Hi everyone, I'm really excited to announce our next live-blog experience as we get ready for a cruise aboard Allure of the Seas for an 7-night Caribbean adventure.

It is my hope to provide to our readers a daily look at what this cruise will be like and share our experiences with you.  This means I will try to post photos every day along with a written report of how things are going (internet permitting).

If you're new to our live blogs, check out the live blogs we did for Freedom of the Seas, Quantum of the Seas and  Navigator of the Seas for an idea of what's in store for you. I'm hoping to give our readers a daily look into what we did that day, what was good/not good and what we have planned for the next day.  

For this cruise, I will be driving to Fort Lauderdale to start our adventure.  Coming from the Southeast United States, this will be an easy drive to the port with the family and we will arrive the day before our cruise to ensure we have no issues with being present for embarkation day.

As many of you know, this cruise was planned as a group cruise among readers of Royal Caribbean Blog and I cannot wait to meet up with everyone onboard the ship and share in exploring Allure of the Seas together. Ever since I planned the group cruise, I've thought the idea of cruising with other Royal Caribbean fans would be a lot of fun and we had a fabulous time for the first ever Royal Caribbean Blog group cruise on Quantum of the Seas.

We are planning to arrive to the Fort Lauderdale area a little after lunch and check into our hotel, Cambria Hotel and Suites.  We chose this hotel for its location near the port area, as well as offering suite accomodations for our family.

The day before the cruise, we have organzied a meet up at John U. Lloyd Beach State Park on Saturday, February 20th at 3:45pm to watch Oasis of the Seas (and other cruise ships) leave.  If anyone is in the area, please feel free to come on by and join us!

The next day, I will board Allure of the Seas as early as humanly possible and start the real fun on February 21st!

This is my first time on Allure of the Seas, although I had sailed on her sister ship, Oasis of the Seas back in 2010.  Given how long it has been since I have been on an Oasis class ship, it is clear the experience on Allure of the Seas will feel like something brand new.

Allure of the Seas offers so much to see and do onboard, and my family is excited for the opportunity to enjoy so many of the activities we have read and heard about over the years. Of particular interest are the specialty restaurants and many shows onboard.

We booked a number of firsts for us, including the prohibition party and Dinner at 150 Central Park.  We also have reservations for a number of the shows, so there will be plenty of opportunities to do new things.

Of course, our two children will be a focal point of our experiences onboard.  My kids being 5 and 1 years old, we will have a pretty good look at the activities for children onboard and we are all really excited to enjot it all.

In addition to the ship, we will visit three popular Western Caribbean ports of call: Labadee, Falmouth and Cozumel.  We have been to all of them in the past, and planning on mixing in favorite excursions along with some new stuff too.  I will share what we end up doing in each port, as we have purposefully left a bit of ambiguity to our shore excursions to give us more flexibility.

Of course, I hope you will be joining for me on this cruise virtually. If you have any questions for me while I’m onboard, comment in the post below, email or twitter me, and I’ll do my best to answer.   I will also be doing daily broadcasts on Periscope, so be sure to watch there!

Our itinerary

Next update should be on our embarkation day, Sunday, February 21. Stay tuned for all of our live blog updates right here.

Live Blog Index

• Live blog introduction
• Day 1 - Embarkation day
• Day 2 - Sea Day
• Day 3 - Labadee
• Day 4 - Falmouth
• Day 5 - Sea Day
• Day 6 - Cozumel
• Day 7 - Sea Day

Have a question about Allure of the Seas? Want Matt to cover something specifically in the live blog series? Tell us in the comments!

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

Episode 133 is available for downloading which has a review of a listener's experience on Navigator of the Seas last week.

Podcast listener Ethan is back to share his family's experience on Navigator of the Seas.  Ethan talks about the ports he visited, his stateroom and everything he did onboard Navigator of the Seas.

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 133. 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 held a press conference earlier today at STX France shipyard to discuss Harmony of the Seas with members of the European press.

Present at the question and answer session were Royal Caribbean Senior Vice President, Hotel Operations Mark Tamis & STX France Responsable d'affaire, Jean Yves Pean.  

The event was hoted by Royal Caribbean Vice President of Entertainment Nick Weir and also featured a video segment with Royal Caribbean CEO Michael Bayley.

At the event, some tidbits and factoids were shared with those in attendance.

• Harmony of the Seas cost is "somewhere north of a billion dollars"
• Harmony of the Seas will be 20% more efficient than the other two Oasis class ships, thanks to improvements in hydronamic design, a new type of engine and product enhancements
  • Harmony of the Seas will benefit from bubbles to lessen hull friction in the water. Tiny bubbles stick to the bottom of the ship's hull so the ship literally is sailing on a cushion of air.
• Harmony of the Seas will be 33 centimeters longer than Allure of the Seas, making it the largest cruise ship in the world.
• Some of the technology from the Quantum class ships Two70 space will be utilized in Studio B.
• The AquaTheater will feature video projection mapping on the two "tusks".
• There will also be an aerial element in the AquaTheater that involves "3D flying", where acrobats can be flown all around the AquaTheater.
• Bionic Bar will replace Champagne Bar on Harmony of the Seas.
• Jamie's Italian will replace Giovanni's Table on Harmony of the Seas.
• A new menu with new offerings will be in Harmony of the Seas' main dining room.
• Wonderland will feature a bar that has "creative cocktails" for guests even if they are not dining in the restaurant.
• There will be more space available in the staterooms by making them longer, especially from deck 6 and above.
• The Stowaway piano player will be onboard Harmony of the Seas.
• Puzzle Break escape room will be on Harmony of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean is counting down the days until its brand new Harmony of the Seas debuts, so for the next 99 days we will be posting something every day about this amazing new ship.

