November is here and so is this week's Royal Caribbean news round-up, where we share all the big Royal Caribbean news from this week with you.

The big news this week was the keel was layed for Royal Caribbean's fourth Oasis class cruise ship.

This ship is still unnamed, but formal construction begin with a special ceremony, where a 1,000 ton block was lifted by crane into the building dock.

The significance of this ceremony is that construction officially begins on the ship, and we move one step closer to her becoming a reality.

The fourth Oasis class ship is scheduled for delivery in spring 2018.

We have a lot more to share, so let's jump right in...

Royal Caribbean News

• Royal Caribbean will have a float in the 2015 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
• The digital wayfinders on Anthem of the Seas feature some new functionality.
• Harmony of the Seas will feature a new play area just for kids.
• Speaking of Harmony of the Seas, Royal Caribbean posted a new construction video update and she is now 80% complete.
• Here are six ways to beat the crowds on Anthem of the Seas.
• Explorer of the Seas made her first stop ever in India.
• Our list of the top ways to splurge, while on a Royal Caribbean cruise.

How you can support Royal Caribbean Blog

So many of our readers have reached out to us to ask how they can help the blog and we are introducing the Royal Caribbean Blog Insiders for just that reason.

The Insiders group is a way readers can contribute to Royal Caribbean Blog and help fuel some of the really amazing ideas, projects and new content that we have lined up.

As a way of saying thank you for your contribution, there are some fun rewards for being a member of the Royal Caribbean Blog Insiders.

Becoming a member of the Royal Caribbean Blog Insiders is completely up to you and you can cancel at any time. No questions asked! 

As always, thank you for visiting Royal Caribbean Blog and being a part of our community!

Royal Caribbean Blog Reader Finds

If you are on a Royal Caribbean cruise and spot something cool, new or just fun, share a photo with us on Facebook or Twitter so we can add it to our Royal Caribbean Blog Reader Finds each Sunday!

Nick Vitani sent us this photo of Halloween decorations on Enchantment of the Seas.

Rich Freudenberg shared this photo he got with Royal Caribbean Cruise Director Ken Rush while on Anthem of the Seas.  Loving the beard, Ken!

Royal Caribbean International CEO Michael Bayley posted this photo of Royal Caribbean Ltd Chairman Richard Fain dressed up for Halloween!

Scott Sanders sent us this photo of two Royal Caribbean ships docked in Nassau earlier this week.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 117th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available and this week, and we are comparing Royal Caribbean to Carnival Cruise Line.

In this episode, Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast listener Anna discuss the differences and similarities between the two cruise lines to give listeners an idea of how the experiences compare.

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 Jones Family posted a video blog, detailing their cruise on Oasis of the Seas.

Frommers named the 5 best cruise lines for kids (hint: Royal Caribbean made the list).

Condé Nast Traveler shares their experience on Anthem of the Seas.

Cruise Critic has a list of 10 free activities on Anthem of the Seas.

Cruise Dudes have a new podcast out this week, with a review of cruising the southern Caribbean.

Travel Weekly reports Disney Cruise Line is capping commissions for travel agents but Royal Caribbean is increasing them.

Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas has a lot to offer, including a number of staterooms.  Today, we will look at the Royal Family Suite stateroom and take you through the cabin to give you an idea of what to expect if you book this type of stateroom.

On Anthem  of the Seas, Dale Hicks shared photos of stateroom 10634, which is located on Deck 10. Entry to the room is by RFID scanner, which is above the door handle.

After immeditately walking in, there is a full sized closet.

Opposite the closet is one of the bathrooms.  This bathroom is a lot like the bathroom you would find in many staterooms on Anthem of the Seas.

The first bedroom is a room with two double beds.  The bathroom shown in earlier photos is likely to be used most by these rooms.

Here is a good look at the living room area of the suite.  The Royal Family Suite offers 543 square feet of living space.

Let's head into the master bedroom.

The master bedroom includes a king size bed and television.  Next up is the master bathroom.

The master bathroom features a full size tub and more space than the other bathroom.

Of course, the Royal Family Suite features a balcony, and this one is rather large. The balcony size for this stateroom ranges between 166 to 263 sq. ft.

Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas offers so many innovative and fun activites onboard, so naturally many guests onboard are all interested in doing them too.

If you want to do all the cool activities onboard, here are some surefire methods to see it all, without waiting for it all.

Do your online check in the fast way

In order to do any of the really fun things onboard Anthem of the Seas, you need to first get onboard, so why waste time waiting in the cruise terminal?

