Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley met with the Governor General of The Bahamas on Monday in a formal visit.

BIS Photo/Letisha Henderson

The Bahamas Weekly reports that Bayley, along with other Royal Caribbean executives, met in Nassau with senior executives of the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, paid a courtesy call upon Her Excellency Dame Marguerite Pindling, Governor General on September 19, 2016.

Michael Bayley is aboard Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas as part of the President's Cruise, in which Crown and Anchor Society members have been invited to cruise with Royal Caribbean CEO Michael Bayley.

From the time a new ship is just an idea on paper, the Program Manager acts as the project’s Captain, steering the construction throughout all of its milestones. Meet Denise Key-Tielebein, Program Manager for the Oasis class of ships and learn about her interesting journey from the US Army to Royal Caribbean.

In less than two months, Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas will be arriving at her new home port of Port Everglades, Florida, and it will mark her debut in the United States.

Harmony of the Seas is not only the largest cruise ship in the world, but also marks a significant moment for many Royal Caribbean fans because this brand new cruise ship offers so many enticing options.

In anticipation of Harmony of the Seas' arrival, we are counting down the top reasons you ought to be excited to welcome Harmony of the Seas "home".

5. Slides!

For guests that enjoy thrills on their cruise, Harmony of the Seas offers some brand new slide experiences that are not only new to the Oasis-class of ships, but offer a lot of fun for the entire family.

Harmony of the Seas features three water slides: Cyclone, Typhoon and Supercell. Cyclone and Typhoon racer slides twist and turn, while Supercell slide is a "champagne bowl" slide, which has clear sections so guests can see those riding the slide. Guests exit Supercell in the Beach Pool.

There is also a slide exclusive to Harmony of the Seas, known as The Ultimate Abyss.  This dry slide is 10 stories high and located on the aft of the ship, making it the tallest slide at sea.

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. Once at the top of the slide on deck 16, you will be handed a black mat with an opening to place your feet. You then sit down, lean back, and while holding onto a strap, wait for the "Go" sign to turn green.  Screaming is optional.

4. New shows

Royal Caribbean has a reputation in the cruise industry for offering terrific shows on its ships, and Harmony of the Seas has an array of new productions that are must-see once onboard.

Harmony of the Seas features an all-new stage production that has been specially adapted by Royal Caribbean of Grease. The show, which features hit songs such as “Summer Nights,” “Greased Lightnin’,” “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee,” “Born to Hand-Jive,” “Beauty School Dropout," is available to see on Harmony of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean also created a number of original productions, including its own musical, "Columbus - The Musical".  This new show was created in the spirit of “Spamalot” and “Something Rotten" and tells the tale of Christopher’s luckless distant cousin, Marvin, on a madcap voyage to the Caribbean.

Want more? Guests will find many more shows and events onboard Harmony of the Seas, including new original productions in the AquaTheater, ice skating rink and Royal Theater. And there is still more, including a 90's dance party on the Royal Promenade, escape room experience and the DreamWorks Experience.  In short, there is lots to see and do on Harmony of the Seas.

3. New specialty restaurants

Harmony of the Seas may be the third Oasis-class ship Royal Caribbean has built, but it has some brand new dining experiences that are not found on her sister ships.

Guests dining on Harmony of the Seas can sample the classic Italian creations of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver at Jamie's Italian, which offers rustic Italian dishes made from seasonal ingredients and tried and true recipes. 

If you want a little bit of adventure with dinner, Wonderland will capture your imagination (and your taste buds). Wonderland is an imaginative take on specialty dining, where the experience is just as important as the food offered. While Wonderland is on a few other Quantum-class ships, on Harmony of the Seas, this is the first two-story Wonderland restaurant in the fleet.

In addition to these two remarkable restaurants, Harmony of the Seas is filled with a vast array of complimentary and specialty dining choices.  Oasis-class ships were designed with dining in mind, and guests on Harmony of the Seas will find a smorgasbord of dining choices!

2. Reimagined aqua park for kids

Families that love to spend lots of time by the pool are going to love the improved aqua park on Harmony of the Seas known as Splashaway Bay.  This bigger, better kids aqua park features slides, water cannons, waterfalls and more.

Royal Caribbean designed this area to be a new "aquatic adventure park," for kids and toddlers with sea creature water cannons, winding slides, a gigantic drench bucket and a multi-platform jungle-gym to keep everyone entertained for hours.

Splashaway Bay is another big difference between Harmony of the Seas and the previous Oasis-class ships, and offers an industry-leading spot onboard for families to have a lot of fun exploring (and getting soaked).

