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

Episode 99 is available for downloading where we discuss how onboard music is used aboard Royal Caribbean ships.

Matt speaks with the team from Mood Media about their work bringing onboard music to a number of Royal Caribbean ships.  We talk about how Mood decides on the songs to use and the process of using music to enhance the guest experience onboard.

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 99. 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's Quantum of the Seas arrived in Shanghai (Baoshan), China today, which will be her new homeport.  Quantum of the Seas will offer three- to eight-night, roundtrip cruises, year-round from Shanghai to North Asia destinations.

Chinese officials from the port authority from Baoshan district together with executives from Royal Caribbean joined the welcome ceremony for Global Odyssey guests at Wusong International Cruise Terminal this morning.

Quantum of the Seas's arrival completes a 53-night global odyssey cruise from New York that took the ship to the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Indian Ocean and finally, China.

Royal Caribbean President and CEO, Michael Bayley, spoke about the impact of Quantum of the Seas' arrival, "Chinese consumers have grown to expect the best the world has to offer, and Quantum of the Seas meets that standard like no other ship – this is a cruise from the future,  The addition of Quantum of the Seas has increased our brand’s capacity to the highest ever in the region. There is incredible potential in the Chinese market, and bringing our newest and most technologically advanced ship to China will cement our leadership position in the area."

A Royal Caribbean original production created by Moment Factory, Spectra’s Cabaret immerses guests in a multimedia show unlike any other. Featuring a blend of live performance, technology and music, Anthem of the Seas’ new cabaret allows guests to be transported into a whole other world.

Royal Caribbean Blog contributor Michael Poole is on Freedom of the Seas this week reporting all about his cruise experience.

Today was our last day of the cruise and boy was I starting to get sad. 

This morning was the first morning I didn’t wake up early, and slept in until 11am.  That’s okay I still had a full day ahead of me, I met my brother for lunch in the Windjammer. 

I’m not sure if you have noticed from all my post, but I skipped breakfast everyday.  Once we entered the Windjammer they had a beautiful cake in the entrance, saying thank you for sailing.  Royal Caribbean really goes that extra mile the entire cruise to wow you time and time again. 

My plans for today were to relax in the pool and soak up all the sun I could.  It was shortly after noon when I finally made it to the pool and there was no hope for getting a pool chair.  They had a noon line dancing class poolside, I didn’t join in but it was fun to watch. 

An hour or so after the dancing they had water volleyball.  They had seven teams go up against the crew, including our cruise director Jamie Fentiman. 

Jamie was the most active cruise director I’ve seen in all my cruises.  Every single event he was involved in, where most these days let their activity manager take a few over.  Not only did the crew beat all seven teams, they last all the teams at the end take on the crew and still lost.  

Yes, there were almost 50 people in the pool and still couldn’t take out the crew. 

Pre Dinner

Before dinner we had some wine in their beautiful wine bar, vintages.  I must say the bar was pretty empty every night. 

If you look at my picture this was taken at 8pm on the last night. 

Nevertheless, the service was always great and each evening they have free taps in a few trays to sample. 

Dinner

Tonight for dinner the two main meals were the lamb and turkey and dressing.  I went with the lamb and it was so tender, just fell off the bone. 

My waiter overheard me talking about how much I missed the fresh green beans Chops used to serve, so he brought me a plate of them!  I was so impressed he went out of his way to surprise me, but then again it’s Royal Caribbean, it’s what they do. 

As dinner was winding down they started their farewell singing and dancing.   They invite the passengers up to dance around with them to close out the evening.  We didn’t join tonight because we were all saying goodbye to a few friends we met. 

Post Dinner

Tonight we met one last time at the R Bar to say goodbye to all group.  I didn’t take any pictures, since I’ve included them in a few other post.  We stayed until 1am and everyone headed to bed. 

I dragged my 15 year old sister with me tonight because I wanted to spend more time with her.  She was pretty bored hanging with the adults, but I let her use my Internet access, so that made her happy. 

I had talked about the helipad all week and how I used to hangout up there when I was her age.  We started walking to our cabins and I said, let’s go out there we still have time!  I turned around and off we went. 

It was a little after 1am and passed the curfew for teenagers without adults, but it was pretty busy up there.  If you have ever been up there at night it’s completely dark, but I had my flash with me on my camera. 

