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

Episode 48 is available for downloading where we take a look the best quiet places onboard a Royal Caribbean cruise to get away from the crowd.

Matt shares spots all over Royal Caribbean's fleet of cruise ships to find a little peace and quiet if you're looking to get away from the crowds, or just get some time alone to read, relax and enjoy your time at sea.

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 48. 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 has pulled marketing funding for television ads in lieu of sponsoring two new series from teen-centric YouTube network AwesomenessTV.

For its part, AwesomenessTV has produced two shows for Royal Caribbean, the first of which will premiere on July 6.

"YoMuscleBoi's Royal Caribbean Adventure" follows AwesomenessTV star YoMuscleBoii as he cruises around the Caribbean, doing things like riding a Royal Caribbean ship's surf simulator and trying his hand at the world's longest zip line over water.

The second series is a scripted show called "Shipping Julia." Premiering August 3, the six-episode series will tell a Romeo and Juliet-style love story set during a Royal Caribbean cruise.

Royal Caribbean senior vice president of marketing, Carol Schuster, confirmed the company did re-arrange some of the funds, "We did take money from our TV budget to do this."  There's no word on how much but Schuster did characterize it as a "sizable investment."

So why did Royal Caribbean invest in a teen-centric YouTube channel?  Teenagers influence their parents, Ms. Schuster said. "Teens are our sweet spot from a guest perspective," she said. "They really get the most out of our ships."

AwesomenessTV's network of YouTube channels attracted 7.98 million U.S. desktop unique viewers in May, according to ComScore.

AwesomenessTV had another edge in getting Royal Caribbean's attention. DreamWorks Animation bought the company for $33.5 million last May with earn-outs that could add another $95 million to the deal.

The weekend is here and that means it's time to share your Royal Caribbean photos!  Each week we invite our readers to share their favorite Royal Caribbean photos with all of us, so here we go!

First up is a photo of the sunset in St. Thomas by Kyle from DC.  Gorgeous!

Ken Slusser sent us this photo of the officers on Independence of the Seas playing pool volleyball against the passengers.  I've never seen this happen but I wish it would happen more often!

Next is a photo from May of Radiance of the Seas taken from a whale watching excursion boat in Icy Strait Point, Alaska.  Alaska always produces such great photos.

Woodrow Herron sent in this photo of their "Make a Wish" auction for Chef's Table lunch that was personally served by Executive Chef Lorenzo Dearie.  What an experience!  

Here's a photo by Donal Kavanagh from Adventure of the Seas.  Donal writes, "I just really liked the reflections in the windows of the Viking Crown lounge when looking up from the main pool deck.".  I'm pretty sure everything looks great when you're on the pool deck on a Royal Caribbean cruise.

Mike Cook sent us this photo of Independence of the Seas deep into the heart of the fjords at Skjolden around midnight.  I like the shadows created by the fjords against the sky.

Liberty of the Seas while passing by Nice, France.  François St-Onge sent in this photo and it's a cool sight when a cruise ship like this is passing by like this!

 think this was a great collection of photos this week and of course we want to see your photos too!  Use this form to send us your best Royal Caribbean photos and we will feature them in an upcoming blog post!

Royal Caribbean has confirmed to Travel Weekly it is working on a new subsidary called "TourTrek" that will create land based tours around the world.

Royal Caribbean named John Weis to head up the new operation.  Weis was formerly the vice president of global tour operations.

TourTrek is still in formation but it plans on offering tours in 90 countries.

Royal Caribbean promises further details about TourTrek in the coming months.

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

Episode 47 is available for downloading where we take a look at the daily newsletter Royal Caribbean provides, the Cruise Compass.

Matt describes what the Cruise Compass contains, how to look through it and how to best utilize it to plan your day aboard your Royal Caribbean cruise.

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 47. 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!

If someone you know is going on a Royal Caribbean cruise, it can be a fun surprise to buy them a gift that will be delivered to them in the stateroom during their cruise.  Royal Caribbean offers a means of purchasing a wide variety of gifts for someone going on an upcoming cruise.

In fact, you can buy it for yourself for your cruise or someone you're cruising with.

What you need

In order to purchase a gift for someone cruising on Royal Caribbean, all you need is

• Ship they are sailing on
• Sail date
• Reservation number

Royal Caribbean will not provide reservation information to anyone other than a guest listed in the reservation (for security purposes).  However, if you do not know the reservation number, you can call Royal Caribean at 1-800-722-5443 and they can look up the information to place the order without divulging it to you.

What you can buy

Royal Caribbean offers quite a bit to choose from their Gifts & Gears program

• Celebrations: Cakes, decorations and packages.
• Culinary Collection: Varity of tasty culinary favorites from chocolate covered strawberries to wine and cheese baskets.
• Scrumptious Treats: Great treats to enjoy during the cruise.
• Floral Expressions: Beautiful flowers delivered to the stateroom for all occasions.
• Romance Packages: Packages to make a cruise with the special someone even more special.
• Wine Cellar: Collection of wines (750ml bottles) for guests to enjoy in their stateroom to relax or get ready for dinner and a show.

When can you order

For cruises to leave on a weekend, orders must be placed by 7:00pm EST the Friday before sailing.

However, you can still place an order past that time but there till be a $10 late order fee.

Gifts can generally be ordered up until the second day of sailing, with the exception of floral arrangements.

