Another week has gone by and that means we are all one week closer to our next Royal Caribbean cruise!

This week, the big news was Royal Caribbean's announcement that the Broadway show Grease will be added to Harmony of the Seas and Independence of the Seas in 2016.

The news is unusual, given that in the past Broadway shows have been added to only one ship at a time.

The all-new, never-before-seen stage production, specially adapted by Royal Caribbean Productions, will boast a soundtrack of crowd favorites such as “Summer Nights,” “Greased Lightnin’,” “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee,” “Born to Hand-Jive,” “Beauty School Dropout” and more.

Here is the rest of the Royal Caribbean news you may have missed this week.

Royal Caribbean News

• Royal Caribbean released Jewel of the Seas refurbishment details.
• Royal Caribbean is launching a 72-hour sale on Monday.
• Speaking of sales, guests can get double points on suites on Oasis and Allure of the Seas.
• Our list of the top 10 Brilliance of the Seas hidden secrets.
• Our full review of Izumi on Brilliance of the Seas.
• Royal Caribbean committed to using cage-free eggs on its ships by 2022.
• We posted a review of Paradise Beach in Cozumel.
• Two Royal Caribbean ships had an historic meeting in Australia.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 122th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available and this week, Matt reviews his recent cruise aboard Brilliance of the Seas.

In this episode, Matt shares his experiences on Brilliance of the Seas, including dining, activities, shore excursions and entertainment.

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.

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 Around the Internet

Writing Horseback blogged about the Carousel at Sea on Oasis of the Seas.

Cruise & Ferry interviewed Royal Caribbean Chairman and CEO Richard Fain.

In the Loop Travel listed seven thrilling shore excursions in the Caribbean (hint: Labadee made the list).

Cruise Currents shared 6 reasons to love Anthem of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean is offering double Cruise Points for guests sailing in Royal Suite Class accommodations on Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas this summer.

This means guests can earn 4 points per night on qualifying cruises.

To qualify for the double cruise points, guests need to register their booking at www.royalcaribbean.com/DoublePoints.

Guests can also combine this offer with the BOGO GETTER deal.

Bonus Cruise Points Offer is applicable to individual bookings of Royal Suite Class staterooms made Dec 4-31, 2015.

Bonus cruise points promotion applies to Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas sailings departing May 1 — August 31, 2016.

Royal Caribbean is launching a special 72-hour sale that offers guests up to $350 in onboard spending money, plus free Voom internet.

The 72-hour sale runs between December 7-9, 2015 and is eligible for all sailings departing on or after Dec 10, 2015.  Offer excludes China departures.

Here is what is included with the sale:

• 50% off cruise fare of second guest booked in the same stateroom as first full fare guest
• 50% reduced deposit
• 25% off 3rd and 4th guests on all offer eligible sailings.
• One Voom internet package for one device for Anthem, Harmony, Allure, Oasis, Freedom, and Enchantment of the Seas departing between May 1 – Sep 30, 2016
• Free onboard credit
  • Oasis of the Seas & Allure of the Seas sailings departing on or after Jan. 7, 2016
    • Interior: $125 per stateroom
    • Oceanview: $225 per stateroom
    • Balcony & Suite: $350 per stateroom
  • All other ships
    • Interior: $100 per stateroom
    • Oceanview: $200 per stateroom
    • Balcony & Suite: $300 per stateroom

BOGO is combinable with the adjoining OBC, 3rd and 4th Guest Savings and Voom offers, Crown & Anchor discounts and NextCruise offers; BOGO and 3rd and 4th Guest Savings are not combinable with restricted rates (for example, Seniors, Residents, Military). OBC and Voom offers are combinable with restricted rates (for example, Seniors, Residents, Military, BOGO) and NextCruise offers. OBC and Voom offers are not combinable with Crown & Anchor discounts. Neither offer is combinable with any other offer or promotion, including, but not limited to, Interline, Travel Agent, Travel Agent Friends and Family, weekly Sales Events, Net Rates, Shareholder Benefits.

Offer available to residents of United States and Canada.

