Royal Caribbean has awarded L-3 Marine Systems International the contract to provide its NACOS Platinum navigation system for the third Oasis-class ship that is being build by STX France.

The navigation equipment for the new vessel includes L-3 SAM Electronics’ NACOS Platinum navigation system, comprising five X- and S-band radars linked to 9 Multipilot workstations for the combined display of ARPA radar, ECDIS and conning functions. 

L-3’s NACOS Platinum series will also include an advanced dynamic positioning system, developed by L-3 Dynamic Positioning & Control Systems, and features four multifunction touch screen consoles, one CP1 DP controller, and interfaces for required environmental and position reference sensors. Positioning software, specifically developed for critical cruise ship station-keeping operations, is designed to significantly reduce fuel consumption and exhaust emissions.

The third unnamed Oasis-class ship is scheduled for delivery to Royal Caribbean in spring 2016.

We're counting down the days until Quantum of the Seas debuts later this year with our 99 days of Quantum blog series. Each day we will post something about Quantum of the Seas to share with all of you!

FlowRider champ tests out FlowRider on Quantum of the Seas

Everything on Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas needs to be tested and that includes the FlowRider surf simulator.  FlowRider employee and flowboarding legend Sean Silveira, who is a five time world champion, went aboard to put the final touches on the ride and train the sport staff on the wave.

“It was fun training with the sport staff; they are a great group of individuals who were stoked on riding,” Silveira said.

Royal Caribbean has had a long-term relationship with FlowRider, having brought the simulators onboard its cruise ships since the Freedom class of ships. 

“Customer Intimacy is is not just two words – it is a mindset throughout our organization and one concept that we live day in and day out” explained FlowRider COO Marshall Myrman. “We want to create the best experience for not only our customers, but also our clients customers, and everyone else associated with our value chain” added Myrman.

"Having Sean onboard the ship provided a great opportunity for their staff to get excellent hands on training and catch a glimpse of world class riding. It is important for the attraction staff to be knowledgeable and experience the thrill of the wave, so they can better relay the experience to guests."

Quantum of the Seas will feature the FlowRider Double, which is the most popular FlowRider.

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

Episode 65 is available for downloading where we look at the "art" of booking back to back Royal Caribbean cruises.

Matt looks into Royal Caribbean's history of tech innovation with Royal Caribbean's Chief Information Officer, Bill Martin.  Bill takes us through how Royal Caribbean leverages technology to make the cruise ship experience better for its guests. It's an insightful look behind-the-scenes of Royal Caribbean's strategy.

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 65. 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 is working towards getting rid of those last-minute deals on cruises in order to promote more long-term cruise planning.

Royal Caribbean Chairmand and CEO Richard Fain spoke to analysts during last week's earning call, “Last-minute discounting is a significant source of discontent to many of our early-booking guests."

Fain indicated that a “more consistent approach on pricing” has been reached because of reducing of cabin capacity in 2015 when Royal Caribbean will have more of its cruise ships based in Asia.  This will reduce the supply of available staterooms in the Caribbean, which Royal Caribbean hopes will increase the profitability of each sailing.

This may in turn lead to less passengers depending on how aggresively Royal Caribbean prices itself.  Fain believes in the long term, it will work out, “we think it will raise the satisfaction level of our guests and strengthen the perception of our brand superiority.”

The big question is if Royal Caribbean can actually achieve this sort of change, which Fain cites will be “a source of quite a bit of upset” for early birds. For Royal Caribbean to make this work they will need industry capacity to remain stable in any region as well as avoiding the big PR nightmares that can sour market demaind.

We're counting down to the 99 days until Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship, Quantum of the Seas, launches with a brand new blog post every day. Be sure to check back for something new everyday here.

Royal Esplanade

You've probably heard by now Royal Caribbean has opted to offer a Royal Esplanade instead of a Royal Promenade on Quantum of the Seas, but this new innovation will offer a brand new experience that is not to be missed.

So what is the difference between the Royal Esplanade versus the Royal Promenade.  Personally, I think of the Royal Esplanade as more of a shopping and entertainment district onboard the ship than the cavernous strip that the Royal Promenade is.  

The Royal Esplanade runs the length of deck 4 with a mezzanine level on deck 5 both of which offer shopping, a variety of restaurants, pubs and the brand new Music Hall.

The Royal Esplanade is a combination of shops, luxury boutiques, restaurants and lounges.  The Via is part of the Esplanade and will offer luxury boutiques whereas the main part of the Esplanade will offer other shops, including a new collection of logo items that will be available in 2015 in a new boutique called "The Shop".

