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!

Our first photo this week comes from friend of the blog Michael Poole, who took this picture of Liberty of the Seas while on the Oasis of the Seas a few weeks ago coming into Fort Lauderdale.

Next is a photo by johnpaulla taken on Mariner of the Seas during "World Toilet Day" (don't ask).  He wants to know, "I am sending you this photo.  I have a problem...where do I deposit my excrement in my cabin, if the toilet is for tissue ONLY?... "

Ross and Pam sent in our next photo, which is of Radiance of the Seas at Moorea.

Giulio Saggin sent in this photo of a Manly Ferry glides past Rhapsody of the Seas while she is docked at the Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay in Sydney, November 19, 2013.

The last photo comes from Mike and Ruth of the lighthouse pulling into Nawiliwili,Kauai on Rhaapsody of the Seas.  They describe it as, "It still exciting after doing that cruise 4 years in a row. Already booked for next year!"

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!

You may not know what they are called, but the savory bites that are served in the main dining room have become a favorite of many Royal Caribbean cruisers. 

Photo by nenner1

These poppy seed covered bread bites take one or two bites to eat and have become a Royal Caribbean classic food.  It's basically a little savory sour dough "nugget" with herbs baked in that is kind of like a mini roll.  

The name comes from the fact they are bite sized and have the herb savory baked into them.

Some veteran cruisers will specifically ask their assistant waiter when he/she brings over the bread basket for the savory bites if they don't spot them because they are usually available on all Royal Caribbean cruises each night in the main dining room.

It's one of those foods that you just can't stop at having just one roll and I know when I visit the main dining room, something I look for each cruise.

Photo by ikirumata

Savory Bites Recipe

Servings: 1157 pieces (!)

• 25 pounds Potato Bread Flour.
• 2 ½ pounds Savory base.
• 2 pounds Margarine.
• 5 ounces Dry Yeast
• 7 ½ liters Water.

1. Mix all ingredients for 2 to 3 min slow and 5 to 6 min fast speed until well developed.
2. Rest the dough for 30 min.
3. Scale into 16 oz. pieces and pre shape.
4. Roll them sheet pan long and dip in Poppy seed, than put 9 pieces on one sheet pan.
5. Store in freezer overnight.
6. When ready to bake defrost about 3 hours in the fridge, cut them into small triangles (25 pieces per pound stick).
7. Place 9 x 6 on one sheet pan.
8. Bake them between 220 °C and 230 °C and steam for about 13 to 17 min until golden brown.

U.S. News & World Report's Best Cruises rankings are out, where the magazine looked at 15 cruise lines across a number of categories and Royal Caribbean came out on top for "Top cruise line for the money".

The report compared how the cruise lines were regarded by travel experts, how they were rated by cruise travelers (using data collected in collaboration with Cruiseline.com) and how they fared in health and safety evaluations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Royal Caribbean was named best value because of what you get for what you pay for.  The report says Royal Caribbean, "doesn't sacrifice a quality experience for affordability: Royal Caribbean's fares cover lodging, dining and onboard activities ranging from youth-focused exploits like swimming and ice skating to enrichment programs like language classes and cooking demonstrations."

Royal Caribbean did well in other categories as well.  Royal Caribbean came in second place for "Best Cruise Lines in the Caribbean" as well as "Best Cruise Lines for Families".

In terms of ships, U.S. News and World Reports ranked Royal Caribbean's ships in this order

1. Oasis of the Seas
2. Liberty of the Seas
3. Allure of the Seas
4. Freedom of the Seas
5. Mariner of the Seas

Royal Caribbean is considering sending a cruise ship back to Dubai in 2015.  Royal Caribbean had ships in the area for a number of years before deciding to remove ships from the Gulf this year.

Gulf News reports Royal Caribbean regional director for Europe, Middle East & Africa, Helen Beck, says there is potential for a return.

“We’re evaluating it right now … [we’re] right in the middle of discussing opportunity for the potential for the 2015/2016 season,” she said.

Beck said she was pleased with the “positive progress” across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries towards supporting cruise tourism and investments in infrastructure.