I took my usual shot to see how many people are in the center and I spotted three.  They were not too happy I near blinded them, but it was for the blog. 

If you ever want to visit the helipad, you go to deck 4 forward and step outside (where you were day one for muster drill) There are 2 sets of steps, but just keep going forward and you can’t miss it. 

Disembarkation

There are two options to get off the ship, express departure or a number system. 

The express option requires you to carry all luggage you have and walk off as soon as the ship is cleared by customs.  The other option is where you put your luggage outside the cabin by midnight and you see it once you get off.  

I always do the express option because I usually book an early flight or long drive home.  One more perk is little to no line getting off or in customs. 

I met my group at 7:15am and we walked off with no one else or any line, as the ship was just cleared. 

Recap

Overall this was a great cruise with absolutely no real issues to report of, other than slow Internet.  My cabin was beautiful, the ship looks great to be 9 years old, and we had clear sky and sun for seven straight days. 

All these years I’ve heard everyone talk about how much they love Freedom of the Seas and now I know why. 

I hope you enjoyed my blog post and see you again this Fall, ship is still TBD.  

Many Royal Caribbean cruise ships offer guests the opportunity to dine at Johnny Rockets, a retro-inspired restaurant where you’ll feel like you stepped back in time to an era of sock hops, soda fountains and drive-in theaters.  

Johnny Rockets has been working with Royal Caribbean since 1999, when the first Johnny Rockets debuted on Voyager of the Seas. Since then, Johnny Rockets has spread to over a dozen cruise ships.

Atmosphere

When you step inside a Johnny Rockets, you will find a recreation of an American diner from the 1950's.  

Johnny Rockets on Freedom of the Seas

Walking into the diner, you will find booths with red vinyl seats opposite a long counter of white tile with chrome trim.  You will hear music from the 1950's, 1960's and 1970's that play continuously. 

The crew members working at Johnny Rockets look the part as well, with their paper hats and long white aprons.  

In fact, the crew members will stop what they are doing and jump into a line dance for certain songs.

Johnny Rockets on Quantum of the Seas

On the Quantum class ships, the set up is more open.  Instead of an enclosed restaurant, you will find an open air restaurant on the pool deck where you place your order at the counter and then wait for your food to be prepared and can eat it in the restaurant or take it elsewhere on the ship.

Cost

On most ships, Johnny Rockets comes with a cover charge of $6.95 per person that includes most food on the menu  You will be able to eat as much as you care to order.  Milk shakes and other beverages come with an extra cost.  

On the Quantum class cruise ships, Johnny Rockets does not have a cover charge and instead has an a la carte menu, where each item on the menu has an individual cost.

Royal Caribbean Crown & Anchor Society members will often get a coupon to dine at Johnny Rockets, which is usually a free cover charge.

The basics

On ships that offer Johnny Rockets, when the restaurant is open, guests can go dine there at any time and will be seated on a first-come, first-served basis.

There is seating in booths, at the counter and also outside the restaurant (weather permitting). 

As you are seated, you will be handed a menu by your waiter and have a choice between hamburgers, melts, hot dogs, sandwiches, fries, onion rings and more.

Each table is given a side of onion rings and french fries to start with, before your main courses arrive.

Breakfast too

On Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, Johnny Rockets is open for breakfast and it's complimentary.

For breakfast, Johnny Rockets serves up fried or scrambled eggs, breakfast sandwiches, pancakes, french toast, omelettes and more.

Juice, milk, coffee, tea and hot chocolate are included in the meal as well.

Ships with Johnny Rockets

• Voyager of the Seas
• Explorer of the Seas
• Adventure of the Seas
• Navigator of the Seas
• Mariner of the Seas
• Freedom of the Seas
• Majesty of the Seas
• Liberty of the Seas
• Independence of the Seas
• Oasis of the Seas
• Allure of the Seas
• Anthem of the Seas
• Harmony of the Seas
• Symphony of the Seas

Have you eaten at Johnny Rockets on a Royal Caribbean ship? Let us know in the comments!

Royal Caribbean Blog contributor Michael Poole is on Freedom of the Seas this week reporting all about his cruise experience.

Today was a sea day as we start our journey back to Florida, it’s so sad to think we are headed home. 

I didn’t set an alarm for the first time this cruise, but still woke up at 8am.  I always get my coffee at Starbucks, and blog while I’m waking up.  I noticed it was very quite this morning, I suppose everyone was still sleeping in. 

