Your best Royal Caribbean cruise ever has just wrapped up and you're back home and already you're longing for the next one.  If you're anyting like my family, we start missing certain aspects of the cruise experience right away.

Here are the things we always think about "the day after" that we wish we could see/eat/do again.

10.Someone to bring new towels every day

You get home, take a shower after a long trip back home and when you put your towel on the floor... no one replaces it with a clean one!  There's something nice about having fresh towels brought to you every day to keep things nice and fresh.

9. Being welcomed to each meal with a smile, a wave and some hand sanitizer

When my daughter sees hand sanitzer these days, she always mentions going on a cruise.  Whether you are walking into the Windjammer, Main Dining Room or a specialty restaurant, being greeted warmly always makes you feel good.  

I especially enjoy the "antics" of the early morning Windjammer staff who combine their hellos with dances, songs and high-fives. 

8. Knowing what day it is by looking down on the ground

Granted most people do not have elevators in their houses, but it's nice to be able to look down on the ground and know what day it is.  It's a little touch that makes a Royal Caribbean cruise feel like a Royal Caribbean cruise.

7. Having all of our meals cooked for us

Who doesn't enjoy having all your meals and snacks prepared for you every night?  When you get home, you start thinking about all the preperation and work involved in cooking and it makes you yearn for one more night in the Main Dining Room.

6. Being able to see the ocean all the time

Whether you're walking around the deck, going out to your balcony or disembarking at a new port, the ocean is always there and getting that ocean breeze is something you just can't beat.  Being back at home, I miss that smell of the ocean and hearing the waves crashing into the ship.  

5. The only schedule to worry about is in your Cruise Compass

When you're onboard your Royal Caribbean cruise, the Cruise Compass is all you need to figure out what to do that day.  Being back at home, work emails, kids practices, errands and the rest all dictate where you have to be when.  Call me crazy, but I greatly prefer deciding between the bellyflop competition or towel folding seminar to carpooling the kids to school.

4. Someone making your bed each day with turndown service

Since I was a kid, I've felt making up your bed was silly since the only person that sees it is me.  But when you're on a Royal Caribbean cruise, it's great having the bed made up for you each and every morning.

And at night, turn down service is the perfect way to get ready for bed.  I may not ever do it myself at home, but turn down service is the way to get into bed if I had a choice!

3. Waking up somewhere new every day

One of the best things about cruising is the idea you go to sleep in one place and you wake up somewhere else.  Going to new ports every day and exploring is what makes a Royal Caribbean vacation so much fun!  

At home, you go to sleep and wake up in the same place every night.  There's no question the cruise alternative is the way to go!

2. Basically everything on the pool deck

I was thinking about something regarding being by the pool is something I miss when I'm home but I decided that first day back you just miss the entire pool deck experience.

Sunning yourself, being in the water, getting unlimited free ice cream cones and having someone bring you the drink of the day all contribute to the pool deck experience.  When you're home, you miss out on pretty much all of that and it feels odd not going up to deck 11 for a swim.

1. Not being at work

'Nuff said.

This week's batch of beautiful Royal Caribbean photos is here and it's always fun to share with all of you the great photos our readers take while on their cruise vacation.

The photos we have to show this week are fun and of course anyone can send us their Royal Caribbean photos to use as well!

First up this week is a shot of Deck 4 on Freedom of the Seas by Paul Westbrook.  Who doesn't enjoy sitting on a chair and just taking in the view?

This is a really cool photo of a helicopter that had to airlift a passenger who had a stroke to the nearest hospital.  The photo is by Jan-Arild Knutsen and it's from an Independence of the Seas cruise to Norway.  Hope the passenger was okay!

Ken Slusser has this photo of Enchantment of the Seas docked in King's Wharf, Bermuda back in 2012.  Bermuda cruises are a great getaway and Ken notes the special thing about Bermuda cruises is 2-3 nights in Bermuda. Agreed!

Next is this photo by Humberto Carnero of Freedom of the Seas with San Juan, Puerto Rico in the background.  The crew member was getting ready to dock in the port.