Just like the Royal Promenade, there will be entertainment offered throughout each cruise on the Royal Esplanade.  

You will also find Michael's Genuine Pub and Wonderland specialty restaurants as well as Vintages, Chops Grille, Izumi, Cafe Promenade, Sorrentos and more.

You may also notice the incredible art work in the Royal Esplanade, including digital and traditional sculpture and artwork.

From the sounds of it, the Royal Esplanade will be the kind of place you will be spending a lot of time onboard Quantum of the Seas with everything going on.

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

Royal Caribbean accepted delivery today of its newest cruise ship, Quantum of the Seas, from ship builder Meyer Werft.

The ceremonial exchange occured at Bremerhaven, Germany where officials from Royal Caribbean met with Meyer Werft officials to officially welcome Quantum of the Seas into Royal Caribbean's fleet.

Quantum of the Seas will depart from Bremerhaven to Southampton, England later today, October 28, 2014.  Once she reaches Southampton, she will set off to her Atlantic crossing on November 2nd.

Royal Caribbean has scheduled her official maiden voyage for November 23 from Cape Liberty, New Jersey to the Bahamas.

Royal Caribbean Chairman and CEO Richard D. Fain (pictured right) and Meyer Werft Yard’s Managing Partner Bernard Meyer (pictured left) attended the official signing ceremony in Bremerhaven, Germany.)

Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas debuts in less than 100 days so we're counting down all the great things about Quantum of the Seas. Each day we will post something about Quantum of the Seas to share with you.

Roboshow rehearsal video

You may have heard about Roboshow, a brand new experience on Quantum of the Seas featuring seven foot screens mounted to robot arms.

Robotic Arts, the company that is installing the robot arms, are testing the robot programming and preparing the images for content to arrive soon.

This is expected to be one of the premier shows on Quantum of the Seas and here's a good preview of the tech behind the show.

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

Royal Caribbean Vice President Commercial & New Business Development, John Tercek, spoke at a recent tourism conference in Greece where he advocated the country invest in its ports to win over more cruise business.

The growing demand for cruise ships forces companies to order bigger ships so if Greece wants to get its share of the cruise business, it must modernize its ports and expand other ports in the coming years.

In Tercek's speech, he indicated the Greek cruise destinations that can best attract the interest of cruise companies are Piraeus, Santorini, Heraklion, Chania, Corfu and Katakolon, but others, such as Rhodes and Mykonos need more modern infrastructure to support the growing demaind.

Global competition for cruise ships is on the rise and Tercek noted that Australia's cruise tourism has increased by 77% over the last 10 years and that demand is still increasing.  Greece will close 2014 with about 2.5 million cruise visitors but that is still less than Italy and Spain.  Tercek believes the big disadvantage for Greece is most cruises do not home port from there. Last year only 212,000 passengers departed from Greek ports whereas 2 million left from Italy.

There's less than 99 days (22 to be exact) until Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas debuts so we're counting down each day with a brand new blog post all about Quantum of the Seas. Read our blog each day for a new post all about this amazing cruise ship.

Quantum of the Seas docking in Hamburg

Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship, Quantum of the Seas, is in Hamburg as part of its final sea trials in the North Sea.  In fact, the new ship has had its final adjustments made and is nearly ready for handover to Royal Caribbean on October 27.

Today we've got a great video of Quantum of the Seas docking in Hamburg harbor along with the North Start in use.  Can't wait to get onboard myself!

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

We're counting down to the 99 days until Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship, Quantum of the Seas, launches with a brand new blog post every day. Be sure to check back for something new everyday here.

Chef's Table

The Chef's Table has become a coveted experience on Royal Caribbean ships.  It's an intimate dinner with just you and a few other guests who get a five-course meal created by the Chops Grille chef just for you.

Located inside a special part of Chops Grille, the Chef's Table offers just 16 spots for a culinary adventure.

GUEST REVIEW OF CHEF'S TABLE ON OASIS OF THE SEAS

If you like gourmet food and good wine to accompany it, Chef's Table is for you.  The idea behind the Chef's Table is to give guests an unique five-course dinner with wine pairings.

It's meant to be educational as well, as with each course the Chef de Cuisine specially prepares and presents each course, while explaining its cooking techniques, ingredients and flavors.

With each course, a sommelier pairs every course with wine chosen to enhance your enjoyment of the dish. 

Chef's Table is the premier dining experience on Quantum of the Seas and it's also going to be the priciest but if fine dining is what you desire, this is the place for you.

Chef's Table is a specialty restaurant and has a cover charge to dine there. There is a formal dress code and it will be open for dinner.

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