Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas canceled the remainder of an Anthem of the Seas sailing due to a forecasted storm off the coast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

Royal Caribbean announced that the ship would return to Cape Liberty immediately to avoid, "a severe storm".  The decision was made to provide its guests with a comfortable journey back home.

Royal Caribbean is exercising extreme caution following an incident earlier this month, where Anthem of the Seas ran into a stronger than expected storm in the Atlantic that saw hurricane force winds and caused some superficial damage.

#AnthemoftheSeas will head back to Cape Liberty immediately to avoid a severe storm & provide guests with a comfortable journey back home.

— RCLcorp (@RCLcorp) February 27, 2016

Royal Caribbean released a statement regarding the decision, "The safety and comfort of our guests and crew is always our first priority."

"On a recent sailing, Anthem of the Seas experienced bad weather that was much worse than forecast; therefore, we want to be extra cautious about our guests' safety and comfort when it comes to weather in the area. That is why we have decided to head back to Cape Liberty immediately so that we can stay a safe distance from the storm."

To celebrate the launch of Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas in less than 100 days, we're counting down each day with some really cool about the ship. Check out our blog each day for a brand new post all about Harmony of the Seas.

Voom

Royal Caribbean has revolutionized the cruise industry with its super-fast high speed internet that has become available on select Royal Caribbean ships and Harmony of the Seas will be recieving it as well.

Royal Caribbean calls its fast internet service, Voom, and it offers guests the kind of high speed connections that expect to find back at home.

Royal Caribbean teamed up with O3b Satellite Communications to launch a new generation of medium-Earth-orbit satellites with sophisticated antenna arrays aboard the cruise ships.

The higher internet speeds will make it feasible for a guest to download streaming video or post video clips to Facebook. Royal Caribbean is developing new pricing plans for added service.

Harmony of the Seas lets you share your adventure in real time through Facebook and Instagram, post videos on YouTube, tweet about your shore excursion, and have face-to-face conversations via Skype and FaceTime. Plus, you can even stream movies, games and apps via your personal accounts with Hulu, Netflix, Amazon and more.

If you need to do business while on Harmony of the Seas, the Voom connection will let you check email, transfer files, host video conferences, Skype and more, just as if you were on land.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post as we celebrate 99 days of Quantum!

Our late evening last night meant we all were sleeping in this morning, although my wife and I were surprised how late the kids sleep.

We decided to engage in the time-honored parenting tradition of using the kids as an alarm clock, but even by 8:30am, they were sound asleep and we needed to get going.

We had ordered breakfast room service to our room to arrive between 8am and 8:30 am, and it came just before 8:30am.  We got it for the kids, so that they could eat and get ready quickly.

Our plan for today in Cozumel was simple: drop the kids off at Adventure Ocean and the Nursery and then me and my wife could enjoy a day together on shore.

We were off the ship by 9:30 and we were on our way.

The day in Cozumel started off windy and overcast, but by about 11am the skies cleared, the sun came out and it was a marvelous day.

We took a taxi into town and I dropped my wife off at a local massage spot in Cozumel, run by a very nice American ex-pat.  She offers massages in her house for very reasonable prices and we had used her on our previous visit in November.

The massage took an hour, so I spent my time walking around.  I had brunch at a restaurant a few blocks away, Lonchería Chelly.

It is a no-frills Mexican cuisine restaurant and I was looking for something light to fuel my day. 

I ordered ceviche, which turned out to be really, really good.   It was a huge serving and I ate way more than I was planning on, but it was worth every bite.

I headed back to the massage parlor to meet up with my wife and we went to find somewhere for my wife to have a little bite to eat.

We ran across a cute little coffee shop nearby that had a light breakfast option along with coffee.

My wife had chocolate waffles with strawberries that came out great and it was exactly what we were looking for.

Next up we did some shopping in town and found some jewelry for my wife.  Just like when we look for restaurants, we walk around the various streets and see what is available.

For lunch, we went back to my absolute favorite restaurant, Comidas Caseras Tonita.  It is a family-run restaurant that is frequented by various locals and they make some of the best food we have found in Cozumel.

Their guacomole and salsa are amazing and the Veracruz style grilled fish are very tasty.  My only regret is I cannot physically eat any more.

Following lunch, we did some more shopping in town and grabbed a coffee to go from a great little shop and then grabbed a taxi to bring us back to the port.

