Royal Caribbean released today its 2017-2018 cruise schedule for ships departing from the Northeast, Florida and Puerto Rico, year-round and seasonal escapes to the Caribbean and Canada.

All of the released sailings will go on sale on April 13, 2016.

The big change is there will be two ships based out of Cape Liberty in Bayonne, New Jersey beginning in summer 2017.

Royal Caribbean will offer expanded Caribbean itineraries from the Northeast in 2017, with Rhapsody of the Seas joining Anthem of the Seas in Cape Liberty, New Jersey.

• Rhapsody of the Seas will sail 7-night itineraries to the Bahamas throughout the summer.
• Anthem of the Seas will sail to Bermuda in the summer and the Caribbean year-round on 5-, 7- and 9-night itineraries. Anthem of the Seas will also sail to Bermuda in the summer. In the autumn months, Anthem of the Seas will sail 9-night voyages to New England and Canada.

Baltimore, Maryland

Grandeur of the Seas, sailing from Baltimore all year, will continue offering a wide breadth of cruise experiences, from a 5-night itinerary calling on Bermuda to a 9-night voyage sailing to New England and Canada as the colors of fall foliage begin to show. Grandeur will also sail 12-night itineraries to premier Southern Caribbean destinations, including the U.S. Virgin Islands and St. Kitts and St. Maarten, as well as new 9-night itinerary to Nassau and CocoCay, Bahamas.

Southern Caribbean Hot Spots from Miami, Fla.:

Navigator of the Seas will sail 5- and 9-night itineraries to Southern Caribbean destinations, such as Aruba and Bonaire.

Eastern and Western Caribbean from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.:

Independence of the Seas will offer 4- and 5-night itineraries to Costa Maya and Cozumel Mexico; Falmouth, Jamaica and Labadee, Haiti.
Freedom of the Seas will offer 6- and 8-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries.
Serenade of the Seas will sail 10- and 11-night Caribbean itineraries including a new port of call in Ponce, Puerto Rico.

Key West and Beyond from Tampa, Fla.:

Brilliance of the Seas will join Rhapsody in Tampa for the winter, offering 4 and 5-night itineraries to Key West, Cozumel, Mexico and Grand Cayman.
Rhapsody of the Seas will relocate to Tampa for the winter season and sail 7-night Western Caribbean itineraries.

Exotic Island Escapes from Puerto Rico:

Jewel of the Seas will sail to romantic destinations such as St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Barbados on 7-night itineraries from San Juan.

Which sailings sound interesting to you? Share your thoughts in the comments!

In the United States, income taxes are due in just a few days so Royal Caribbean is getting into the "spirit of the season" with a new promotion where Royal Caribbean will cruise taxes, port charges and fees, a savings of up to $200 ($250 CAD) savings per guest.

From April 14-18, guests booking 6-night or longer Caribbean, Bahamas and roundtrip Europe sailings departing from the Mediterranean between May 15, 2016 and March 31, 2017 are eligible for the promotion.

On qualifying sailings, guests can save as much as $200 USD or $250 CAD per guest simply on the savings from the complimentary taxes, fees, and port expenses.

The deal applies to all guests in a booking, inclusive of 3rd and 4th guests in a stateroom.

 Offer is combinable with all rates and promotions. Offer available in the United States in USD and Canada in USD/CAD.

Royal Caribbean announced that Ovation of the Seas' Godmother will be internationally-acclaimed Chinese actress, Fan Bingbing.

The announcement was made by Dr. Zinan Liu, President, Royal Caribbean International - China and North Asia Pacific, at a press conference at the Great Hall of People in Beijing.

Bingbing is the first Chinese celebrity selected to be the Godmother of an international cruise line and will officially name Ovation of the Seas at the ship’s inaugural ceremony in Tianjin, China on June 24, 2016.

Being Godmother to a cruise ship is reserved for someone who figuratively presides over the ship and imparts good luck and divine protection over the vessel and all that sail aboard. Godmothers for Royal Caribbean ships have included, performer Gloria Estefan, actress Jane Seymour, comedian/actress Whoopi Goldberg and tennis champion Steffi Graf, to name a few.