Since it’s a sea day, everyone had headed up to the pool deck.  There were many chairs being saved my pool towels, but the staff was trying hard to enforce the 30-minute rule. 

My schedule for today was to soak in the sun, get in the water, and repeat.  There were so many kids in the main pool jumping in having fun, but everyone was getting so splashed.  The pool staff kept blowing whistles at them to stop, but honestly they had over taken the pools. 

I usually don’t cruise in the summer time; due to the cost so perhaps this is the norm at summer. 

Those that have cruised before know they always have a belly flop contest and world’s sexiest man contest on sea days.  Well today the roles changed, for the first time ever they had a woman’s only cannon ball contest.  And that’s when it hit me; I’ve never seen so many people on a pool deck in my life!  I think half the ship was in the pools and around it getting ready for the contest.  It was fun seeing a different type of contest than the usual ones we have been watching for years. 

Dinner

Tonight was our second formal night and if you ask me the best dinner of the week. 

They have prime rib and lobster and boy did we have a lot of tails.  Our waiter just kept bringing the tails to our table.  

Again we had the head waiter stop by a few times to check-in on our meal, just makes dinner that much more enjoyable.  If you look at my picture you can see the amount of food on our table. 

I know I mentioned it before, but the service has just been outstanding each night. 

The Quest

Tonight was what I call the main event, The Quest!  Matt and I have talked in great detail on the podcast about the Quest being my favorite event.  If you haven’t attended the show, you are missing out my friends. 

Just to give you an idea of the show, it’s an adult game show searching for items within the team.  I’m very competitive in everything I do, so you can guess my team finished in first place! 

Cabin

In blog post from day one, I mentioned my cabin on deck 3 (3543), but didn’t include a picture.  Per the request of blog post reader Clo here is a picture of my cabin. 

I’m sorry it’s a little messy; I usually keep it much cleaner.  

My thoughts of the cabin have changed a bit throughout the week. Around 5pm each evening I can hear tables and chairs above me in Sabor, not really a big deal because I need to be waking up from my nap anyways.  

I also don’t love being forward on the ship, it seems like everything is in the aft. 

Evening

Tonight they had another pool deck party in the solarium.  I’m sorry I didn’t take my camera up to the party, so no pictures of the event. 

Unlike the last pool party this one was extremely packed.   The ship came to life tonight; it felt like everyone was out and about throughout the ship. 

The pool deck party lasted until 1:30am and then lasted until the early hours of the morning.  Sadly it was the last full night everyone had since most people get to bed early before they travel. 

Up next tomorrow is our last sea day…

Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas arrived in Hong Kong earlier today.

Quantum of the Seas is on a global odyssey cruise that began in New Jersey and will eventually see her be based in Shanghai, China.

Royal Caribbean executives were on hand in Hong Kong for Quantum's arrival into Kai Tak cruise terminal.  The Hong Kong Police Band performed in Two70 as part of the celebration.

Quantum of the Seas is staying overnight in Hong Kong and will leave at 3.00pm on Sunday. The ship will return to the city in December.

Photos copyright Royal Caribbean International.

Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas completed its float out of its building at STX France in Saint-Nazaire, France.

Harmony of the Seas will be Royal Caribbean's third Oasis-class cruise ship and is scheduled to have her first cruises in late Spring 2016.  She will be the largest cruise ship in the world when she debuts, coming in just slightly larger than her Oasis-class sisters.

These photos are copyright Royal Caribbean International.

Today was our last port of call in beautiful St. Maarten, docking at 8am-5pm. 

We didn’t have any plans today, so we started off with some shopping.  Once you get off the ship they have water taxi’s that will take you over to their boardwalk for $7pp round-trip. This is where all the shopping, restaurants, bars, and beach are located. 

If you are looking for a great port to shop, St. Maarten is the place.  I picked up two new lenses for my Canon 60D camera; of course I justified it for the blog posts.

Lunch

For lunch we decided to eat at a very famous restaurant in St. Maarten, called The Blue Bitch.  I discovered this restaurant around a decade ago and have lunch there every time I get to visit.  They have free wifi you just ask for the password (blueb921). 

They also have a live band playing on the boardwalk, which makes it fun while you are having lunch.  I should have inquired how they came up with the name, because it’s not wild by any means. 