1. Biggest ship in the world

At the end of the day, Harmony of the Seas is going to be an exciting moment because she is the largest cruise ship in the world and that alone signifies a big change (no pun intended).

In addition to the key features highlighted in this post, there is lots more to see and do to the point you will have to return a few more times to be able to "do it all."

Royal Caribbean designed its Oasis-class ships to be a floating hub of dining, entertainment and activities, and Harmony of the Seas is included in that mold of amazing cruise ships.

What are you most excited about to experience on Harmony of the Seas? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Thank you for joining us for this a look at all the Royal Caribbean news from this week. We had plenty to share, so let us jump right in!

Royal Caribbean made the big announcement this week that it was getting rid of Dynamic Dining on Anthem of the Seas.

Beginning on November 27, 2016, Dynamic Dining will be discontinued, and in its place, Royal Caribbean will offer on Anthem of the Seas My Time Dining program, with traditional and flexible options, as well as introduce new, upgraded dinner menus.

Royal Caribbean is making the change because of feedback from guests indicated a preference for a dining program that combines traditional seating with the option for flexibility.

Royal Caribbean News

• A lifeboat accident on Harmony of the Seas resulted in one death and four injuries.
• Royal Caribbean will expand hours for entertainment on Anthem of the Seas.
• New billboards for Harmony of the Seas are posted around Miami.
• A new video was released, offering a behind-the-scenes look at Royal Caribbean's enterainment studio.
• Our full review of Sabor Modern Mexican on Freedom of the Seas.
• The answer to should you buy an unlimited alcohol package
• Check out our review of the take-out sushi offerings on Freedom of the Seas.
• Top things to do near Port Canaveral before or after your Royal Caribbean cruise.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 163rd episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, where we have a live review of our recent group cruise aboard Freedom of the Seas.

In this episode, Matt and the Royal Caribbean Blog readers that joined him aboard Freedom of the Seas recorded a review of Freedom of the Seas while they were onboard. The group shares their favorite memories from the cruise and share tips for anyone going on a Freedom of the Seas cruise soon.

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

Moms of the Seas has photos of the new main dining room menu for kids.

Carmen's Luxury Travel has a review of their suite experience on Oasis of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean offers a look at the suite life on its cruise ships.

Well friends, it is day 5 already, these shorter cruises just go by so fast.

Today I planned to enjoy Empress of the Seas, but try to do something different activities. I woke up and saw that the Oasis of the Seas was actually sailing beside us, so I ran up to the top deck to check her out. We both traveled back home together for most of the day. 

At 10AM they were doing Royal Caribbean trivia in the Schooner Bar, they had some pretty hard questions, I was surprised. I learned that Empress has the largest Schooner bar in the fleet, which I always thought it was Majesty.

After the trivia game I had been invited to the Galley tour for being Diamond Plus.

This was my first Galley tour on a cruise, so I was very excited. The Galley was actually quite smaller than I thought it would be, but everything was so clean.

Royal Caribbean spent $20 million building this new galley during the Empress dry dock. In the tour I was able to see the Chops section and they were working on the shrimp cocktail for the evening so that was pretty neat to see. They did prepare a special lunch for those on the tour, but I decided to skip it and head to the pool deck. 

Afternoon on board 

The pool deck had really come to life today; I haven’t seen it like this all cruise. Everyone was just enjoying themselves and their wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

I watched the belly flop contest and it was quite entertaining. The assistant Cruise Director hosted the party and she did a nice job, she tried to create a dance party after the game.

However, the ship had to turn around due to a floating man-made raft out in the ocean. This caused everyone to run over to the side of the ship to look over; thankfully no one was in the raft.

Great job by Royal Caribbean for turning the ship around to make sure it was clear. 

After we received the all clear from the raft, I decided to grab some lunch in the Windjammer. Today I went with chicken wings and ribs, almost like being in Coco Cay. I have never seen chicken wings on board before, so this was new for me.

Once lunch was over I thought it was time to start packing up the cabin. This is never as much fun as packing up, but I like to do it early so I can enjoy my evening. 

Evening on board 

Tonight, I decided to go see the show, I know that’s two shows this cruise! The show was outstanding! The theme was past, present, future and a Las Vegas themed show.

The show only last 35 minutes so it was a nice short activity before dinner. I’m very happy I went and highly recommend the shows on Empress.

For dinner, it was back to the Windjammer for a quick meal. Again the place was pretty empty but almost 8:30pm, so perhaps most people eat earlier. The options for dinner were a little different tonight; I went with pasta and fish.

