Friday is here and before you start your weekend, let's take a look at some fun Royal Caribbean photos that our readers sent in to be showcased.  Just like you, we love looking at Royal Caribbean photos to get a "quick fix" when it comes to the "I'm not on a cruise" blues.

Let's start with a photo from John Siegmund of twilight on deck of Majesty of the Seas from July 2014. Great shot!

Next is a photo by Jennifer Gardner of the city of Brugges last October while on the Independence of the Seas.

Here's a photo of Oasis of the Seas by Gia Fahey and it looks like a great view of the ship's aft.  

Love seeing this photo by Damion Walker of the CocoCay sign as the tender pulls in.  Nothing but relaxation in paradise ahead!

Do you have fun Royal Caribbean photos to share?  Send us your favorite photos and we will feature them on an upcoming blog post!

Royal Caribbean is teaming up with an alliance of other organizations to create the South Pacific Destination Alliance (SPDA) that is aimed at protecting the South Pacific's natural and cultural assets while enhancing livelihoods and ensuring its tourism destinations are nice places to live, work, and visit.

The SPDA announcement was made this past weekend at the 3rd International United Nations Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in Apia, Samoa.

Royal Caribbean is joining the South Pacific Tourism Organization (SPTO), and global non-profit implementation partner Sustainable Travel International in creating the SPDA.

The SPDA is modeled after the Sustainable Destinations Alliance for the Americas, a groundbreaking alliance of public and private entities launched earlier this year to focus on destination sustainability in the Caribbean and adjacent Latin American countries.

The group's next step is to work to include more than 10 destinations between now and 2017.

We're counting down the days until Royal Caribbean's next cruise ship debuts, Quantum of the Seas, with our 99 days of Quantum countdown.  Each day we will post something about this amazing new ship.

Quick boarding

One of the announcements Royal Caribbean made during its technology reveal event was guests would be able to board the ship "from the sidewalk to the ship" in 10 minutes. 

As any veteran cruiser will tell you, the embarkation process usually takes a lot of time.  Usually it can be anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes or more depending on a number of factors.  

READ YESTERDAY'S POST ABOUT DYNAMIC DINING

With Quantum of the Seas, Royal Caribbean promises to make it a whole lot quicker.  Guests can fill out all the important legal information at home and even take their own "selfie" photo to be used with their SeaPass card.

You will still be able to check-in the "old fashioned way" at the cruise terminal too but those that take advantage of the new system will get onboard a whole lot quicker.

I love to get to my Royal Caribbean cruise early and get as much time onboard as I can on embarkation day. After all, the faster you get onboard, the faster your vacation really begins and this is the perfect solution.

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

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.

Dynamic Dining

When Royal Caribbean announced Quantum of the Seas would completely change how dinner was served onboard, it caused quite a stir among Royal Caribbean fans.  This innovative new approach to dining is set to revolutionize cruise guests dinner experience.

The basics of Dynamic Dining are simple: no more main dining room, no set times to eat and no formal nights.  Instead, we get five complimentary restaurants along with a slew of specialty restaurants to choose from.

Each night, you pick the restaurant and the time to eat dinner.  Dynamic Dining gives the cruise guest more flexibility, options and choice when it comes to dinner with a lot less formality.

READ YESTERDAY'S POST ABOUT CHIC

Restaurants like American Icon Grill, Chic and Silk offer different choices and you can repeat favorite restaurants or keep trying out new ones. The assortment of specialty restaurants is also impressive with Wonderland, Jamie's Italian, Michael's Genuine Pub and more.  In total, there will be 18 restaurants to choose from!

While formal night was removed, you can still get the formal night experience in one of the restaurnts, The Grande, where it's formal night every night. Once again, Royal Caribbean wants to make guest choice the most important factor here.

There's no question Dynamic Dining is a big step for Royal Caribbean and for long time Royal Caribbean fans, it's something completely different.  The key will be in Dynamic Dining's execution and how well it works for guests. 

To help make picking restaurants easier, Royal Caribbean has developed an app that allows guestss to pick when and where they want to eat and alerting them when the restaurant or reservation time conflicts with something else on their agenda and suggesting alternatives.

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

In an interview with TTG Digital, Royal Cribbean UK and Ireland managing director Stuart Leven said Royal Caribbean used social media to benefit from a rival cruise line's television show.

Princess Cruises was the star of a ITV documentary called, The Cruise Ship, and during its airiings, Royal Caribbean engaged in an intense social media strategy to target people watching the show.

Leven said Royal Caribbean hired a media agency for the four-weeks that the documentary aired to respond to every hashtag about the documentary. 

Leven told TTG Digital, “During that four-week period we had 411,000 social interactions.  We have seen notable bookings generated as a result of this activity.” 

Leven did not disclose how many bookings resulted from the efforts.

Our latest Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast has been released! Check out Episode 57 of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast right now.

This week's topic

Matt loves visiting Old San Juan Puerto Rico because of the history, sight seeing and food that this new world city offers.  

In this episode, Matt explores what there is to do in San Juan, where to stay if you're cruising out of the port and recommendations for beaches, activities and more.

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 57. 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!

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.

Chic

Part of the appeal of Royal Caribbean's new dining initiative with Dynamic Dining is to offer more choices to its cruise guests.  Chic is a restaurant that will offer guests the cutting edge of modern cooking.