DreamWorks Experience

Ever since Royal Caribbean partnered with DreamWorks to bring their characters onboard Royal Caribbean's cruise ships, it's been a big hit.  Not surprisingly, the DreamWorks Experience will be coming to Quantum of the Seas too.

DreamWorks Animation characters including Po of Kung Fu Panda; Shrek, Fiona and Puss in Boots of Shrek; and from Madagascar, Alex the Lion, Gloria the Hippo, King Julien and the Penguins will be available for guests to meet during their Harmony of the Sea cruise.

In addition to character meets, guests can enjoy DreamWorks Experience activities including

• A DreamWorks Character breakfast in the main dining room
• 'Meet and greet’ experiences throughout the day
• Photo opportunities with the characters

Kids can also get the chance to play with their favorite DreamWorks Animation characters at Adventure Ocean

• Story time
• Dance parties
• Adventures rooted in the popular character stories

Of course, you will be able to watch DreamWorks films in the ship’s 3D movie theater and on a dedicated DreamWorks TV channel in their stateroom.

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

Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship, Ovation of the Seas, is scheduled to have her float out from Meyer Werft's covered building dock on February 18, 2016.

The 168,666-gt cruise ship is the third Quantum class cruise ship and has taken just 18 months of construction to reach this point.

The float-out of the ship will commence aroind 12:30pm local time.

Following the float-out, more tests will be carried out in the harbor and the ship will be berthed alongside the yard's outfitting pier.

Delays in the float out schedule may occur due to weather conditions.

An overview of Quantum class’ SeaPlex like you’ve never seen. From bumper cars to circus school, SeaPlex, brings out the playful side of guests. Get a unique look at some of the fun activities offered in this one-of-a-kind space onboard Quantum class ships.

Royal Caribbean has added two more of its vessels to its schedule of ships to receive refurbishments in 2016.

Radiance of the Seas and Rhapsody of the Seas are now appearing on the 2016 refurbishment schedule.

There is no word yet on what changes are coming to either ship.  

Royal Caribbean just wrapped up its Liberty of the Seas refurbishment and has a busy year ahead with changes coming to the ships.

To countdown the launch of Royal Caribbean's new cruise ship, Harmony 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.

Royal Caribbean's Oasis class ships have been known for offering guests a lot of dining options and Harmony of the Seas will continue in that tradition by offering a new restaurant to the Oasis class.

Wonderland is an imaginative take on specialty dining, where the experience is just as important as the food offered.

READ YESTERDAY'S POST ABOUT ULTIMATE ABYSS

Since Wonderland debuted on Quantum of the Seas, guests have fallen in love with the creative aspect of this specialty restaurant.

On Harmony of the Seas, guests will find the first two-story Wonderland restaurant, where guests can enjoy totally inventinve and "maddeningly delicious" cuisine.

Based on artist renderings, it also looks like Royal Caribbean will make this new Wonderland even more intriguing to look at, with a great deal of different decor choices.

Once in Wonderland, guests can enjoy six exciting themes from the menu: Sun, Sea, Ice, Earth, Fire and Dreams.

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

The port of Brisbane, Australia has proposed a brand new cruise terminal that is capable of supporting cruise ships 300 meters long with about 6000 passengers on board.

Photo by Port of Brisbane Authority

The $100 million cruise ship terminal concept is proposed by the Port of Brisbane Authority and backed by Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruise Lines.

If approved, it would be built by the private sector without the needing for public funding. 

Brisbane's current cruise terminal can only support ships as large as 270 meters, but cruise ships these days are getting larger and larger.

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

Ultimate Abyss

Guests onboard Harmony of the Seas can look forward to a brand new thrill: a story drop on a brand new slide called, "Ultimate Abyss."

Ultimate Abyss will be the tallest slide at sea and also an epic adventure.

READ YESTERDAY'S POST ALL ABOUT GREASE

The Ultimate Abyss is more than 150 feet above sea level and offers side-by-side slides that send guests down 10 decks at a rate of 9 miles per hour.

Launching onto the ride from a glass platform, guests can take one last look at the Boardwalk 10 decks below before climbing onto a customized mat and taking the plunge into the depths of the daunting slides. Spontaneous audio effects within each tunnel create a multi-sensory thrill for daring guests willing to test their mettle while traversing 216 feet through the one-of-a-kind slide duo. The Ultimate Abyss is made up of two separate cylinders, a reflection of one-another, each with a diameter of approximately 2.6 feet and constructed of stainless steel.