Royal Caribbean has filed to trademark five new names of cruise shios, which potentially could be names of some of the unnamed cruise ships that are slated to be built.

On September 15, Royal Caribbean filed trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the following names:

• Spectrum of the Seas
• Joy of the Seas
• Harmony of the Seas
• Emblem of the Seas
• Apex of the Seas

Royal Caribbean also added applications for three other cruise ship names it had previously sought to register

• Pulse of the Seas
• Passion of the Seas
• Ovation of the Seas

Royal Caribbean had previously announced this week Ovation of the Seas will be the name of its next Quantum class cruise ship.

Royal Caribbean still has an unamed third and fourth Oasis-class cruise ships that could use one of these names.

Welcome back to Friday Photos, our weekly showcase of Royal Caribbean photos that were taken by readers of this blog.  

Every week, we ask our readers to send us their best Royal Caribbean vacation photos to be considered for this post and you're welcome to send yours in as well. We'd love to feature photos of the ships, excursions, activities onboard and anything else that reminds you of a great time while sailing with Royal Caribbean.

So without further adieu, here is this week's batch of photos.

Our first photo is from Paul Westbrook and it's of a Royal Caribbean ship and another cruise ship in port.  Beautiful!

Next is a photo by John Siegmund looking at Nassau, Bahamas from the deck of Majesty of the Seas at dusk.

Bryce Griffler sent this photo of the stern of Allure of the Seas tied up.  Great perspective!

Mark sent this photo from Cozumel of Allure of the Seas and Navigator of the Seas.  I can't decide which ship I'd rather be on right now.

We will round things out this week with this photo by Alexander Bone that he titled "the best view in the world".  Hard to argue against that!

Thanks to everyone who sent in their photos this week.  Be sure to send your photos in as well by using this form.

There's less than 99 days until Royal Caribbean's brand new Quantum of the Seas debuts and we're counting down each day with a brand new blog post all about this amazing ship. Check into the blog every day for something new to read about Quantum of the Seas.

Video: Sonic Odyssey cast ready for showtime

Royal Caribbean has released a new video today showing how Quantum of the Seas' brand new show Sonic Odyssey is getting ready for its debut.  In the video, the Sonic Odyssey cast gets ready for an awe-inspiring spectacle showcasing unique sounds on innovative music instruments created specially for the show.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post as we celebrate 99 days of Quantum!

Royal Caribbean announced today that the third Quantum-class cruise ship will be named Ovation of the Seas.

In addition to announcing the name, the first piece of steel was cut at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany.  This is the same shipyard where sister cruise ships Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas are being constructed.

Ovation of the Seas is scheduled to be delivered in the autumn of 2016.

Like its sister ships, Ovation of the Seas will feature Quantum-class ammenities such as Roboscreens in the unique Two70 entertainment venue; robotic bartenders in Bionic Bar; RipCord by iFLY, the first skydiving experience at sea; the North Star, an engineering marvel that transports guests more than 300 feet above the ocean; transformative venues, such as Sea-Plex, the largest indoor sports and entertainment complex at sea with bumper cars, roller skating and more; and the cruise line’s largest and most advanced staterooms ever, including the industry’s first-ever Virtual Balcony staterooms, which offers expansive, real-time views of the ocean and exciting destinations for interior staterooms.

Royal Caribbean has selected Metso to modernize the complete vessel-wide automation system on Voyager of the Seas.

The system controls and monitors all vital machinery on the ship, such as diesel generators, power management and air conditioning. The new upgrades will keep Voyager of the Seas running reliably and safely as well as allowing Royal Caribbean to save energy and support sustainability.

The upgrade will take place in September 2014, and startup is scheduled for October 2014 after total vessel revitalization in dry dock in Singapore. The order has been included in Metso's second quarter 2014 orders received.

The value of the deal was not disclosed.

Metso already has deals in place to provide similar systems to the third Oasis-class cruise ship as well as Quantum of the Seas.

We're counting down to the 99 days until Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship, Quantum of the Seas, launches with a brand new blog post every day. Be sure to check back for something new everyday here.

Two70° render images

You may have heard our interview today with Tim Magill, who's firm was responsible for designing Two70° aboard Royal Caribbean's brand new Quantum of the Seas.  

This space is truly innovative and we wanted to share some more renderings from 5+design that show off how really cool this space is.  Enjoy!

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post as we celebrate 99 days of Quantum!

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

Episode 59 is available for downloading and this week we have an exclusive interview with the man that headed up the design for Two70, Tim Magill.

Tim and his team at 5+design are responsible for making Two70 look like the next generation cruise ship hot spot that it's been billed as.  Tim takes us behind-the-scenes of how a place like Two70 is built and what kind of work went into it.

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 59. 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 unnamed third Quantum-class cruise ship will have its navigation, lighting and communication systems provided by L-3 MSI.

This ship will be the sister ship to Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas, both of which were previously equipped by L-3 MSI as well.

The third Quantum-class ship will receive a SAM Electronics NACOS Platinum navigation system comprising five X- and S-band radars serially linked to ten Multipilot workstations for combined display of ARPA, radar, ECDIS and conning functions in addition to those for automatic steering control and voyage planning.

Part of the specialty cruise ship software package also provides modes to support station-keeping with reduced fuel consumption and machinery wear.

To countdown the launch of Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship, Quantum of the Seas, we're blogging about one aspect of the ship each day for 99 days. Check back each day for something exciting to read about this new ship.

Sustainability

Everyone is trying to do their part to help the enviroment and Royal Caribbean is going to make Quantum of the Seas one of the "greenest" cruise ships to ever sail.

Royal Caribbean has heavily invested in technology to help reduce Quantum of the Seas' footprint.  

Sophisticated computer modeling was used to reduce the vessel’s energy consumption with efficient hull configuration, engine design and energy saving devices.  The ship has eliminated the use of incandescent bulbs; all lighting will be provided by low-energy LED or fluorescents.  Motion sensors even dim hallway lighting when no one is present.  

The cruise ship has been designed to consume less energy and keep Quantum of the Seas cleaner and greener.

Quantum of the Seas will be armed with brand new "scrubbers" that will remove pollutants from engine exhaust as a kind of filter.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post as we celebrate 99 days of Quantum!

At the Seatrade Med 2014 trade event, Royal Caribbean's COO Adam Goldstein was named the Seatrade Mediterranean Personality of the Year 2014.

Goldstein was presented the award at the event during the opening conference session of Seatrade Med 2014, which is being held this year at the Fira de Barcelona.

Seatrade chairman Chris Hayman spoke about why Adam Goldstein deserved the award, "He was one of the first North American executives to identify Europe as a second source market from an industry standpoint and set about tapping into that potential by spearheading deploying of vessels into the region, and in particular the Med, to ignite local demand."

On receiving the award, Adam Goldstein said, "I would like to say thank you to Seatrade, UBM and V.Ships Leisure for this award. The success of any enterprise is that it is a team effort. I am thoroughly grateful to be the recipient of the Seatrade Mediterranean Cruise Personality of the Year."