Happy Sunday and I hope you had a great week (and weekend)!  This week's biggest news was Royal Caribbean's CEO, Adam Goldstein, has been promoted and the company is now looking for a new CEO.

Goldstein is now the president and chief operating officer of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., the parent company of Royal Caribbean International.

Among other duties, Goldstein's new position will have him working with Royal Caribbean Chairman Richard Fain on the strategic direction for the cruise line.

Royal Caribbean News

• Quantum of the Seas floats!
• Almost 100 passengers are sick on Grandeur of the Seas.
• Royal Caribbean announced Australia and South Pacific cruises for 2015-2016.
• Our Royal Caribbean Italian food showdown.
• We reviewed Goff's Caye excursion in Belize City.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The thirty-sixth episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is available that is all about booking shore excursions.

Royal Caribbean recently announced its brand new approach to dining for the Quantum­-class cruise ships, Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas and this week Matt is exploring what Dynamic Dining is and if this is a change for the best.

Please feel free to subscribe via iTunes or RSS, and head over to rate and review the podcast on iTunes if you can! We’d appreciate it.

Royal Caribbean Around the Internet

MDLblog has photos of his food from his Navigator of the Seas cruise.

Disney Cruise Line Blog has a book review of the Unofficial Guide to Disney Cruise Line.

Royal Caribbean has the top 3 tips for picking the right vacation destination.

Seatrade Insider says Royal Caribbean government relations now fall under Kalisch.

NBC Miami reports a 10-month old was airlifted from Enchantment of the Seas after having difficulty breathing.

Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas is dealing with a gastrointestinal sickness that has broken out on the ship for the second time in two weeks.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting almost 100 passengers on the Grandeur of the Seas cruise that left Baltimore on April 5th.

Royal Caribbean spokeswoman commented, "Those affected by the short-lived illness have responded well to over-the-counter medication being administered onboard the ship."

A cruise that departed Baltimore March 28 on the same ship also had an outbreak of viral illness that the CDC said was caused by norovirus. During that cruise, more than 100 passengers became ill. Fewer than a dozen crew members were sickened. 

Grandeur of the Seas is expected to return to Baltimore as scheduled Saturday morning. 

Upon its return to Baltimore, the ship is expected to be thoroughly sanitized. In addition, "two CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officers and an epidemiologist will board the ship," as part of the ongoing investigation, according to disease control officials.

We've reached the weekend and this best weekends begin with a collection of Royal Caribbean photos our readers sent in.  We have a great batch to share this week, so let's get it started.

Ken Slusser sent us this photo of Independence of the Seas and Allure of the Seas docked alongside each other in Falmouth, Jamaica.  I'm always amazed when the Oasis class ships can make the Freedom class ships look small.

Next we have a photo from Giulio Saggin of people crammed into the elevator on Voyager of the Seas back in 2012.  Giulo also blogged about his experience here.

I love this photo of Voyager of the Seas' pool deck at night by Alison.  Night swims are the best swims!

Next is a photo by Murray of Radiance of the Seas while anchored at Airlie Beach in Queensland, Australia.  Crikey!

Speaking of anchored Royal Caribbean ships, here's Explorer of the Seas docked in San Juan by Julia Wadsworth.  Love the old schooner in the foreground!

If you prefer photos of Royal Caribbean ships on the move, try this one by Dan Kohout of Liberty of the Seas entering the channel at Port Everglades on February 24th 2014.  I love the colors in this photo and the great contrast.

Thank you to everyone who sent us photos this week and if you haven't sent us your Royal Caribbean photo yet, please use this form to send them in so it can be featured here!

Let's hop in the "wayback machine" and take a look at Royal Caribbean's marketing ads from 1995.  

Back in the mid-1990s, Royal Caribbean was advertising itself with the slogan, "You've got some Royal Caribbean coming".  We have three advertisements that feature this slogan and focus on Bermuda, Europe and south Asia.

For a warm getaway to Bermuda, Royal Caribbean features an ad with the Song of America.

No specific Royal Caribbean ship mentioned in this ad for Europe but it does talk all about what a typical cruise day is like there.

This ad for south Asian destinations of Bali, Singapore and China features cruises aboard the Sun Viking.  Interestingly, this ad from 1996 does include the Royal Caribbean website all the way in tiny font in the lower left corner. 

Royal Caribbean offers a number of cruises to Belize City and like us, you may be looking for something fun to do here during the day.  We spent weeks searching for the right excurison for our family and we eventually decided on Goff's Caye.

Description

Goff's Caye is a small private island off the shore of Belize City.  It's only accessible by boat and you must book a private excursion to reach the island.  Did I mention Goff's Caye is small?  It's only 1.2 acres of sand but if you're looking for somewhere to swim, enjoy the sun and snorkel, then this is the place for you.