How to order

There are two ways to order gifts for someone sailing on a Royal Caribbean cruise

Online

You can order gifts through Royal Caribbean's website at http://www.royalcaribbean.com/giftcatalog/home.do.

As stated earlier, you will need to know all the reservation details in order to order this for someone.

Phone

You may also contact the Gifts & Gear Department at 1-800-722-5443 and an agent can assist you. This is the best option if you do not know all the information.

Royal Caribbean has begun a new policy of offering complimentary drink vouchers per night to select levels of Crown and Anchor Society members to help offset congestion in its Diamond and Concierge lounges.

Emails are starting to go out to Diamond, Diamond Plus and Pinnacle Club members who have an upcoming Royal Caribbean cruise booked to alert them about this new policy.

The SeaPass card of each eligible Diamond, Diamond Plus and Pinnacle Club member will be loaded with three drink vouchers for each night of the sailing. Vouchers expire daily. Drinks vouchers are not valid in the main dining room, the Windjammer Café or in specialty restaurants. 

It's widely believed this new policy of offering drink vouchers is an attempt by Royal Caribbean to offset crowding in its Diamond and Concierge lounges.

This new policy will be rolled out to the entire fleet by Fall 2014.

Which ships are offering it right now is in flux, but we know that at the latest Freedom of the Seas will by July, Navigator of the Seas by September.

Royal Caribbean is once again moving deeper into Asia by establishing an office in Hong Kong to compliment the company's offices in Beijing and Shanghai.

In addition, Voyager of the Seas will be homeported in Hong Kong for 22 cruises next summer.  Voyager of the Seas had previously sailed out of Shanghai and Beijing when previously sailing out of China.

Voyager of the Seas will offer a six-night cruise out of Beijing (Tianjin) on June 26, 2015, where she will sail to her new homeport of Hong Kong.  Voyager of the Seas will remain in Hong Kong through October 2015 and offer cruises of three- to ten-night sailings.

Voyager of the Seas will visit Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, as well as destinations in China.

Royal Caribbean will preview its Dynamic Dining concept that will debut on Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas to the 32nd annual Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, June 20-22, 2014.

On Friday, June 20, Royal Caribbean is showcasing three of its next-level signature dining options on Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas at the Grand Tasting Pavilion, including: 

• Jamie’s Italian
• Devinly Decadence at Solarium Bistro
• Michael’s Genuine Pub

​

On Saturday, June 21 and Sunday, June 22, Royal Caribbean will continue showcasing Dynamic Dining fare at the Grand Tasting Pavilion by spotlighting four of the complimentary, full-service restaurants on Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas: 

• The Grande, a luxuriant nod to a bygone era of classic European ocean liners when dining was a time honored ritual, featuring timeless dishes, and where every night is formal night (Saturday only);
• Silk, a vibrant and exotic destination where the spices of the Far East bring new flavor to adventurous palates through a Pan-Asian menu (Saturday only);
• American Icon Grill, a take on the classic American road trip, pulling together best-loved regional favorites into one comfort-style menu (Sunday only);
• Chic, where the height of contemporary cuisine is realized and the freshest ingredients, such as proteins that pack a punch and sauces made from scratch, are evolved for a modern palate (Sunday only).

Not to out do themselves, Royal Caribbean is presenting the Wonderland at Food & Wine Classic event at the top of Aspen Mountain. 

Robotics Online has a great piece about the new RoboScreens coming to Royal Caribbean's Quantum-class cruise ships. 

Six 100” video screens attached to six industrial robots that were developed by ABB RoboScreens are a big reason Royal Caribbean will be taking on-board entertainment on its newest class of cruise ships to the next level.

Onboard it's upcoming Quantum-class cruise ships, guests will find these amazing innovations in the Two70 signature venue. 

A RoboScreen is a graphical screen mounted to the arm of an ABB articulated arm robot, which creates a unique viewer experience by bringing virtually unlimited, 6-axis movement to the video media. Available in various sizes, the Two70° RoboScreens feature six ABB IRB 6620 robots, each holding a 100” diagonal Daktronics LED screen.

On Royal Caribbean's Quantum-class ships, the RoboScreens are stored in the ceiling when not in use but during shows in Two70, the RoboScreens extend down on the gantry to a position above the stage, displaying unique video and imagery while performing choreographed movements, all custom produced for the specific performance.  

The RoboScreens were developed by Andy Flessas and were first introduced in 2010 as part of the Bon Jovi Circle Tour. They have also been a part of concerts and shows for Kis-My-Ft2, a Japanese Pop band; the Las Vegas house show for deadmau5, world famous music producer and performer; and the Ultra-Music Festival in Miami. 

On the Quantum-class, the RoboScreens will periodically assemble in various formations, such as six screens in a row to form one continuous, long screen; a three by two stack to form one big square screen; or a serpentine row, much like a ‘W’ and a ‘V’ strung together.

The project involves the close collaboration of a number or parties, both within ABB and externally. Being the first installation of an ABB robot on any ship, the ABB Marine Power Group in Helsinki, Finland and the ABB Robotics North American team in Auburn Hills, Michigan worked together for the first time. The ABB PC software team in Gothenburg, Sweden is also involved, working on the programming software and addressing the unique challenges of operating robots at sea.

The external partners include Royal Caribbean, andyRobot, Daktronics, Waagner Biro, the gantry provider, Coolux, the video server manufacturer, and Meyer Werft, the shipbuilder based in Papenburg, Germany.

You can read the full article here.