Royal Caribbean offers a new program, where you can go "sidewalk to ship" in 10 minutes and if you take advantage of this, you too can get onboard much quicker.

What you need to do is fill out all the important legal information at home and even take their own "selfie" photo to be used with their SeaPass card.

You will still be able to check-in the "old fashioned way" at the cruise terminal too but those that take advantage of the new system will get onboard a whole lot quicker.

The best times to go on North Star

Anthem of the Seas' North Star observation pod is arguably the most impressive, and popular, activity on the ship.  Who does not enjoy sweeping views of everything around you from a height of 300 feet?

If you want to check out North Star, or even experience it more than just once, there are ways to beat the long lines that tend to be there.

The best time to experience North Star is when you are in a port, because most guests are off the ship exploring the port of call.  This means, there are far less guests to compete with for a line.

In addition, try for hopping in line bright and early in the morning.  If you can wrangle yourself out of bed and get in line 10 minutes or more before North Star opens, you will likely find yourself on the first ride of the day.  Lines quickly develop shortly thereafter.

Interestingly, you can also find luck with less lines during dinner hours.  As more and more guests leave the pool area and head somewhere to eat, there is less competition for North Star rides.  Those last few rides of the evening can often have little to no wait.

Book Ripcord online

One feature on Anthem of the Seas that always captures the attention of guests is Ripcord by iFly.  This skydiving simulator sounds, looks and feels really, really cool, and many guests want to give it a try.

If you want to experience Ripcord, your best bet is to reserve a spot online before your cruise.

Using Royal Caribbean's Cruise Planner, you can reserve a time to ride for you and others in your group.  And there is no additional cost!

By reserving in advance, you will avoid the line of guests who are trying to figure out when they can be squeezed in for a ride.

The secret to Bumper cars and the FlowRider

It might seem like the bumper cars and FlowRider surf simulator have very little in common, but if you want to experience either, the secret is the same: go on embarkation day.

Usually these activities are up and running as you board the ship, but most guests are not thinking about them yet.

Given that Anthem of the Seas is based out of Bayonne, New Jersey, a ride on the FlowRider during the cooler months of the year may not sound like a great idea but if you want a chance to ride the FlowRider over and over and over again, head there on embarkation day.

Likewise, bumper cars on embarkation day will find the shortest lines.  It is your best bet for slamming into other guests without a really long wait.

Dinner at the any of the restaurants

There are a lot of restaurants onboard Anthem of the Seas, and if you are on Dynamic Dining Choice, you will have the opportunity to eat at any of them, when it is convenient to you.  But you ought to plan ahead where and when you will be eating to avoid possible waits.

Royal Caribbean has done a lot to engineer the Dynamic Dining experience so that wait time to be seated is mitigated, but we suggest you make reservations in advance to assure yourself of the shortest waits.

Guests can book reservations for any of the complimentary or specialty restaurants online via the Cruise Planner.  

The Cruise Planner is simple and you can always change the times you book, so you do not have to worry about being "locked into" anything you select.  

In our experience, having reservations always beats trying to show up without one.

See the Bionic Bar in action

Something sure to catch anyone's attention as they walk by, is the Bionic Bar, where robots make cocktails for guests on demand.  

Because it draws the eye so easily, crowds often form around the Bionic Bar because everyone wants to see the robots in action (and probably take a selfie with them).

If you want to find the lowest crowds at the Bionic Bar, try for the late afternoon.  

There is a noticable slowdown after 3pm, when many guests are all over the ship doing other things and the Bionic Bar is not nearly as busy.  And it's more likely you actually want a drink at this time, rather than morning hours, which are also fairly uncrowded.

The Bionic Bar picks back up in the evening, when you will find a DJ usually playing music nearby, so take advantage of the Bionic Bar right before it's 5 o'clock somewhere.

AAA Travel honored Royal Caribbean with two awards this year, "Ocean Cruise Partner of the Year" and "Best Travel Agent Support."

The award which recognizes a company’s commitment to providing AAA travel agents and members with exemplary travel services and products.

At a conference in La Quinta, California, the awards were presented to Royal Caribbean.

Vicki Freed, senior vice president of Sales, Trade Support and Service for Royal Caribbean International, accepted the award and spoke about its impact, "It is a great honor to be chosen by AAA Travel as Ocean Cruise Partner of the year for the third year in a row. We are very proud of this recognition and thank AAA Travel for their ongoing support to help us deliver our unique experience to adventurous vacationers."

Royal Caribbean is offering a new Weekend WOW sale this weekend, where guests can save 30% off every guest plus enjoy up to $50 onboard credit.