When you walk into Chic, Royal Caribbean wants you see a spectacular entrance that sets the tone.  With a restaurant named Chic, you know it's going to be glamorous and sophisticated, both in menu and design.

READ YESTERDAY'S POST ABOUT FAMILY-CONNECTED STATEROOMS

Chic offers a contemporary menu that includes a focus on protein.  Food like beef rib-eye, lamb chops and Mediterranean sea bass are freshly prepared with sauces that are made from scratch.

In addition, Chick will offer dry-aged steaks that have been aged for almost four weeks to give the food even more flavor than before along with tenderness and a great aroma.  

You will also find Maine lobster, veal Parmesan, and grilled branzino as options to entice you.

Chic is a complimentary restaurant and will be included in your cruise fare. It will be open for dinner.

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

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 cruise ship.  Check back every day for something new!

Family-connected staterooms

When you're traveling with a big family or group, it can be difficult to find the perfect stateroom set up but on Quantum of the Seas, Royal Caribbean is setting out to help with a brand new configuration of staterooms.

The family-connected staterooms will allow you connect three different staterooms to form one large shared space.  That also means three bathrooms for one space, which is always a plus because one can never have enough bathrooms on a cruise ship.

READ YESTERDAY'S POST ABOUT KRISTEN CHENOWETH

This means that your entire group can stay connected while enjoying their privacy at the same time when staying in these family-connected staterooms.  Each layout is customizable and intuitive, combining soothing aesthetics, larger storage solutions, and a residential feel that will make you feel right at home on the high seas.

In addition, staterooms on Quantum of the Seas will be, on average, nine percent larger than on Oasis-class ships and feature USB outlets, more storage space and multifunctional furniture.

Family Connected Junior Suite with Balcony

With this category of staterooms, you will get 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and a balcony for everyone to enjoy.  In total, you will get 575 square feet of space inside and 216 square feet of balcony.

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

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.

Kristin Chenoweth

Royal Caribbean selected Kristin Chenoweth to be godmother to Quantum of the Seas back on February 24, 2013 and she has already served in a few capacities to fill this role.

The role of the godmother for a ship is very special. Not only does a godmother christen or name the ship and serve as a guiding spirit, but she also plays a key role in the festivities of the naming ceremony and provides a blessing on the ship for the guests and crew and all who sail on her.

Kristin's selection highlights Royal Caribbean's emphasis on entertainment onboard Quantum.  As a Broadway and television star, Kristin embodies what Royal Caribbean wants to have on its newest cruise ship.

READ YESTERDAY'S POST ABOUT BIONIC BAR

Since being selected, Kristin has helped spread the word about the new ship. At the 2013 Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, she was on Royal Caribbean's float to help announce the new ship. In fact, during the parade Royal Caribbean made the announcement that Mammia Mia!, the Broadway show would be playing onboard Quantum.

Kristin also was named as the Quantum Experience Advisor for entertainment and joined Royal Caribbean Vice President Nick Weir to announce all the shows that will be available for guests to enjoy.

Of course, Kristin's biggest job is still yet to come as she performs her godmother duties when Quantum of the Seas debuts in November 2014.

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

Hope you had a great week (maybe one week closer to your next Royal Caribbean cruise?) and you had a chance to keep up with what's new with Royal Caribbean this week. But if not, here's a roundup of this week's news.

Royal Caribbean announced all the new technology for Quantum of the Seas earlier this week and the big event revealed how amazing this new ship will be.

Luggage tracking, RFID wristbands, robot bartenders and more will be available on Quantum of the Seas and Royal Caribbean is billing the new ship as, "the world's most futuristic ship."

Combined with insanely fast internet speeds at sea, the new ship promises to be pretty darn impressive.

Royal Caribbean News

• Royal Caribbean will expand Dynamic Dining to Oasis of the Seas
• Anthem of the Seas will get the Broadway show "We Will Rock You"
• Tropical Storm Cristobal alters two cruise ship itineraries
• Everything we know about Royal Caribbean's RFID WOWbands
• Royal Caribbean wins first place in web site suvery

99 Days of Quantum

We're counting down the days until Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship, Quantum of the Seas, debuts with a blog post each day about what makes this cruise ship so amazing.

• American Icon Grill
• Quantum of the Seas technology reveal images
• Cocktails about Quantum of the Seas
• Quantum of the Seas construction photos
• Single cabin staterooms
• Wink
• Bionic Bar

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The fifty-sixth episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available and we're taking a look at the newly announced tech on Quantum of the Seas

In this episode, Matt looks at the big announcement by Royal Caribbean this week and discusses all the new technology coming to the ship.  There's a lot of new innovations to be excited about and this is our look at what to expect.

Please feel free to subscribe via iTunes or RSS, and head over to rate and review the podcast on iTunes if you can! We’d appreciate it.

Royal Caribbean Around the Internet

The Roaming Scribe has an interview with Royal Caribbean Chairman Richard Fain.

TheEMCeffect has a touching story about how Royal Caribbean helped make their cruise right.

From the Deck Chair is lukewarm on the new technology coming to Quantum of the Seas.

CruiseHangout shares his thoughts on the Quantum tech reveal.