Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas is less than two weeks away from her arrival in the New York City area and many  fans are excited to check out what this brand new ship offers.

Royal Caribbean has packed Anthem of the Seas with innovations, activities and technology that all contribute to give guests that "WOW" factor the company is well known for.

There is a lot of exciting options onboard and in anticipation of Anthem of the Seas' arrival, we are counting down the top five coolest features onboard.

5. Virtual Balconies

When Royal Caribbean announced it would transform indoor staterooms with an 80-inch LED television that would provide real-time views, the concept may not have resonated with guests as much until we saw it in action.

Virtual balcony staterooms transform the experience of an indoor stateroom without the balcony stateroom price and the picture quality is amazing.

In addition to the real-time views, the virtual balcony provides audio as well and unlike a real balcony, you can simply press a button on your remote and turn it on or off at your discretion.

4. Voom high speed internet

If you have a need for speed when it comes to surfing the internet, Royal Caribbean's Voom internet is perfect for you.

Imagine being at sea and sharing photos and videos from all the "WOW" moments in this blog post with your friends and family back home.  Or better yet, show them by calling them on Skype or Facetime.  You can do all that and more with Voom.

Anthem of the Seas is one a few Royal Caribbean ships currently offering Voom internet and for just $15 per device, per day, you can stay connected without the sluggish internet speeds traditionally found on a cruise ship.

If you are a gamer, head over to the X-Box pod in the SeaPlex, because Voom is powering the gaming experience there, where guests can engage in Xbox Live.

3.  Two70

Entertainment has always been a staple of Royal Caribbean cruises and Two70 offers some of the most impressive shows we have ever seen.

Two70 is a venue at the aft of the ship that offers a two hundred and seventy degree view of the ocean, and there is much more than just that to see.

During the day, you will find Roboshows shows that feature robotic screens that move and adjust to the show they are displaying.  

Two70 also features Vistarama, which transforms its expansive floor-to-ceiling windows into any scene, real or imagined, by combining 18 projectors to create an ambient surface over 100 feet wide and over 20 feet tall. Across this expanse, impromptu digital shows come to life in stunning 12K resolution.

At night, there is yet another show to enjoy here, with Spectra's Cabaret.  This is an immersive audio and visual experience that is certain to be like nothing you have seen before.

Two70 is a hub of activity for guests onboard Anthem of the Seas and after your cruise is over, it is quite likely many of your cruise photos will have been taken here.

2. Ripcord

Four words: sky diving at sea.

That is all most guests need to hear to understand what Ripcord by iFly is all about.

Guests get the sensation and experience of sky diving without the whole jump out of a perfectly good airplane from an obscene altitude.

It is one of those things that so many guests instantly want to try because not only does it look super cool, it is also super fun!

There is no additional cost to hop in Ripcord, guests simply make a reservation and get suited up and literally jump in.

Be sure to have someone take photos for you, because Ripcord is such an unique experience and something only available on Royal Caribbean.

1. North Star

When we are talking about "WOW" moments, there is nothing that quite compares to the most visible feature on Anthem of the Seas, North Star.

Guests board a jewel-shaped observation capsule and are taken up 300 feet above sea level for views never before seen on a cruise ship.

North Star offers 360 degree views all around Anthem of the Seas and it is something that simply never gets old.  No matter how many times you go up on North Star, it is still a stunning sight to behold and you will need extra memory cards for your camera to be able to handle all the photos and video from here.

If you really want to spice things up, remember the Voom internet from earlier in this post?  How about streaming your experience on Periscope or calling your friends at home on Facetime and showing them where you are? When you are on North Star, you are going to want to do all of it!

There is much more!

We limited ourselves to the top 5 coolest things about Anthem of the Seas for this blog post, but there is so much more that will impress you.

Surf simulators, bumper cars at sea, an amazing adults only pool, incredible restaurants and much more.  We cannot fit it all into one blog post but rest assured that a cruise on Anthem of the Seas is certain to impress.

What aspect of Anthem of the Seas is the coolest, in your opinion? Tell us in the comments below!

Royal Caribbean has raised the price of its Nellie's Beach cabanas as well as the beach beds on its private destination of Labadee.

Prices posted on Cruise Planner show the beach cabanas at Nellie's Beach have gone from $350 to $395.  

