Royal Caribbean's Quantum 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.

On our Quantum of the Seas cruise, we had a chance to see the Grand Suite while on a stateroom tour. Like all staterooms on Quantum of the Seas, entry to the room is by RFID scanner, which is above the door handle.

The Grand Suite is essentially two main rooms, a living room and a bedroom.  The Grand Suite measures 351 square feet in size and can sleep up to four people.

You will walk into the living room area, which has a full sized sofa and some chairs that are position perfectly to watch television. The sofa does open up to a double bed.

There's a small writing desk that features electrical and USB outlets too.

Connecting to the stateroom is the bedroom, with two twin beds that convert to a Royal King, measuring 72.5 inches wide by 82 inches long, and separate dressing area with entrance to bathroom.

Also in the bedroom is a closet.

The bathroom is much larger and fuller than other bathrooms in stateroom categories below the Grand Suite, and offers a tun, two sinks and a second entrance to the living room.

Marble and mosaics are a big decor motif for the bathroom and just like all suites, there's a lot more space to enjoy here.

Of course, no suite is complete without a balcony and the Grand Suite features a 109 square foot balcony with seating and private dining area.

After months in the making, the crew of Quantum of the Seas finally gets to experience the smartship in all her glory. Her first crew shares their initial reactions to the newest and most technologically advanced addition to the Royal Caribbean fleet.

Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas has had a lot of firsts but not to be overlooked is the fact Royal Caribbean's newest ship has also set a benchmark in the broadcasting industry.

Royal Caribbean chose VSM by L-S-B Broadcast Technologies for all of the on-board digital broadcasting requirements of the ship, which is the first to feature 36 on-board IPTV-channels in HD, broadcasting from various locations on board.

Controlling all the broadcasts onboard Quantum of the Seas is the Broadcast Control Center.  This is where the incoming and outgoing signals are controlled, switched and processed. Signals stemming from 20 satellite receivers, from the event locations or self-produced footage are collected. Further control rooms are in use in the various event locations.

Ten to 15 of the IPTV channels will be reserved for self-produced content on-board the vessel and all audio, video and intercom signals are being distributed on the ship via a Riedel MediorNet network with 30 nodes – currently the biggest fixed MediorNet installation worldwide.

Happy new year! Royal Caribbean celebrates the new year on all of its ships but this year was the first time the holiday was celebrated on its newest ship, Quantum of the Seas.

Quantum of the Seas offered free champagne, dance parties and even a live broadcast by CNN to show off what a fun time this ship was.

Friend of the blog Brian Altschul shared these photos from last night's festivities on the ship. Enjoy!

How about a little Royal Caribbean to ring in the New Year? 

Tonight at 9pm ET/8pm CT, Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas will be featured as part of New Year's Eve with Anderson Cooper, Kathy Griffin and Randy Kaye on CNN.

There's no word if Quantum of the Seas will be on exactly at 9pm or later during the coverage.

Enjoy shopping, dining and entertainment?  Then you'll want to check out the Royal Esplanade on Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas.

Centered at the heart of the ship, the Royal Esplanade and The Via include highlights such as Cartier, Kiehl's, BVLGARI and Hublot. 

Quantum of the Seas' naming ceremony  featured godmother Kristin Chenoweth and rth Harp musician, William Close.

Royal Caribbean revealed prices for its new Wi-Fi aboard Quantum of the Seas that promises to deliver the same kind of speed you would find on land.

On a recent 8-night sailing, cruiser Emily Schaffer took notice of the internet packages that were available.

The internet packages are broken down into three tiers for the duration of your cruise:

• Basic cruise plan
  • Useful for checking in for flights, checking email and other scenarios where speed isn't important
• Premium cruise plan
  • Four times the speed of the basic plan and ideal for social media, email, Skype, and more
• Premium Plus cruise plan
  • Fastest speeds that let you do it all - live video calls, stream movies, download large files and more.

Here are the prices for this particular cruise:

• Basic cruise plan
  • Hourly plan (60 minutes used anytime): $20
  • Daily plan (24 hours of continuous access): $65
  • Unlimited for 1 device: $183
  • Unlimited for 2 devices: $229
• Premium cruise plan
  • Hourly plan (60 minutes used anytime): $25
  • Daily plan (24 hours of continuous access): $76
  • Unlimited for 1 device: $224
  • Unlimited for 2 devices: $280
• Premium Plus cruise plan
  • Hourly plan (60 minutes used anytime): $35
  • Daily plan (24 hours of continuous access): $114
  • Unlimited for 1 device: $320
  • Unlimited for 2 devices: $400

Photos by Emily Schaffer

Royal Caribbean does offer discounts to Crown and Anchor Society members that are automatically applied to any package purchased.

The new internet speeds are made possible by a partnership with O3b, which have low-orbitting satellites that provide targeted internet directly at each ship, rathern than blanketing an area with access.

Royal Caribbean's brand new Quantum of the Seas is the home of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's newest restaurant, Jamie's Italian.

From the restaurants signature planks of Italian antipasti to delicate handmade pasta, this new restaurant is a must try for foodies.