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How you can support Royal Caribbean Blog

In:
27 Oct 2015

This is a bit of a break from the typical Royal Caribbean news but something important I wanted to bring up.

For a long time, Royal Caribbean Blog readers have asked me one question, "How can I help the site?"

Starting today, there is a new way you can personally help Royal Caribbean Blog become more helpful and informative, the Royal Caribbean Blog Insiders.

I've also been thinking about how to improve the site for everyone and it comes back to a dream I have for the blog.  My dream is simple: Produce interesting and helpful Royal Caribbean content consistently that people want to read and share.  And I would love to do it much more than I currently am able to do it.

To that end, I have lots of ideas for new exciting and informative information for this site but I need your help.

Through your support, we can continue growing Royal Caribbean Blog and bring you the kind of intriguing and useful content many of you have come to expect every day.

This is a purely voluntary action to take and I know how tough things are for everyone these days.  If it's not in the cards right now to help out financially, keep doing what you're doing here by visiting this site and being a part of our community.

But if you can, there are a number of contribution levels you can join at and along with your assistance, 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! 

Take a look and consider if becoming an Insider is right for you: https://www.patreon.com/RoyalCaribbeanBlog

Thank you

Matt

Royal Caribbean launches 72-hour Anthem of the Seas sale

In:
27 Oct 2015

Royal Caribbean kicked off today a special 72-hour sale on Anthem of the Seas cruises, where staterooms begin at just $699 per person and guests can get $100 to spend onboard when booking a balcony or suite.

Guests that book a balcony or suite stateroom on Anthem of the Seas for sailings that depart between January 1 and March 31, 2016 will qualify for a $100 bonus onboard credit.

This 72-hour Anthem of the Seas sale runs between October 27 and 29, 2015.

This offer is combinable with restricted rates (for example, Seniors, Residents, Military, 30% Savings) as well as NextCruise offers. OBC offer is not combinable with Crown & Anchor discounts and Shareholder Benefits.

Offer open to residents of the United States or Canada. 

Video: Harmony of the Seas Construction Update: A Sneak Peek of Royal Caribbean's Newest Ship

In:
27 Oct 2015

Take a look behind the scenes at the progress of the construction of the world's largest ship! Harmony of the Seas will build upon guest favorites of the Oasis class of ships with even more fun and exciting firsts in store for guests when she debuts in 2016.

Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas lifeboats arrive at shipyard

In:
26 Oct 2015

Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas is going to be receiving her brand new life boats very soon, after a shipment was spotted at the STX France shipyard.

All photo by Olivier Cabaret

Harmony of the Seas will debut in April 2016 and offer cruises in Europe before moving to Fort Lauderdale, Florida in late 2016 to be homeported there.

Tip of the hat to the Harmony of the Seas - Oasis Class Facebook group for alerting us to this news.

Royal Caribbean will have a float in the 2015 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

In:
26 Oct 2015

Royal Caribbean will once again have a float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade this year, likely to promote the arrival of Anthem of the Seas to her new homeport of the New York City area.

Macy's Thanksgiving Parade website has Royal Caribbean's float listed and a photo of the float that Royal Caribbean has used for the last two years, entitled, "A World At Sea".

The float was designed by the creative artists of the Macy’s Parade Studio and depicts three distinct postcard scenes which take place onboard a Royal Caribbean ship. The rotating scenes depict three “WOW” moments found only on Royal Caribbean, including the FlowRider surf simulator, thrilling zip line and iconic rock climbing wall.

Photo by Michael Poole

Royal Caribbean has had a parade float in the annual event the last two years to promote sister ship, Quantum of the Seas.  

The 89th annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade airs nationwide on NBC, on Thursday, Nov. 26, 2014.

Thanks to Cruise Ship News for the find!

Royal Caribbean previews Halloween events on its cruise ships

In:
26 Oct 2015

Celebrating holidays on a Royal Caribbean ship is always a fun opportunity, because combining the fun of a cruise adventure with holiday traditions just seems to be a great combination.

Halloween is coming up this weekend and Royal Caribbean UK has given its guests an idea of what to expect on a number of Royal Caribbean ships when it comes to special Halloween events.

