Royal Caribbean announced today that Quantum of the Seas' godmother, Kristin Chenoweth, will also serve as Quantum Experience Advisor for Entertainment.

Chenoweth joins a lineup of Quantum Experience Advisors who are working with Royal Caribbean to ensure the amenities and activities onboard Quantum of the Seas are nothing short of amazing, including HGTV-star and interior designer Genevieve Gorder, athlete and adventurer Dhani Jones, and James Beard Award-winning chef Michael Schwartz. 

As advisor, Chenoweth will participate in an executive review committee, previewing the concepts for all of the shows, productions, and themed events in development for Quantum of the Seas, and giving feedback on every aspect ranging from sets and music, to costumes, casting and more.

“It has been such a wonderful experience to be the godmother for this incredible ship, and I am delighted to make my contribution as the Quantum Experience Advisor for Entertainment,” said Chenoweth. “I have been blown away by what I’ve seen so far from the entertainment onboard Quantum of the Seas and am just so impressed, and that’s not easy to do. This is the real deal, and audiences have a lot to look forward to.”

Kristin Chenoweth, alongside Nick Weir, Royal Caribbean’s Vice President, Entertainment, will be hosting a live Google Hangout on Wednesday, June 11, 2014 at 4p.m. (EDT), to reveal the lineup of entertainment offerings onboard Quantum of the Seas. The Google Hangout can be accessed at http://bit.ly/1j6EH6S.

Chenoweth's first webisode of her work on Quantum of the Seas' entertainment is available to view now as well.

One of Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ships that is under construction, Anthem of the Seas, had a fire break out that caused about $68,000 in damage according to CruiseCritic.

Anthem of the Seas is under construction at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Germany when a fire broke out on deck 3.

The production area was immediately evacuated and the fire was controlled and extinguished by onsite and regional fire services.

A Royal Caribbean statement said the only injuries were two people who were treated for "slight smoke poisoning".

There is no indication yet what started the fire or if the fire will affect delivery of the ship to Royal Caribbean.

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

Episode 44 is available for downloading where we are discussing a first Royal Caribbean cruise on Allure of the Seas.

Author Len Testa and Laurel Stewart join Matt to preview their very first Royal Caribbean cruise.  Len and Laurel wrote the Unofficial Guide to Disney Cruise Line and they are taking a Royal Caribbean cruise to see "how green the grass is on the other side of the fence".

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 44. 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!

I was browsing one of my favorite Royal Caribbean Facebook groups when I stumbled across a post by Ed Tinkertoy about Royal Caribbean's SeaPass account and how it works.  

Your SeaPass account is your means of paying for anything on your Royal Caribbean cruise while onboard your account.  It's the cash-less way Royal Caribbean allows its guests to manage onboard purchases.

What is the SeaPass account?

Royal Caribbean's SeaPass is the card you get for each person in your group and it functions just like a credit card. 

At embarkation, you will put down a credit card (American Express, Optima, MasterCard, Visa, Discover and Diner's Club) to place against your purchases.  At the end of your cruise, all of your purchases are added up and charged to that credit card.

Royal Caribbean also allows you to use traveler's checks, debit cards with a Visa or MasterCard logo, or cash to activate your SeaPass charging.

Can I pay off my SeaPass account besides the credit card?

Yes, at any point during your cruise you can pay down your running tab with cash or other credit cards. 

Will everyone have charging privileges?

Only those people the primary guest designates will be able to charge to their SeaPass account.  

Kids can have their privilieges revoked all together or given a daily limit.

Is there a limit to SeaPass charges?

Royal Caribbean stipulates there is a $500 daily limit on cash accounts for 7 night or longer sailings and $300 for 2/3/4/5 night sailings.

Once you reach that daily limit, guest services should contact you to inform you that you have reached your limit.

How can I get cash during my cruise?

There are two primary ways to withdraw cash.  The first is by using an ATM machine onboard the ship.  There is a transaction fee levied by the ATM owner in addition to any fees your bank charges you.

Alternatively, you can charge against your SeaPass account in the ship's casino.  There is a percentage fee taken to do so, but depending on the amount you borrow, may be a better deal than the ATM fees.

Currently the limit for cash withdrawl at the casino is $2,000 per person, per day and the fee (for non-Club Royale members) is 5%.