Royal Caribbean has commited itself to providing its guests with 100% cage-free eggs and sourcing all of its pork from gestation-free crates by 2022.

The effort builds on an initiative that first introduced cage-free eggs into its supply chain in 2010.

“By moving to 100 percent cage-free eggs we are not only delivering quality food, but acting responsibly when it comes to the welfare of animals in the food system,” said Mike Jones, Vice President, Supply Chain, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. 

Royal Caribbean had promised to provide sustainably sourced food for guests including sourcing pork from gestation crate free suppliers.

Jones said, “Royal Caribbean supports the continual movement of the food service industry in this direction, and remains committed to keeping the treatment of animals in consideration when supplying its fleet with food.”

When we talk about favorite restaurants on Royal Caribbean Blog, Izumi is at the top of the list and for good reason.

On Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas, we had the chance to dine at Izumi. Three times. Suffice to say, we had a pretty good look at what Izumi offers.

With Izumi, Royal Caribbean offers its passengers a high quality Japanese cuisine experience.  And with sushi being as popular as ever, we had to give Izumi another try on Brilliance of the Seas to ensure the experience has not changed.

Read on to see what our experience was like.

Atmosphere

Izumi is located on deck 12 at the aft of Brilliance of the Seas, where the Seaview Cafe used to be located.

Looking purely at the exterior, you would be hard pressed to know there is a Japanese restaurant inside, given that the traditional hallmarks of a Japanese restaurant are not evident outside.

Once inside Izumi, you quickly get that feeling of being in a Japanese restaurant.

Izumi on Brilliance of the Seas features a lot of dark woods and oranges mixed with bright colors, notably a light blue.

I am not certain I could pull off the color motif found in Izumi in my living room, but it is aesthetically pleasing, especially at the bar.

The seating area is comprised of one large room, with optional seating at the sushi bar.

The best seats have to be by the window, which offer views out to the ocean and deck twelve.  The larger capacity tables are at the center of the restaurant.

You may not mistake the restaurant for a little piece of Tokyo from looks alone, but the food will make you second guess yourself!

Eats

On Brilliance of the Seas, we dined at Izumi on three separate occasions for "research" purposes.  The Izumi menu offers a fairly wide selection of food.  

Sushi dominates the menu, but there are also a good selection of starters, salads, soups and ishiyake (hot rocks).

It should be noted that there is no cover charge at Izumi on Brilliance of the Seas. Rather, you will pay a la carte pricing for all items on the menu.

All guests receive a complimentary bowl of edamame soy beans, sprinkled with salt.  It is a delicious appetizer and I highly recommend trying them.

Interestingly, the miso soup at Izumi on Brilliance of the Seas now costs extra.  On all of our previous Izumi experiences, the miso soup was complimentary as well, but it seems to be a change on some ships.

I ordered the miso soup and at $2, it was the largest serving of miso soup I have ever had.   

Like all Royal Caribbean specialty restaurants, there is a full bar selection.  I would be remiss not to sample the hot sake while dining at Izumi.

There is a serving of hot organic sake that is included with the premium unlimited alcohol package and it definitely hit the spot. Try ordering a beer and dropping a cup of your sake in it for a sake bomb!

By far, the reason most guests go to Izumi is for the sushi and this was no exception.  Guests will find a large selection of sushi to choose from, including hand rolls, sashimi, combinations, signature rolls and chef's signature rolls.

The best value is in one of the combination plates, signature rolls or chef's signature rolls.  We found it difficult to order any of the nigri or sashimi pieces without realizing we were better off financially to order one of the combination plates.

In addition, the signature rolls offer more pieces and the best quality sushi.  There is nothing wrong with the individual pieces of sushi, but we gravitated towards the signature rolls and combinations for those exact reasons.

You might be wondering how good the sushi is and I can easily tell you it is as good or better than many land based sushi restaurants I have been to.  The basic hand rolls were a bit small, but any of the signature rolls were ample in size and serving.

There is also something to be said about presentation, and the sushi chefs at Izumi do a fantastic job at making their food as pretty to look at as it is to eat.

Those looking for the best value, stick with the combination plates, which offer a lot to enjoy in one price.  If you want the best sushi Izumi has to offer, go with any of the signature rolls. 

