Over the weekend, Royal Caribbean had two of its ships impacted by two very different issues and we want to know what your opinion of how Royal Caribbean handled these incidents.

Photo by Houston Chronicle

First was Adventure of the Seas, who had a propulsion problem where in the middle of her Southern Caribbean itinerary the ship encountered oil loss from one of her fixipod units that forced its shutdown.  The result was she had to skip a couple of ports and travel at a slower speed.  Adventure of the Seas made it back to port yesterday in San Juan, albeit delayed.

The other incident was Navigator of the Seas was delayed a number of hours from docking in Galveston due to an oil spill in the harbor.  The incident affected other cruise ships as well and Navigator of the Seas was not able to dock in Galveston and let off its passengers and take on the new passengers until late Sunday.

In both cases, Royal Caribbean is being accused by some of poor communications by the cruise line to its passengers in terms of keeping them updated.  Some say Royal Caribbean did not effectively keep passengers onboard and on shore updated with what was happening and what the future may hold.  On the other hand, others point out many of the variables were out of the company's hands and when they did know something, they conveyed it.

We want to know what your opinion is of how Royal Caribbean handled both situations.  Comment in this post if you think they handled it well or not and why!

Royal Caribbean announced it will return to the Persian Gulf to offer cruises for the 2015-2016 cruise season.

Royal Caribbean will send Splendour of the Seas and offer 16 roundtrip cruises on a weekly basis from December 2015 to March 2016 and will dock at ports in Dubai, Oman and Abu Dhabi.

Royal Caribbean left the Gulf region in 2013 due to a lack of revenue but clearly feels now is the right time to return.

Helen Beck, Royal Caribbean regional director, commented on the return, “Following on from positive and collaborative discussions with our key partners in the region, we are pleased to announce our return to cruising in the Arabian Gulf for the winter of 2015 / 2016.  This is a welcome step in continuing to promote the economic and touristic benefits of cruising and I’m sure the season will be very successful.”

A 160,000 gallon oil spill near Galveston, Texas is delaying cruise ships coming and going to the cruise port, including Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas.

The collision between a barge and another vessel Saturday near the Texas City Dike spilled 160,000 gallons of heavy oil into Galveston Bay and has forced the U.S. Coast Guard to close the Houston Ship Channel.

Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas was scheduled to arrive early this morning and let off its passengers while allowing new ones to board but it remains stuck outside the harbor.  

Passenger Jonathan Spoon is aboard the ship and told the Galveston Daily News, "We are being told they are conducting a flyover to see if the ship can make its way into the port (of Galveston) without going through the oil.  There are lots of ships parked all around us. So far no problems on the boat."

He said Royal Caribbean reopened many of the ships restaurants and onboard activities to keep the passengers comfortable. 

Royal Caribbean has not commented on the situation yet, but is monitoring it.

Another week has passed and we have our recap of all the Royal Caribbean news that happened so you don't miss any of it.

Late last night (or is it early this morning), STX Europe shipyard released 3D renders of the third Oasis-class cruise ship coming to Royal Caribbean's fleet in 2016.

These are the first images of the new ship, which is being built at STX Europe and no other details were announced at the time.  

The third in the Oasis class will be ready for delivery to Royal Caribbean in mid-2016.

Royal Caribbean News

• Royal Caribbean announced 2015-2016 Caribbean cruises.
• Adventure of the Seas is having propulsion problems that will slow the ship down for another week.
• Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas to get high speed internet upgrade this year.
• Royal Caribbean offering UK residents up to $400 in onboard credit.
• Here's how to convince someone to take a Royal Caribbean cruise.
• Quantum of the Seas photo construction update.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The thirty-third episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available and we're reviewing our recent cruise aboard Navigator of the Seas.

In this episode, Matt talks about his favorite class of Royal Caribbean ships, the Voyager class.  It's a chance to see how the Voyager class re-defined what a cruise ship is and how it still is a great choice for anyone taking a cruise today.  

Of course, there's lots of emails, facebook messages and tweets to share this week including if there are lockers on CocoCay.

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

CruiseVoyant has a review of the revitalized Navigator of the Seas.

We have our first images of Royal Caribbean's third Oasis class ship, which is being built at STX Europe.

The images are 3D renders and since they are the sister ships Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, look identical to those ships. 

Royal Caribbean has confirmed the ship's order of construction back in December 2012 but no other details about the ship exist, including a name.

The third in the Oasis class will be ready for delivery to Royal Caribbean in mid-2016.

Friday is here and before you start your weekend, let's take a look at some fun Royal Caribbean photos that our readers sent in to be showcased.  Just like you, we love looking at Royal Caribbean photos to get a "quick fix" when it comes to the "I'm not on a cruise" blues.

The first photo this week is from Tom & Diane Trudnowski of sunset while on their Serenade of the Seas cruise out of New Orleans.  Amazing colors!

Kayla sent us this photo of her enjoying the drink of the day in the Pig n Whistle pub on Voyager of the Seas. I think I speak for everyone reading this Kayla when I say I could really, really use the drink of the day right now.

Laura Metzler decided to have her own "Titanic moment" while on Liberty of the Seas when she (and her husband?) decided to re-create this classic Titanic pose. The picturesque sunset in the background was an added bonus.

Jorge C Toache Alcázar sent this photo of what the crew of Allure of the Seas sent him for Valentine's Day.  It looks like the crew choo-choo-choose you to be their valentine!