This is a really nice shot by Keith Davis from his Mexican Riviera cruise on Mariner fo the Seas. It's from an excursion in Cabo and the use of black and white is lovely.

Thanks to everyone who sent in their photos this week.  Be sure to send your photos in as well by using this form.

Royal Caribbean will hold a conference call on October 23, 2014 at 10am to discuss its third quarter 2014 financial results.

The call will be available on-line at the company's investor relations web site, www.rclinvestor.com. To listen to the call by phone, please dial (877) 663-9606 in the US and Canada. International phone calls should be made to (706) 758-4628. There is no passcode or meeting number.

A replay of the webcast will be available at the same site for a month following the call.

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.

Jamie's Italian

What happens when you combine celebrity chef Jamie Oliver and Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship?  You get a brand new restaurant that delivers the kind of food one of Britian's most famous chefs loves, Italian!

Jamie's Italian was created by Jamie Oliver because of all the types of food to choose from, he loves Italian the most. 

Onboard Quantum of the Seas, you will find rustic Italian dishes made from seasonal ingredients and tried and true recipes. You'll find an antipasti plank that's piled high with cured meats, pickles and tempting cheeses, pumpkin panzerotti, Prawn linguine. Plus there’s a whole array of antipasti, small plates, a gorgeous selection of grills and tempting desserts that aren't to be missed.

In terms of this restaurant's theory, Jamie designed the menu to strip food down to its essence, working with simple, quality ingredients with no pretense or ego.

Jamie's Italian is a specialty restaurant and has a cover charge to dine there. There is a smart casual dress code and it will be open for lunch and dinner.

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

Royal Caribbean announced today a partnership with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to bring free Wi-Fi access to underground subway platforms in Manhattan and Queens, New York.

The new partnership is part of an advertising intitiative by Royal Caribbean to bring attention to the brand new cruise ship coming to the New York City area, Quantum of the Seas.  Royal Caribbean is planning ads on billboards, screens and digital displays across the city.

The free Wi-Fi is part of the advertising deal because Royal Caribbean will be introducing super fast high speed internet aboard Quantum of the Seas.

This is not the first time Royal Caribbean has advertised heavily with the MTA. In February 2012, Royal Caribbean transformed select MTA subway cars into cruise ships.

Royal Caribbean released a new Dynamic Dining Q&A document and one bit of news to come out of is the fate of traditional dining on Freedom of the Seas.

The document reads:

As leaders in innovation, Royal Caribbean International is reimagining dining at sea with the launch of Dynamic Dining aboard the Quantum class of ships. This revolutionary program also will be introduced to the Oasis Class, the world’s largest and most innovative class of cruise ships, during their upcoming scheduled dry docks. Dynamic Dining is a strategic initiative for Royal Caribbean and based on the positive response from our guests, it is our intention to implement this program across as many of our ships as possible, as part of our Royal Advantage program — our ongoing commitment to offer the best experience in the industry to our guests. At this time, there are no plans to implement Dynamic Dining on Freedom of the Seas during her upcoming dry dock due to certain limitations including time restrictions. We will continue to communicate any implementation of Dynamic Dining across the rest of the Royal Caribbean fleet as those decisions are made.

Royal Caribbean has scheduled Freedom of the Seas for a drydock refurbishment in January 2015 and there was speculation that perhaps Freedom of the Seas would be getting Dynamic Dining just like Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas.

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.

Installing Quantum of the Seas' North Star

We've got a brand new video to show off all about what it took to install the North Star on Quantum of the Seas.

The video focuses on the engineering process of constructing such an amazing piece of equipment onboard Quantum of the Seas as she gets ready to make her world debut.

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

Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship, Quantum of the Seas, is engaged in sea trials, but will be returning to Hamburg, Germany on October 19 for a final inspection.

Before the cruise ship can be handed off to Royal Caribbean, ship builder Meyer Werft will conduct a final inspection. At this time, changes to the emission control system and final adjustments to the bow thrursters.  

Meyer Werft is expecting to deliver Quantum of the Seas to Royal Caribbean on October 25, 2014.

Meyer Werft also expects to deliver sister ships Anthem of the Seas and Ovation fo the Seas in the spring of 2015 and 2016, repsectively.