Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas spread some early holiday cheer by welcoming onboard a group of seniors and volunteers of  the local voluntary welfare organisation Lions Befrienders for a Christmas tour, show and lunch.

The 60 seniors were treated to an ice show, as well as lunch in the Main Dining Room. They also enjoyed viewing the Christmas decorations onboard and had a photo-taking session with the giant Christmas tree along the Royal Promenade.

Captain Mal Bardsnes of Mariner of the Seas with Mr Sean Treacy, Managing Director, Singapore & Southeast Asia of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., also presented a donation check of S$10,000 on behalf of the company to Dr Chey Chor Khoon, Executive Director of Lions Befrienders, to contribute to Lions Befrienders’ seniors' welfare and more eldercare services and facilities.

This activity is part of Royal Caribbean’s yearly Christmas charity activity in Singapore which invites onboard local charity groups, ranging from seniors to children with special needs or from low income families.

Mr Treacy said, “This year, we specially honour the Pioneer Generation for our Christmas charity celebration. Hence it is our great pleasure to invite Lions Befrienders’ seniors to tour our ship during one of her most beautiful moments of the year, for them to enjoy a day out with our family-friendly entertainment and amenities, and most of all, for us to have the opportunity to contribute to their welfare. Royal Caribbean will continue to work closely with charity organizations in the region to contribute actively to the community.”

Dr Chey added: “We are delighted to have Royal Caribbean’s continual friendship and care for our seniors, many of whom may not have the opportunity to enjoy such a treat on the seas. Royal Caribbean’s donation will go a long way in ensuring the sustenance of our services as we expand our programs and reach to more vulnerable seniors.”   

Royal Caribbean is celebrating the impending debut of Harmony of the Seas with a new panoramic drawing that has never been done before.

British artist Stephen Wiltshire MBE – Member of the Order of the British Empire created the drawing entirely from memory of the coastal cities of Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca and Marseille, three of the six destinations guests will experience when sailing on Harmony of the Seas. 

Wiltshire’s drawing gives a taste of the views, in startling detail, that discovery-driven travelers will see while sailing the Western Mediterranean next summer.

Utilizing his unique ability to sketch entire cityscapes from memory, Wiltshire merged the three distinct cities into one seamless coastal montage that is anchored by landmarks such as Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia, Palma de Mallorca’s Castillo da Bellver and Marseille’s neo-Byzantine cathedral.  Wiltshire sketched the panoramic view in his London studio with astounding accuracy after committing each scene to memory by carefully scanning the coastline from the top-deck of Allure of the Seas this past summer.  

Debuting in May 2016, Harmony of the Seas will showcase the custom artwork onboard throughout her inaugural summer season, traveling to Europe’s most popular cruise destinations on seven-night Western Mediterranean itineraries. 

“It was the first time I’ve ever been on a cruise and the whole experience and range of activities onboard completely took me by surprise,” said Stephen Wiltshire. “The views were absolutely breathtaking. I spent quite a lot of time visualizing the different coastlines of Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca and Marseille and to create the final panorama. It was a pleasure to be given the opportunity to create the piece and I’m thrilled that so many people from all over the world will be able to view my work while on the ship.”

“Harmony of the Seas will be the largest cruise ship ever built. Therefore, we wanted to capture something truly extraordinary that reflects the ultimate views people will experience onboard Harmony – and the best destinations they can explore off the ship too,” said Stuart Leven, Managing Director – UK & Ireland, Royal Caribbean International. “The Mediterranean coastline is undoubtedly one of the most awe-inspiring places to visit by sea. We just couldn’t wait to give our passengers a taste of its beauty and diversity ahead of the launch of Harmony of the Seas.”

Residents of the United Kingdom and Ireland can win a free 7-night cruise on Harmony of the Seas through a new contest Royal Caribbean is offering in conjunction with Google Maps.

Participants may enter the completion by going to Google Ship View, which will take them to the Allure Google Street View page hosted on the Royal Caribbean UK website.On that webpage participants will be greeted with a clue to where the Harmony Christmas Present is hidden within Google Street View. From there the participant must find the present and click on it for a pop up to appear inviting them to insert their personal details and accept these competition terms.

Participants may enter this free of charge competition from 09:00 GMT on Thursday 17 December 2015 until 23:59 GMT on Thursday 31st December 2015. No entries will be counted after the closing date.

One winner and 4 runners up will be selected entirely at random from all eligible entries by 8th January 2015 and will be informed by email within 7 days.

