For many years, Royal Caribbean has been absent from offering cruises on the west coast of the United States and that has many fans wondering when that would change.

Royal Caribbean senior vice president, sales, trade support and service, Vicki Freed, spoke with Travel Agent Central about the possibility of Royal Caribbean returning to the west coast.

Freed pointed at the fiscal situation of offering cruises on the west coast, "We always look at the West Coast. But we continue to look at the rates that the other cruise lines are getting, and we offer an experience that we can't afford to be selling at those low rates."

"If when we see the rates start to bounce back, and we feel we can get paid for what we offer for our product, then we’ll be back there. But right now, unfortunately, it's a bath out there. They're selling four-day cruises at $199 per person and we’re not just talking Carnival."

"We spend more on food, more on entertainment and more on our overall onboard experience [than other lines] and so we cannot be the low-price leader out in any market."

Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas left Los Angeles back in 2011 due to violence in Mexico as well as to find bigger profits.

Royal Caribbean is planning a live video broadcast from Anthem of the Seas on November 13, 2015 via the new social media app, Periscope.

Royal Caribbean promised live broadcasts on Periscope when it announced its new "Come Seek" marketing campaign last month.

7 days. 5 islands. 1 epic adventure. Follow us on Periscope starting 11/13. #CruiseChat #ComeSeekLive https://t.co/fcPhfnQz9Y

— Royal Caribbean (@RoyalCaribbean) November 3, 2015

The live broadcasts will be available to watch from any smart phone or tablet that has Periscope installed on it.  Royal Caribbean will also simulcast the Periscope sessions at 230 geo-targeted units across New York City in high traffic commuter areas, such as John F. Kennedy International Airport terminal, newsstands and subways.

FOLLOW US ON PERISCOPE AT @THERCLBLOG

Using the Voom high speed internet, these live tune-ins from the ships to show off the experience as it's happening in real time.

Royal Caribbean previously indicated that these broadcasts will be shown around "peak commuting times".

These live look-ins via Periscope will occur throughout the month of November following the November 13th premiere.

Will you be watching Royal Caribbean's live Periscope broadcasts? Tell us in the comments!

Hi everyone, I'm really excited to announce our next live-blog experience as we get ready for a cruise aboard Anthem of the Seas for a 2-night preview cruise.

Photo by Steven van Belleghem

It is my hope to provide to you a daily look at what this cruise is like and share my experiences with each of 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 I have posted recently 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, it's a 2-night preview of Anthem of the Seas.  Royal Caribbean has invited me to sample what this new ship has to offer right before she embarks on her inaugural voyages.  It's an exciting opportunity to see this new ship in action as well as get access to a number of people in Royal Caribbean who are responsible for making Anthem of the Seas a reality.

This cruise will depart from Cape Liberty in Bayonne, New Jersey on Friday, November 8th.  Living in Connecticut, I will be driving to the port bright and early that morning.  I'm sure my excitement will not permit me much sleep the night before but I'll need to get every minute of sleep I can that night because the following 48 hours will be a whirlwind.

I have certainly been tracking the progress of Anthem of the Seas since the day she was first announced, so this will be an exiting opportunity to see her up-close and personal. Going on this cruise will be great for the blog because it will provide ample subject matter to provide reviews on later.  Restaurants, onboard activities and shows are just the beginning of what Anthem of the Seas offers.

Photo by Royal Caribbean

The cruise has no stops, so it will be a 2-night cruise to no where, but there will be so much going on onboard the ship that I'm not sure I will even notice.  I've been quietly jotting down ideas for all the aspects of this brand new ship I want to explore and experience myself.  Deep down I know I cannot come close to experiencing it all in 2 nights but that doesn't mean I wont be trying!

There is a lot going on, and already I know of a few events I will be taking part in, including a bridge tour, galley tour, Puzzle Break session and even a cocktail making session.  

Of course, I will spend plenty of time sampling the food onboard.  We are booked in Dynamic Dining Classic, with dinners at Chic and American Icon Grill. I fully intend to hit up a few other restaurants, where possible.

For this cruise, we are leaving the kids with my folks, so my wife/production assistant and I will be enjoying the cruise together.  Because of the busy nature of this kind of a cruise, leaving the kids at home is for the best.

Photo by Royal Caribbean

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've already used the online check-in and reserved a time at 12:30pm - 1:00pm to arrive.  I'm still planning on arriving closer to 10am because I'm quite excited but it will be fun to see how this all works out.