There has been no change in the price for the the over the water cabanas at Nellie's Beach, which are still $495.

Royal Caribbean raised the price of these cabanas last month, when the price went from $250 to $350.

In addition, the relatively new Labadee beach beds have also seen a price increase, from $175 to $195.

Tip of the hat to Royal Caribbean Blog reader WAAAYTOOO for alerting us to this news!

Will you book a cabana or beach bed on Labadee? Tell us in the comments!

Royal Caribbean is sticking with its policy of offering no last-minute discounts to protect its price integrity and expanding it to new markets.

During Royal Caribbean's third quarter financial results call with investors, Royal Caribbean Chairman and CEO Richard Fain highlighted the gains made by the company's "Price Integrity Policy", which promise not to drop prices in the days leading up to a ship sailing, even if it means unsold staterooms.

The rationale behind the program is two fold: First, it promotes higher guest satisfaction with the notion they do not have to worry that after they book a cruise, the price will drop and they will end up paying more.  Second, it has lead to higher revenue for Royal Caribbean.

Fain commented the policy gives,"our guests and our travel partners more comfort that when they book a cruise with us, we wont be dropping the price of that same cruise during the last few days before the ship sails."

"Depending on the itinerary, we have internally banned any new discounts in the U.S. and Canada in the last 10, 20, 30 or 40 days before the cruise starts.  The program has been in place for seven months or so and we have not granted a single exception to the policy."

The Price Integrity Policy is still progressing and that has cost Royal Caribbean money in the short term, "I acknowledge that is has cost us a bit, and is costing us a bit this year in revenue. And some cabins have gone empty, which could have been filled with dramatic last minute deals. But we stood firm and we have made zero exceptions."

"We believe our guests and our travel partners are beginning to respond as we had hoped they would and we are sticking with the program."

Fain also mentioned that Royal Caribbean has expanded the Price Integrity Policy to other the cruise markets of the United Kingdom and Ireland.  These policies extend the same policies about no new last minute discounts in Britian and Ireland that we have been applying in the U.S. and Canada.

During its third quarter earnings call with investors, Royal Caribbean confirmed Empress of the Seas will return to its fleet following a restructuring of sister company Pullmantur cruises.

Photo by Chris&Steve

Royal Caribbean Chief Financial Officer Jason Liberty announced that Empress of the Seas will return to Royal Caribbean's fleet following an "extensive refurbishment" in Spring 2016.

Reports emerged yesterday that Empress of the Seas was on her way back.  

Empress of the Seas is simply known as Empress in Pullmantur, but when she returns to Royal Caribbean, she will go back to being called Empress of the Seas.

Empress debuted in 1990 as the Nordic Empress before being renamed in 2004 as Empress of the Seas.  Empress of the Seas' final cruise took place on March 7, 2008 and was subsequently transferred to Pullmantur Cruises and renamed Empress.

Empress can accommodate 2,020 guests and 685 crew members.

Are you excited about Empress of the Seas returning to Royal Caribbean? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Royal Caribbean reported a 5.4 percent rise in quarterly revenue in its third quarter 2015 financial results.

Caribbean and European demand and strong performance in Asia more than off-set further weakness in Latin America.  In addition, Anthem of the Seas joining the fleet, efforts to drive incremental Onboard Revenue, and a continued focus on cost efficiencies also contribute to a stronger end of the year.

Royal Caribbean's total revenue jumped to $2.52 billion from $2.39 billion a year earlier, in the third quarter.

"As we have reiterated throughout the year, we remain ahead on both pricing and volume versus same time last year," said Jason T. Liberty, chief financial officer. "While Latin America is stressing yields in the fourth quarter, strong year-over-year pricing in the Caribbean, and the addition of capacity in China, will solidify this fourth quarter as the best in our company's history."

Royal Caribbean also announced a $500 million share repurchase program, where the company will look to buyback its common stock. The company plans to begin with an accelerated share repurchase transaction of $200 million that should be completed by the end of January 2016. The company expects to complete the program by year-end 2016.

Travel Weekly China and Travel Weekly Asia voted Royal Caribbean the "Best Cruise Line Overall" in the first "Readers Choice Awards."

