One of my favorite songs in the last few years was "Fancy" by Iggy Azalea (yes, I am a 15 year old trapped in an adult body) and besides being quite catchy, the song talks about how the singer is famous, stylish and confident.

So if you want to live the "Fancy" lifestyle on a Royal Caribbean cruise, here's what you need to know so the whole world asking how you does that.

First things first, the ship

If you think you can hold others down like you're givin' lessons in physics, then you are going to want to be on the right ship to prove it.

Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas is the newest in the fleet (as of the writing of this post) and it offers the latest and greatest of everything.  It's the perfect ship to get your swagger on super and have access to the latest in cruise ship tech, entertainment and dining.

You can drop it low and pick it up in the Music Hall, or maybe a little champagne spillin' during dinner at The Grande.

And since Anthem of the Seas is coming to New York City, where she will be based for the foreseeable future, it's the perfect spot to be in the fast lane.

Get your cup of Ace, cup of Goose and cup of Cris 

If you prefer to takin' all the liquor straight, then Royal Caribbean's Ultimate beverage package is perfect for you.

The Ultimate alcohol package offers virtually unlimited combinations of beer, wine, liquor, juices and more.  You won't have to get drunk on the mini bar with the Ultimate package, because you will have access to it all.

Stores to match

Anthem of the Seas features a number of boutique brand stores, such as Hublot, Bvlgari and more.

After all, you have your swagger on super and can't shop at no department.  In these stores, you can purchase somethin' worth a half a ticket  to have on your wrist.

Shopping here is classic, expensive and you don't get to touch (unless you buy it).

Put your name in bold in a Royal Loft Suite

The perfect stateroom for rooftop like you're bringing '88 back has to be the Royal Loft Suites.

These two deck suites are not just the perfect way to show you're so fancy, but also because it just has everything.

On the main level is an open living/dining room with dry bar and sofa.  There's also a separate media room with full bath and shower.

Outside, you will find a large private balcony with whirlpool and dining area.  

Upstairs on the second level is your master bedroom, private bath with soaking tup and a private balcony with dual whirlpool tub.

If you are staying in a Royal Loft Suite, it says you're so fancy.  But you already know.

Is Anthem of the Seas the perfect ship if you want to be fancy? Tell us in the comments below how you would make a Royal Caribbean cruise the realest

Royal Caribbean will offer a 72 hour sale this week on holiday cruises in 2015 and 2016 that will include buy one fare, get 50% off their second guest, 50% off their deposit plus their prepaid gratuities for free.

The 72 hour Holidays in July sale will be available between July 17 and 19, 2015 and is valid on all sailings departing Dec. 15-31, 2015 or Dec. 15-31, 2016, excluding China departures and Ovation of the Seas sailings.

If you book a qualifying cruise during this promotion, you will be eligible for

• 50% reduced deposit
• Buy one guest, get second guest 50% off
• Pre-paid gratuities for the first and second guest in the stateroom.

BOGO offer is combinable with the adjoining Pre-Paid Gratuities and 50% Reduced Deposit offers, Crown & Anchor discounts, NextCruise offers, and Shareholder Benefits. BOGO offer is not combinable with restricted rates (for example, Seniors, Residents, Military). Pre-Paid Gratuities offer is combinable with restricted rates (for example, Seniors, Residents, Military, BOGO) as well as NextCruise offers. Pre-paid Gratuities offer is not combinable with Crown & Anchor discounts and Shareholder Benefits. Neither offer is combinable with 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 open to residents of the United States or Canada.

Royal Caribbean's third Oasis class cruise ship, Harmony of the Seas is getting a 10 story water slide added to it known as The Abyss.

At a media event in New York last night, Royal Caribbean revealed the names of the water slides that we knew about for Harmony of the Seas, and announced there would be a fourth water slide that is 10 stories tall, named the Abyss.

Royal Caribbean had announced in February that Harmony of the Seas was getting three water slides added to the ship's Pool and Sports Zone, which was a first for Royal Caribbean.  

The three slides together will be known as the The Perfect Storm, with each slide called Cyclone, Monsoon and Typhoon. These three slides are about three decks in height.

In addition, Royal Caribbean announced last night a fourth water slide known as The Abyss, which will be ten-stories tall and will start at the top of the AquaTheater and bring guests down to the Boardwalk.

UPDATE: Royal Caribbean has released new renderings of The Perfect Storm slides.

Royal Caribbean announced its Liberty of the Seas cruise ship will get a new water slide as part of an upcoming revitalization.

