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Royal Caribbean cancels two cruise ship stops in St. Thomas due to expected storm

In:
22 Aug 2016

Royal Caribbean has canceled to scheduled stops in St. Thomas due to an approaching tropical storm.

Concerns over a tropical disturbance in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, Invest 99-L, which may develop into a tropical depression or storm in the days ahead, forced Royal Caribbean to make the change, according to Virgin Islands Port Authority Executive Director Carlton Dowe.

St. Thomas Source is reporting Oasis of the Seas was scheduled to visit Crown Bay on August 23 and the Freedom of the Seas was scheduled for August 24.

According to guests onboard, Oasis of the Seas will skip both St. Thomas and St. Kitts, and instead visit San Juan on August 23 from 1:30pm to 11:30pm, then have a sea day, and then visit Labadee from 8am to 4:30pm.

Freedom of the Seas will skip both St. Thomas and St. Martin and instead be at sea on August 23, then stop at Costa Maya, Mexico on August 24, Cozumel, Mexico on August 25, and then spend the remaining days at sea before returning back to Port Canaveral on August 28.

Royal Caribbean art: Fighter jets on Freedom of the Seas

In:
09 Aug 2016

Located in the Forward Centrum deck 10 of Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas, is a mixed media art display that features fighter jets that you might notice when taking a ride in one of the elevators.

This is not just a display of F-18 and F-16 planes, but actually the work of Italian artist Antonio Riello, entitled "Komba Tiepolo 30, 31 and 32".

If you look closely, you can see that Riello has taken fighter planes and decorated them with mythological fragments from Giambattista Tiepolo frescoes found in Italian churches and palaces.  The artist likes to explore the common territory and the curiosities of our collective imagination.  By turning what we desire or fear into a mix of the banal and the sublime, he creates the unexpected and the unpredictable.

Riello gathers his inspirations from the great amount of historical and artistic heritage found all over Italy - Roman ruins, medieval walls, Baroque churches and more.  He likes to mix these elements of the past with contemporary Italian life.

In this piece, Riello uses the Tiepolo frescoes to mask war instruments, which turns them into delightful and irresistibly bizarre paintings.

“Komba Tiepolo 30” The paintings are inspired by G.B. Tiepolo’s frescos in Wurzburg Residence. The aircraft is a copy of an F18 (Hornet).

“Kompa Tiepolo 31” Paintings are inspired by G.B. Tiepolo’s in Wurzburg Residence and Venice’s Ca Rezzonico. The aircraft is a copy of an F16.

“Kompa Tiepolo 32” Paintings are inspired by G.B. Tiepolo’s frescos in villas of the countryside in Venice. The aircraft is a copy of an F16.

The pieces are made of fiberglass, resin, metal wood and acrylic. 

Photo tour of Royal Caribbean Larger Panoramic Ocean View stateroom on Freedom of the Seas

In:
30 Jan 2016

Royal Caribbean's Panoramic Ocean View Staterooms are relatively new to the fleet, but already many guests are reporting back just how impressive a space they are.

Royal Caribbean Blog reader Hunt Lewis shared with us his photos from his Category P1 stateroom on Freedom of the Seas.

Large Panoramic Oceanview staterooms feature floor-to-ceiling wrap-around windows and these category P1 rooms feature even more space than usual.

This photo tour was of stateroom 1864 on deck 12 of Freedom of the Seas.

The larger panoramic ocean view staterooms feature 283 square feet of space and can accomodate up to 3 guests.

They have two twin beds that convert to a Royal King-sized bed.

Each stateroom also has its own flat-screen television, thermostat controlled air-conditioning, internet access, direct-dial telephone, radio, mini bar, individual safe, and 24 hour room service.

Secret Royal Caribbean staterooms: Freedom of the Seas stateroom 6305

In:
28 Jan 2016

Across Royal Caribbean's fleet of cruise ships, there are some interesting and unique staterooms that are slightly different than the rest of the staterooms in the same category.

Today, we are looking at a very different Promenade stateroom on Freedom of the Seas that has a very unique look to it, the Ben & Jerry "Sweet".

Stateroom 6305 on Freedom of the Seas (and also sister ships Liberty of the Seas and Independence of the Seas) is  the only inside stateroom on a Royal Caribbean ship to be considered a suite.

It is listed on deck plans as a normal cabin and not specifically mentioned in the catalog this "Ben & Jerry's" cabin is but one of the most unusual cruise ship cabins of all.

The stateroom sits directly above the Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop on the Royal Promenade and so, the room has a view of the two cows that are prominently displayed by the shop.  Thus, the view out the window is blocked.

Royal Caribbean decided to embrace the Ben & Jerry's motif by transforming this room into  the "Ben & Jerry Sweet". 

Throughout the entire room, there are cow sheets, pillows, pictures and other cow-related decorations.

The best part about this room are the perks you get for reserving it, which include

  • Daily complimentary Ben & Jerry's ice cream for each guest
  • Access to the Concierge Lounge
  • Reservations for the ice show

By far the free ice cream and concierge lounge access are the best part about this stateroom.  Concierge access is usually limited to guests staying in a suite.

