Residents of the United Kingdom and Ireland can win a free 7-night cruise on Harmony of the Seas through a new contest Royal Caribbean is offering in conjunction with Google Maps.

Participants may enter the completion by going to Google Ship View, which will take them to the Allure Google Street View page hosted on the Royal Caribbean UK website.On that webpage participants will be greeted with a clue to where the Harmony Christmas Present is hidden within Google Street View. From there the participant must find the present and click on it for a pop up to appear inviting them to insert their personal details and accept these competition terms.

Participants may enter this free of charge competition from 09:00 GMT on Thursday 17 December 2015 until 23:59 GMT on Thursday 31st December 2015. No entries will be counted after the closing date.

One winner and 4 runners up will be selected entirely at random from all eligible entries by 8th January 2015 and will be informed by email within 7 days.

The grand prize winner will win a cruise for themselves and a guest of their choice traveling with them in the same accommodation on Harmony of the Seas sailing on the June 26, 2016 from Barcelona which will call at Palma De Mallorca, Provence, Florence, Rome & Naples then return to Barcelona on July 2nd, 2016. This prize includes flights from selected UK departure airports, in destination transfers, standard meals on-board (excluding specialty dining) and ship WiFi but excludes optional gratuities.

The next 3 runners up that are picked at random from the remaining eligible entries will each win an iPad mini 16GB and the final runner up picked at random from the remaining eligible entries will win an Xbox 1.

Full contest terms and conditions can be found here.

At the Travel Weekly Readers Choice 2015 awards, Royal Caribbean came away as being named the Best Cruise Line Overall for the 13th consecutive year.

Royal Caribbean also claimed the top spot in a few other categories including

• Best Cruise Line in the Caribbean
• Best Sales & Service
• Best New Cruise Ship (Quantum of the Seas)

“It is such a great honor to be chosen in so many categories by Travel Weekly readers, our valued travel agent partners,” said Vicki Freed, senior vice president,Sales, Trade Support and Service for Royal Caribbean International. “We are very proud to have won the Best Cruise Line Overall award throughout the life of this recognition program, as well as the Best Sales & Services award for eight years in a row. We thank Travel Weekly and travel agents for their ongoing support.”

Travel Weekly honored the winners of its 13th annual Readers Choice Awards at a gala dinner and ceremony Tuesday at the Conrad Hotel in New York. Winners were selected in 67 categories in the airline, car, hospitality, rail, GDS, agent education, tour, cruise, destination and theme park sectors. The awards are presented to suppliers considered by Travel Weekly readers who led the way in product and service during the past year.

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

Episode 124 is available for downloading, where our friend Brian previews his upcoming cruise on Allure of the Seas.

Brian is taking his extended family on an Allure of the Seas cruise, and we talk about why they chose to try to Royal Caribbean, some of the plans they have and what their older kids are most excited to try onboard.

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 124. 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!

Of all the Royal Caribbean specialty restaurants available, few have spread as far and as wide as Giovanni's Table has, especially given how relatively new it is to Royal Caribbean.

While aboard Brilliance of the Seas, I just could not resist the temptation to enjoy lunch at Giovanni's Table one more time.

I had no plans to dine at Giovanni's Table, but the tempting favorites along with the lower lunch price swayed my decision on one particular sea day.

Atmosphere

Located on deck 6, Giovanni's Table is across from the ever popular Schooner Bar.

Walking in, the restaurant is rather large and offers seating in a variety of configurations.

The restaurant is essentially one large room, with windows making up one wall, that offer an unobstructed view of the ocean.

On our day to eat here, there were waves of 2-4 meters, so we certainly had some action to see.  Admittedly, these waves were also responsible for not having the largest of appetites with all of the motion.

Giovanni's Table will not win any accolades purely for its aesthetical looks, but it feels like a restaurant that is distinct from its surroundings and certainly more elaborately decorated than Rita's Cantina. 

Eats

It is no secret that Giovanni's Table is an Italian restaurant and there are plenty of Italian favorites to pick from on the menu.

On my last visit to Giovanni's Table on Freedom of the Seas, I felt I did not do a good job ordering, so this time I would try something more on the "seafood spectrum" as means of correcting the experience.