NEW for this cruise

In addition to the daily live blogs, I will also be trying out a brand new truly live blog that allows instant updates to the web site, at http://www.anthemoftheseas.live.

There, you can leave the page up and it will automatically update with new updates and photos that I post, so you can see exactly what I am up to all the time.

I hope it proves to be another fun way to (virtually) join me for a cruise.

My itinerary

Next update should be when I arrive in Bayonne on Friday, November 6 in the morning.

Stay tuned for all of the live blog updates right here and on Periscope by following @therclblog and on Twitter by following @theRCLblog.

Live Blog Index

• Live blog introduction
• Day 1 - Embarkation Day
• Day 2 - Sea Day

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

Royal Caribbean announced today it has ordered a fifth Quantum-class cruise ship that will be ready for delivery in the fall of 2020.

We love the Quantum-class so much, we're ordering another one (that's 5 for those keeping count)! pic.twitter.com/FSNwAtyXN3

— Royal Caribbean PR (@RoyalCaribPR) November 3, 2015

The new ship will be built at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Germany.

"It is such a pleasure to announce the order of another Quantum-class ship as we are welcoming Anthem of the Seas to North America," said Richard D. Fain, Chairman and CEO, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. "These ships have been received with excitement, and performed exceptionally well, across the globe. We fully expect that momentum to continue as we add to this innovative class of ships."

"At Royal Caribbean we are focused on continuously improving efficiency and sustainability, and the fifth Quantum class vessel will be clear evidence of this," said Michael Bayley, President and CEO, Royal Caribbean International. "Of equal importance is our ability to consistently surpass guest expectations, and we are harnessing the power of the latest technology to do so on this ship."

Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas arrived in Singapore today, marking her first visit ever to the famous Asian port.

Over 3,200 guests arrived in Singapore, with another 3,200 who boarded the next sailing, which is a 10-night Asia repositioning cruise from Singapore to Perth, Australia.

Traditional plaque exchanges were conducted onboard between Captain Kjetil Gjerstad and Michelle Chan, Assistant Director, Cruise Industry Development of Singapore Tourism Board, as well as Bob Chi, Chief Executive Officer of SATS-Creuers Cruise Services.

Photos by Royal Caribbean International

Explorer of the Seas is the sixth Royal Caribbean ship visiting Singapore this year, making it the most number of ships from this brand ever in Singapore in a year.

She will embark on her inaugural Australian season homeporting in Sydney thereafter, featuring South Pacific cruises till March 2016.

Royal Caribbean has added three new sailings to Majesty of the Seas immediately after she emerges from an extensive dry dock overhaul.

There are three new sailings now available for booking out of Port Canaveral, Florida

• 4 night Bahamas cruise: May 16, 2016
• 3 night Bahamas cruise: May 20, 2016
• 4 night Bahamas cruise: May 23, 2016

At the time of this post, prices for the 3 night cruise begin at $259 per person and the 4-night cruises start from $231 per person.

All three of these cruises are being offered ahead of the previously announced first Majesty of the Seas sailing post-dry dock of May 27, 2016.

Royal Caribbean announced in November 2014 that it would transfer Majesty of the Seas to sibling company Pullmantur Cruises, but then in July 2015 announced Majesty of the Seas would remain in Royal Caribbean International's fleet.

Majesty of the Seas will receive a number of upgrades as part of her refurbishment, including

• New waterslides
• Three new specialty restaurants
• ​Family-friendly Jacuzzis
• Poolside movie screen
• Dreamworks Experience
• Enhanced casino

Majesty of the Seas will sail 3- and 4-night cruises to the Bahamas with visits to the cruise line’s private island destination, CocoCay.

Just how impressive is Royal Caribbean's latest Quantum class cruise ship, Anthem of the Seas?  

There's a new visual means of understanding how big she is with this new infographic!

In anticipation of Anthem of the Seas' arrival in the New York City area this week, Royal Caribbean compared Anthem of the Seas to some pretty large things, such as the Statue of Liberty, a blue whale and Boeing 747 jetliners.

For a few weeks now, Royal Caribbean Vice President of Entertainment, Nick Weir, has been teasing Royal Caribbean fans with hints at which Broadway show is coming to Harmony of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean has not announced which Broadway show will be featured on its newest Oasis class vessel, but Weir has used Twitter as way to drum up excitement for the new ship and keep fans guessing.