Back on the ship, we picked the kids up from Adventure Ocean and let them take a nap before dinner.  I have mentioned Adventure Ocean and the Nursery quite a bit and the staff at both locations do an amazing job keeping the kids entertained and the fact both my kids enjoy going there is a testament to the quality of service offered there.  

As the kids napped and subequently got ready for their evening back in Adventure Ocean, I partook in some pre-dinner at Izumi.

I had no problem getting in and went for my favorite dish on the menu: DX Sushi Combo.  It is by far the best value for what you get.

I then raced up to the pool deck to join my fellow group cruisers to see if the sailaway and see all the late stragglers running to the ship from the bar. 

Docked next to us was Liberty of the Seas, and it gave me an excellent vantage point to see the new water slides and aqua park that were added during her refurbishment last month.

As an added bonus, there was a spectacular sunset!

We dropped the kids off at Adventure Ocean and headed down to the Champagne Bar to try something I hear lots of chatter about: the cucumber martini.

As the name implies, it has a cucumber taste to it but it was really smooth and I could really tell why so many enjoy having this drink.  

Dinner tonight was in the main dining room, with the highlight being coffee ice cream as the ice cream selection.  I asked for as much as they could give me!

Following dinner, we went to the theater to watch Blue Planet.

Blue Planet is a show that depicts the natural wonders of Earth in song and dance.  The performances were really quite good and the musical selections were enjoyable as well.  

Tomorrow is our last sea day and our last day on the cruise.  Not much I can do but try to squeeze in as much as fun out of our day as possible!

Stray observations

• Cozumel remains a favorite port to visit.  It has a lot of tourist trap elements, but if you are willing to explore, there are some great hidden gems for the gastronomically inclined.
• There was a huge line to get a taxi this morning. If the taxi line is long, a good tip is to walk out of the port area, take a left and go to the nextdoor El Cid resort.  You can pick up a taxi there with absolutely no wait.
• If exiting the theater on deck 4 and you encounter a large crowd, go up to deck 5 to exit. There are less guests on deck 5 and their deck empties into the Royal Promenade, whereas deck 4 empties into the casino, which is quite narrow.
• Watching guests try out the FlowRider is quite the spectator sport.
• The pool towel renting policy of scanning your SeaPass card is alive and well on Allure of the Seas, despite earlier indications it was gone fleet wide.  It appears the policy differs from ship to ship.
• The best time to do any popular activities, such as the FlowRider or Zip Line is anytime after first seating of dinner.  That deck empties out!

Live Blog Index

• Live blog introduction
• Day 1 - Embarkation day
• Day 2 - Sea Day
• Day 3 - Labadee
• Day 4 - Falmouth
• Day 5 - Sea Day
• Day 6 - Cozumel
• Day 7 - Sea Day

Royal Caribbean is launching a new sale just time for the extra day in February, a leap day sale.

When booked Feb 27-29, travelers will receive 30% off each guest on every ship and every sailing, plus 50% reduced deposits and up to $100 in onboard credit to spend at sea.

The deal gets guests

•  50% Reduced Deposits
• Up to $100 Onboard Credit:
  • 5 Nights or Less:
  • $25 Onboard Credit for an Interior Stateroom
  • $25 Onboard Credit for an Oceanview Stateroom
  • $50 Onboard Credit for a Balcony Stateroom
  • $50 Onboard Credit for a Deluxe Stateroom
• 6 Nights or More:
  • $50 Onboard Credit for an Interior Stateroom
  • $50 Onboard Credit for an Oceanview Stateroom
  • $100 Onboard Credit for a Balcony Stateroom
  • $100 Onboard Credit for a Deluxe Stateroom

This special offer is only valid Feb 27-29 for travel on or after March 16, 2016. Offer excludes all China departures.

Offer available to residents of the United States and Canada.

Royal Caribbean released today its 2017-2018 Alaska season cruise sailings.

Crown and Anchor Society members are getting a 24 hour head start at the available sailings before the general public. 

Sailings are open for cruises on Explorer of the Seas and Radiance of the Seas, departing out of Seattle and Vancouver.

In addition to the new sailings, Royal Caribbean is offering a Seek & Save deal, where guests can get 30% off their 2017 cruise along with free upgrades.

The Seek & Save deal must be booked between February 16 and Apri 3, 2016 and is valid on sailings departing on or after Mar. 16, 2016.

Offer includes 30% off the standard cruise fare for all guests in a stateroom; all stateroom categories.

