Hurricane Irma caused some damage to the cabanas at Barefoot Beach, and we have a look at the exact nature of what has changed.

Luckily the noticable damage from the hurricane was mostly relegated to some cabanas on Barefoot Beach, which is the Suites only area.

Royal Caribbean Blog reader twangster took photos of the damage on an October 2017 cruise, which we can compare to photos of Barefoot Beach from last year.

Here is a photo taken from Oasis of the Seas in October 2016. The impacted Cabanas are highlighted.

A similar photo from Harmony of the Seas taken October 2017.

Here are some close ups of the those Cabanas from October 2016. Note the concrete stairs between the over water Cabanas for water access, that will be shown later in another photo.

In this photo, you can see the railings of the stairs used for direct access to the water.

Here is what is left of the same area, October 2017.

Anchored in the bay of Labadee off Columbus Cove there was a work barge full of sand that is being used to replenish the beaches.

Royal Caribbean launched a new original video series that seeks to celebrate the peoples of the world in The Local.

The idea behind The Local is to showcase people from around the world, their unique passions and their culture.

The first season focuses on three locals from Alaska.  In episode one, Master carver and artist Wayne Price creates fine art in the traditional style of the Tlingit people. Wayne’s artistic creations cover a broad range of design and artifacts, including totem poles, dugout canoes, masks, paddles, clan hats and jewelry. Wayne works with local youth to pass on the craft and culture of the Tlingit people.  

Royal Caribbean has released three episodes to begin with, and all three episodes are available to watch on YouTube.

Episode 1: The Master Carver

Epsidoe 2: The Culinary Connector

Episode 3: The Explorer

Happy Sunday! It has been a busy week of Royal Caribbean news, and we have it all summarized for you in this round up.

A lot of Royal Caribbean fans had an opinion on the change this week to the rules for purchasing an unlimited alcohol package on future Royal Caribbean cruises.

Royal Caribbean now requires if one adult purchases an unlimited alcohol package, for all adults in the same stateroom to purchase an unlimited alcohol package too.

This policy change matches what other cruise lines have required for years. The change appears to apply to many sailings beginning in late 2017.

There are, however, a number of exemptions to this rule, which simply requires a phone call to get the restriction removed.

Royal Caribbean News

• We posted a new Symphony of the Seas construction photo update.
• Royal Caribbean kicked off its 10th season in Australia.
• Royal Caribbean issued an update on which ports in the Caribbean are still closed, due to hurricane damage.
• A new Cruise Planner sale runs through this weekend.
• We shared a photo tour of a Crown Loft Suite on Harmony of the Seas.
• Michael is live blogging from Empress of the Seas this weekend.
• Here are 7 things you might not know about Oasis of the Seas.
• We shared 10 things to know about Sky Class suites on Royal Caribbean.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 218th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, where we talked about some "new to me" experiences on Royal Caribbean.

In this episode, Justin and Wendy talked about some things they tried for the first time on a recent Oasis of the Seas cruise.

Please feel free to subscribe via iTunes or RSS, and head over to rate and review the podcast on iTunes if you can! We’d appreciate it.

Royal Caribbean Around the Internet

Curb free with Cory Lee interviewed Royal Caribbean's Director of Disability Inclusion.

Cruise & Ferry talked to Richard Fain about why Royal Caribbean is such a true pioneer.

Cruise Habit wrote about Celebrity Cruises' $400 million fleet revitalization.

Suites on Royal Caribbean cruise ships are a wonderful way to indulge with extra space and level of service. The Crown Loft Suite stateroom category on Harmony of the Seas blends luxurious split-level accommodations with Sky Class level benefits of the Royal Suite Class.

Photos of this room come to us from stateroom 1728.

Main level - entrance and living room

The sofa can convert to a double bed.

Main level bathroom

A second bath with shower is located on the main level.

Second level

The master bedroom is on the second level and has a Royal King size bed and private bath.

Balcony

The Crown Loft Suite has a private balcony that measures 114 square feet.

Every Friday we share Royal Caribbean cruise photos that our readers sent in, as a means of showcasing great photography and giving all of us a "virtual break" to enjoy the view of being on a cruise.  If you want to send in your photo, use this form and we could feature it in an upcoming post.

