In a webcast to travel agents, Royal Caribbean Senior Vice President, Sales, Trade Support and Service Vicki Freed announced Royal Caribbean will begin offering the Autism Channel on its cruise ships to meet the needs of its special needs cruisers.

The new program will begin late October 2015 on Quantum, Oasis, Freedom, Voyager and Radiance class ships.

The Autism Channel will be available via the on-demand section in guests' stateroom televisions.  There will be TV shows and short programs for children and parents.  

There will be over 35 different episodes available, ranging from 4-30 minutes in length.  Some episodes are about an hour as well.

Royal Caribbean will be the first in the hospitality industry to offer complimentary on-demand tv access to this sort of special needs programming.

10/01 UPDATE: Royal Caribbean has released more details about its Autism programming aboard its ships.

Some of the programs available for viewing are:  

• I Am Autistic with Daniel Heinlein – Diagnosed with Asperger's as a teenager, Daniel Heinlein talks about autism with doctors, researchers, and others on the spectrum.
• Dr. Judy – A board-certified developmental and behavioral pediatrician, Dr. Judith Aranson-Ramos, MD talks about early diagnosis and treatment for people on the spectrum.
• Real Look Autism – From renowned executive producer Mary Beth Marsden, an unfiltered look at ASD children and their progress.
• Direct From Autism Service Dogs America – Follow a therapy dog's journey from selection through life as a working dog.
• The Rocket Family Chronicles – A mockumentary about the life and times of Rocket, an on-the-spectrum filmmaker and his unique family.
• Cooking with Jana – Gluten and Casein free cooking with Chef Jana McMahon, featuring easy to make recipes low in allergens.

Programming will be initially offered in English as well as closed captioned for guests who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.

“The Autism Channel is delighted that Royal Caribbean has chosen to make this valuable content available on many Royal Caribbean ships. For every one person on the autism spectrum there are six more persons directly impacted by that person. Complimentary access to The Autism Channel’s exclusive content will benefit many Royal Caribbean guests and bring more awareness to Autism,” said Jeffrey A. Kasky, president, The Autism Channel.

Royal Caribbean is using a brand new beer keg that is great for the environment and offers better tasting beer too!

Royal Caribbean and Heineken Global Duty Free developed a 100% recyclable beer keg known as BrewLock.

The BrewLock keg holds beer in a collapsible plastic sac inside a hard-shell plastic container. Pressurized air inside the shell squeezes the sac, forces the beer into a hose and on to the tap, without air or gases ever touching the beer.

It’s made of PET, the most widely recycled plastic in the world, according to The National Association for PET Container Resources.

The BrewLock can be completely recycled and can be reused to make new bottles, fiberfill for winter coats, certain auto parts and a wide range of other items.

One big advantage of the BrewLock is the keg serves nearly all the product and leaves far less wasted suds behind that are found in traditional kegs.

Royal Caribbean Vice President of Safety and Environmental Stewardship, Rich Pruitt, is a big fan of the new innovation, "From our side, any kind of recyclable materials that can be compacted and stored easily and then recycled versus shipping stuff around the world, from a carbon reduction concept is a good idea.  Plus, if we don’t have these big (metal) kegs on board that are empty and we’re hanging onto them for awhile, it allows us more storage space for other things."

Besides freeing up precious space on a cruise ship by off-loading the compacted plastic kegs in ports with appropriate recycling facilities, the BrewLock further reduces Royal Caribbean's carbon footprint in another way.

Royal Caribbean released some stunning photos that were taken by ship Captains of some of the best views in the world. 

The photos are part of an effort to show off the various ports of call Royal Caribbean cruise ships visit and they certainly are quite beautiful shots!

Hubbard Glacier, Alaska

Sydney Harbor, Australia

Venice Harbor, Italy

Geiranger Fjord, Norway

Stockholm Archipelago, Sweden

Vesivius, Naples, Italy

Golfo di Poeti, La Pezia, Italy

Nice, France

Kotor, Montenegro

Island of Moorea, French Polynesia

Vancouver, Canada

The English Channel, UK

Which photo is your favorite? Tell us in the comments below!

Perhaps no onboard activity is as synonymous with Royal Caribbean as the surf simulator known as the FlowRider.

When Royal Caribbean started adding FlowRiders to its cruise ships, it generated a lot of buzz and ever since then, the company has been working to add FlowRiders to more and more ships in its fleet.

If you want to give surfing a shot on your next cruise, here is what you need to know about this popular surf simulator.