Concierge access allows guests to enjoy

  • Use of the Concierge Club on deck 10
  • Continental breakfast served in the lounge from 8am to 10am
  • Hors d'oeuvres, petit fours and complimentary bar setup served in the lounge every evening before and after dinner from 4:30pm to 8:00pm
  • Daily menus displayed and pre-ordering for your dinner wine.
  • Reservations for any specialty restaurant, sports activities, shore excursions, salon and spa appointments.
  • Personalized port and shopping advice
  • Business services such as scan, copies, etc
  • Reservations for shows onboard

Would you want to book this stateroom? Tell us in the comments!

Construction walls pop up on Royal Promenade of Freedom of the Seas

In:
02 Dec 2015

We have gotten reports of construction taking place on the Royal Promenade of Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas this week.

Royal Caribbean Blog reader James Carruthers sent us these photos of the construction walls that are up near Cafe Promenade.

No word yet on what the construction is there for, but it will be interesting to see what is there once those construction walls come down.

Spotted: Giant cupcake for sale on Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas

In:
15 Nov 2015

It is probably safe to assume most people really enjoy a good cupcake, but how about a giant cupcake?

On Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas, Royal Caribbean Blog reader Rich Freudenberg spotted this giant cupcake for those that enjoy cupcakes but wish they could be a meal.

If you are wondering just how giant this cupcake is, here is a normal sized cupcake compared to the giant variety.

That is a big cupcake!

Guests can purchase this giant cupcake in the Cupcake Cupboard on Freedom of the Seas and comes in your choice of colors, and even has a cherry on top.

You can have these giant cupcakes for a variety of occasions. 

At $25, this cupcake costs as much as a meal, but it might make sense as a cake replacement idea (and certainly more interesting).

What do you think of the giant cupcake?  Please let us know with a comment!

Royal Caribbean adding Voom high speed internet to Freedom of the Seas and Enchantment of the Seas

In:
12 Nov 2015

Royal Caribbean kicked off its newest sales promotion this week with the BOGO GETTER deal, and in the fine print, it alludes to which other Royal Caribbean ships will be getting high speed internet.

The deal offers free Voom internet package for one device for Anthem, Harmony, Allure, Oasis, Freedom, and Enchantment of the Seas on select cruises in 2016.

Royal Caribbean had promised Voom will be available on all Caribbean based ships by mid-2016, but it has been unclear which ships would receive the upgrade.

Given the deal for free Voom internet is only good for cruises that depart between May 1 - Sep 30, 2016, it is possible that Voom internet may not be available onboard either Freedom of the Seas or Enchantment of the Seas until those dates.

Voom internet is currently available on Oasis of the Seas, Allure of the Seas, Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas.  Majesty of the Seas will be offering guests free Voom internet, following a scheduled 2016 refurbishment.

Voom internet is Royal Caribbean's exclusive high speed internet that allows guests to stream music and movies, upload pictures, video chat with family and friends using FaceTime or Skype, check their email, lookup their stock prices, surf the web and stay connected with work via VPN.

Royal Caribbean cruise ship rescues Cubans on raft at sea

In:
18 Oct 2015

Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas rescued seven Cubans from a small raft at sea on Saturday.

Royal Caribbean Blog reader Keith Hect was on Freedom of the Seas and reported that the ship picked up the Cubans during their cruise.

Photo by Ron Lodowski

Local10 also confirmed the report and shared video of the rescue.

Videos by Desiree Stovall

Another guest onboard Freedom of the Seas reported that the group of Cubans had been out to sea for 10 days with nothing but "small amounts of water and crackers."

The United States Coast Goard coordinated the rescue with the Royal Caribbean ship.

Photo tour of Grand Suite on Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas

In:
17 Oct 2015

Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas has a lot of different staterooms to choose from and today, we will look at the Grand Suite with Balcony (GS) stateroom to give you an idea of what to expect if you book this category.

This photo tour comes to us from Royal Caribbean Blog reader Ron Lodowski, who recently sailed on Freedom of the Seas.

Ron took photos of his Grand Suite, which was in stateroom 1598 on Oasis of the Seas during an October 2015 sailing.

The Grand Suite measures 401 square feet and has a balcony that is 107 square feet.

Grand Suite staterooms on Freedom of the Seas include two twin beds that convert to a Royal King, measuring 72.5 inches wide by 82 inches long, private balcony, sitting area (some with sofa bed) and private bathroom. 

Also includes minibar, TV, stereo, DVD player, larger private bathroom with bathtub and double sink, vanity area, hair-dryer, phone, vanity table with an extendable working surface for laptop computers and 110/220 electrical outlets. Sleeps up to four people and can accommodate a rollaway bed and/or Play Yard.

 

All photos by Ron Lodowski

Reality star kicked off Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas after allegedly getting in a fight

In:
19 Sep 2015

It is being reported that reality television star Judith Jackson was kicked off Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas after "getting into an altercation" with her travel companion.

Judi Jai was on Season 7 of the "Bad Girls Club" and its spinoffs.

The Chicago Tribune reports "Judi Jai" met with Royal Caribbean cruise officials, where the company, "explained that her behavior was in violation of our guest conduct policy, which states 'inappropriate or abusive behavior, including violence, is strictly prohibited.'"

Judi Jai was asked to leave the ship at the ship's next port of call, which was Falmouth, Jamaica.

Tip of the hat to Travel Pulse for finding this story.

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