Royal Caribbean announced today that Jamie's Italian specialty restaurant will be available on its third Oasis class cruise ship, Harmony of the Seas.

Jamie's Italian is a specialty restaurant created by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver that offers rustic Italian dishes made from seasonal ingredients and tried and true recipes.

Jamie's Italian first debuted on Royal Caribbean's Quantum class ships, and Harmony of the Seas will be the first cruise ship outside of the Quantum class to offer this venue.

Harmony of the Seas is still under construction at STX France shipyard and will debut in April 2016, offering cruises in Europe before moving to Fort Lauderdale, Florida in late 2016 to be homeported there.

Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas has arrived in New York Harbor and embarked upon her first sailing and already there is a ton of buzz surrounding this amazing new ship.

Being the social media junkies that we are, we perused Twitter, Instagram and all points inbetween to find you the best photos so far from just the first day on Anthem of the Seas.

Enjoy!

Fun way to dress up pretzels onboard #anthemoftheseas

A photo posted by Beci Mahnken (@becimahnken) on Nov 4, 2015 at 10:54am PST

Shooting on #AnthemoftheSeas with @tomsroesser #instaship #royalcaribbean #travelgram #instatravel #instago

A photo posted by Nathalie Marie | Photographer (@nathattack) on Nov 5, 2015 at 5:39am PST

The fifth Quantum-Class ship from Royal Caribbean is coming to the seas in 2020! Are you excited? pic.twitter.com/TUtFZAPnyy

— Bolsover Cruise Club (@BolsoverCruise) November 5, 2015

Finally here! #AnthemoftheSeas book it with @rubesclvfan from@GreenbeltTravel keep up dated on my journey pic.twitter.com/ohQHHdNBwW

— Adam Rubin (@rubesclvfan) November 4, 2015

A giant ostrich kissed me on an #anthemoftheseas elevator! pic.twitter.com/lrdyvhSa1a

— Dave Beers (@cruisereviewer) November 5, 2015

Look, if it has to be unseasonably warm one might as well go to the pool. #AnthemOfTheSeas @RoyalCaribbean pic.twitter.com/tUCdyYeDml

— Inside F&B (@InsideFandB) November 5, 2015

Love WOWbands @RoyalCaribbean #AnthemoftheSeas Open door, charge items, ties to sailpass. @GirlontheGoJan pic.twitter.com/X0foOMtvJt

— Travelgirl Magazine (@TravelgirlMag) November 4, 2015

#AnthemoftheSeas leaving #NYC.

A photo posted by Nathalie Marie | Photographer (@nathattack) on Nov 4, 2015 at 3:08pm PST

Ahoy from Anthem of the Seas! @RoyalCaribPR #meetingprofs #AnthemoftheSeas #cruise pic.twitter.com/tjR1KFWwcQ

— Prevue Meetings (@prevuemeetings) November 4, 2015

Sea passengers always like to see a lot of these #AnthemoftheSeas pic.twitter.com/vnvamWMMlC

— Susan Breslow (@susanbreslow) November 4, 2015

On a clear day...she looks beautiful #giraffe #anthemoftheseas

A photo posted by Heather Sachs (@b1ueye) on Nov 4, 2015 at 1:07pm PST

#anthemoftheseas #sunset

A photo posted by Shelley Parham (@wanderingshelley) on Nov 4, 2015 at 5:50pm PST

Enjoying this view of the NYC skyline from the Solarium onboard #AnthemoftheSeas! Welcome to the U.S.A.

A photo posted by Gina Kramer (@jerseygirlformiles) on Nov 4, 2015 at 2:00pm PST

Loving the Anthem!!! #anthemoftheseas #cruise #royalcaribbean #nyccruise

A photo posted by Christopher Peny (@penyc5280) on Nov 4, 2015 at 3:36pm PST

Amazing slow roll past #FreedomTower! #GodBlessAmerica! #AnthemoftheSeas pic.twitter.com/fOQfHQyQ6w

— WDW Diva (@WDW_Diva) November 4, 2015

Want to see more? Be sure to follow our live coverage of Anthem of the Seas that begins tomorrow at http://anthemoftheseas.live!

Royal Caribbean will be offering a new cruise promotion called, "BOGO GETTER", where guests can save on their cruise costs in three ways.

The new promotion is valid on cruises booked between November 10 & December 31, 2015 and offers:

• 50% off the cruise fare only for the 2nd guest booked in the same stateroom as a 1st guest who is confirmed at full fare.
• 50% reduced deposit
• Onboard credit
  • Interior stateroom: $100 onboard credit per stateroom
  • Oceanview: $200 onboard credit per stateroom
  • Balcony/Suite: $300 onboard credit per stateroom

BOGO GETTER is valid on all deployed ships and sailings departing on or after December 10, 2015 are included in this offer, with the exception of all China departures.