How does my onboard credit work?

If you have any onboard credit, it will automatically post to your SeaPass account on the first night of your cruise.  All charges you make your SeaPass card are first deducted from your onboard credit before you start accruing a tab.

You cannot designate certain charges to go against your onboard credit in lieu of others. Rather, it's a first charged, first debted system.

One of Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship that is under construction, Anthemof the Seas, was partially floated out on Monday at the Meyer Werft shipyard.

Photo by HD1080ide

There's also a video of the float out available to watch. HD1080ide claims the full float out will occur sometime today.

Update: Correction, this is Anthem of the Seas

Royal Caribbean was voted the Gold Winner of Reader’s Digest 2014 Trusted Brands survey in Singapore.

The award recognizes brands that consumers find to be their first choice for trustworthiness and commitment to quality, value, innovation, social responsibility and satisfying consumers’ everyday needs. The results are based entirely on consumer voting among some 1,500 respondents in Singapore.

Royal Caribbean Singapore marketing manager, Nicole Lai, commented on the award, "Winning this prestigious award is the ultimate seal of consumer approval for Royal Caribbean, which has been consistently delivering the ‘Wow’ with its groundbreaking features and high service standards and value to thousands of Singaporean guests every year. We thank Reader’s Digest readers and our customers for their strong support, as Royal Caribbean hopes to continue winning the trust and hearts of more vacationers here and across Asia with its innovative style of cruising that many have come to love and exciting new ships like the Quantum Class that keep redefining the cruising experience for everyone."

Royal Caribbean has already begun construction on it's brand new $55 million cruise terminal at Cape Liberty in Bayonne, New Jersey and today we have computer models of what the new terminal will look like.

Photos courtesy of Royal Caribbean and posted by NJ.com

The new terminal will be complete in November, just in time for Quantum of the Seas' arrival. 

The new "state-of-the-art" guest terminal that will include 125,000 square feet of space for check-ins, customs and immigration and luggage processing.

Today marks the beginning of Royal Caribbean's WOW Sale, where Royal Caribbean claims to find some of its best offers to book a cruise.  The 4-day WOW sale touts savings of up to $200 per cabin in onboard credit.

For the sale, booking your cruise during this sale will get onboard credit as well as reduced deposit amounts depending on the length of your cruise.

• Cruises of 3 to 5 nights get US$50 onboard credit per stateroom
• Cruises of 6 to 9 nights get US$100 onboard credit per stateroom
• Cruises of 10 nights or more get US$200 onboard credit per stateroom

This WOW sale is valid on all Royal Caribbean cruises (not including Quantum of the Seas or Anthem of the Seas).  Sale ends on June 4, 2013

It's worth noting that Royal Caribbean says the WOW sale cannot be combined with any other offer or promotion, including Crown & Anchor, Shareholder Benefit, Future and Next Cruise offers.

Royal Caribbean is testing coverting Mexican specialty restaurant Rita's Cantina into a new seafood restaurant called Rita's Crabshack on Radiance of the Seas during her Alaska cruise season.

Photo by robbalvey

The newly converted Rita's Crabshack is located in the Windjammer area where Rita's Cantina used to be and offers guests fresh seafood such as Alaskan King crab, chowder, fish & chips and crab cakes.  

There's also Alaskan craft beer from Alaskan Brewery Company.

Photo by robbalvey

RIta's Crabshack is open for dinner and priced a la carte.

Royal Caribbean has announced its next WOW Sale, with offers of up to $200 onboard credit and 50 percent reduced deposits for all cruises.

This WOW sale is valid on all worldwide sailings, except Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas.

• Cruises of 3 to 5 nights get US$50 onboard credit per stateroom
• Cruises of 6 to 9 nights get US$100 onboard credit per stateroom
• Cruises of 10 nights or more get US$200 onboard credit per stateroom

LISTEN TO OUR ADVICE ON WOW SALES AND IF THEY ARE A GOOD DEAL

The onboard credit and 50 percent reduced deposit offers are applicable to all Royal Caribbean International cruises, including cruisetours. All bookings must be made and the required deposit must be paid by June 4, 2014, by 11:59 p.m. local time to qualify for the promotion.

What is a WOW Sale? Are WOW Sales good deals?  Read our Cruise 101: WOW Sale post to get information on what this deal is all about.