They had a large cake for desert that said, thank you for sailing with us, I passed on the cake. 

After dinner, I went to the Viking crown lounge and it was pretty full, everyone taking full advantage of their last evening. I just enjoyed one last drink before wrapping up my last day. 

Wrap up 

The Empress of the Seas is a great value for those looking for a quick getaway. The ship on the inside feels very new in parts and older in others. She is a very relaxing ship, so if you enjoy a slow paced cruise this is for you. All the crewmembers get to know you, I think just about every one of them knew my name when they saw me. The cabins are small, so just be ready for that but not a deal breaker for me.

I was able to peek into an Owners Suite to take pictures. 

The Voom high speed Internet worked great, I never had any issues with it. From in my cabin to the pool deck it was fast Internet. The staff was very friendly; they are trying so hard to create a good experience for the guest. 

Thank you so much for following along this week, it was a really fun cruise! 

Until next time, I’ll see you at sea!

If you are following directions from the blog, you are probably planning to fly in to the port city a day or so prior to your Royal Caribbean cruise…

… OR, maybe you flew in as a surprise to see your friends off on a cruise and you need a place to pout and cry in to your beverage of choice as your friends sail off without you on the Royal Caribbean Blog Group Cruise on the Freedom of the Seas…

Whatever the case may be, you may be interested in what there is to do and where to eat the day before your cruise is set to leave. I recently had the chance to spend some time near Port Canaveral and spent a couple days watching the ships. Here are a few ideas for things to do near the Royal Caribbean cruise terminal in Cape Canaveral.

Restaurants

Grills Seafood Deck & Tiki Bar

Located closest to the Royal Caribbean cruise terminal, Grills Seafood Deck & Tiki Bar boasts great food and drinks at an affordable price. Additionally, Grills serves as a fantastic breakfast location if you have some time to kill once you have disembarked your cruise.

Grills also has a wonderful outdoor Tiki Bar which frequently features live music and a fantastic view of the Royal Caribbean ships sailing away.

Fishlips Waterfront Bar and Grill

A short walk away from Grills is another great restaurant called Fishlips… another great location with an outdoor patio offering a great view of the ships sailing away from port.

Similar to Grills, Fishlips offers a variety of food and beverages to enjoy while relaxing along the water.

Fun fact – the most recent Royal Caribbean Blog meetup took place here prior to the Freedom of the Seas Group Cruise!

Seafood Atlantic

Nestled in between Grills and Fishlips is a fantastic seafood shop and restaurant called Seafood Atlantic. While the interior of the building is a shop that features locally caught fresh seafood, the outside is a fantastic restaurant serving up some of the local fare.

I have to say, this has been my personal favorite lunch spot in the port area… in my opinion, there is not much that beats raw oysters and local beer while watching the water on a sunny day.

Attractions

Port Canaveral Exploration Tower

Overlooking the Port Canaveral area is a tall structure known as the Exploration Tower.

Seeing this landmark when you are approaching the port area has personally become a sign that you are about to embark on an incredible adventure. However, if you are looking for an educational day at Port (or, an incredible place to watch a rocket launch), this is a fantastic and nearby option for you.

Kennedy Space Center

Located roughly 20 minutes from the Cruise Terminal in Cape Canaveral, Kennedy Space Center is a long loved and well known attraction for all things NASA and outer space and a fantastic spot to visit for all ages. Daily admission to the Visitor’s Complex runs about $50.

Cocoa Beach

Interested in just relaxing along the beach? While many hotels are located beach side, there are also public beaches available to you to relax and swim while getting ready to board your cruise.

Your thoughts

While these are only a few examples, the area surrounding Port Canaveral is a fantastic location to relax and unwind prior to your Royal Caribbean cruise. Please comment with your favorite places and things to do from your past adventures to an embarkation port!  

Royal Caribbean has begun a 72-hour shore excursion sale with 20% off select tours in the Caribbean, Europe and Australia.

The excursions must be booked between September 16-18, 2016 and is valid on  on sailings that depart between September 21, 2016 and December 16, 2016.

Offer excludes sailings departing between November 18-24, 2016.

Offer applies to select standard shore excursions offered by Royal Caribbean International. Offer excludes Shuttles, Private Journeys℠, overnight tours, Multi-day Adventures and other special tours. Offer cannot be combined with any other shore excursion promotion, price program or discounted rate.

Good morning from beautiful Cozumel, Mexico!

It is always a great day when you are in Mexico and the weather could not have been better. Last night I was thinking about not having any plans in Mexico, so I booked Nachi Cocom on my phone. They do require you to bring the printed confirmation email, so I asked the Loyalty Ambassador to print it for me.