Once seated, we were served complimentary bread and olive oil.  This is consistent with the every other Giovanni's Table I have dined at and having bread and oil is a standard practice among many Italian restaurants.

As I said earlier, the ship was rocking quite a bit so we ordered lightly.  

To start with, we shared an insalata caprese.

This is your standard tomato and mozzarella salad. If I can be picky, I would point out the tomatoes are the same previously frozen tomatoes served in the Windjammer.  Not the end of the world, but I was hoping for something fresher.

I also ordered the eggplant parmigiana.

The eggplant parm from Giovanni's Table is not breaded and is more of a baked eggplant than traditional eggplant parm.  Nonetheless, I would say this was the best eggplant parm I have had at Giovanni's Table in quite a while.

For our entrees, I ordered the sole filets, while my wife opted for the pappardelle pasta.

My fish was a lightly fried sole filet that was served on top of sautéed garlic zucchini spaghetti.

The fish was light and pretty good, but it was the zucchini that I really enjoyed.  Combining the zucchini and fish together was a real treat and if I were to order this again, I would ask for extra zucchini.

My wife's pasta came in a white cream sauce and the little she ate of it, she enjoyed (the motion of the ocean was starting to get to her by this point).  

I sampled a bit of it too and thought the pasta tasted better than something out of the box.

Overall

Giovanni's Table on Brilliance of the Seas is a good option for those looking for Italian food that is more than just the typical pasta and sauce served in the Windjammer.

It is far from my favorite specialty restaurant, but the price (especially for lunch) makes it almost impossible to ignore. 

I will point out that when we dined there, there were perhaps six tables but only one waiter who also was serving as maître d'.  

Because of this, the service was extremely slow.  It did improve towards the tail end of the meal when more servers showed up to assist. 

Our overworked waiter was still quite generous, because he opted not to charge my wife for her meal because she barely ate it due to her not feeling well.  Definitely a welcome gesture and a credit to his service.

If you are asking, "should I eat at Giovanni's Table on Brilliance of the Seas," my advice is go for lunch on a sea day and take advantage of the lower cost and ease of which it is to get a table.  Stick with traditional Italian dishes and enjoy the view!

Giovanni's Table is open for lunch 12:00pm to 1:30pm and open for dinner 6:00pm to 9:30pm and we reviewed Giovanni's Table on Brilliance of the Seas.

Australian health authorities are reporting about 182 passengers aboard Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas have been sickened with a gastrointestinal virus during a recent cruise.

Royal Caribbean notified the South Eastern Sydney Local Health District of the virus.

No patients required treatment at a hospital, although paramedics were on hand when Explorer of the Seas docked at the Overseas Passenger Terminal at The Rocks just before 6am on Wednesday.

A representaive from the South Eastern Sydney Local Health District indicated the ship would undergo extra cleaning to control the outbreak prior to new passengers being able to board.

Explorer of the Seas recently arrived in Australia to begin her cruising season just last month.

Explorer of the Seas last experienced a Norovirus outbreak in January 2014.

After months of hinting, Royal Caribbean has finally revealed what guests can look forward to trying onboard Harmony of the Seas with the 10 story slide known as, "Ultimate Abyss."

Ultimate Abyss will be the tallest slide at sea and also an epic adventure.

The Ultimate Abyss is more than 150 feet above sea level and offers side-by-side slides that send guests down 10 decks at a rate of 9 miles per hour.

Launching onto the ride from a glass platform, guests can take one last look at the Boardwalk 10 decks below before climbing onto a customized mat and taking the plunge into the depths of the daunting slides. Spontaneous audio effects within each tunnel create a multi-sensory thrill for daring guests willing to test their mettle while traversing 216 feet through the one-of-a-kind slide duo. The Ultimate Abyss is made up of two separate cylinders, a reflection of one-another, each with a diameter of approximately 2.6 feet and constructed of stainless steel.

Will you try Ultimate Abyss? Tell us if you are brave enough in the comments!

Royal Caribbean is starting to offer its guests an internet package that supports up to 4 devices connected at one time on select sailings.

Royal Caribbean Blog reader Ken Houston spotted on the new offering, which has a price of $40 per day.