#LibertyoftheSeas to feature new waterslide after revitalization pic.twitter.com/6dnD4ZJ5LQ

— Royal Caribbean PR (@RoyalCaribPR) July 15, 2015

Royal Caribbean confirmed Liberty of the Seas will have a revitalization in January 2016, and it will be at this time that the water slide will be added.

@NickVitani January 2016

— Royal Caribbean PR (@RoyalCaribPR) July 15, 2015

The brand new Oasis class cruise ship, Harmony of the Seas, will get water slides and earlier this month, Royal Caribbean announced Majesty of the Seas will also get a water slide.

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

Episode 102 is available for downloading and this week we are looking at how guests use social media to improve their cruise experience.

Social media is changing how many guests choose to share their Royal Caribbean cruise, before, during and after the cruise.  This week, Joe Tolley joins us to talk about the ways passengers can leverage social media to have their next Royal Caribbean cruise be more social.

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 102. 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 announced that it has decided not to add Dynamic Dining to the rest of the fleet, including the Oasis class cruise ships.

Royal Caribbean had previously announced it would be adding Dynamic Dining to its Oasis class cruise ships by the end of the year, but has now changed its plans.

In a statement to travel agents, Royal Caribbean explained its decision, "The revolutionary Dynamic Dining concept was created for Royal Caribbean International’s newest and most technologically advanced Quantum-class ships. It has been decided not to introduce the Dynamic Dining concept to the rest of the fleet, which was not specifically designed to support it, although previously announced for Oasis Class ships."

Guests who had booked Oasis of the Seas, Allure of the Seas and Harmony of the Seas will select from two seating times in the main dining room or My Time Dining.

Guests on Harmony of Seas who have already pre-selected the Dynamic Dining Classic option for their upcoming cruise will be assigned to either early or late seating to match their original choice of time. Guests who have selected the Dynamic Dining Choice option will be assigned to the My Time Dining program.  

All dining reservations for guests sailing on Harmony of the Seas should be converted by the end of July 2015.

Royal Caribbean's plans for Dynamic Dining have changed quite a bit since it originally was announced. The cruise line delayed the roll out of Dynamic Dining to other ships and subsequently added a Dynamic Dining Classic option that was closer to traditional dining.

Royal Caribbean entertainment is proud to introduce another first at sea experience, Puzzle Break, onboard Anthem of the Seas. Guests have one hour to complete the puzzle and escape from the future in this interactive brain teasing game!

When you are ready to experience Royal Caribbean's suite life, the Grand Suite is the first category of stateroom eligible for the full suite experience and we thought it would be useful to look at what this type of stateroom offers you and why you might want to consider booking it for your next cruise.

Grand Suite on Freedom of the Seas - Photo by Royal Caribbean

What are the benefits of having a Grand Suite?

Staying in a suite on a Royal Caribbean ship gets you a few important benefits

• Extra space in your stateroom
• Larger balcony
• Bathroom with tub
• Suite level benefits

Grand Suite on Oasis of the Seas - Photo by Lisa Cancade Hackett

The exact size of a grand suite varies from ship to ship, anywhere from 349 square feet to 401 square feet.  

The size of balconies range as well, from 93 square feet to 452 square feet.  Most balconies are between 100 and 110 square feet.

The benefits for staying in a suite are what many guests relish about the experience.  Suite perks include

• Priority check-in at the pier
• Personalized attention by concierge staff
• Access to Concierge Club on select ships
• Reserved prime seating in the main theater for shows
• Private breakfast and lunch seating in specialty restaurants
• Priority tender tickets
• VIP pool deck seating
• Full menus for in-room dining for all meals
• Complimentary pressing service on formal night
• Complimentary luggage valet service
• Access to reserving cabanas at Royal Caribbean's private islands
• Special cocktail hours and receptions

There are other benefits as well that depend on your ship and itinerary.

The big benefit is access to the Concierge Club lounge as well as the Concierge staff.  The staff will do anything Guest Services can do and more and are a tremendous asset.  They can book cabanas, specialty restaurants and excursions for you.

The concierge lounge also provides complimentary food and alcoholic beverages.

Staying in a Grand Suite will also get you double Crown and Anchor Society points for the duration of your sailing.

How much more will a Grand Suite cost?

Grand Suite on Quantum of the Seas - Photo by Royal Caribbean

The exact difference in cost between a Grand Suite and another category below will differ depending on the ship, sailing and some other factors.

Suite staterooms are a perk, and if you can afford to spend extra for a Grand Suite, it is the entry point to Royal Caribbean's exclusive level of staterooms.

In addition, your daily automatic gratuity amount will be increased to include the concierge service.  The gratuity cost for suite guests is $15.95 per person, per day.

Summary

Grand Suites are the first level of suites that Royal Caribbean offers and if you can afford it, is a wonderful way to get more space and service while onboard.