I love this photo by Steven Brinkman from his Explorer of the Seas cruise.  He wrote, "I made some really close friends on my cruise on the Explorer back in 2012, and we loved hanging out in Cloud Nine because it was always so quiet and relaxed."

We will wrap things up this week with a photo by Brent of CocoCay while on his Majesty of the Seas cruise.  I know earlier I wanted the drink of the day but I'd be willing to trade that for spending the day here instead!

Do you have fun Royal Caribbean photos to share?  Send us your favorite photos and we will feature them on an upcoming blog post!

A new satellite network is giving Royal Caribbean flagships record internet speeds and more Wi-Fi capacity than all other cruise ships--combined.

A set of new, custom-built antennae were shipped from Israel to Florida last month, and installed on Oasis of the Seas. Testing confirmed the ships' ability to match the fastest broadband connections on shore.

The internet is being provided by O3b Satellite Communications and works by pairing a new generation of medium-Earth-orbit satellites (originally designed to bring the Internet to emerging markets like sub Saharan Africa) with sophisticated antenna arrays aboard the cruise ships.

The higher internet speeds will make it feasible for a guest to download streaming video or post video clips to Facebook. Royal Caribbean is developing new pricing plans for added service.

The entire process was started in 2012 when Royal Caribbean signed a deal with O3b and is now starting to come to fruition.

And by the time the new system becomes available on Royal Caribbean's newest ship, Quantum of the Seas, Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein said guests can anticipate "several new, show-stopper uses of the bandwidth."

What surprises? That information, he said, is not yet available for download.

Said Goldstein, "If you're a first-time guest on one of these ships, you won't realize how much work it took to make the wireless so pervasive – or that your cell 'tower' is 4,900 miles over your head. If you are a return guest, you'll be blown away by the improvement. It's that dramatic."

According to Bill Martin, Chief Information Officer, Royal Caribbean, the key to unlocking a land-like experience was reducing satellite latency – the time it takes for something to happen after you hit 'enter.' This breakthrough technology solves that problem, reducing latency from 750 milliseconds to approximately 140 milliseconds. And with each ship's overall capacity exceeding 500mbps during system tests, there will be more than enough bandwidth to go around.

UPDATE: According to Royal Caribbean, the new high speed internet connections will be available beginning August 2014.

Royal Caribbean is offering residents of the United Kingdom and Ireland a chance to get up to $400 in onboard credit on qualifying cruises.

Book any 2014 Royal Caribbean cruise by March 24 and Royal Caribbean will give you

• $200 per stateroom on 7-13 night sailings
• $400 per stateroom on cruises of 14 nights or more

The offer is good on any cruise leaving between April 1 and December 31, 2014. The offer excludes Quantum of the Seas.

This new onboard credit promotion is combinable with the Upgrade promotion, Ocean Voyage Benverage Package promotion, Standard Pricing, the benefits offered by booking onboard via Future Cruise Consultants (Reserved or Open Bookings) and Future Cruise Certificates only.

This special promotion expires after March 24, 2014.

If you're a fan of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, then there's a Royal Caribbean cruise for you.  

Trilo3y Voyages is planning group cruises aboard Royal Caribbean ships to create, "Tolkien Cruise Event of a Lifetime".

Photo by Cosmoviex Events & Lab

The Liberty of the Seas sailing on December 6-11, 2014 will include special events such as 

Tolkien Talk Panel with Experts & Scholars
• Ask the Actors Panel with Cast Members
• Tolkien-inspired Movie Marathon
• Middle-earth Masquerade Ball
• Opening Night Black Tie Gala
• Middle-earth Marketplace

The group cruises promise a lot of Hobbit geekery, "There is the opening night black tie gala…pointed ears optional. Hang by the pool the next day as we search for the winner of our Hairy Hobbit Feet Competition…then don your outfit for the ultimate cosplay competition at our middle-earth masquerade Ball..pointed ears required!!! During the cruise come browse our middle-earth marketplace….a visual walk through Middle-earth as you check out 4000 square feet of art, gaming, literature and memorabilia based on the myriad works of Professor Tolkien."

The group also has plans for group cruises on Royal Caribbean ships in 2015 to Bermuda, Paris & Brussels and Australia.

Royal Caribbean announced its full winter 2015-2016 Caribbean season today, which includes plenty of cruises out of Florida to destinations all over the Caribbean.

Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas will sail out of Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and offer alternate seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries. Eastern Caribbean ports of call include Nassau, The Bahamas, St. Thomas and St. Maarten, while Western Caribbean ports include Falmouth, Jamaica; Cozumel, Mexico; and Labadee.

Freedom of the Seas will continue offering seven-night alternating seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries out of Port Canaveral, Florida. The Eastern Caribbean itinerary calls at St. Thomas, St. Maarten and CocoCay, Royal Caribbean’s private Bahamian-island paradise. The Western Caribbean itinerary calls at Grand Cayman, Falmouth, Cozumel and Labadee. 

Serenade of the Seas will sail a 10- and 11-night Southern Caribbean itineraries, roundtrip from Port Everglades. The 10-night itinerary calls at Tortola, St. Kitts, Dominica, Antigua and St. Maarten, with the Dec. 4, 2015, and Feb. 26, 2016, sailings replacing Dominica with Martinique. On the 11-night itinerary, guests will call at Aruba, Antigua, Barbados, Bonaire, Grenada and St. Lucia. A special 12-night holiday sailing includes all the ports from the 11-night itinerary, plus calls at St. Thomas and Labadee. And a once-only, nine-night itinerary will call at the Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao and Key West, Fla.