Adding to the push to bring cruise ships back to the Middle East is the double digit passenger growth in the Middle East, according to Lakshmi Durai, Executive Director – Middle East at Royal Caribbean.

Beck admits that the UAE and Middle East region is still an emerging cruise market. She said passengers from the United States, China, and other markets still dominated bookings.

Any return to the Arabian Gulf is likely to see similar operations as before with Royal Caribbean likely to dock in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Muscat.

Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas arrives at Port of New Orleans’ Julia Street Cruise Terminal today to begin weekly cruises through April.

Serenade of the Seas replaces Navigator of the Seas and is fresh off a recent refurbishment last December.

Serenade of the Seas will sail offer her first cruise today, December 12, with a nine-night Caribbean adventure cruise to Key West, Fla.; Labadee, Haiti; Falmouth, Jamaica; and George Town, Grand Cayman. The ship’s regular itineraries will feature seven-night Bahamas cruises to Key West, Fla.; Nassau, Bahamas; and CocoCay, Bahamas. As well as seven-night western Caribbean cruises to Falmouth, Jamaica; George Town, Grand Cayman; and Cozumel, Mexico. 

Royal Caribbean senior Vice President Vicki Freed is excited about Serenade's arrival, "We are excited to be back in New Orleans with a newly revitalized Serenade of the Seas.  Guests sailing from New Orleans will enjoy a Caribbean vacation like no other aboard one of our unrivaled and most innovative ships."

New Orleans Port President and CEO Gary LaGrange commented on Serenade's arrival, "We are happy to have Royal Caribbean return this year and bring this magnificent ship to New Orleans.  Royal Caribbean is a perfect fit for the New Orleans tourism demographic and offers a wide variety of itineraries throughout the Bahamas and the Caribbean."

Royal Caribbean Quantum Experience Advisor Dhani Jones has released a second episode all about how he is working with Royal Caribbean to develop new and innovative fitness activities for Quantum of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean signed an agreement today with Florida International University to build a new rehearsal facility for shipboard performers.  Once complete, it will offer FIU students unprecedented access to training, internships and exclusive research opportunities in hospitality and the cruise industry.

Royal Caribbean will break ground this week on the 130,000-square-foot, $20 million facility on the FIU Biscayne Bay Campus and is expected to open its doors in January 2015. The facility will be outfitted with full automation capability, where performers can train in either of two leading rigging systems.

Royal Caribbean Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Richard D. Fain said his team is pleased to have been able to find the ideal conditions right in South Florida to build a new state-of-the-art facility that will make it possible to produce the increasingly sophisticated shows Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises passengers have come to expect. The partnership provides Royal Caribbean with the opportunity to help train FIU students in other areas of the business through internships in operations and management.

“We are excited to partner with FIU on our new entertainment facility, not only because it will enable Royal Caribbean to continue to produce world-class entertainment for our ships, but because it will provide an opportunity for FIU students to receive a unique and hands-on education in the hospitality industry,” said Fain. ”Royal Caribbean considers South Florida home, and what better way to give back to the community than to be able to enrich the education of FIU students.”

The new training facility will feature a number of capabilities that will make it unique in the cruise industry:

• The building will contain two three-story high studios outfitted with state-of-the-art rigging systems. One will feature aChicago Flyhouse system, while the other will have a Flying by Foy system.
• 10 other rehearsal studios
• A 300-seat black box theater
• 20,000 square feet dedicated to costume creation and storage

The partnership will open extraordinary opportunities for students and faculty in the College of Architecture and the Artsand the Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management:

• 20 internships (corporate and shipboard)
• Access to the unique training facility
• Access to data and other proprietary information to be used for research purposes
• Royal Caribbean performers will live in existing student housing, making it possible for FIU to build new housing for students. New student housing will also open in 2015.

It's cold outside so stay indoors and enjoy this week's brand new episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast!

Episode 19 is now available for downloading where we look at what what dress codes Royal Caribbean has for venues aboard its cruise ships.

In this episode, Matt explores what guidelines Royal Caribbean has in terms of what to wear during different times of the day.  We will look at dress codes during the day and evening, as well as what each dress code means and what to do if you don't want to dress up at all (which is okay too).

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 19. 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!