We booked our excursion online for $40 per person (kids under 4 are free).  This gets you transportation to and from the island, snorkeling equipment and complimentary rum punch.

Getting to and from the island is probably the most difficult aspect of the entire itinerary. Royal Caribbean ships have to tender in Belize City, so you have to take the Royal Caribbean tender to Belize City and then take a different boat to Goff's Caye.

We were on the first tender to Belize City to avoid the notoriously long tender lines on the cruise ship and made our way to the check-in area in Belize City for the excursion.  We had put down a deposit online a few weeks earlier and paid off the remainder of the balance in port.  We were then given wristbands and told which dock to report to.

A couple of hours later it was time to board the speedboat to Goff's Caye.  There were about a dozen or so people on the boat and the ride takes about 20-30 minutes.  The boat goes much faster than the cruise ship tenders so the ride isn't so bad to get there.

Once you arrive at Goff's Caye, you pick a spot on the beach.  You can rent chairs (no umbrellas) for a nominal fee. The beach is clean and mostly rock-free.  Walking from the beach anywhere else does require shoes due to the various rocks in the interior of the island.

You can optionally purchase lunch on the island, which is BBQ food.  Prices were reasonable and there are beverages also available for purchase.  Rum punch and water are complimentary.

If you choose, snorkeling is provided in groups.  At a designated time, the boat takes a group off shore to snorkel and the snorkeling group moves around the island.  I did not partake in the snorkeling but I spoke with a number of people who did and they all reported the experience to be fun.  They all said they saw a good amount of sea creatures and generally enjoyed the experience.

Comments

Goff's Caye is a no-frills beach break excursion.  For someone looking for a basic beach day with just you, sand and the water, then this is perfect.

The remote location of Goff's Caye makes it quite serene.  There's little cover from the sun so be sure to bring plenty of sun lotion (and be sure to actually apply it, unlike this blogger).  

What we liked about Goff's Caye was we got a chance to sit down and relax on the beach with the occasional swim.  We had gone to Goff's Caye in February and it was a cloudy day so the water temperature was a bit cool.

The value for the excusion is quite high as the overall cost isn't bad at all, especially compared to other private island beach excursions.  Ultimately the low-cost is what convinced us to book Goff's Caye and I was happy with the choice.  It wasn't the best beach excursion I've ever taken but it was exactly what I expected.

If you want an inexpensive beach day in Belize City, it's hard to go wrong with Goff's Caye.

Spring feels like it's finally here and with it, we have a brand new episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast too!

Episode 36 of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available for your downloading pleasure.

This week, Matt shares his experience at Royal Caribbean's Dynamic Dining announcement event and what Dynamic Dining means for the future of Royal Caribbean cruising.  Thee's a lot to this change Matt shares details of what Dynamic Dining is and how it will change cruise dining.

There's also lots of reader emails and voicemails to share this week about everything Royal Caribbean.

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 36. And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast via RSS 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's newest cruise ship, Quantum of the Seas, was floated out today at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Germany.

Photo by Royal Caribbean International

The 167,800-ton, 4, 180-passenger Quantum of the Seas is the first in the Quantum-class of cruise ships for Royal Caribbean and will have her maiden voyage in November 2014 from Bayonne, New Jersey. She is the first of three Quantum-class cruise ships to be built.

Royal Caribbean has already announced the dining, itineraries and Broadway show for Quantum of the Seas with more information promised soon.

UPDATE: More photos have been released by Royal Caribbean.

Royal Caribbean announced today it will send Explorer of the Seas, Voyager of the Seas and Radiance of the Seas to Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific for the 2015-2016 winter season.

Royal Caribbean’s winter 2015-16 Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific season will open for reservations on April 29, 2014.

We had reported earlier Royal Caribbean was sending Explorer of the Seas to Australia and Royal Caribbean's announcement today solidified those plans.

From November 2015 through April 2016, Explorer of the Seas will primarily sail 11- and 14-night New Zealand cruises, with up to seven ports of call in New Zealand. Explorer of the Seas also will offer three- and four-night cruises in November 2015 and in February and March 2016.

Voyager of the Seas will sail eight- to 12-night South Pacific and Fiji cruises, all round-trip from Sydney.  Voyager of the Seas also will sail a 13-night South Pacific and New Zealand cruise on November 5, 2015, which will call at Bay of Islands and Auckland in New Zealand, as well as a seven-night Tasmania cruise on November 28, which will feature an overnight at Hobart, as well as call at Melbourne, Australia. 