Royal Caribbean has been offering unlimited internet packages for one or two devices, at $15 per day or $22.50 respectively.   This new option allows more devices to remain connected, which would save money for families cruising together.

Thus far, the new 4 device internet package is not available fleetwide yet, and has been reported on Oasis of the Seas, Allure of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas on sailings that begin this week, going until about January 2, 2016.

Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas will host a world-first dance theme cruise, featuring regional dance veteran Aleena Tan as well as world and regional renowned coaches such as Burn The Floor’s Luka Fanni from Italy, Peter Townsend and Belman Salihovic from Australia, Sunny Low, Derrick Torre and Feliz Ferlino from Singapore and Uapan Sdnivongs from Thailandi.

This special event will take place on a 4-night cruise from February 29 to March 4, 2016 from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang) and Langkawi is expected to attract dance enthusiasts from across the region, who will enjoy the exclusive tutelage under these world class class veterans, all brought together on this cruise.

Workshops onboard will offer guests ballroom and Latin dancing, Banchatango, New Vogue and Rock ‘n’ Roll classes, and include demonstrations from the coaches. 

In addition, the event will offer previews and dance shows on Cha Cha, Samba, Rumba, Paso Doble, Jive, Waltz, Tango, Slow Foxtrot and Quickstep, along the ship’s 136m-long Royal Promenade and in the 1,300-seater theater. Performers will include Professional Champions from Russia, Mikhail Eremeeve and Olesya Eremeeva.

Aleena Tan has previously organized four dance theme cruises with Royal Caribbean in Asia with the most recent one as “Dancesport All Champions”, the world’s first showdance competition at sea in January 2015. On her choice of Royal Caribbean again for her latest dance theme cruise, she said, “We always want to do something different and unique for every one of these dance cruises, which is very much like the innovative feel of Royal Caribbean ships. Plus, I’ve always been attracted to Mariner of the Seas’ classy ambiance, beautiful venues and excellent service, which has been a most befitting choice for all my past events, like for the upcoming one.” 

When Royal Caribbean's Ovation of the Seas debuts next year, guests can look forward to seeing a brand new show onboard called, "The Dream".

There is not much information yet as to what the show is about, but Royal Caribbean announced auditions for the show, which confirms its existence.

Ovation of the Seas is under construction at the Meyer Werft ship yard in Papenburg, Germany. Ovation of the Seas will be debuting in April 2016 and will be offering cruises in Asia and Australia.

Royal Caribbean's specialty restaurants are one aspect of the cruise experience many guests look forward to each sailing, but just because you have children with you does not mean you cannot enjoy these restaurants.

Royal Caribbean welcomes children younger than 13 in all of its specialty restaurants (when accompanied by an adult) and even offers them special pricing.

How much does it cost for children to eat at specialty restaurant?

Kids ages 6-12 can dine at specialty restaurants for a $12.99 cover charge.

Kids 5 years old and under eat free.

Is there a special menu for kids?

Kids 5-12 have a modified adult menu, which is a round-up of kid-friendly favorites from the regular menu.

Kids under 5 are free and have a kiddies menu similar to the kids menu in the main dining room.

Some restaurants do not have kids menus and so kids order off the regular menu.

Royal Caribbean specifies restaurants such as Wonderland Imaginative Cuisine, 150 Central Park, and Chef's Table do not have kids menus, as those experiences are better suited for guests age 13 and older. 

What if my kids want to eat off the regular adult menu?

In this scenario, you may be charged full price for your children.

It is worth discussing with your waiter, as we have heard of situations where they still charge the children pricing.  

Your mileage may vary, but expect to pay full price for children ordering off the regular menu when there is no kids menu option.

How do I make reservations at a specialty restaurant if I am bringing children?

If you book in advance, you will pay the full price but then it will be adjusted for the children's price as a credit on your SeaPass on board.

Bookings made on board will be charged the reduced rate when booked.

Because the Cruise Planner does not offer pricing for children, we recommend making reservations for a party size that omits the children and then showing up to the reservation with the children and informing the staff your dining party has grown.

This strategy allows guests to not overpay for their dining reservations and require an adjustment later.

What is the pricing for children at a la carte specialty restaurants?

At a la carte specialty restaurants, children are charged based on what they order off the regular menu.