breads, quiches, sandwiches, croissants and other French specialties each day for its customers.  There is nothing fresher without crossing the Atlantic.

Starting your day with breakfast or brunch at La Sucrière is the right way to experience St. Martin!

1. Comida Caseras Tonita - Cozumel

The holy grail of great authentic food is something made with pride and love, and at Comida Caseras Tonita, you will find a family run restaurant that will frankly ruin all other Mexican food for you.

Just a few short blocks from the Cozumel waterfront is this hidden gem that has a menu full of fresh and authentic Mexican food. If you are looking for the kind of food the locals eat, Tonita is the place for you.

The staff really do not speak any English, but you can easily point to what you want on the menu and shortly thereafter enjoy some incredible dishes. We have visited Tonita on multiple occasions and it never disappoints.  Come hungry!

Your recommendations

Have you found a great local restaurant that you swear by? Share the details in the comments!