Photo by Flickr user S K Joiner

These event listings may not be the complete list of activities fleet wide or even on each particular ship.  But they are a glimpse at the fun guests can expect onboard.

Enchantment of the Seas

The Centrum has been decorated for Halloween all month and will become the venue for our fright night costume dance party on October 31st.

Explorer of the Seas

Adults and kids can take part in a fun costume parade through the Royal Promenade, ending with a dance party. Guests will also get the chance to take part in a ‘Thriller’ dance class.

Jewel of the Seas

Jewel will be holding a special costume competition and party, while kids can try their luck trick-or-treating onboard.

Oasis of the Seas

Halloween will be guests’ first night onboard Oasis, and what a great night it will be! There will be a costume competition and party in the Royal Promenade.

Splendour of the Seas

Splendour of the Seas guests and crew will be celebrating Halloween in style, with a huge costume party in the Centrum.

Serenade of the Seas

Hopefully guests have remembered their best costume, as there will be prizes up for grabs at the onboard Halloween party.

Photos: Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas last time in Belgium

In:
25 Oct 2015

Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas is wrapping up her European cruise season in preperation for her move across, "the pond" to the United States, where she will arrive at her new home in the New York City area.

Royal Caribbean Blog reader Steven van Belleghem sent us these great shots of Anthem of the Seas today in Zeebrugge, Belgium.

Enjoy!

All photos by Steven van Belleghem

Royal Caribbean Post Round-Up: October 25, 2015

In:
25 Oct 2015

October is almost over (how did that happen?) and hopefully that means you are getting closer to your next Royal Caribbean cruise!  We have sifted through all of this week's Royal Caribbean news to bring you what you need to know.

The big news this week is Royal Caribbean announced it is bringing back a cruise ship that left the fleet over 7 years ago, Empress of the Seas.

During Royal Caribbean's third quarter financial results call, Chief Financial Officer Jason Liberty announced Empress of the Seas will return to Royal Caribbean International after spending the last number of years as a part of Pullmantur Cruises.

Empress of the Seas will undergo an, "extensive refurbishment" and be available for service sometime in Spring 2016.

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

Royal Caribbean News

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!

Ron Lodowski sent us this photo of a United States Coast Guard helicopter coming to aid a group of Cubans that Freedom of the Seas rescued.

Nick Vitani shared this photo of the sushi available on Liberty of the Seas in the Windjammer.

Let's cruise together on Allure of the Seas

I want you to join me on Allure of the Seas!

The Royal Caribbean Blog staff are going on Allure of the Seas and we are inviting all of our blog readers to join us!

We will be sailing on Allure of the Seas on February 21, 2016 and there are some fabulous rates available.  Interior staterooms start at only $850 per person (double occupancy)!

Read all the details (and the fun meets we already have planned).  This will be an amazing week with plenty of surprises and exclusive events for those that book into our group!

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 116th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available and this week, and we are talking all about the fabulous shows available on a Royal Caribbean cruise.

In this episode, Matt looks at the shows Royal Caribbean offers on its ships and talks about what makes them so enjoyable.  There is a wide array of shows to cover, and there is bound to be a favorite (or two) that you will want to see on your next cruise.

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

Calvirose wrote about her experience on Anthem of the Seas this summer.

AdWeek wrote about Royal Caribbean's new marketing campaign that promises them, "an anti-cruise that won't suck."

AboutCruiseShips has a review of Radiance of the Seas.

Top five coolest things about Anthem of the Seas

In:
24 Oct 2015

Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas is less than two weeks away from her arrival in the New York City area and many  fans are excited to check out what this brand new ship offers.

Royal Caribbean has packed Anthem of the Seas with innovations, activities and technology that all contribute to give guests that "WOW" factor the company is well known for.

There is a lot of exciting options onboard and in anticipation of Anthem of the Seas' arrival, we are counting down the top five coolest features onboard.

5. Virtual Balconies

When Royal Caribbean announced it would transform indoor staterooms with an 80-inch LED television that would provide real-time views, the concept may not have resonated with guests as much until we saw it in action.

Virtual balcony staterooms transform the experience of an indoor stateroom without the balcony stateroom price and the picture quality is amazing.