What is the FlowRider?

Photo by Lawrence Smith

The FlowRider is a simulator that sends water a very high speed across a small area that mimics what it is like to surf on the ocean.

FlowRiders were first created as a business on land and have partnered with Royal Caribbean to offer guests cruising the chance to try it out there.

The FlowRider supports two surfing styles: stand up traditional surfing and boogie boarding.

Which Royal Caribbean ships have a FlowRider?

Royal Caribbean has added FlowRiders to more of its ships recently and here is the list of ships that offer a FlowRider

• Freedom of the Seas
• Liberty of the Seas
• Independence of the Seas
• Oasis of the Seas (two FlowRiders)
• Allure of the Seas (two FlowRiders)
• Harmony of the Seas (two FlowRiders)
• Symphony of the Seas (two FlowRiders)
• Quantum of the Seas
• Anthem of the Seas
• Ovation of the Seas
• Navigator of the Seas
• Voyager of the Seas
• Explorer of the Seas
• Adventure of the Seas
• Mariner of the Seas
• Odyssey of the Seas
• Wonder of the Seas
• Icon of the Seas
• Utopia of the Seas

How much does the FlowRider experience cost?

Photo by Royal Caribbean

A ride on the FlowRider is included in your Royal Caribbean cruise fare.

Guests can ride the FlowRider as many times as they like for free. They will simply need to wait in line for a turn.

There is the opportunity to book private lessons for an additional cost.  At last check, private lessons cost $60 per person and lasts about an hour. Each lesson will have six to eight guests.

Private lessons can be booked onboard the ship and is sometimes available via the Royal Caribbean Cruise Planner.

What are the restrictions for using the FlowRider?

Guests participating in the FlowRider, for example, must be at least 52"/132 cm tall to use the bodyboard and 58"/147 cm tall to use the flowboard. 

Absolutely no footwear allowed, no goggles and no go-pro cams are allowed.

Important FlowRider tips

• As the cruise goes on, the lines for the FlowRider can get quite long.  For shorter lines, embarkation day is always simple.  Port days and morning sessions tend to be less crowded.
• Be sure to wear clothing that will not easily come off.  The force of the water has been known to cause "wardrobe malfunctions".  Women, especially, should consider wearing one piece bathing suits and/or t-shirts and shorts.
• Guests can surf until they fall off the board, but the staff is pretty good at challenging the talented guests in an effort to improve their skills and increase the likelihood of falling off.
• Check your Cruise Compass for session times. Often Royal Caribbean will offer special times for teens or adults.
• The sports staff is there for your safety and your assistance. Ask them for advice, especially if you are new.
• Tips for successfully surfing:
  • If you are stand up surfing, shift your weight to the back foot and never lift either foot off the board.
  • If you are boogie boarding, keep your elbows in and keep most, if not all of your legs in the water.

The Singapore Cosplay Club is hosting "Cosfest Sea" event on Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas.

Cosplay is the hobby of getting dressed up in the costumes of fictional characters.

The cruise will sail on January 8, 2016 on a 3-night weekend cruise.

The club is planning a number of events for its members, including

• Asia Cosplay meet championship
• Cosplay parade
• Performances
• Cosplay/Anime parties
• Cosplay photoshoots

The event will feature contestants from eight countries including China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.

Lots of Royal Caribbean fans relish a stay in a Junior Suite (JS) and today, we have a look at one of the Junior Suites from Independence of the Seas to give you an idea of what to expect if you book a similar stateroom.

Susan Tady Widdowson took photos of her Junior Suite, which was stateroom 9568 on Independence of the Seas during her recent September 20, 2015 sailing.

Junior Suites on Independence of the Seas offer guests 297 square feet of space and a balcony that is 94 square feet.

Junior Suites on Independence of the Seas include minibar, vanity area, hair-dryer, TV, phone, vanity table with an extendable working surface for laptop computers and 110/220 electrical outlets. Some have sofa beds and can accommodate 3-4 guests.

Some can also accommodate a rollaway bed or Play Yard. (Junior Suites located in the aft of the ship cannot accommodate a rollaway bed.) 

All photos by Susan Tady Widdowson

Many of our blog readers are big fans of Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas.  She has garnered the admiration of many over the years, offering a lot in a small size.

Here are some quick facts about Enchantment of the Seas that you might not have know about!

1. Enchantment of the Seas has been stretched

Enchantment of the Seas is a different sized ship today than she was when she was launched.