In addition to the basic part of the BOGO GETTER deal, there are additional ways to save money on cruises.

Caribbean Bonus: 25% Savings for 3/4 guests on Caribbean sailings departing January — May, 2016.

Voom Bonus: Free Voom internet package for one device for Anthem, Harmony, Allure, Oasis, Freedom, and Enchantment of the Seas departing between May 1 — September 30, 2016

Italy Offer: Book between November 10-24, 2015 and get free prepaid gratuities for the 1st and 2nd guests and 50% off the cruise fare for 3rd/4th guests when booking a 2016 European cruise onboard Jewel, Vision, & Rhapsody of the Seas® sailings departing April — November 2016.

“Buy One, Get One 50% Off” is combinable with the adjoining Onboard Credit offer and VOOM offer, Crown & Anchor discounts and NextCruise offers. “Buy One, Get One 50% Off” is not combinable with restricted rates (for example, Seniors, Residents, Military.) The Onboard Credit and VOOM offers are combinable with restricted rates (for example, Seniors, Residents, Military) and NextCruise offers. Onboard Credit 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.

This offer is combinable for Future Cruise Certificates and Letters of Credit.

Offer available to residents of United States and Canada.

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

Episode 118 is available for downloading, where Matt previews his upcoming 2-night cruise on the brand new Anthem of the Seas.

Matt will be boarding Royal Caribbean's newest ship this week for a glimpse at what this ship has to offer. Matt previews what he has planned for the cruise, what he's excited about and previews what content will be coming to the blog as a result of this cruise.

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 118. 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!

Royal Caribbean's newest Quantum class ship, Anthem of the Seas, arrived in New York Harbor early this morning and we have the first batch of photos from her arrival.

During her arrival in the early hours of the morning, Anthem of the Seas passed under the Verazzano bridge and went past the Statue of Liberty before heading into Cape Liberty.

Anthem of the Seas will be offering a few short 2-night cruises to members of the media and travel agents and then begin offering regularly scheduled cruises out of Cape Liberty in Bayonne, New Jersey.

Royal Caribbean Blog will be providing live coverage of Anthem of the Seas, beginning on November 6th.

For many years, Royal Caribbean has been absent from offering cruises on the west coast of the United States and that has many fans wondering when that would change.

Royal Caribbean senior vice president, sales, trade support and service, Vicki Freed, spoke with Travel Agent Central about the possibility of Royal Caribbean returning to the west coast.

Freed pointed at the fiscal situation of offering cruises on the west coast, "We always look at the West Coast. But we continue to look at the rates that the other cruise lines are getting, and we offer an experience that we can't afford to be selling at those low rates."

"If when we see the rates start to bounce back, and we feel we can get paid for what we offer for our product, then we’ll be back there. But right now, unfortunately, it's a bath out there. They're selling four-day cruises at $199 per person and we’re not just talking Carnival."

"We spend more on food, more on entertainment and more on our overall onboard experience [than other lines] and so we cannot be the low-price leader out in any market."

Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas left Los Angeles back in 2011 due to violence in Mexico as well as to find bigger profits.

Royal Caribbean is planning a live video broadcast from Anthem of the Seas on November 13, 2015 via the new social media app, Periscope.

Royal Caribbean promised live broadcasts on Periscope when it announced its new "Come Seek" marketing campaign last month.

7 days. 5 islands. 1 epic adventure. Follow us on Periscope starting 11/13. #CruiseChat #ComeSeekLive https://t.co/fcPhfnQz9Y

— Royal Caribbean (@RoyalCaribbean) November 3, 2015

The live broadcasts will be available to watch from any smart phone or tablet that has Periscope installed on it.  Royal Caribbean will also simulcast the Periscope sessions at 230 geo-targeted units across New York City in high traffic commuter areas, such as John F. Kennedy International Airport terminal, newsstands and subways.

FOLLOW US ON PERISCOPE AT @THERCLBLOG

Using the Voom high speed internet, these live tune-ins from the ships to show off the experience as it's happening in real time.

Royal Caribbean previously indicated that these broadcasts will be shown around "peak commuting times".

These live look-ins via Periscope will occur throughout the month of November following the November 13th premiere.

Will you be watching Royal Caribbean's live Periscope broadcasts? Tell us in the comments!