Radiance of the Seas will offer a variety of itineraries to the South Pacific and Fiji, New Zealand, and throughout Australia. Guests can choose eight- to 14-night South Pacific itineraries from December 2015 through January 2016, or circumnavigate Australia in November 2015 and from late-February through March, 2016 – each comprising a 16-night New Zealand and southern Australia sailing from Sydney to Perth (Fremantle), followed by a 16-night northern Australia and Bali cruise back to Sydney. Radiance of the Seas also will sail four- to seven-night Tasmania cruises, departing December 11, 2015, and February 18 and March 28, 2016, and a 10-night Queensland cruise, departing February 8, 2016. 

If you enjoy re-positioning cruises, Explorer of the Seas will take guests on a 10-night Singapore to Perth itinerary, departing November 3, 2015, followed by a 16-night southern Australia and New Zealand cruise that arrives in Sydney on Nov. 29 for an overnight stay. The ship reverses these itineraries at the end of the season, departing from Sydney on April 12 and from Perth (Fremantle) to Singapore in late April.

Voyager of the Seas also will reposition between Singapore and Sydney on 14-night northern Australia itineraries on October 22, 2015, and April 16, 2016, with the former featuring an overnight in Singapore.

Radiance of the Seas’ trans-Pacific crossing will combine Hawaii with Australia or Canada on a 10-night Hawaii cruise from Vancouver, B.C. and subsequent 18-night, trans-Pacific itinerary to Sydney, departing September 11 and 21, 2015, respectively. A return trans-Pacific cruise will sail from Sydney to Hawaii on April 3, 2016, followed by an 11-night Vancouver-bound sailing on April 20. 

Royal Caribbean has been offering Italian food for years on its cruise ships and in recent years, has been changing its Italian food offerings up in recent years.  

So today we're going to compare the various Italian restauants Royal Caribbean serves up and see which one comes out on top!

1. Portofino

Royal Caribbean's reigning Italian food champ, Portofino, has been available on many ships across Royal Caribbean's fleet for many years. 

The food at Portofino is based on Northern Italian cuisine and offers traditional Italian pasta, fish and meats. What Portofino does well is mixing traditional Italian favorites with modern style.  You can get a plate of pasta in a tomato sauce or go with the Saltimbocca alla Romana.  

Sadly, Royal Caribbean is in the process of phasing out Portofino in favor of some of the other Italian restaurants we will be discussing in this post but it remains the stalwart of Italian food on many Royal Caribbean ships.

We think of Portofino as the veteran champ that has been around for a while but still has what it takes to comepete.

2. Giovanni's Table

Giovanni's Table is the up-start "new kid on the block" that offers traditional Italian fare, family style.  Royal Caribbean describes Giovanni's Table as, "an Italian Trattoria influenced by the Tuscan countryside".

Whereas Portofino offers a mix of new and old, Giovanni's Table mostly sticks with tried and true Italian dishes.  Eggplant parmigiana, lasagna, meat balls and more are available.  

Having first debuted on Oasis of the Seas, Giovanni's Table has been spreading to other Royal Caribbean ships with each new ship revitalization and stands to be the new standard by which Royal Caribbean serves up Italian food.

Giovanni's Table is the up-start that is making a name for itself but hasn't "won it all" quite yet.

3. Jamie's Italian

The "new kid on the block" is the newly announced Jamie's Italian, which is coming to Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas.  The restaurant is the product of celebrity Chef Jamie Oliver, a famous cook from England.

Royal Caribbean promises you’ll enjoy rustic dishes, handmade using seasonal ingredients, and authentic recipes that are tried and tested crowd-pleasers.

The menu is comprised of Jamie’s Italian Famous Plank piled high with cured meats, pickles and tempting cheeses. From there, try delicious pastas made in-house everyday—like indulgent pumpkin panzerotti and zingy prawn linguine to name a few.

We had a chance to sample a number of the dishes that will be available at Jamie's Italian at the recent Quantum of the Seas dining reveal event in New York and it's clear this Italian restaurant will focus on completely rewriting the book (or menu) on what you think of when it comes to Italian food.

For Italian food on Royal Caribbean ships, Jamie's Italian is like the "dark horse" that could tip the balance in what guests look for on at dinner.

4. Windjammer

Sometimes you just want to enjoy simple Italian food with as much red or white sauce as your plate can handle.  Or maybe you prefer very little sauce.  Whatever your preference, the Windjammer serves up an assortment of Italian food throughout the day at our leisure.

There's something to be said about a plate of pasta with sauce combined with unlimited refills.  And of course you can always grab a burger, salad and sushi to put on your plate too.

The Italian choices in the Windjammer vary daily but there's almost always a pasta dish or two and other traditional Italian dishes here and there.

The Windjammer is a crowd favorite for its simplicity and mass-appeal.

And the winner is?

Which Royal Caribbean Italian restaurant has your vote for the crown? It's a tough choice so share your vote in the comments for this post and choose wisely!