The amount of onboard credit a guest will receive depends on their stateroom category

• Interior & Ocean view staterooms: $25 per stateroom
• Balcony and suite staterooms: $50 per stateroom

The Weekend WOW sale is valid on cruises booked October 30 - November 1, 2015 and applies to sailings departing on or after December 1, 2015 - March 31, 2016, excluding China departures.

Offer is combinable with current standard/full fare rates, restricted rates (for example, Seniors, Residents, Military, BOGO, Upgrade offers), and Next Cruise offers. Offer is not combinable with any other offer or promotion. 

Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas is on her way to Australia, but along the way made her first stop ever in India.

Explorer of the Seas stopped in Goa on October 27, 2015 and in Cochin on October 28, 2015.

At both stops, she was welcomed by the local port officials and Royal Caribbean’s Indian representatives.

An official plaque and key ceremony was conducted onboard between Captain Kjetil Gjerstad and Sri. Senthilvel, deputy chairman of Cochin Port. This is Royal Caribbean’s third ship to visit India this year, following Rhapsody of the Seas and Quantum of the Seas.

Explorer of the Seas is currently on an 11-Night Middle East and Asia Cruise which started from Dubai and will also visit Penang and Port Klang before ending in Singapore.

Royal Caribbean's fourth Oasis class cruise ship had her keel layed today at a ceremony at the STX France shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France.

The keel-laying marks the official start of construction for Royal Caribbean's unnamed fourth Oasis class ship.

During the ceremony, a 1,000-ton block measuring 32-ft by 154-ft (10 x 47 meters) was lifted by crane into the building dock. Newly minted coins were placed under the keel and will stay in place there until the end of the ship’s construction.

Once the ship is near to completion, the coins are retrieved and presented to the ship’s Captain and crew to be placed onboard the ship. According to maritime tradition, the coins are said to bring luck to the ship during its construction process and then to its Captain and crew when she is sailing out at sea.

Special thanks to Lloyd Marchand from the Oasis 4 Facebook group for providing these photos.

The fourth Oasis class ship is scheduled for delivery in spring 2018.

Royal Caribbean has been adding digital wayfinders to their cruise ships since they were first introduced on Oasis of the Seas, but recently, they have gotten a software upgrade that gives them much more functionality.

Royal Caribbean's digital wayfinders are interactive kiosks found in the elevator lobbies of most ships. It offers guests access to what is happening on the ship, directions to anywhere on the ship and even restaurant information.

Recently, Royal Caribbean upgraded the software for these wayfinders to allow guests to locate any ship in Royal Caribbean's fleet, read more information about the officers and more.

When using the wayfinders, guests can choose from a variety of options.

The "Ship Locator" is one of the new links, that will give guests a look at the location of every ship in the fleet.

In fact, the Ship Locator will also show the location of sister company ships, such as Celebrity Cruise and Azamara Club Cruise ships.

Guests can also look up information on the officers onboard their Royal Caribbean ship and learn more about each one of them.

Big thanks to Royal Caribbean Blog reader Rich Freudenberg for providing these photos!

In addition, the wayfinders feature a Port Explorer feature, which highlights the itinerary you are on and allows guests to explore the port from a Google Maps experience

These new features were first introduced on Quantum of the Seas, and will also be available on Harmony of the Seas and Ovations of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean is adding a lot of new things to its third Oasis class cruise ship, Harmony of the Seas, and one particular addition is sure to be very popular with the kids.

Harmony of the Seas will be the first ship to feature the Luckey Climber play area, located at the end of the Boardwalk.

Luckey Climber is a brand of rather large clibming structures that are surrounded by a net, designed for kids to jump on and explore.

These innovative playgrounds are part art and part jungle gym that feature some very bold colors.

Based on the concept art rendering that Royal Caribbean has published, it looks like Harmony of the Seas will receive the Luckey Climber "paper clip climber" model that was used at a children's museum in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Photo by Luckey Climbers, LLC

From the looks of it, Luckey Climber ought to be a great spot for kids of many ages to hop in and engage in the kind of climbing all kids love, while their parents enjoy a milk shake from Johnny Rockets and watch the fun ensue!

Do you think your kids will want to climb the Luckey Climber? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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

Episode 117 is available for downloading where we have an in-depth comparisson of Royal Caribbean versus Carnival Cruise Line.

Anna Blake is back from her first Royal Caribbean cruise aboard Independence of the Seas, and this week, we are we're comparing the two cruise line experiences and seeing which line does better in various aspects of the cruise experience.

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 117. 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!