Hi everyone, I'm really excited to announce our next live-blog experience as we get ready for a cruise aboard Anthem of the Seas for a 2-night preview cruise.

Photo by Steven van Belleghem

It is my hope to provide to you a daily look at what this cruise is like and share my experiences with each of you.  This means I will try to post photos every day along with a written report of how things are going (internet permitting).

If you're new to our live blogs, check out the live blogs I have posted recently for Freedom of the Seas, Quantum of the Seas and Navigator of the Seas for an idea of what's in store for you. I'm hoping to give our readers a daily look into what we did that day, what was good/not good and what we have planned for the next day.  

For this cruise, it's a 2-night preview of Anthem of the Seas.  Royal Caribbean has invited me to sample what this new ship has to offer right before she embarks on her inaugural voyages.  It's an exciting opportunity to see this new ship in action as well as get access to a number of people in Royal Caribbean who are responsible for making Anthem of the Seas a reality.

This cruise will depart from Cape Liberty in Bayonne, New Jersey on Friday, November 8th.  Living in Connecticut, I will be driving to the port bright and early that morning.  I'm sure my excitement will not permit me much sleep the night before but I'll need to get every minute of sleep I can that night because the following 48 hours will be a whirlwind.

I have certainly been tracking the progress of Anthem of the Seas since the day she was first announced, so this will be an exiting opportunity to see her up-close and personal. Going on this cruise will be great for the blog because it will provide ample subject matter to provide reviews on later.  Restaurants, onboard activities and shows are just the beginning of what Anthem of the Seas offers.

Photo by Royal Caribbean

The cruise has no stops, so it will be a 2-night cruise to no where, but there will be so much going on onboard the ship that I'm not sure I will even notice.  I've been quietly jotting down ideas for all the aspects of this brand new ship I want to explore and experience myself.  Deep down I know I cannot come close to experiencing it all in 2 nights but that doesn't mean I wont be trying!

There is a lot going on, and already I know of a few events I will be taking part in, including a bridge tour, galley tour, Puzzle Break session and even a cocktail making session.  

Of course, I will spend plenty of time sampling the food onboard.  We are booked in Dynamic Dining Classic, with dinners at Chic and American Icon Grill. I fully intend to hit up a few other restaurants, where possible.

For this cruise, we are leaving the kids with my folks, so my wife/production assistant and I will be enjoying the cruise together.  Because of the busy nature of this kind of a cruise, leaving the kids at home is for the best.

Photo by Royal Caribbean

Of course, I hope you will be joining for me on this cruise virtually. If you have any questions for me while I’m onboard, comment in the post below, email or twitter me, and I’ll do my best to answer. 

I've already used the online check-in and reserved a time at 12:30pm - 1:00pm to arrive.  I'm still planning on arriving closer to 10am because I'm quite excited but it will be fun to see how this all works out.

NEW for this cruise

In addition to the daily live blogs, I will also be trying out a brand new truly live blog that allows instant updates to the web site, at http://www.anthemoftheseas.live.

There, you can leave the page up and it will automatically update with new updates and photos that I post, so you can see exactly what I am up to all the time.

I hope it proves to be another fun way to (virtually) join me for a cruise.

My itinerary

Next update should be when I arrive in Bayonne on Friday, November 6 in the morning.

Stay tuned for all of the live blog updates right here and on Periscope by following @therclblog and on Twitter by following @theRCLblog.

Live Blog Index

• Live blog introduction
• Day 1 - Embarkation Day
• Day 2 - Sea Day

Have a question about Anthem of the Seas? Want Matt to cover something specifically in the live blog series? Tell us in the comments!

Royal Caribbean announced today it has ordered a fifth Quantum-class cruise ship that will be ready for delivery in the fall of 2020.

We love the Quantum-class so much, we're ordering another one (that's 5 for those keeping count)! pic.twitter.com/FSNwAtyXN3

— Royal Caribbean PR (@RoyalCaribPR) November 3, 2015

The new ship will be built at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Germany.

"It is such a pleasure to announce the order of another Quantum-class ship as we are welcoming Anthem of the Seas to North America," said Richard D. Fain, Chairman and CEO, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. "These ships have been received with excitement, and performed exceptionally well, across the globe. We fully expect that momentum to continue as we add to this innovative class of ships."

"At Royal Caribbean we are focused on continuously improving efficiency and sustainability, and the fifth Quantum class vessel will be clear evidence of this," said Michael Bayley, President and CEO, Royal Caribbean International. "Of equal importance is our ability to consistently surpass guest expectations, and we are harnessing the power of the latest technology to do so on this ship."