In addition, for new sailings deployed during the Offer Period that depart on or after May 1, 2017, the Offer includes a Free Upgrade within the stateroom meta-category (for example from a D8 to a D1, interior to interior, or ocean view to ocean view).

Free Upgrade refers to booking a stateroom for the price of the lowest available category within the same stateroom meta-category type.

Upgrade offer excludes Panoramic, Family, and Suite staterooms.

Offer is combinable with Crown & Anchor discounts, NextCruise offers, and Shareholders benefits. Any dollar off discounts or promotions, such as Crown & Anchor discounts, are applied first, followed by Offer, which is applied to final balance. Offer is not combinable with restricted rates (for example, Seniors, Residents, Military) or any other offer or promotion, including, but not limited to, Standard Group, Interline, Travel Agent, Travel Agent Friends and Family, weekly Sales Events, Net Rates.

Offer excludes all China departures.

Offer available to residents of the United States and Canada.

Dancing with the Stars fan favorite Carlos PenaVega will be onboard Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas to host celebratory activities when the ship launches in May 2016.

Grease is the headline show onboard Harmony of the Seas and the all-new, never-before-seen stage production, specially adapted by Royal Caribbean Productions, will boast a soundtrack of crowd favorites such as “Summer Nights,” “Greased Lightnin’,” “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee,” “Born to Hand-Jive,” “Beauty School Dropout” and more.

As part of PenaVega’s partnership with Royal Caribbean he’ll lead a number of Grease-inspired special activities onboard Harmony of the Seasduring inaugural events in Southampton, England. These include teaching guests the hand jive, presiding over a dance competition, giving an exclusive performance of “Greased Lightnin’,” and more.

Royal Caribbean Productions brings unmatched entertainment onboard their ships. Meet Christi Coachman-Orengo who began as a dancer onboard Royal Caribbean and now leads the production team to bring this award-winning entertainment to life.

Hope you had a great week (maybe one week closer to your next Royal Caribbean cruise?) and you had a chance to keep up with what's new with Royal Caribbean this week. But if not, here's a roundup of this week's news.

The big news this week was Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas had its first media preview of its progress at STX France shipyard.

Harmony of the Seas is set to debut in a few months, and members of the European media were allowed to check out her progress and the result was a lot of great photos of her inside and outside.

In addition, Royal Caribbean posted photos of the ship's progress and we saw a video of a computer simulation of what the Ultimate Abyss will look like.

There was a lot more Royal Caribbean news this week, so here is what else happened

Royal Caribbean News

• Ovation of the Seas was floated out successfully.
• Royal Caribbean CEO Michael Bayley offered an update on Anthem of the Seas.
• Two more Royal Caribbean ships are getting a refurbishment in 2016.
• A 5-day WOW Sale began this weekend.
• Royal Caribbean released a cool video infographic all about SeaPlex.
• Royal Caribbean is supporting a new cruise terminal in Brisbane, Australia.

99 Days of Harmony

To celebrate the countdown until Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas debuts, we kicked off a brand new blog series, 99 Days of Harmony, that looks at what makes this new ship so amazing.  

Each day we are posting a new blog post all about Harmony of the Seas, so here's what you might have missed this week.

• Grease
• Ultimate Abyss
• Wonderland
• DreamWorks Experience
• Harmony of the Seas Construction Update

Stay tuned to Royal Caribbean Blog each day for a brand new post all about Harmony of the Seas until she debuts (91 more days!).

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 133rd episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available and we're reviewing a podcast listener's recent cruise on Navigator of the Seas.

In this episode, Matt invites podcast listener Ethan to discuss his family's first Royal Caribbean cruise and why he chose to cruise on Royal Caribbean as well as why they picked Navigator 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 reports the storm Anthem of the Seas hit was a "weather bomb".

Shermans Cruise offers a first look at Harmony of the Seas.

Cruise Hangout has a look at all the Ovation of the Seas float out videos.

CruiseFever has 10 reasons why you should take a Royal Caribbean cruise.

Earlier this week, Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship floated out of its Meyer Werft shipyard and already we found a lot of really beautiful photos of this new ship and wanted to share them.

The talented photographer, Björn Haß, sent us these great shots of Ovation of the Seas.

All photos by Björn Haß.

If you like an ultra-high definition video to go along with your beautiful photos, check out this great 4K video of Ovation of the Seas' float out.