Our first photo is from the North Star on Anthem of the Seas, taken by Maryjane Tupper.

Craig Martin took this photo on Explorer of the Seas of the t-shirt sale madness on the Royal Promenade.  People really love their $10 shirts!

Here is a shot of Liberty of the Seas docked in Roatan, taken by Katie Shade.  

Mistie Knight and her husband are illusionists that perform on Royal Caribbean regularly.  Here is a photo they took while performing on Serenade of the Seas while the ship was in Geiranger. They found a secret spot near the Flydalsjuvet view point, and took this amazing photo!

Unfortunately, every day on a cruise cannot be warm and sunny.  Jonathan Quealy took this photo on a rainy day aboard Anthem of the Seas.

Here is a photo of Navigator of the Seas, as seen from the top of the Dragon's Breath zip line in Labadee.  Photo was taken by Gina Carlson.

We will wrap up this week's edition of Friday Photos with Stewart's photo of Harmony of the Seas docked in St. Maarten.

Thank you to everyone that shared their photos with us this week! If you want to share with us your photos, use this form to send them in!

Royal Caribbean is offering up to 30% off select Cruise Planner purchases during its Set Sail & Save sale.

Guest that log into the Cruise Planner will find certain items discounted.  The exact discount available will vary from sailing to sailing, but we spotted the Royal Refreshment package discounted 30% off, along with similar discounts for many spa treatments and some shore excursions.

Based on the countdown timer, the sale expires at midnight on Monday, October 9, 2017.

Royal Caribbean's 10th season in Australia begins this weekend, as the first of the cruise ships arrive down under.

Radiance of the Seas will arrive in Sydney on Sunday, which marks the start of the cruising season for Royal Caribbean in the region.

Joining Radiance of the Seas is Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas, returning for her second and longest season yet, as well as family-favourites Voyager of the Seas and Explorer of the Seas.

"We’re back – Australia’s beloved Radiance of the Seas pulls into port this weekend, marking the start of an epic 10th birthday season ahead for Royal Caribbean," said Adam Armstrong, managing director for RCL Cruises in Australia and New Zealand.

UPDATE: The app has been updated again and Oasis of the Seas references have been removed. Support for Oasis of the Seas will come in "a few weeks".

The latest version of Royal Caribbean's new smartphone app that is under development has been expanded to work on Oasis of the Seas.

Version 1.1.0 of the Royal Caribbean App was released, which expands functionality and makes it work on Oasis of the Seas, in addition to Allure of the Seas.

The new app version includes a few new features:

• Learn about the hundreds of activities, movies, and shows available onboard
• Explore off-ship adventures in places like the Bahamas, St. Thomas, Cozumel, and more
• Peruse complete restaurant, bar, and lounge options
• Plan a day of indulgence with our array of Vitality at Sea Spa offerings
• Use deck plan illustrations to navigate the ship

Additionally, the daily planner is easier to navigate, and added a daily ticker with port, weather, and sunrise/ sunset information.

The app is available on the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store.

It appears guests who look to purchase an unlimited alcohol package for a 2018 or beyond sailing will be required to purchase an unlimited alcohol package for all adults in the same stateroom.

Guests who use Royal Caribbean's Cruise Planner site will see a new notation in the Deluxe Beverage Package description, that stipulates "each adult of legal drinking age assigned to the same stateroom must purchase this package."

Upon adding the Deluxe Beverage package to the shopping cart, the site requires all adults to purchase the package at that time.

Based on croud sourcing, thus far, the change appears to be for 2018 sailings and some late 2017 sailings.

Based on an email from Royal Caribbean to a concerned guest, there are exclusions to this rule:

• Pregnancy
• Recovering Alcoholic
• Medical Reason
• Religious Reason
• Does Not Consume Alcohol Due to Personal Preference

Royal Caribbean announced earlier this year it was going to test this policy change on Harmony of the Seas.  The policy change would match other major cruise lines that Royal Caribbean competes with that already have a similar rule in place.

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

Episode 218 is available for downloading, where Justin and Wendy share a few experiences that were new to them that they tried recently.

Justin and Wendy talk with Matt about some experiences and activities they tried for the first time on a recent Oasis of the Seas cruise.

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 218. 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!