Royal Caribbean has lifted the curtain on the changes coming to Freedom of the Seas as part of its 24-day refurbishment.

Freedom of the Seas will feature new and renovated staterooms throughout the ship.  Existing staterooms will be updated and new staterooms will be added, which is line with what's happened on other Royal Caribbean ship refurbishments recently.

There will be two new restaurants that will be added to the ship:

• Giovanni's Table
• Sabor Modern Mexican

Freedom of the Seas will also get a new R-Bar lounge, which is meant to be a throwback to the bars of the 1960s that serve classic cocktails with a modern twist.

Freedom of the Seas is beginning her refurbishment today and will emerge for regular cruises again in February 2015.

After months in the making, the crew of Quantum of the Seas finally gets to experience the smartship in all her glory. Her first crew shares their initial reactions to the newest and most technologically advanced addition to the Royal Caribbean fleet.

Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas is headed to drydock to begin her 24-day ship-wide refurbishment tomorrow.

The ship is headed to Freeport, Bahamas to have work done on the ship that will consist of cleaning up the entire ship as well as add new facilities and options for guests.

UPDATE: Royal Caribbean has announced a list of changes coming to Freedom of the Seas. Royal Caribbean has been tight lipped on what exactly will change on Freedom of the Seas, but it's safe to say the major propulsion problem that has been plaguing the ship will be fixed.

Some of the work has already begun on the ship even before it left for dry dock.  Carpeting and other areas of the ship were quietly worked on during a quick 2-night cruise that ended today.

A lot of carpeting starting to get ripped up on #FreedomOfTheSeas in preparation for her refurbishment

A photo posted by Royal Caribbean Blog.com (@royalcaribbeanblog) on Jan 1, 2015 at 1:36pm PST

Many Royal Caribbean fans have been speculating on other changes coming based on what other Royal Caribbean ships have had as well as information crew members on Freedom of the Seas have told passengers that they've heard.

Rumors are generally regarding new specialty restaurants coming to Freedom of the Seas, including potentially Giovanni's Table, Izumi and Sabor Modern Mexican.  There's also rumors of a new Diamond Member lounge and Concierge lounge.

Royal Caribbean has relaunched its Sea Views Blog that periodically posts updates about what's happening in the fleet with a new design.

In a post by Royal Caribbean President & COO Adam Goldstein, he announced the blog has been, "refreshed, broadened and considerably more visual than it has been in previous years".

The vision of the blog will feature posts all about trending topics, news pieces and behind-the-scenes looks.  It's going to "open up" with more content from across the company.  Most of the updates will come from Royal Caribbean International CEO Michael Bayley and his Royal Caribbean International brand leadership team.  Goldstein did indicate he will still chime in once in a while with new posts too.

Goldstein promised plenty of coverage of what's going on with the brand new Quantum of the Seas and the upcoming launch of sister ship Anthem of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas has had a lot of firsts but not to be overlooked is the fact Royal Caribbean's newest ship has also set a benchmark in the broadcasting industry.

Royal Caribbean chose VSM by L-S-B Broadcast Technologies for all of the on-board digital broadcasting requirements of the ship, which is the first to feature 36 on-board IPTV-channels in HD, broadcasting from various locations on board.

Controlling all the broadcasts onboard Quantum of the Seas is the Broadcast Control Center.  This is where the incoming and outgoing signals are controlled, switched and processed. Signals stemming from 20 satellite receivers, from the event locations or self-produced footage are collected. Further control rooms are in use in the various event locations.

Ten to 15 of the IPTV channels will be reserved for self-produced content on-board the vessel and all audio, video and intercom signals are being distributed on the ship via a Riedel MediorNet network with 30 nodes – currently the biggest fixed MediorNet installation worldwide.

Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship that is under construction, Anthem  of the Seas, has its cruise director picked out and will be Joff Eaton.  

“@bakerboy11: @joffeaton are you the cruise director for the anthem.”as far as I know!!!

— Joff Eaton (@joffeaton) January 4, 2015

As the ship's cruise director, Eaton will oversee entertainment onboard the ship and will manage the activities team that include dancers, musicians, youth and activities staff.

Joff is from Chichester, West Sussex in the South of England. He has worked in an entertainment industry for 20 years, initially for holiday companies in the UK and Europe.

Anthem of the Seas' inaugural cruise is set for April 2015 from Southampton, England.

Anthem of the Seas is the sister ship of Quantum of the Seas, which launched in November 2014. There is still yet a third Quantum-class cruise ship, Ovation of the Seas, that will also be built.

A 4-year-old boy nearly drowned on Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas last night, forcing the ship to return to Port Everglades.

Mike Jachles, spokesman for Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue, said the boy "was swept under" in the pool and remained underwater anywhere between an estimated five to 10 minutes.

Cynthia Martinez, a spokeswoman for Royal Caribbean, confirmed that the 4-year old was a boy from Italy who "was rescued from one of the ship’s swimming pools."

Other guests administered CPR on the spot until the ship's medical team began more advanced life saving techniques.  Luckily, these efforts worked as they were able to restore the boy's pulse.

The boy was treated by the ship's medical team but needed additional medical care and so Oasis of the Seas returned to Port Everglades.

Once you become a member of Royal Caribbean's customer loyalty program, Crown and Anchor Society, and embark upon another cruise, you will start getting invitations to special events and parties just for you.

These parties are special ways Royal Caribbean likes to recognize its repeat customers and offer them complimentary beverages, share upcoming news about the ship and answer questions.

What happens at these parties?

Usually you are greeted by the ship's officers as you walk in and served complimentary cocktails and snacks while you mingle with other guests.

After a little while, there's a speech or two given by officers such as the loyalty ambassador, hotel manager and even the Captain.  Which crew members speak varies from ship to ship and sailing to sailing.

How do you get invited?

Royal Caribbean will offer a few parties each cruise for Crown and Anchor Society members of each level.  

Royal Caribbean will deliver an invitation for each party to your stateroom to let you know of the event.  On newer ships, such as the Oasis-class, the invitations are electronic and will arrive in your television's message inbox.

How many events are there per cruise?

Royal Caribbean will hold a number of events, usually a general event for all Crown and Anchor members and then smaller events for members of higher status in the program.

The main event is the Crown and Anchor Society Welcome Back Celebration, which is a general celebration of repeat cruisers.

After that, there can be other events for Platinum and above members.

The exact number of events and which events that are held will depend on the sailing.

Do I have to go?

No, these events are optional and your attendance has no consequences.

Why should I go?

There are two really good reasons to go to these events.  First, it's one of the rare opportunities on a Royal Caribbean ship to get complimentary alcoholic beverages.  The wait staff will come around with plenty for everyone and it's quite easy to get multiple drinks per event.

Second, the speeches by the staff can give you insight into upcoming changes onboard that ship as well as fleet wide.  It's also a good opportunity to ask questions about changes you may have read about online or just wanted to get clarification of.

Some speeches are more interesting than others but the free drinks and opportunity to meet other Royal Caribbean fans can be fun and the entire thing rarely lasts more than 60 minutes.