The key is the cost associated with suites.  Staying in a suite is about paying extra to get the exclusive benefits that come with that status, but it may not be a financially sound choice when you compare the price of a Grand Suite to a lower stateroom category.

What guests really enjoy about a Grand Suite is the level of service they receive, which to them is well worth the additional cost.  In addition, the extra Crown and Anchor points helps move you up in Crown and Anchor Society much faster.

As part of my next Royal Caribbean cruise, I want to take you along for the planning process as we make decisions and plan our Royal Caribbean vacation.  I hope this will give you some insight into my thought process and perhaps this will assist you for planning your next Royal Caribbean cruise too.

Today we are going to look at excursion ideas for one of the stops on our Freedom of the Seas 7-night cruise, St. Thomas.

Background

I've been to St. Thomas about four times now and I am struggling with what to do here.

St. Thomas is quite beautiful and we have always done some sort of beach excursion.  We may work in some shopping or a tour, but inevitably we end up at the beach.  And that beach is always Magens Bay.

The reason I am conflicted is because going to the beach is easy and works well for my family.  It is low key and because I have two young kids (4 and 6 months), we cannot do something adventurous even if we wanted to.  

The other problem with finding new things to do in St. Thomas is I have come to the conclusion that a lot of the popular things to do in St. Thomas are tourist traps. 

On our last trip to St. Thomas, we did a group tour so that we could see more of the island and expand our horizons.  I felt like we just went from one tourist spot to another, so while I am always looking for new ideas, I have resigned myself to the conclusion there may simply be no escaping the touristy nature of things to do there.

The Options

After careful research, I cam up with these excursion ideas.

Magens Bay

Why mess with something that works, right? Magens Bay is beautiful and provides the kind of Caribbean beach experience most folks want when they go on a cruise.

The cost to getting to the beach and the beach itself are minimal and there aren't a lot of big waves here either, which is good for my older daughter.

The biggest negative I can say about Magens Bay is that we have been here before.  Many times. 

Pros: Known entity; Great for kids; Beautiful setting

Cons: Been here many times

Skyride to Paradise Point

Photo by Mike LaMonaca

While browsing Royal Caribbean's shore excursions, I ran across the Skyride and it sounds pretty interesting.  Take a tram up 700 feet to mountaintop Paradise Point and enjoy the view.  

This will not be an all day excursion, but it sounds like a fun little thing to do in addition to something else on the island.

On our last trip to St. Thomas, our tour brought us to a different peak (Mountain Top) and we had a great view there, so this would be similar but from a different perspective.

Interestingly enough, everything I have read indicates it is cheaper to purchase this excursion through Royal Caribbean than going to the tram directly. It also seems like when you purchase a pass, it is good for anytime that day, so it gives us flexibility.

Pros: Great view; Easy for kids

Cons: Moderately expensive ($21.75 for adults / $10.75 for kids)

Lindquist Beach

Just like Magens Bay, Lindquist Beach is another beach option and the appeal here is it is not Magens Bay!

Photo by David Marriott

Based on reviews and photos posted online, it looks quite beautiful as well.  I will not waste more time waxing poetically about the virtues of a beautiful beach.

The only negative I can think of is we might go here in spite of Magens Bay and then regret not going to Magens Bay if this beach does not feel as good as Magens Bay.

Pros: Beautiful beach

Cons: Might regret not going with the #1 beach in St Thomas

Charlotte Amalie

​Photo by Andrew Love

It's been a number of years since I went to downtown Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas' capital, and explore the city.

In other ports, we usually enjoy wandering the streets and doing some shopping along with having lunch at a local spot.  It is the kind of adventure I really enjoy.

The problem with walking around Charlotte Amalie is it will be July in the Caribbean and walking around outside sounds like a recipe for being tired and sweaty, with a pinch of whiny kids.

I could see us going here first in the morning to get some exploring in and then taking a cab to the beach to cool off.

Pros: Been a while since we explored Charlotte Amalie; Like exploring

Cons: Hot weather may make this a bad idea; Using stroller could make walking around tricky

The Decision

After considering our options, we ended up choosing.... the skyride and a beach.

We are not sure which beach we will go to yet but we are going to keep things up in the air and make a decision closer to our day.

The skyride does sound pretty neat and it is something new that we can try, so we will likely book that and check it out early in the day and then make a decision about which beach to go to.

If we were going to St. Thomas in the winter, I think there would be some other choices to consider but summer in the Eastern Caribbean means it will be simpler and more relaxing to sit at the beach.

What would you do if you were going to St. Thomas? Share your thoughts in the comments!