The grand prize winner will win a cruise for themselves and a guest of their choice traveling with them in the same accommodation on Harmony of the Seas sailing on the June 26, 2016 from Barcelona which will call at Palma De Mallorca, Provence, Florence, Rome & Naples then return to Barcelona on July 2nd, 2016. This prize includes flights from selected UK departure airports, in destination transfers, standard meals on-board (excluding specialty dining) and ship WiFi but excludes optional gratuities.

The next 3 runners up that are picked at random from the remaining eligible entries will each win an iPad mini 16GB and the final runner up picked at random from the remaining eligible entries will win an Xbox 1.

Full contest terms and conditions can be found here.

At the Travel Weekly Readers Choice 2015 awards, Royal Caribbean came away as being named the Best Cruise Line Overall for the 13th consecutive year.

Royal Caribbean also claimed the top spot in a few other categories including

• Best Cruise Line in the Caribbean
• Best Sales & Service
• Best New Cruise Ship (Quantum of the Seas)

“It is such a great honor to be chosen in so many categories by Travel Weekly readers, our valued travel agent partners,” said Vicki Freed, senior vice president,Sales, Trade Support and Service for Royal Caribbean International. “We are very proud to have won the Best Cruise Line Overall award throughout the life of this recognition program, as well as the Best Sales & Services award for eight years in a row. We thank Travel Weekly and travel agents for their ongoing support.”

Travel Weekly honored the winners of its 13th annual Readers Choice Awards at a gala dinner and ceremony Tuesday at the Conrad Hotel in New York. Winners were selected in 67 categories in the airline, car, hospitality, rail, GDS, agent education, tour, cruise, destination and theme park sectors. The awards are presented to suppliers considered by Travel Weekly readers who led the way in product and service during the past year.

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

Episode 124 is available for downloading, where our friend Brian previews his upcoming cruise on Allure of the Seas.

Brian is taking his extended family on an Allure of the Seas cruise, and we talk about why they chose to try to Royal Caribbean, some of the plans they have and what their older kids are most excited to try onboard.

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 124. 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!

Of all the Royal Caribbean specialty restaurants available, few have spread as far and as wide as Giovanni's Table has, especially given how relatively new it is to Royal Caribbean.

While aboard Brilliance of the Seas, I just could not resist the temptation to enjoy lunch at Giovanni's Table one more time.

I had no plans to dine at Giovanni's Table, but the tempting favorites along with the lower lunch price swayed my decision on one particular sea day.

Atmosphere

Located on deck 6, Giovanni's Table is across from the ever popular Schooner Bar.

Walking in, the restaurant is rather large and offers seating in a variety of configurations.

The restaurant is essentially one large room, with windows making up one wall, that offer an unobstructed view of the ocean.

On our day to eat here, there were waves of 2-4 meters, so we certainly had some action to see.  Admittedly, these waves were also responsible for not having the largest of appetites with all of the motion.

Giovanni's Table will not win any accolades purely for its aesthetical looks, but it feels like a restaurant that is distinct from its surroundings and certainly more elaborately decorated than Rita's Cantina. 

Eats

It is no secret that Giovanni's Table is an Italian restaurant and there are plenty of Italian favorites to pick from on the menu.

On my last visit to Giovanni's Table on Freedom of the Seas, I felt I did not do a good job ordering, so this time I would try something more on the "seafood spectrum" as means of correcting the experience.

Once seated, we were served complimentary bread and olive oil.  This is consistent with the every other Giovanni's Table I have dined at and having bread and oil is a standard practice among many Italian restaurants.

As I said earlier, the ship was rocking quite a bit so we ordered lightly.  

To start with, we shared an insalata caprese.

This is your standard tomato and mozzarella salad. If I can be picky, I would point out the tomatoes are the same previously frozen tomatoes served in the Windjammer.  Not the end of the world, but I was hoping for something fresher.

I also ordered the eggplant parmigiana.

The eggplant parm from Giovanni's Table is not breaded and is more of a baked eggplant than traditional eggplant parm.  Nonetheless, I would say this was the best eggplant parm I have had at Giovanni's Table in quite a while.

For our entrees, I ordered the sole filets, while my wife opted for the pappardelle pasta.

My fish was a lightly fried sole filet that was served on top of sautéed garlic zucchini spaghetti.

The fish was light and pretty good, but it was the zucchini that I really enjoyed.  Combining the zucchini and fish together was a real treat and if I were to order this again, I would ask for extra zucchini.

My wife's pasta came in a white cream sauce and the little she ate of it, she enjoyed (the motion of the ocean was starting to get to her by this point).  

I sampled a bit of it too and thought the pasta tasted better than something out of the box.

Overall

Giovanni's Table on Brilliance of the Seas is a good option for those looking for Italian food that is more than just the typical pasta and sauce served in the Windjammer.