  “We are delighted to welcome Fan Bingbing to the Royal Caribbean family as Ovation of the Seas’ godmother,” said Michael Bayley, President and CEO, Royal Caribbean International. “Bingbing is number one on the Forbes China ‘Celebrity 100’ list and has held that top position for three years making her one of the most influential Chinese stars and in the world. She has received awards from many international film festivals and is recognized as a fashion icon for her extraordinary style on the red carpet, at movie premieres and iconic fashion events. She is innovative, smart, ambitious, trendy and elegant, and that makes Bingbing the perfect person to be selected as the Godmother of our newest ship.”

“My father was a singer in the art troupe of the Political Department of the Navy in China. My childhood was filled with the melodies of the sea and I often dreamed about sailing out to sea for an adventure,” said Fan Bingbing at the press conference. “Now, thanks to this invitation from Royal Caribbean, my dreams will come true. I am really honored to be the first Godmother of Chinese nationality for such a prestigious international cruise line as Royal Caribbean International. And I like the name of Ovation of the Seas which in Chinese is interpreted as ‘praising the world and welcoming guests from everywhere’. As Godmother of Ovation of the Seas, I would like to invite more international guests to cruise from China on Ovation of the Seas.”

Ovation of the Seas, will sail its inaugural season from Tianjin after a one month mini season from Hong Kong before the ship repositions to its winter homeport in Australia in December 2016.

Watch a time-lapse video of Ovation of the Seas arriving into the Southampton Port for the very first time.

At a question and answer session aboard Ovation of the Seas, Royal Caribbean announced it will install a larger-than-life art piece on its newest cruise ship, Ovation of the Seas, that is a giant panda.

Multiple members of the media tweeted out the confirmation, and added that the art piece will actually have two animals: a mother panda reaching down to her baby panda cub.

Breaking: the creature onboard #OvationoftheSeas will be a panda mum - reaching down to her cub @MyRoyalUK @CruiseCriticAU @CruiseCritic ahh

— Cruise Critic UK (@CruiseCriticUK) April 11, 2016

No name yet for the @MyRoyalUK #OvationoftheSeas panda.

— Danielle (@CruiseMiss) April 11, 2016

No word yet on what nickname the pandas will have.

All of Royal Caribbean's Quantum-class cruise ships feature a large art piece onboard that have become a signature of the ships.  Quantum of the Seas has a large margenta bear and Anthem of the Seas has a giant giraffe.

The pandas are part of the ship's art collection, which is meant to incite wonder among guests when they see it from afar, as well as interact with it on a more intimate, yet whimsical level up close.

Guests that want a private beach experience on Royal Caribbean's private destination of Labadee are sure to enjoy the cabanas available for rent on Nellie's Beach.

Royal Caribbean offers cabana rentals at two of its beaches in Labadee: Nellie's Beach and Barefoot Beach.  

Barefoot Beach, and its cabanas, are reserved for suite guests only, but the cabanas at Nellie's Beach are available for rent to all guests.

Guests may reserve cabanas online via the Cruise Planner.

Cabanas at Nellie's Beach come in two forms: Beach cabanas and Over the Water cabanas.

Beach Cabanas cost $395 (for up to six guests) and Over the Water cabanas cost $495 (for up to six guests).

While on a recent Allure of the Seas cruise, we were able to check out the Over the Water cabanas.

Over the Water cabanas are situated on rock groupings that line the Nellie's Beach area.  They each have a walkway down to the ocean for private water access, and to avoid having to walk back to the beach itself.

As the day progresses and the beach gets busier, this private access is better appreciated.

By far, the views guests enjoy at the Over the Water cabanas are quite beautiful.

Also, no cabana experience is complete without a Labadoozie. Waiter service is included for all cabanas.

Each cabana is equipped with two lounge chairs and a large seating area inside the cabana.  A cabana attendant is also assigned to you, who can assist you with any requests you may have.

Cabana guest also get to enjoy complimentary bottles of water (in a cooler), two floating beach mats, snorkeling gear and towels.

Cabana guests at Nellie's Beach also have access to private golf cart transportation.  Simply indicate to your cabana attendant that you would like to go somewhere (back to the ship, to the buffet, shore excursions, etc) and a golf cart will be brought to your cabana for your comfort and then you will be driven to your destination.

The cabanas at Labadee are perfect for anyone that wants to spend the whole day at the beach and prefers to have a private beach experience. 

Royal Caribbean's Ovation of the Seas arrived in Southampton, England earlier today, where she will offer a few cruises. As you might imagine, a lot of people were excited about Ovation's arrival.

Photographer Andrew Evans shared with us these shots of Ovation of the Seas' arrival.  Enjoy!

