Royal Caribbean is informing passengers set to embark on this week's Freedom of the Seas cruise that the ship, "is currently experiencing a small restriction on her top speed."

As a result of the speed reduction, the ship will have to change the Eastern Caribbean itinerary.  The ship will skip a port call at the company's private island of CocoCay and reduce the time the ship will spend in St. Maarten.

Emails and text messages were sent to guests today informing them of the change.  Royal Caribbean assures guests that the ship is fully operational and there is no impact on the maneuverability of the ship or on the safety of our guests and crew.

There is no word on what caused the propulsion problems.  Freedom of the Seas is scheduled for a dry dock session in January 2015.

Royal Caribbean is also giving all passengers an undisclosed amount of onboard credit.  A letter with the credit amount will be delivered to each stateroom.

Passengers tha had shore excursions booked in CocoCay through Royal Caribbean will have their excursions fully refunded in the form of onboard credit, although unused money can be refunded after the cruise back to passengers.

Freedom of the Seas is set to leave Port Canaveral on December 14 as scheduled.

DEC 15 UPDATE: Blog reader Sean shared with us some more details on the problem affecting Freedom of the Seas.  There is a recorded message from Captain Tor Olsen playing in all staterooms explaining the problem.

The center fixipod is having the trouble, which is similar to the problem Allure of the Seas had earlier this year.  Captain Olsen described one of the bearings as being "in very bad shape".

As a result, the main thurst propeller blade has been removed from the center pod and Freedom of the Seas is operating only with the port and starboard azipods. The result is a reduced top speed by 5 knots, with a new max cruising speed of 18 knots.

Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas just got a new FlowRider surf simulator added to her as part of an $80 million refurbishment and it's now passed its first test.

Pro surfer Paige Hareb boarded Voyager of the Seas to try out the new FlowRider while the ship was in Auckland, New Zealand.

Hareb gave it a try and commented on her experience, "I didn't know what to expect. I had heard a lot about it being completely different from other sports and from surfing and so I was a little nervous."

After getting the hang of the FlowRider, Paige showed off her surfing skills to others in attendance.

"I have been doing surfing for such a long time, so I guess it comes easy to me now."

In SEC filings,Royal Caribbean announced it had refinanced its deal in place for Brilliance of the Seas by terminating the lease and buying the ship outright for $275 million.

Royal Caribbean leased the ship when it was built back in July 2002 under a 25-year operating lease.  The move today eliminates that lease obligation by purchasing the ship.

Royal Caribbean funded the purchase through drawings under their revolving credit facilities.  Royal Caribbean also indicated they will not recognize any gain or loss in connection with this refinancing deal.

If it's Friday, that means we are sharing our reader's best Royal Caribbean photos in this week's Friday Photos showcase.  As always, we want to include as many of our readers photos as we can, so be sure to send us your best Royal Caribbean photos too!

Let's kick things off this week with a photo of a beautiful day on Royal Caribbean's private island of Coco Cay by Michael Poole.  Sign me up for someone who wishes to be there right now!

Here's a great family photo by Carol Johns from their 45th wedding anniversary cruise on Allure of the Seas.  Cruising with family is always a lot of fun!

Paul Westbrook sent in this photo of the art he found in the hallway on the way to his stateroom aboard Freedom of the Seas.

Here we have sunrise on Quantum of the Seas by Catherine Elgie-Peters.  I love how the sun is shining right into the North Star!

We will round things out with this photo of a full moon over Majesty of the Seas by John Siegmund.  Great shot!

Thank you to everyone that sent in their photos this week and if you have Royal Caribbean photos, well, we want to see them!  You can use this form to send us your photos and we will feature them on an upcoming Friday Photos blog post!

Quantum of the Seas' naming ceremony  featured godmother Kristin Chenoweth and rth Harp musician, William Close.

Who doesn't enjoy something cool to drink and look at?  I love when there's new takes on old favorites and today we ran across something too neat to pass up.

Photo by Jayne Edwards Palao

Onboard Navigator of the Seas, Jayne Edwards Palao shared a photo of these brand new color changing mugs you can get at the pool deck.

The plastic mugs will turn colors as long as there is a cold liquid inside of it.  The mugs change to purple, blue, pink or green.

Photo by Michelle Deangelico

Photo by Michelle Reeve

On All About Royal Caribbean Cruises facebook group, others reported seeing them also available on Independence of the Seas, Allure of the Seas and Explorer of the Seas.

Would you buy one of these color changing mugs? Let us know be leaving a comment!

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

Episode 71 is available for downloading where we offer advice on how to get a deal on your next Royal Caribbean cruise.

Everyone is always looking to snag a deal on their next Royal Caribbean cruise and this week, Matt offers tips and tricks on how to save money when booking a Royal Caribbean cruise.  

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 71. 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!

Today we are taking a closer look at the restaurant on Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas where it's formal night, every night, The Grande.

The Grande is one of five complimentary sit down restaurants aboard Quantum of the Seas and it's a throwback to the classic days of cruising where everyone is dressed up and the food matches the elegance of the dress.

The Grande is open for dinner and I had a chance to check it out for myself to see what it's like to have formal night on a ship that did away with formal night.