For those wondering were it’s located, once you get off the water taxi turn right down the boardwalk and it’s about the 5th restaurant down. 

Swimming

After a few hours of shopping and lunch my sister and I decided to part ways from the group and go swimming in the ocean.  The price for two padded chairs and an umbrella is $15 for the day. 

The water here is so clear and the beach is very soft, talk about some combination.   We only stayed out there swimming for an hour or so and headed back to the ship.  The water taxi was at the dock waiting on us and off we went. 

Once I was back on board I just walked around and explored the ship.  I came across Guinness world records certificate for the largest passenger liner in the world.  This was located right beside the R Bar on the Royal Promenade deck. 

In 2006 when the Freedom launched it was the largest ship, but we now have Oasis class, which surpass her by 70,000 gross tons.  To put that into scale for you, the Titanic was only 46,000 gross tons. 

Dinner

Tonight we headed back to the main dining room.

I just kept looking up thinking how beautiful this dining room is.  It almost made me sad to think about the new dynamic dining because this is such a trademark of cruising. 

The service in the dining room is absolutely outstanding, perhaps the best I’ve seen.  

Tonight we had an officer come over and talk to those who are sailing next week and said, “you tell me what table you want next week and I’ll make it happen.” Once again, above and beyond service from Royal Caribbean, it’s what keeps me coming back. 

After dinner all the waiters got up and danced all around the dining room and invited us to join them.  So you already know, I grabbed my little sister and off we went.  I must say, this was the first time I had danced in the middle of the dining room, but we had a blast. 

Post Dinner

After dinner we had our usual gathering at R Bar, but tonight we had the 70’s street parade.  This started at 10:30pm and they played all the classics from the 1970’s. 

I’ve mentioned this before on the podcast with Matt, but I’m ready for a new decade of music, the 1980’s. Sure I enjoy all the songs, but I think it’s time for something new, and well it’s my decade.  I’ll just have to keep cruising until they change it up, because I know it’s coming!

Everyone was pretty tired and we called it a night early, after my usual pizza pit stop. 

Up next is two sea days!  These days go by too fast when you are at sea.  Our plan is just relax and make the most of them. 

Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas had her float out process and we've found photos to share of this important step in her journey to entering service.

Harmony of the Seas is being worked at STX France shipyard.  She is the third Oasis-class cruise ship.

Paquebot #HarmonyOfTheSeas @SaintNazaire1 Nouvelles photos de la construction http://t.co/dAlIjTet0j @RoyalCaribbeanF pic.twitter.com/amjTMSekoS

— escalecroisiere (@escalecroisiere) June 18, 2015

#harmonyOfTheSeas et c'est parti pour la mise à l'eau sous le regard de passionnés #saintnazaire @RoyalCaribbeanF pic.twitter.com/Li61TEgteP

— cathy ryo (@RyoCathy) June 19, 2015

On le voit maintenant en entier. Impressionnant #harmonyOfTheSeas #saintnazaire @RoyalCaribbeanF #stx pic.twitter.com/OLloqkGMR8

— cathy ryo (@RyoCathy) June 19, 2015

Cap sur la forme C #harmonyOfTheSeas @RoyalCaribbeanF #saintnazaire #stx pic.twitter.com/6GPEcAoIQT

— cathy ryo (@RyoCathy) June 19, 2015

8 remorqueurs mobilisés pour la manoeuvre #harmonyOfTheSeas @RoyalCaribbeanF #stx #saintnazaire pic.twitter.com/Edh5qJ7ktH

— cathy ryo (@RyoCathy) June 19, 2015

Construction paquebot #HarmonyOfTheSeas @SaintNazaire1 nouvelles photos http://t.co/dAlIjTet0j @RoyalCaribbeanF pic.twitter.com/KN1MBehbnl

— escalecroisiere (@escalecroisiere) June 19, 2015

Oups #HarmonyOfTheSeas à bon port forme C et non forme B #lasttweet #saintnazaire @RoyalCaribbeanF pic.twitter.com/iRCL7yw1Bp

— cathy ryo (@RyoCathy) June 19, 2015

La mise à l'eau de l'#Harmonyoftheseas a officiellement commencé ! pic.twitter.com/thppgWFpIR

— Royal Caribbean FR (@RoyalCaribbeanF) June 19, 2015