“It is a significant accomplishment to receive this accolade by our industry partners and peers in China and throughout Asia, extending our winning streak across the world,” said Michael Bayley, president & CEO, Royal Caribbean International.  “I congratulate my colleagues shore-side and across the fleet for this unprecedented recognition, and thank our travel partners for their unwavering support.” 

The Reader’s Choice Awards pay tribute to the best in the industry, recognizing travel companies and individuals for their outstanding achievements.  The winners are determined by travel professionals who are invited to vote for the best company, brand or destination in 31 categories representing the different segments of the travel industry. The segments include: airlines, cruise, resort, hotel, tour operator, destination, travel technology, attractions, airport, and car rental.

UPDATE Oct. 23: Royal Caribbean has confirmed Empress of the Seas is returning to Royal Caribbean's fleet following an extensive refurbishment in Spring 2016.

There are reports that a former Royal Caribbean ship, Empress of the Seas, is returning to Royal Caribbean in February 2016.

Photo by Chris&Steve

CruceroAdicto, a Spanish site, has posted news about the Pullmantur cruise line changing some its plans for 2016 and among the news is the announcement that Empress will be transferred to the Royal Caribbean fleet.

Royal Caribbean has not made any announcements regarding Empress' future.

Pullmantur is a subsidary of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd that is based out of Madrid, Spain.

Empress debuted in 1990 as the Nordic Empress before being renamed in 2004 as Empress of the Seas.  In 2008, she was transferred to Pullmantur Cruises and renamed Empress.

Empress can accomodate 2,020 guests and 685 crew members.

Royal Caribbean's Splendour of the seas experience a fire in one of its engine rooms early this morning, but luckily the incident was contained with minor injuries and no apparent damage to the ship.

Royal Caribbean announced the fire was contained and extinguished, with all systems functioning.

#SplendourOfTheSeas experienced a fire this morning in 1 of its engine rooms.Fire was contained & extinguished, all systems are functioning.

— RCLcorp (@RCLcorp) October 22, 2015

In addition, there were no reported injuries to guests or crew.  

Splendour of the Seas is in the Mediterranean and is sailing to Argostoli with all systems functioning normally.

UPDATE 9:21am: Royal Caribbean has decided to skip its scheduled stop at Argostoli and proceed to its next scheduled stop of Venice.

In addition, 1 guest and 19 crew members were treated for smoke inhalation and released. 1 crew member is still being treated.

#SplendouroftheSeas update: All systems functional 1 guest, 19 crew treated for smoke inhalation and released. 1 crew still being treated.

— RCLcorp (@RCLcorp) October 22, 2015

UPDATE 12:56pm: Royal Caribbean has issued a statement regarding the fire.

On October 22, 2015, as Splendour of the Seas was at sea in route to Argostoli, Greece, the ship experienced a fire in one of its two engine rooms.  The ship’s fire suppression system was activated, which contained and extinguished the fire.  However, in an abundance of caution, it was deemed necessary to evacuate some guests from their stateroom. 

The ship is currently sailing towards Venice, Italy, and all systems are functioning.

Splendour of the Seas is currently on a seven-night sailing that departed Venice, Italy, on Saturday, October 17, and includes port calls to Kotor, Montenegro; Corfu, Greece; Athens, Greece; Mykonos, Greece and Argostoli, Greece.

Bermuda's Ministry of Public Works indicated it will begin dredging the North Channel by the end of the month that will remove approximately 0.1 million cubic metres of rock and/or reef.

The Royal Gazette reports the widening of the channel and dredging is so that the island can handle the scheduled visits by Royal Caribbean's Quantum class ships.

Royal Caribbean's Quantum class ships are wider, deeper and longer than the older vessels and they require deeper and wider approach channels with smoother turns.

The work to dredge the channel will be a "24 hour, seven day a week operation and will take approximately one month to complete", according to the Cabinet Office.

The dredging is being done in Late October to avoid main coral and fish spawning season.  In addition, 598 corals have been relocated to adjacent reefs and are being monitored.

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

Episode 116 is available for download, where Matt talks all about the wonderful shows and entertainment onboard a Royal Caribbean cruise.

Matt looks at the various shows you can expect to find on a Royal Caribbean cruise and explains why these shows are worth your time, as well as some of his favorite picks.

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 116. 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!