Atmosphere

Walking into The Grande, the look and feel of the restaurant is exactly what you might expect to find in a restaurant where getting dressed up is a must.

There's lots of whites with simple, yet elegant designs on the furniture, walls and tables.  The restaurant evokes a sense of classiness that I think most people expect when they hear about a restaurant that is formal.

Unlike the other complimentary restaurants for dinner, The Grande requires its guests to be dressed up. Royal Caribbean does note that Smart Casual dress code is acceptable on embarkation day but other days, it's formal.

For fans of getting dressed up for dinner, the Grande is your restaurant and you can get dressed up as many nights as you want when you dine here.

Eats

Like the upscale dress, the menu at The Grande is about traditionally fancy foods.  You will find escargot, bisques, and cuts of meat that are typically found at upscale restaurants.

When you are seated, you are served small baguettes along with butter.  Whereas in the American Icon Grill there were rolls, at the Grande we are moving up to higher end bread.

For appetizers, I started with two choices I had come to really enjoy on Royal Caribbean ships: beef carpaaccio and escargots.

I found both dishes to be just as good as I rememberd on other ships.  The carpaaccio was so thinly sliced that you could not even pick it up with a fork, but had to scrape it off the plate.  

Royal Caribbeans fans will know that escargot was hard to find on many ships due to a worldwide shortage (who knew!) but it was readily available on Quantum of the Seas and with the bread an absolute delight.

Moving onto my entree, I opted for the eggplant Napoleon, which is a combination of Ratatouille and eggplant parmesan.  

This was the kind of entree I could have had another serving to enjoy.  The eggplant was not breaded and together with the goat cheese fondue, tomatoes and spinach created a very vibrant taste.  

Overall

I think of all the complimentary restaurants I ate at on Quantum of the Seas, The Grande was my favorite.  

The dishes served at The Grande are traditional and going with what's known to work I believe is a good angle.

It should be noted The Grande does serve Lobster Tail every night.  I do not eat lobster but I know there are those that always looked forward to "lobster night" on Royal Caribbean cruises and so this is the place for you.  In fact, this is the strength of Dynamic Dining.  Rather than lobster tail just once per cruise, you can now have it every night.

The dress code was not a problem for me because I always enjoyed dressing up for dinner to begin with.  It's not to say you must wear a tuxedo or formal ball gown to eat here.  Rather, a collared shirt and nice pants with appropriate shoes will get you in for men.  Women can opt for a cocktail dress or something equivalent and satisfy the requirements.

I came away impressed with The Grande because of the particularly tasty food, much of which will be familiar to fans of the main dining room on other Royal Caribbean ships.

Royal Caribbean announced its new President and CEO today, Michael Bayley, to be the head of Royal Caribbean International.

Bayley's appointment is effective immediately.

Bayley was previously the CEO of sister company Celebrity Cruises.  Prior to his time at the head of Celebrity, Bayley served in several senior roles at Royal Caribbean International, including Executive Vice President of Operations. He is credited for playing a key role in the company’s international expansion, helping launch company operations in markets around the world.

Bayley replaces Adam Goldstein, who was promoted to Royal Caribbean Ltd Chief Operating Officer back in April of 2014.

Bayley commented on his new position, "Royal Caribbean International is a brand with an incredible history – and unlimited potential. The ships, personified in the new Quantum class, are some of the best and most innovative in the world. And the crews that service Royal Caribbean International guests have a track record of delighting guests from every culture around the world. I look forward to an exciting future as we raise our game to an even higher level of performance."

Royal Caribbean revealed prices for its new Wi-Fi aboard Quantum of the Seas that promises to deliver the same kind of speed you would find on land.

On a recent 8-night sailing, cruiser Emily Schaffer took notice of the internet packages that were available.

The internet packages are broken down into three tiers for the duration of your cruise:

• Basic cruise plan
  • Useful for checking in for flights, checking email and other scenarios where speed isn't important
• Premium cruise plan
  • Four times the speed of the basic plan and ideal for social media, email, Skype, and more
• Premium Plus cruise plan
  • Fastest speeds that let you do it all - live video calls, stream movies, download large files and more.

Here are the prices for this particular cruise:

• Basic cruise plan
  • Hourly plan (60 minutes used anytime): $20
  • Daily plan (24 hours of continuous access): $65
  • Unlimited for 1 device: $183
  • Unlimited for 2 devices: $229
• Premium cruise plan
  • Hourly plan (60 minutes used anytime): $25
  • Daily plan (24 hours of continuous access): $76
  • Unlimited for 1 device: $224
  • Unlimited for 2 devices: $280
• Premium Plus cruise plan
  • Hourly plan (60 minutes used anytime): $35
  • Daily plan (24 hours of continuous access): $114
  • Unlimited for 1 device: $320
  • Unlimited for 2 devices: $400

Photos by Emily Schaffer

Royal Caribbean does offer discounts to Crown and Anchor Society members that are automatically applied to any package purchased.

The new internet speeds are made possible by a partnership with O3b, which have low-orbitting satellites that provide targeted internet directly at each ship, rathern than blanketing an area with access.