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

Episode 158 is available for downloading, which has a first-hand review of Royal Caribbean's Empress of the Seas.

Empress of the Seas is back in Royal Caribbean's fleet once again and Michael Poole was able to take a 4-night cruise on her recently.  Michael shares what this ship is like and who might love a cruise on Empress.

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 158. 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 is celebrating Crown and Anchor Society Member Appreciation Week by giving all Crown & Anchor Society members an exclusive perk to celebrate.

From August 15-22, 2016, all tiers will enjoy balconies and suites discounts for the tier above them on sailings departing on or after August 17, 2016, and it is combinable with our current offer of 30% off every ship, every guest! 

Gold, Platinum, Emerald, Diamond, Diamond Plus, and Pinnacle Crown & Anchor Society member will receive an increased discount for making a reservation for a sail date outside of six months.

Royal Caribbean's Crown and Anchor Society has posted an update that it will stop offering a balcony discount for members that book a cruise less than six months out.

As of September 1, 2016, balcony and suite discounts that Crown and Anchor members are eligible for, will only apply to sailing’s booked more than six months out.  Royal Caribbean has offered a discount on balcony and suite staterooms to Crown and Anchor Society members that were at least a Platinum level member on all cruises, but this will now change a bit.

In the event a guest purchases an upgrade within six months of sailing, the Balcony & Suites Discount will be protected.

UPDATE: Royal Caribbean shared on their Facebook page a little more insight into why this change is occuring: "We've found that a large majority of our Crown & Anchor guests reserve outside of the 6 month window. For those who do not, we've noticed that, due to the lack of promotional combinability, it's more beneficial for our guests to take advantage of other promotions offered. We appreciate your honest feedback, and are using it to research ways to improve our Crown & Anchor offerings."

What do you think of this change in the balcony discount? Will this change what stateroom you book? Tell us your thoughts in the comments.

The largest cruise ships in Asia, Ovation of the Seas, Mariner of the Seas and Voyager of the Seas, will be back in Singapore from October 2016 through May 2017 to offer Royal Caribbean's longest-ever homeporting season in Singapore.  The season will run for eight months, totalling 55 cruises and will bring about 200,000 guests to ports in Southeast Asia.

Photo by Royal Caribbean International

The 2016-2017 cruise season will see a 30% increase in Royal Caribbean's capacity in Southeast Asia over last year.

Ovation of the Seas, which is Asia's largest and newest cruise ship, will be back in March to April 2017 with a total of 10 new sailings, comprising three to five nights to Penang, Phuket, Bangkok (Laem Chabang) and a 12-night one-way cruise to Tianjin with calls at Ho Chi Minh City (Phu My) for an overnight, Hue/Danang (Chan May), Hong Kong and Seoul (Incheon).

Mariner of the Seas will offer 39 sailings until next March, ranging from three to seven nights to popular destinations such as Penang, Langkawi, Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang), Phuket, Bangkok (Laem Chabang) and Ho Chi Minh City (Phu My). The new itineraries for the season are the 3-night Penang Weekend Cruise which will feature night touring and the 4-night Phuket Cruise.

Voyager of the Seas is returning in May 2017 to offer six sailings of three to five night Southeast Asian itineraries to Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang), Penang, Phuket and an 8-night one-way cruise to Hong Kong, with stopovers at Bangkok (Laem Chabang) for an overnight, Ho Chi Minh City (Phu My) and Nha Trang.

Located in the Forward Centrum deck 10 of Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas, is a mixed media art display that features fighter jets that you might notice when taking a ride in one of the elevators.

This is not just a display of F-18 and F-16 planes, but actually the work of Italian artist Antonio Riello, entitled "Komba Tiepolo 30, 31 and 32".

If you look closely, you can see that Riello has taken fighter planes and decorated them with mythological fragments from Giambattista Tiepolo frescoes found in Italian churches and palaces.  The artist likes to explore the common territory and the curiosities of our collective imagination.  By turning what we desire or fear into a mix of the banal and the sublime, he creates the unexpected and the unpredictable.

Riello gathers his inspirations from the great amount of historical and artistic heritage found all over Italy - Roman ruins, medieval walls, Baroque churches and more.  He likes to mix these elements of the past with contemporary Italian life.

In this piece, Riello uses the Tiepolo frescoes to mask war instruments, which turns them into delightful and irresistibly bizarre paintings.

“Komba Tiepolo 30” The paintings are inspired by G.B. Tiepolo’s frescos in Wurzburg Residence. The aircraft is a copy of an F18 (Hornet).

“Kompa Tiepolo 31” Paintings are inspired by G.B. Tiepolo’s in Wurzburg Residence and Venice’s Ca Rezzonico. The aircraft is a copy of an F16.

“Kompa Tiepolo 32” Paintings are inspired by G.B. Tiepolo’s frescos in villas of the countryside in Venice. The aircraft is a copy of an F16.

The pieces are made of fiberglass, resin, metal wood and acrylic. 

Can you believe August is already here? It is the middle of Summer and there is a lot of Royal Caribbean news to catch up from during this week.

Royal Caribbean has added a new swim up bar at its private destination of CocoCay.

The popular island that is exclusive to Royal Caribbean guests now features a new bar that guests cans swim to and enjoy a drink, surrounded by the natural beauty of the ocean.

Royal Caribbean is in the midst of upgrading a number of experiences on the island, including new cabanas and even a dock for the island.

Royal Caribbean News

• Tropical Storm Earl forced Royal Caribbean to change itineraries for two cruise ships.
• Royal Caribbean has no plans to move ships away from China.
• Royal Caribbean added new Vision of the Seas sailings from Galveston through April 2018.
• A new Coca-Cola souvenir cup for the Olympics has been spotted on Royal Caribbean ships.
• How to get a table for two in the main dining room.
• How Spark Cooperative developed the Ultimate Abyss slide for Harmony of the Seas.
• A new specialty coffee beverage card was spotted on Serenade of the Seas.
• We compared and contrasted the Premium drink package versus the Ultimate drink package.
• 5 great local restaurants to try on your next Caribbean cruise.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 157th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, where we have an exclusive interview with Anthem of the Seas' Godmother.

In this episode, Matt talks with Emma Wilby about her role as Godmother to Anthem of the Seas, as Emma shares her story of how she was chosen to become the Godmother along with Emma's favorite aspects of Anthem of the Seas.

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

Travel Weekly has a summary of their recent cruise on Empress of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean has a look at how they are fostering fuel efficiency.

CNBC interviewed Royal Caribbean Ltd CEO Richard Fain about the state of the company.

Man Travels World has a look at what it was like to be a crew member on Adventure of the Seas.

Bloomberg has a photo tour of Harmony of the Seas.

The National provides a look at the high-tech that Royal Caribbean is investing in.

Royal Caribbean has added even more Vision of the Seas sailings from Galveston, Texas, with guests now able to book sailings through April 2018.

Royal Caribbean announced initial Vision of the Seas sailings for November and December 2017, but has now expanded those offerings to extend through April 2018.

Vision of the Seas will offer 4- and 5-night itineraries to destinations in the Western Caribbean, such as Costa Maya and Cozumel.

Vision of the Seas is the second Royal Caribbean ship offering cruises from Galveston, joining Liberty of the Seas.