Bonnie Tyler performed a duet with DNCE of the Welsh singer's hit song, "Total Eclipse of the Heart" during a total solar eclipse.

The artists shared the AquaTheater stage aboard Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas as part of the Total Eclipse Cruise. The performance coincided with the Great American Eclipse that was 99 years in the making.

“As if moving our ship to sail along the eclipse’s path of totality to give our guests 100 percent visibility of this phenomenon wasn’t enough, we wanted to take it to another level – just above ‘out of this world’,” said Michael Bayley, President and CEO, Royal Caribbean International. “Royal Caribbean is known as the most innovative cruise line, always pushing to create bigger and bolder adventures for vacationers. We’re excited to have DNCE and Bonnie on board, and even more thrilled to have seen the looks on our guests’ faces when she was brought on stage to sing ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart.’ This is what we live for – to make unforgettable memories. ”

As the moon made its way to cover the sun for the celestial event of the century, DNCE took center stage in Oasis of the Seas’ open-air AquaTheater, performing the band’s chart-topping hits, including “Kissing Strangers,” “Body Moves” and, of course, “Cake by the Ocean.” The concert culminated in the ultimate performance by DNCE and the Welsh-born singer. All eyes were on Joe Jonas and Tyler, alongside DNCE bandmates Cole Whittle, JinJoo and Jack Lawless, as they sang a powerful remix of Tyler’s classic, paying tribute to the solar eclipse.

Royal Caribbean’s Chief Meteorologist James Van Fleet and Oasis of the Seas Captain Per Kristoffersen collaborate to navigate toward the path of totality for the Great American Eclipse – a celestial phenomenon 99 years in the making.

Royal Caribbean has offered cabanas at its private destination of CocoCay for years, but these cabanas have lacked direct ocean access.  A new set of cabanas have been relocated that remedy that issue and provide waterfront access.

The waterfront cabanas at Water Sports Beach provide direct water access and Royal Caribbean Blog reader Nick Vitani shared photos of these cabanas.

The cabana relocation is part of Royal Caribbean's island-wide updates that are in the process of being implemented.  

Welcome to this week's edition of the Royal Caribbean post round-up, where we summarize all of the Royal Caribbean news and information from this week into one handy-dandy post! There is plenty of great content to enjoy, so sit back, relax, and enjoy this week's round-up!

This week, Royal Caribbean was forced to make changes to upcoming Allure of the Seas itineraries due to a speed restriction.  

It seems one of the propellers is damaged, which necessitated a reduction in speed and that resulted in more time to get from one port to another.

In addition, Royal Caribbean cancelled the January 21, 2018 sailing in order to take time to fix the cause of the speed restriction.  The work will take one week, and cruises will resume with the January 28, 2018 sailing.

Royal Caribbean News

• Royal Caribbean announced the name of its new Quantum Ultra class ship, Spectrum of the Seas.
• Bonnie Tyler will perform her hit song on Oasis of the Seas during the Eclipse.
• A new dining package and beverage package combo is now available on some sailings.
• Shay Mitchell is Royal Caribbean's new Adventurist.
• Royal Caribbean provided an outlook for the ships that will be able to see next week's solar eclipse.
• Our list of nine things you must try on Allure of the Seas.
• Top five things to do in Nassau, Bahamas.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 211th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, where we share an overview of dining on Royal Caribbean ships.

There is a lot of great dining opportunities on a Royal Caribbean cruise, and this week, Matt talks about the different food available to enjoy on a Royal Caribbean 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

PR Week shared the inside story of how Royal Caribbean managed to get Bonnie Tyler to perform onboard.

CNBC interviewed Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Chairman and CEO Richard Fain learned to protest in college.

Travel Weekly reported Royal Caribbean upgraded its online booking tool for travel agents.

Skift shares how cruise lines are dealing with customers booking earlier than ever.

The weekend is here and every Friday, we share our readers' favorite Royal Caribbean photos so that we can all enjoy a quick "virtual trip" back on a cruise.  If you want to share your Royal Caribbean photos, use this form to send them in!

Our first photo this week is by Ken, taken on Freedom of the Seas from deck 4. This is a great spot for walking, and Ken really enjoys this area too.

Here is a photo of Thomas Lemmer from Wonderland on Anthem of the Seas.

Pascal Everard shared with us this photo of Radiance of the Seas in Moorea, an island in French Polynesia.

Jenn Ullram took this photo of the aft of Anthem of the Seas from Cafe Two70.

Here is a great shot of the FlowRider on Independence of the Seas, taken by David Donnelly. 

Gary Lorenz took this photo of sunrise on Liberty of the Seas, as the ship was on her way back to Galveston.

Our final photo this week is from Robert Young of Rhapsody of the Seas and Harmony of the Seas side by side in Cozumel.

Thank you to everyone that sent in their Royal Caribbean photos and if you want your photos featured here, be sure to send us your favorite photos with this form!

Royal Caribbean's Pre-Sail Save on Faves Sale is offering up to 30% off select pre-cruise purchases made via the Cruise Planner.

The weekend sale is available for guests on select sailings, and offers discounts on services, such as unlimited drink packages, internet packages and even some shore excursions and spa treatments. 

The exact discount available will vary from sailing to sailing.

Based on the countdown clock, it appears this promotion ends at midnight on August 20, 2017.

To check what items are on sale for your sailing, log into the Cruise Planner on Royal Caribbean's web site to see any available offers.

