Royal Caribbean has released new sailings for Empress of the Seas that extends the booking window through September 2016.

The new sailings are for destinations in the Caribbean and Bahamas.

• 5-night Key West and Cozumel
  • Ports of Call: Miami, Florida; Cruising; Key West, Florida; Cruising; Cozumel, Mexico; Cruising; Miami, Florida
  • September 3, 12, 17, 26, 2016
• 4-night Key West and Nassau
  • Ports of Call: Miami, Florida; Key West, Florida; Cruising; Nassau, Bahamas; Miami, Florida

The new sailings are available for booking immediately.

The weekend is here and that means we have finished up another week with plenty of Royal Caribbean news to share.  If you missed any of it, here is your neatly tied wrap-up of it all!

The Miami-Dade County Commission approved Royal Caribbean's proposal to build a new cruise terminal at PortMiami earlier this week.

The $247 million terminal was unanimously approved by the Board of County Commissioners. 

The new terminal, Terminal A, will be able to handle even Oasis-class cruise ships and open in Late 2018.

Terminal A would house an angular glass center and a parking garage with about 1,000 parking spaces at the northeastern side of the port, designed by England-based global architecture firm Broadway Malyan.

Royal Caribbean News

• Royal Caribbean rewarded a cab driver that returned $187K in cash with a free cruise.
• New video of the 11,000-piece art collection on Ovation of the Seas.
• A new main dining room menu was spotted on Oasis of the Seas.
• Celebrating something special on a cruise? Our top tips for celebrating onboard.
• Our list of the top 5 quintessential Royal Caribbean foods.
• 5 Royal Caribbean drink recipes perfect for any summer party.
• Check out this photo tour of Empress of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

This week's podcast episode is all about what it is like to cruise on Explorer of the Seas to Alaska.

Our good friend, Beci Mahnken, joins us to discuss her recent cruise on Explorer of the Seas and shares how a Voyager-class ship fares with an intimate experience like an Alaska cruise.

You can listen to the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast for free and hear all our tips, advice and suggestions for a better Royal Caribbean cruise experience.

Royal Caribbean Around the Internet

Cruise Critic has a virtual tour of Harmony of the Seas' Royal Promenade.

Royal Caribbean UK has a list of 10 things you will love about the Boardwalk.

Moms of the Seas answers the question of does her husband have to wear a suit on formal night.

Friday is here and that means so is the weekend and our opportunity to share Royal Caribbean photos that readers sent us!  Every week, we ask our readers to send in their favorite Royal Caribbean photos, so that we can feature them here.

Our first photo is of Quantum of the Seas by Anna, and taken on North Star.  What a fantastic view!

Valerie Kammerer sent us this photo of the sunset on the Atlantic. Not sure which ship this was taken from, but I cannot say no to sunset photos!

Here is a night photo from Blake Baldwin, taken on Independence of the Seas.  The ambiance of Royal Caribbean ships at night is really terrific!

Here is a photo of the town of Oia along coast of Santorini, Greece, taken by John Siegmund.  Photos of the Greek coast always seem to be so beautiful to look at, right?

It might be the middle of summer, but this photo by Susan Stewardson is still impressive to look at. It was taken on Quantum of the Seas, while the ship was in New Jersey.  Luckily, it got much warmer very quickly as the ship headed south.

Thank you to everyone that shared these great photos.  Do you want your photo included in our weekly photo showcase?  Use this form to send us your favorite Royal Caribbean photos and we will be sure to show it off to the world!

It looks like a new main dining room is available on Oasis of the Seas and that could potentially spread to other ships in the fleet.

Cruise Critic member Eric Markson shared photos of the new menus from a recent sailing in which these new menus appeared.

These menus are from nights two through seven of the cruise.  

What do you think of the new menu on Oasis of the Seas? Please let us know with a comment!

With an 11,000-piece art collection on Ovation of the Seas, guests can experience a wide variety of contemporary works by artists from across the world. Iconic pieces - from the playful “Mama and Baby,” featuring larger-than-life pandas on the top of the ship, to the high-tech “Sky Wave,” the first ever kinetic sculpture at sea - are a source of inspiration to international guests.

Last night, the Miami-Dade County Commission approved Royal Caribbean's proposal to build a new cruise terminal at PortMiami.

Royal Caribbean announced plans to build the new terminal last week and the $247 million terminal was unanimously approved by the Board of County Commissioners.

I am pleased the Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved @RoyalCaribbean’s partnership & expansion @PortMiami.

— Carlos A. Gimenez (@MayorGimenez) July 6, 2016

The Miami Herald is reporting that under the agreement, Royal Caribbean will fully finance the construction of the terminal, minus $15 million that the county-owned port will pay for some road work.  Royal Caribbean will pay $7.5 million in rent to the county.

The new Terminal A facility will be able to handle a ship that is 1,300 feet long.  Terminal G, where Royal Caribbean currently operates, can only handle ships that are about 1,000 feet long.

The new cruise terminal will be open in 2018. Royal Caribbean has indicated it will homeport an Oasis-class cruise ship once the new terminal is fully operational.