The new Cruise Terminal 1 in Port Canaveral will be delayed by more than a month due to construction problems on the terminal's waterside area.

Florida Today is reporting that Port Canaveral Chief Executive Officer John Walsh says the new terminal will open December 27.

The change will force cruise ships originally slated to use the new terminal during November and December to shift to other cruise terminals.

Royal Caribbean was planning on using Cruise Terminal 1 for Enchantment of the Seas, Explorer of the Seas and Freedom of the Seas. In addition, Quantum of the Seas would be stopping in Port Canaveral as part of its Bahamas itinerary.

Reporter Dave Berman cites among the issues plaguing the construction site is it's taking longer than expected to remove 90-foot-deep piles that are remnants from former cargo piers that were on the site.

Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas is in Southampton, UK where she is getting ready to welcome her first guests for a trans-Atlantic voyage to Cape Liberty, New Jersey.

Royal Caribbean has released the first batch of official photos showcasing many new areas of Quantum of the Seas.

The new ship is being unveiled to the public and media in the United Kingdom today and this is the beginning of a media push to show off this amazing new ship.

Check out our photo gallery below with all the new photos!

There's less than 99 days until Royal Caribbean's brand new Quantum of the Seas debuts and we're counting down each day with a brand new blog post all about this amazing ship. Check into the blog every day for something new to read about Quantum of the Seas.

Quantum of the Seas Infographic

With Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship, Quantum of the Seas, launching very soon, we're counting down each day with a brand new blog post all about this amazing cruise ship.

Photos of Quantum of the Seas arriving in Southampton

Yesterday Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas arrived in Southampton, England to prepare for its trans-Atlantic ocean voyage.  As you might imagine, a lot of people were excited about Quantum's arrival.

We scoured Twitter to find the better photos out there to share with everyone of Quantum of the Seas arrival. Enjoy!

Light fading, weather crap but I managed my trademark @ABPSouthampton shot! @MyRoyalUK #QuantumoftheSeas pic.twitter.com/O4At3ctRAE

— Patricia Dempsey (@linerlovers) October 29, 2014

NorthStar observation pod on @MyRoyalUK #QuantumoftheSeas was reaching for the clouds as ship arrived in Southampton pic.twitter.com/Y17T4HEuYS

— John Honeywell (@CaptGreybeard) October 29, 2014

All lit up, and almost docked. #QuantumoftheSeas pic.twitter.com/u1B7IUIRlH

— Royal Caribbean UK (@MyRoyalUK) October 29, 2014

#QuantumoftheSeas brightens up #Southampton @MyRoyalUK @RoyalCaribbean #royalcaribbean @ABPSouthampton pic.twitter.com/zMhQnEk1C1

— Royal Caribbean Fans (@RCI_fans) October 29, 2014

A photo posted by Jose Ferreira (@arcocreativeuk) on Oct 10, 2014 at 11:08am PDT

A photo posted by lyan10 (@lyan10) on Oct 10, 2014 at 9:58am PDT

#QuantumoftheSeas arrives in Southampton - @MyRoyalUK pic.twitter.com/WJtzjS3wHd

— Onboard Celebrity (@ade_rob) October 29, 2014

#QuantumoftheSeas pic.twitter.com/RuUGKn60jt

— Stuart Leven (@stuleven) October 29, 2014

In case you missed it all 168,000 GT of the Quantum of the Seas arrived in Southampton this evening - pic.twitter.com/E4ZXPHSYeo

— Southampton Events (@SotonEvents) October 29, 2014

A photo posted by K a i R e i n e c k e (@kaireinecke) on Oct 10, 2014 at 3:20pm PDT

All lit up, and almost docked. #QuantumoftheSeas pic.twitter.com/u1B7IUIRlH

— Royal Caribbean UK (@MyRoyalUK) October 29, 2014

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

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!