If sushi is not your thing, there are some other options worth considering.  My wife has no love in her heart for fish, so she picks the hot rock plates.

Essentially, the hot rocks are slabs of rock that are heated to to 575 °F and guests are invited to cook their choice of seafood, chicken, or beef.

If this sounds fun, it really is.  And not to worry if you are not sure what you are doing, because the staff is happy to help you cook the pre-seasoned food.

There are also a good variety of salads and soups, although I cannot speak for them since I always saved room for the sushi!

Overall

When looking at Izumi on Brilliance of the Seas, I am biased in the sense that I really love sushi.  But on the other hand, I eat so much sushi on land that I feel I can make an informed decision about how good or bad Izumi is.

In terms of service, Izumi has a very attentive staff that responded very well to everything we asked for.  

The bottom line is Izumi offers great sushi (and other Japanese cuisine) for a fair price.  Most of the prices you will find at Izumi are about what you would pay at any reputable sushi establishment on land.  As noted earlier, the combination plates are easily the best value of the menu, given how much you get for the price.

I would love to hear your opinion on Izumi.  Have you enjoyed dining at Izumi? Let us know in the comments below.

Royal Caribbean's Jewel of the Seas is scheduled for an April 2016 bow-to-stern $30 million renovation that will bring a lot of big changes to the ship.

During her refurbishment, Jewel of the Seas renovation features will include

• New 2 bedroom Family Suite stateroom
• All staterooms will be renoveated with an additional 42 staterooms added
• New specialty restaurants will be added
  • Giovanni's Table (replaces Portofino)
  • Vintages (replaces Champagne Bar)
  • Izumi (replaces Seaview Cafe)
• Pervasive Wi-Fi & Digital signage throughout the ship
• New poolside movie screen
• Diamond Club added to the Viking Crown Lounge
• Renovated Chops Grille
• Renovated Spa and retail shops
• Concierge Club will replace Hollywood Odyssey
• Shoreside Dining Room, Explorer’s Court and Yacht Club will be removed.
• Addition of Voom high-speed internet

The newly renovated Jewel of the Seas will include 42 new staterooms

• Deck 2 will have 9 new staterooms
• Deck 4 will have 9 new staterooms
• Deck 7 will have 1 new stateroom
• Deck 8 will have 2 new staterooms
• Deck 9 will have 7 new staterooms
• Deck 10 will have 2 new staterooms
• Deck 11 will have 12 new staterooms

Royal Caribbean says staterooms will be available to book beginning December 2015.

From May through October 2016, Jewel of the Seas will cruise round-trip from Rome on an array of itineraries showcasing the best destinations of Italy, Greece and Turkey. These 7, 8, and 9 night itineraries mainly sail through the Greek Isles.

Jewel will complete her European itinerary in October 2016 after which she will return to her home port of San Juan, Puerto where she will sail 6, 7, 8 and 9 night Southern Caribbean itineraries.

We have gotten reports of construction taking place on the Royal Promenade of Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas this week.

Royal Caribbean Blog reader James Carruthers sent us these photos of the construction walls that are up near Cafe Promenade.

No word yet on what the construction is there for, but it will be interesting to see what is there once those construction walls come down.

Hey everyone! Episode 122 of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available for your listening pleasure.

This week, Matt is back from his latest Royal Caribbean cruise on Brilliance of the Seas and is sharing everything about his experience onboard this impressive ship.  From what's new on the ship to the dining to the ports of call, this episode is full of details from Matt's cruise experience.

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 122. And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast via RSS 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!

Going on Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas means you will find a beautiful cruise ship with a lot to see and do, and naturally, you will not want to miss any of it.

We present our list of the top ten hidden secrets and gems that you should not overlook if you get the chance to sail on Brilliance of the Seas.

10. Comfy chairs at Vintages

I am always looking for the best spot to relax and enjoy a drink, conversation with friends or just a good book and on Brilliance of the Seas, the best place if you want pure comfort is Vintages.

Located on deck 6, Vintages offers some eccentric looking furniture that is just as comfortable to sit in as it is pleasing to look at.