The cost for the all-inclusive Nachi Cocom is $55 per person. This covers all the drinks & food you want, but you still need to get transportation to and from. The cost for a taxi is $17 (up to 4 people) per way and you can usually just share a ride back to cut the cost in half. 

I knew the Oasis of the Seas was coming to Mexico today too, so I wanted to get up to make sure I could watch her dock. I guess I should add that the Empress of the Seas was docked beside the Oasis of the Seas today.

Let us just say we did not even come up halfway on the Oasis, but that is okay Empress is just perfect. I was able to take some pictures of the two of them together. 

There were five ships in port today, so the lines for a taxi were long. I also saw some competition going on with runners and bikers, not sure what it was but they had people from all over the world. My taxi ride was a van with another family they were going to Mr. Sancho’s so we stopped there for a quick dropped off, then Nachi is right beside there.

I was greeted to take my photo and was showed to my seat. I got there around 9:30am, but they are on central time, so bar service did not start for an hour – I know the struggle is real. 

My afternoon at Nachi Cocom was very relaxing and they did not have very many people here today, which surprised me with the number of ships in port.

I had them bring me some guacamole down to my beach chair for my pre-lunch. I went up to sit in the hot tub for a while to enjoy the swim up bar and made some new friends.

For lunch I went with shrimp fajitas and well more guacamole. They can either bring it down to the beach or you can eat it up by the entrance with tables and chairs. When you look at their menu, you will see prices on everything, not sure why they are there but just order away it is all included. 

I decided to head back to the ship at 3pm just to avoid getting close to that all on board at 4:30 time.

Of course since we were in Mexico we had a family of 5 that was running late. The Captain made an announcement that we would wait 5 more minutes. Sure enough 2-3 minutes later they were running down the pier to get back on board, they were lucky we waited. 

Evening on board 

Tonight, I was feeling sleepy all ready from all that sun in Mexico. I went casual again for dinner in the Windjammer. It was not my favorite meal again, but fine for a quick dinner.

I have noticed at dinner they are only using about half of their set-up and it is always empty. I had grilled fish and french fries, got to love that combo.

After dinner I went out to the pool deck and they were showing a movie. At the bar they were selling popcorn for $2 a bag for the movie. The pool was empty and a man was cleaning down in there. I tried to take photos of this for the blog but a bartender rushed over and said no pictures or video, this was a first for me. 

By around 10PM I decided to call it a day, all those drinks in Mexico and sun had me beat for the day.

Tomorrow is our last day, we have another sea day and I have a few new things planned to share!

Earlier this summer, Royal Caribbean began rolling out or takeout sushi options across its fleet for guests that want to enjoy Izumi-quality sushi on Royal Caribbean ships that do not offer an Izumi restaurant.  Freedom of the Seas is one such ship that lacks Izumi, and we took it upon ourselves to try the Izumi Express sushi for "research" purposes.

Guests will find Izumi Express options at Sorrentos during select hours (check your Cruise Compass for exact times), but it is typically available every day from 11:30am - 1:30pm and again at 6:00pm - 8:00pm.

Menu

The selection of sushi may vary, but on our sailing we had eight rolls to choose from that were prepackaged and ready to be enjoyed.

On our cruise, the more popular rolls tended to go quickly, so be sure to order early.

Sushi

Historically, Freedom of the Seas has always offered sushi in the Jade section of the Windjammer, but in my opinion, the sushi was substandard because it was poorly made and lacked variety or sizable pieces of fish.  Of course, the sushi in the Windjammer was complimentary, but I tended to avoid it because of the poor quality.

Windjammer Sushi from a past Freedom of the Seas cruise

Of course, we are here for the sushi and the Izumi Express options on Freedom of the Seas has a variety of maki rolls that are pretty typical among sushi restaurants.  Before even tasting any of it, the quality of these rolls looked superior to what was offered in the Windjammer.

You can pick which roll appeals to you, and each package comes with eight rolls.

You are probably wondering, "how good does it taste?" and I can safely say it is much better to what the Windjammer ever had.  In fact, the Windjammer offered sushi on the last night of the cruise and that confirmed my thoughts.

Prepackaged sushi will never compare to freshly-made sushi, but, I really enjoyed the Izumi Express option because it offers a much better option than no sushi at all.

I found it to be a really good value and tasted great too.  It was certainly as good as any prepackaged sushi I have had on land, and as a self-described sushi fiend, I loved having this option every evening.

Are you a Sushi lover? Let us know if Izumi Express will be on your must-eat list!