If you have already prepurchased something on the Cruise Planner that is now less expensive, you should be able to cancel the purchase and then re-purchase the same service under this promotion.

Royal Caribbean has announced it is teaming up with actress and traveler Shay Mitchell to be the cruise line's Adventurist, which is an adventure adviser and storyteller for the world’s most adventurous cruise line.

Known for her role in the TV drama, "Pretty Little Liars," Shay has made a name for herself visiting some incredible destinations around the world, from hot-air ballooning over Morocco to skydiving in Dubai.  In addition to embarkarking on trips with the cruise line and sharing her experiences as they happen, Shay will collaborate with Royal Caribbean experts to develop a series of destination experiences for the ultimate Caribbean cruise, to be revealed this fall.

Shay will personally set sail on board one of Royal Caribbean’s ships this month to begin shaping the new, Shay-recommended adventures.

“I’ve always had a love for travel, and am fortunate to have been able to explore some of the most amazing places around the world, learning quickly that the journey is as important as the destination,” said Shay. “I’m thrilled to take what I have learned from my own travels and dive in with Royal Caribbean to develop the ultimate Caribbean adventure for travelers like me, who are always seeking something new and craving deeper connections to the destinations they visit.”

You can follow Shay's adventure with Royal Caribbean this year on her Instagram, Snapchat (@officialshaym), Facebook and YouTube channel, and by following the hashtags #ComeSeek and #Shaycation.

Following a slew of itinerary updates for upcoming Allure of the Seas, Royal Caribbean has scheduled the ship to enter a dry dock in January 2018 to fix the issue(s) slowing the ship.

Royal Caribbean confirmed on Twitter that Allure of the Seas will enter dry dock on January 21, 2018.

Hi, Michael. Yes, Allure will enter dry dock on January 21, 2018. -Vero

— Royal Caribbean (@RoyalCaribbean) August 18, 2017

All this week, many guests have received email notifications from Royal Caribbean alerting them to a "speed restriction" that forced the cruise line to change scheduled port stops.

Royal Caribbean has not indicated the nature of the issue exactly. 

Royal Caribbean Blog reader Brian Davis shared the Captain of Allure of the Seas indicated a few weeks ago that there was damage to one of the three propellers.

Royal Caribbean is offering a new weekend sale, where guests can get extra money to spend during their cruise on top of the current promotion.

Cruise must be booked between August 18, 2017 through August 22, 2017 12:00 AM EST and applies to sailings departing on or after September 18, 2017. Offer excludes China departures.

The Caribbean Escape Sale offers

• 50% off cruise fare of second guest who must be booked in the same stateroom as a first guest who books at full fare
• 25% cruise fare savings for 3rd guests and higher booked in the same stateroom as the first two qualifying guests
• Kids Sail Free offer
  • Provides free cruise fare of third and higher guests who are 12 years or younger as of cruise departure date, booked in the same stateroom as the first two qualifying guests in a triple or quad occupancy stateroom
  • Kids Sail Free offer is valid on 4–night or longer Europe, Bahamas, and Caribbean Sailings departing September 18, 2017 – May 15, 2018 excluding holiday sailings departing November 17, 2017-November 27, 2017, December 17, 2017–January 8, 2018, February 15, 2018-February 20, 2018 and March 10, 2018 – April 1, 2018
• Deck the Holidays Deals offer
  • Provides savings for guests who book a holiday sailing departing from December 19, 2017 through December 31, 2017 and December 18, 2018 through December 31, 2018.
  • Includes an instant savings determined by category booked and sailing length:
    • $25 off per stateroom for interior and oceanview on sailings 5 nights or less
    • $50 off per stateroom for balconies and suites on sailings 5 nights and less
    • $50 off per stateroom for interior and oceanview on sailings 6 nights and longer
    • $75 off per stateroom for balconies and $100 off for suites on sailings 6 nights or longer

BOGO does not apply to third and higher occupancy guests. BOGO and Kids Sail Free Offers are combinable with NRDB OBC, promotional OBCs and instant savings, NextCruise offers, restricted discounts (for example, Senior, Resident, Military), Crown and Anchor discounts and Shareholder Benefits. Deck the Holidays sale and Caribbean Escape Sale are combinable with NextCruise offers, NRDB OBC, and restricted discounts (for example, Senior, Resident, Military) but are not combinable with Shareholder benefits and Crown and Anchor discounts. All offers are not combinable with any other offer or promotion, including, but not limited to, Standard Group, Interline, Travel Agent, Travel Agent Friends and Family, Weekly Sales Events, Net Rates.

Offer available to residents of United States and Canada.

Guests with sailings booked on Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas are receiving emails from the cruise line that their itinerary has changed due to a speed restriction.

Emails similar to this one that Royal Caribbean Blog reader scottvfl shared, were sent to guests informing them of the itinerary change.

Royal Caribbean has not indicated the nature of the issue exactly.  Based on emails sent to guests, it appears the changes mostly affect Eastern Caribbean itineraries, with St. Thomas often being replaced with San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Propulsion problems are not uncommon among cruise ships, resulting in slower speeds until the issue can be addressed in port. Anthem of the Seas had a similar issue in March 2017, Liberty of the Seas in 2015, Freedom of the Seas in 2014, and even Allure of the Seas back in 2013.

There is no indication yet as to how soon the issue will be resolved.