It is far from my favorite specialty restaurant, but the price (especially for lunch) makes it almost impossible to ignore. 

I will point out that when we dined there, there were perhaps six tables but only one waiter who also was serving as maître d'.  

Because of this, the service was extremely slow.  It did improve towards the tail end of the meal when more servers showed up to assist. 

Our overworked waiter was still quite generous, because he opted not to charge my wife for her meal because she barely ate it due to her not feeling well.  Definitely a welcome gesture and a credit to his service.

If you are asking, "should I eat at Giovanni's Table on Brilliance of the Seas," my advice is go for lunch on a sea day and take advantage of the lower cost and ease of which it is to get a table.  Stick with traditional Italian dishes and enjoy the view!

Giovanni's Table is open for lunch 12:00pm to 1:30pm and open for dinner 6:00pm to 9:30pm and we reviewed Giovanni's Table on Brilliance of the Seas.

Australian health authorities are reporting about 182 passengers aboard Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas have been sickened with a gastrointestinal virus during a recent cruise.

Royal Caribbean notified the South Eastern Sydney Local Health District of the virus.

No patients required treatment at a hospital, although paramedics were on hand when Explorer of the Seas docked at the Overseas Passenger Terminal at The Rocks just before 6am on Wednesday.

A representaive from the South Eastern Sydney Local Health District indicated the ship would undergo extra cleaning to control the outbreak prior to new passengers being able to board.

Explorer of the Seas recently arrived in Australia to begin her cruising season just last month.

Explorer of the Seas last experienced a Norovirus outbreak in January 2014.

After months of hinting, Royal Caribbean has finally revealed what guests can look forward to trying onboard Harmony of the Seas with the 10 story slide known as, "Ultimate Abyss."

Ultimate Abyss will be the tallest slide at sea and also an epic adventure.

The Ultimate Abyss is more than 150 feet above sea level and offers side-by-side slides that send guests down 10 decks at a rate of 9 miles per hour.

Launching onto the ride from a glass platform, guests can take one last look at the Boardwalk 10 decks below before climbing onto a customized mat and taking the plunge into the depths of the daunting slides. Spontaneous audio effects within each tunnel create a multi-sensory thrill for daring guests willing to test their mettle while traversing 216 feet through the one-of-a-kind slide duo. The Ultimate Abyss is made up of two separate cylinders, a reflection of one-another, each with a diameter of approximately 2.6 feet and constructed of stainless steel.

Will you try Ultimate Abyss? Tell us if you are brave enough in the comments!

Royal Caribbean is starting to offer its guests an internet package that supports up to 4 devices connected at one time on select sailings.

Royal Caribbean Blog reader Ken Houston spotted on the new offering, which has a price of $40 per day.

Royal Caribbean has been offering unlimited internet packages for one or two devices, at $15 per day or $22.50 respectively.   This new option allows more devices to remain connected, which would save money for families cruising together.

Thus far, the new 4 device internet package is not available fleetwide yet, and has been reported on Oasis of the Seas, Allure of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas on sailings that begin this week, going until about January 2, 2016.

Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas will host a world-first dance theme cruise, featuring regional dance veteran Aleena Tan as well as world and regional renowned coaches such as Burn The Floor’s Luka Fanni from Italy, Peter Townsend and Belman Salihovic from Australia, Sunny Low, Derrick Torre and Feliz Ferlino from Singapore and Uapan Sdnivongs from Thailandi.

This special event will take place on a 4-night cruise from February 29 to March 4, 2016 from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang) and Langkawi is expected to attract dance enthusiasts from across the region, who will enjoy the exclusive tutelage under these world class class veterans, all brought together on this cruise.

Workshops onboard will offer guests ballroom and Latin dancing, Banchatango, New Vogue and Rock ‘n’ Roll classes, and include demonstrations from the coaches. 

In addition, the event will offer previews and dance shows on Cha Cha, Samba, Rumba, Paso Doble, Jive, Waltz, Tango, Slow Foxtrot and Quickstep, along the ship’s 136m-long Royal Promenade and in the 1,300-seater theater. Performers will include Professional Champions from Russia, Mikhail Eremeeve and Olesya Eremeeva.

Aleena Tan has previously organized four dance theme cruises with Royal Caribbean in Asia with the most recent one as “Dancesport All Champions”, the world’s first showdance competition at sea in January 2015. On her choice of Royal Caribbean again for her latest dance theme cruise, she said, “We always want to do something different and unique for every one of these dance cruises, which is very much like the innovative feel of Royal Caribbean ships. Plus, I’ve always been attracted to Mariner of the Seas’ classy ambiance, beautiful venues and excellent service, which has been a most befitting choice for all my past events, like for the upcoming one.”