In addition to the real-time views, the virtual balcony provides audio as well and unlike a real balcony, you can simply press a button on your remote and turn it on or off at your discretion.

4. Voom high speed internet

If you have a need for speed when it comes to surfing the internet, Royal Caribbean's Voom internet is perfect for you.

Imagine being at sea and sharing photos and videos from all the "WOW" moments in this blog post with your friends and family back home.  Or better yet, show them by calling them on Skype or Facetime.  You can do all that and more with Voom.

Anthem of the Seas is one a few Royal Caribbean ships currently offering Voom internet and for just $15 per device, per day, you can stay connected without the sluggish internet speeds traditionally found on a cruise ship.

If you are a gamer, head over to the X-Box pod in the SeaPlex, because Voom is powering the gaming experience there, where guests can engage in Xbox Live.

3.  Two70

Entertainment has always been a staple of Royal Caribbean cruises and Two70 offers some of the most impressive shows we have ever seen.

Two70 is a venue at the aft of the ship that offers a two hundred and seventy degree view of the ocean, and there is much more than just that to see.

During the day, you will find Roboshows shows that feature robotic screens that move and adjust to the show they are displaying.  

Two70 also features Vistarama, which transforms its expansive floor-to-ceiling windows into any scene, real or imagined, by combining 18 projectors to create an ambient surface over 100 feet wide and over 20 feet tall. Across this expanse, impromptu digital shows come to life in stunning 12K resolution.

At night, there is yet another show to enjoy here, with Spectra's Cabaret.  This is an immersive audio and visual experience that is certain to be like nothing you have seen before.

Two70 is a hub of activity for guests onboard Anthem of the Seas and after your cruise is over, it is quite likely many of your cruise photos will have been taken here.

2. Ripcord


Four words: sky diving at sea.

That is all most guests need to hear to understand what Ripcord by iFly is all about.

Guests get the sensation and experience of sky diving without the whole jump out of a perfectly good airplane from an obscene altitude.

It is one of those things that so many guests instantly want to try because not only does it look super cool, it is also super fun!

There is no additional cost to hop in Ripcord, guests simply make a reservation and get suited up and literally jump in.

Be sure to have someone take photos for you, because Ripcord is such an unique experience and something only available on Royal Caribbean.

1. North Star

When we are talking about "WOW" moments, there is nothing that quite compares to the most visible feature on Anthem of the Seas, North Star.

Guests board a jewel-shaped observation capsule and are taken up 300 feet above sea level for views never before seen on a cruise ship.

North Star offers 360 degree views all around Anthem of the Seas and it is something that simply never gets old.  No matter how many times you go up on North Star, it is still a stunning sight to behold and you will need extra memory cards for your camera to be able to handle all the photos and video from here.

If you really want to spice things up, remember the Voom internet from earlier in this post?  How about streaming your experience on Periscope or calling your friends at home on Facetime and showing them where you are? When you are on North Star, you are going to want to do all of it!

There is much more!

We limited ourselves to the top 5 coolest things about Anthem of the Seas for this blog post, but there is so much more that will impress you.

Surf simulators, bumper cars at sea, an amazing adults only pool, incredible restaurants and much more.  We cannot fit it all into one blog post but rest assured that a cruise on Anthem of the Seas is certain to impress.

What aspect of Anthem of the Seas is the coolest, in your opinion? Tell us in the comments below!

Royal Caribbean raises prices of Labadee cabanas and beach beds

In:
23 Oct 2015

Royal Caribbean has raised the price of its Nellie's Beach cabanas as well as the beach beds on its private destination of Labadee.

Prices posted on Cruise Planner show the beach cabanas at Nellie's Beach have gone from $350 to $395.  

There has been no change in the price for the the over the water cabanas at Nellie's Beach, which are still $495.

Royal Caribbean raised the price of these cabanas last month, when the price went from $250 to $350.

In addition, the relatively new Labadee beach beds have also seen a price increase, from $175 to $195.

Tip of the hat to Royal Caribbean Blog reader WAAAYTOOO for alerting us to this news!

Will you book a cabana or beach bed on Labadee? Tell us in the comments!

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