These next photos were shared by Royal Caribbean UK.

Photo by Royal Caribbean

Photo by Stuart Leven

Happy Sunday! We hope you’re enjoying a day filled with friends and family. Now it’s time to sit back, relax, and catch up on the latest Royal Caribbean news!

Royal Caribbean's 24th ship was welcomed into the fleet this week, as Ovation of the Seas was delivered by shipbuilder Meyer Werft in an official handover ceremony.

Royal Caribbean Chairman Richard Fain took delivery of Ovation of the Seas from Meyer Werft Yard’s Managing Partner Bernard Meyer in Bremerhaven, Germany.

Ovation of the Seas will now sail to Southampton, U.K., where the ship will offer a series of short getaways before she sets sail on her 52-night “Global Odyssey” culminating in the arrival to her homeport in Tianjin, China.

Royal Caribbean News

• First photos from inside Ovation of the Seas.
• Royal Caribbean is offering multi-day shore excursions on select sailings.
• Ovation of the Seas will return to Australia in 2017/2018.
• We answer when is the best time to book a Royal Caribbean cruise.
• Royal Caribbean announced it will combat wildlife trafficking.
• 5 things you will love about 150 Central Park.
• We have a Liberty of the Seas pool deck photo update to share.
• Six beautiful photos of Royal Caribbean ships in Port Everglades.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 140th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, where we answer your Royal Caribbean emails this week.

In this episode, Matt digs into the email inbox and reads emails about all aspects of taking a virtual cruise.  We talk dining, shore excursions, stateroom options and more!

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.

99 Days of Harmony

To celebrate the countdown until Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas debuts, we kicked off a brand new blog series, 99 Days of Harmony, that looks at what makes this new ship so amazing.  

Each day we are posting a new blog post all about Harmony of the Seas, so here's what you might have missed this week.

• Luckey Climber
• Harmony of the Seas' Captain
• Royal Caribbean creates the Ultimate Abyss
• Where to watch Harmony of the Seas sail away

Royal Caribbean Around the Internet

Cruiseline has 5 annoying things that aren't the cruise line's fault.

From the Deck Chair is sharing a first-look at Harmony of the Seas.

Cruise Maven Travels has a look at the Ben & Jerry Sweet.

With Royal Caribbean taking delivery of Ovation of the Seas, we are starting to get photos from inside this magnificent ship.

Photos shown here were posted by Royal Caribbean UK, Travis Kamiyama and Luis Rodriguez.

Ovation of the Seas is headed to Southampton, where she will offer a series of short getaways before she sets sail on her 52-night “Global Odyssey” culminating in the arrival to her homeport in Tianjin, China.

Royal Caribbean has packed Ovation of the Seas with quite a number of intriguing onboard activities, restaurants and amenities.

Later this year, Ovation of the Seas will reposition to her new home in Australia to begin her maiden Australian season in December.

Ovation of the Seas is the third Quantum-class cruise ship and is labeled as one of the most technologically advanced cruise ships ever.  

When the calendar (or your smart phone) tells you that it is Friday, that means it is time to share with everyone our readers favorite Royal Caribbean photos! 

Each week, we ask our readers to send us their best Royal Caribbean photos, so that we can showcase them right here.  

Enjoy this week's batch of great photos!

We will begin this week's photo showcase with this photo of Anthem of the Seas docked in St. Kitts by Jorge Toache.  I love getting these kinds of photos when docked in port.

Bob Carpenter sent us this photo of the AquaTheater on Allure of the Seas, while waiting for the evening Aqua Show. Beautiful lighting and the evening sky!

Here is Radiance of the Seas leaving Darwin, Australia by Ross & Pam.  Great perspective!

Donna Donovin sent us this photo of Adventure of the Seas, while she was docked in St. Croix. Love those Southern Caribbean itineraries!

I never get tired of this view on Oasis of the Seas.  Ken Slusser sent this photo from his June 2013 cruise and it is just as beautiful today as it was back then!

Let's head back down under, with this photo by Murray of Voyager of the Seas sailing out of Sydney harbor.  Hard to deny the amazing Sydney skyline, especially when seen from a cruise ship!

Last, but not least, is this photo of Serenade of the Seas by Zoltán Marton's brother, taken in Oslo, Norway. Old world meets beautiful ship!

That will wrap up this week's edition of Friday Photos.  If you would like your photo showcased here, just fill out this form and send it in!