As part of a ship-wide revitalization, in 2005 the Vision-class ship was cut in half and then expanded with a new 73-foot section and then put back together.

This "stretching" has given Enchantment of the Seas an unique distinction for being a different size than her other Vision-class sister ships.

2. Her Godmother is Colleen Fain

When Royal Caribbean builds a cruise ship, they will choose a godmother and often that will be celebrity but for Enchantment of the Seas, Royal Caribbean decided to keep the honor in the family. Literally.

The ship's "godmother" is Colleen Fain, the wife of Royal Caribbean Ltd Chairman Richard Fain.

Mrs. Fain's duties as godmother included giving the vessel its name during the Southampton ceremonies when she released a giant 46-liter bottle of Taittinger champagne to break against the ship's bow, officially proclaiming the ship's name to be Enchantment of the Seas and wished safe journeys to all of its passengers and crew.

3. There is a bar over the ocean

Enchantment of the Seas has one pool bar that actually juts out over the ocean.

The Oasis pool bar features a glass floor that gives passengers a view of the ocean below them as they enjoy their drinks.

Talk about a bar with a view!

For those unaware, Apple released today its brand new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus phones and all over the world, and already there are lots of people are waiting in line (or at home for the delivery man) to get their hands on the hottest phone.

So once you have your brand new iPhone unwrapped and ready to use, here are some ways to bring a little Royal Caribbean to your phone so you have one more way to get a quick virtual escape!

Buy a Royal Caribbean inspired case

Show off your new iPhone in style with a snazzy new case that not only protects your iPhone, but tells everyone you love to cruise.

Even though the iPhone 6s just launched, there are plenty of cases already available to suit your needs.

We went through what was available and picked some of our favorites!

Anchors Case (available in black or pink)

ULAK Heavy-Duty Anchor Blue case

ULAK Heavy-Duty Case Red Anchor-Neon Pink

Play Penguin Ahoy

Did you know Royal Caribbean released a side-scrolling race game based on the Oasis class cruise ships?

In Penguin Ahoy, users try to avoid the sprinklers, dodge the basketballs, slide under the inflatables to keep the penguin running for as long as possible without being caught by the crew! 

The game is a fun way to spend some time seeing the FlowRider in action, the Rock Wall, H2O zone, Ice Skating, Golf and Basketball court.

The game is free from the App Store.

Get the official app

Of course, we would be remiss if we did not mention downloading the official Royal Caribbean iOS app.

The Royal Caribbean app allows users to see where Royal Caribbean sails, explore unique onboard features that are only on Royal Caribbean’s ships, learn about our many destinations, and see what is happening onboard the Oasis & Allure of the Seas.

Like the game, it too is free!

Download Royal Caribbean wallpaper

If you like seeing Royal Caribbean more often, try setting your lock screen or wallpaper to something Royal Caribbean!

iPhones allow you to change the image you see when your phone is locked or have something behind all of your icons.

To find a perfectly cropped photo for your iPhone, do a Google Image search for "royal caribbean iphone wallpaper".

You should find plenty of choices to pick from and then you can always see something Royal Caribbean when you turn on your phone!

Share with us how you bring a little Royal Caribbean to your phone or tablet in the comments below!

Royal Caribbean announced today changes to its Safety, Environment and Health Team as the head of the department plans for his retirement.

Gary Bald, Senior Vice President, Safety, Security, Environment, Medical/Public Health and Situation Management for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., will transition his duties to top corporate and federal security executiveJennifer Love as he prepares for his retirement in the Spring of 2016.  Love will join Royal Caribbean on September 28, 2015.

Bald has worked for Royal Caribbean since 2006 and in his time, has overseen the company's environmental practices as well as the safety, security and health of the company's 62,000 employees, more than five million guests annually.

Replacing Bald is Jennifer Love, who has spent nearly 25 years at the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Most recently, Love was in charge of the enterprise-wide security programs and process for the Cablevision Systems Corporation and served as the company's chief liaison to local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.

"Gary has been a key figure in the development of Royal Caribbean's approach to safety, environment and health, and an important leader who has made significant contributions to the entire cruise industry," said Adam Goldstein, President and COO, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.  "Gary's leadership has enhanced the safety and security of our guests, crew and employees.  We are privileged to have had Gary at Royal Caribbean"

Goldstein added: "We are very excited to have Jennifer Love join our team.  I am confident Jennifer's skills and expertise will build on our momentum and take our company to even greater advances in our preparedness, procedures and systems."