Whatever the show ends up being, it definitely sounds like guests can expect Royal Caribbean to offer a Broadway show onboard, which follows in the tradition of offering Tony-award winning Broadway shows on its newest ships.

Royal Caribbean offers four other Broadway shows on its ships, including MAMMA MIA!, CATS, We Will Rock You and Saturday Night Fever.

November is here and so is this week's Royal Caribbean news round-up, where we share all the big Royal Caribbean news from this week with you.

The big news this week was the keel was layed for Royal Caribbean's fourth Oasis class cruise ship.

This ship is still unnamed, but formal construction begin with a special ceremony, where a 1,000 ton block was lifted by crane into the building dock.

The significance of this ceremony is that construction officially begins on the ship, and we move one step closer to her becoming a reality.

The fourth Oasis class ship is scheduled for delivery in spring 2018.

We have a lot more to share, so let's jump right in...

Royal Caribbean News

• Royal Caribbean will have a float in the 2015 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
• The digital wayfinders on Anthem of the Seas feature some new functionality.
• Harmony of the Seas will feature a new play area just for kids.
• Speaking of Harmony of the Seas, Royal Caribbean posted a new construction video update and she is now 80% complete.
• Here are six ways to beat the crowds on Anthem of the Seas.
• Explorer of the Seas made her first stop ever in India.
• Our list of the top ways to splurge, while on a Royal Caribbean cruise.

How you can support Royal Caribbean Blog

So many of our readers have reached out to us to ask how they can help the blog and we are introducing the Royal Caribbean Blog Insiders for just that reason.

The Insiders group is a way readers can contribute to Royal Caribbean Blog and help fuel some of the really amazing ideas, projects and new content that we have lined up.

As a way of saying thank you for your contribution, there are some fun rewards for being a member of the Royal Caribbean Blog Insiders.

Becoming a member of the Royal Caribbean Blog Insiders is completely up to you and you can cancel at any time. No questions asked! 

As always, thank you for visiting Royal Caribbean Blog and being a part of our community!

Royal Caribbean Blog Reader Finds

If you are on a Royal Caribbean cruise and spot something cool, new or just fun, share a photo with us on Facebook or Twitter so we can add it to our Royal Caribbean Blog Reader Finds each Sunday!

Nick Vitani sent us this photo of Halloween decorations on Enchantment of the Seas.

Rich Freudenberg shared this photo he got with Royal Caribbean Cruise Director Ken Rush while on Anthem of the Seas.  Loving the beard, Ken!

Royal Caribbean International CEO Michael Bayley posted this photo of Royal Caribbean Ltd Chairman Richard Fain dressed up for Halloween!

Scott Sanders sent us this photo of two Royal Caribbean ships docked in Nassau earlier this week.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 117th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available and this week, and we are comparing Royal Caribbean to Carnival Cruise Line.

In this episode, Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast listener Anna discuss the differences and similarities between the two cruise lines to give listeners an idea of how the experiences compare.

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

The Jones Family posted a video blog, detailing their cruise on Oasis of the Seas.

Frommers named the 5 best cruise lines for kids (hint: Royal Caribbean made the list).

Condé Nast Traveler shares their experience on Anthem of the Seas.

Cruise Critic has a list of 10 free activities on Anthem of the Seas.

Cruise Dudes have a new podcast out this week, with a review of cruising the southern Caribbean.

Travel Weekly reports Disney Cruise Line is capping commissions for travel agents but Royal Caribbean is increasing them.

Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas has a lot to offer, including a number of staterooms.  Today, we will look at the Royal Family Suite stateroom and take you through the cabin to give you an idea of what to expect if you book this type of stateroom.

On Anthem  of the Seas, Dale Hicks shared photos of stateroom 10634, which is located on Deck 10. Entry to the room is by RFID scanner, which is above the door handle.

After immeditately walking in, there is a full sized closet.

Opposite the closet is one of the bathrooms.  This bathroom is a lot like the bathroom you would find in many staterooms on Anthem of the Seas.

The first bedroom is a room with two double beds.  The bathroom shown in earlier photos is likely to be used most by these rooms.

Here is a good look at the living room area of the suite.  The Royal Family Suite offers 543 square feet of living space.

Let's head into the master bedroom.

The master bedroom includes a king size bed and television.  Next up is the master bathroom.

The master bathroom features a full size tub and more space than the other bathroom.

Of course, the Royal Family Suite features a balcony, and this one is rather large. The balcony size for this stateroom ranges between 166 to 263 sq. ft.