If you like to sprawl out, the couches in Vintages will be perfect for you!

9. Thermal spa pass & Ultimate spa pass

If you are looking to indulge, be sure to consider the thermal spa pass on Brilliance of the Seas.

Guests can purchase a thermal spa pass, which gets them access to

• Steam room
• Sauna
• Heated stone chairs

If you want even more relaxation, try the ultimate spa pass, which includes everything in the thermal spa pass plus a Rasul treatment session. The Rasul treatment is essentially a couple’s exfoliation, shower and facial and costs $99 per couple.  It is a great value for the time and money.

8. Surprise at the top of the glass elevators

The ocean facing elevators elevators on Brilliance of the Seas offer some fantastic views of the ocean that are unique to the Radiance class of ships.

However, there is a little surprise for those that go all the way to the top of the ship.

At the very top are two fisherman that are cane pole fishing and it is a feature of the ship few discover and fewer notice.

7. Lounge chairs on deck 12.5

If you are looking to sun yourself but either want to get away from the crowds or need to find a good place if all the chairs are taken by the pool, then head up to this special deck on Brilliance of the Seas.

Go to deck 12 and then walk forward until you find a set of stairs that lead to a smaller deck that has plenty of lounge chairs as well as a great view of the ocean.

This spot on deck twelve and a half is rarely full and most guests never even know it is there!

6. Outdoor Windjammer dining area

The Windjammer is a staple of any Royal Caribbean cruise experience, and on Brilliance of the Seas, guests can dine with the ocean breeze in their hair at one of the outdoor seating areas.

The Windjammer features a few dining annexes that are offer partial or full exposure to the sun, breeze and views.

Our favorite is the outdoor dining area at the aft of Brilliance of the Seas, because being able to enjoy your food while seeing the ocean pass you by is a wonderful view.

And since we are always on the lookout for comfortable places to dine, there are some great couches if you prefer to enjoy your Windjammer goodness in style.

5. Best spot for sailaway

If you want the best spot on Brilliance of the Seas to watch as she pulls out of port, then it has to be the helicopter pad at the front of the ship.

Located on the bow, guests can walk to the helicopter pad and enjoy the unobstructed views that you can only get from the helicopter pad.  

The perspective from this spot is hard to beat and many guests do not know it is possible to go here.

To access the helicopter pad, go outside on deck 5 and then walk forward, climb up a set of stairs and continue walking forward until you reach the helicopter pad.

4. The Cinema

Brilliance of the Seas has a movie theater onboard, which is a feature not many Royal Caribbean ships offer.

The Cinema is a small movie theater, where guests can watch a variety of movies throughout their cruise.

Movies in the cinema are complimentary and it offers a great way to see your favorite films as they were intended to be shown.

The cinema is located on deck 6 forward, near the King & Country Pub.

3. You can play darts

Royal Caribbean has been adding English-style pubs to its cruise ships for years, but for those that want the full pub experience, how about a game of darts to go along with that pint?

On Brilliance of the Seas, guests in the King and Country Pub can play darts whenever they please.

Like so many of the activities onboard, darts are complimentary and a great way to pass the time onboard.

2. Self-leveling billiards table

Brilliance of the Seas features self-leveling billiards tables that are the perfect way to enjoy a game of pool, even if the ship is rocking a little (or a lot).

These billiard tables utilize gyroscopes to always keep the top of the table level so that the billiards balls do not roll around.  

Not only is this a really impressive bit of technology, but it also means guests can enjoy a few rounds of pool regardless of the sea conditions.

1. Park Cafe

If you are looking for a bite to eat somewhere a little less hectic than the Windjammer, try the Park Cafe in the Solarium on Deck 11.  Not only is it less busy, but they have some really great choices!

Park Cafe features Make Your Own salad options, where guests can select the salad ingredients and the whole thing is  made in front of them.

There is a also a good variety of sandwiches, healthy snacks, desserts and more.

Park Cafe is also home to these small, but amazing, roast beef sandwiches.  These little bad boys are quite tasty and it (and the salads) are complimentary!