One of our blog readers, Shawn Wallace, is beginning his cruise this week on Freedom of the Seas and took some time to share photos of areas around the ship. Enjoy!
The Royal Promenade
KIds pool area, H2O Zone
Mini golf
Enjoying a drink to celebrate the beginning of a Royal Caribbean cruise
Adventure Ocean Explorers Room
Little People poster in Nursery
One of the many innovations on the Oasis-class cruise ship are the Central Park view staterooms. This stateroom category is available on all of Royal Caribbean's Oasis-class ships and we thought it would be useful to look at what this stateroom does (and does not) include and why you might want to consider booking it for your next cruise.
The Central Park view stateroom with balcony is a balcony category stateroom but instead of offering a balcony that overlooks the ocean, this stateroom category offers a view of the Central Park neighborhood.
The idea was a first in the cruise industry because prior to Oasis of the Seas, balconies had never been internally facing.
The Central Park balconies offer the same fresh air and light that ocean view balconies do but with the opportunity to enjoy the ambiance of Central Park along with the people watching aspect. In addition, Central Park view balcony staterooms are often slightly cheaper than ocean view balconies.
The exact size of a Central Park view stateroom with balcony is 182 square feet with a 50 square foot balcony.
To some people, a balcony without an ocean view isn't a balcony so that may be an issue. In addition, overlooking Central Park can add some noise to your balcony experience. We think the noise factor for Central Park balconies is not as high as their Boardwalk balcony brothers.
There's also less privacy with a Central Park balcony since there are other balcony staterooms on the opposite side of Central Park that face your balcony.
Central Park balcony staterooms offer the balcony experience for a slight discount and a great way to enjoy Royal Caribbean's magnificent Central Park neighborhood.
The opportunity to have a balcony experience but with a completely unique feel that is unmatched anywhere else is another Royal Caribbean benefit. Staying in these staterooms gives you space and a different perspective.
While this balcony stateroom doesn't offer a view of the ocean, having a balcony, regardless of view, is still what makes a great cruise experience.
Royal Caribbean is offering a new deal for those looking to getaway on a cruise during Christmas or New Years this year.
Book any Caribbean or Bahamas holiday cruise departing from December 15-31, 2014, and Royal Caribbean will give you up to $400 onboard credit and 10% off your cruise fare.
The onboard credit deals is as follows
This sale runs through July 31, 2014 and excludes Explorer of the Seas and QUantum of the Seas departures as well as Grandeur of the Seas December 27, 2014 sailing. 10% offer is applied per guest, for 1st and 2nd guests in the stateroom.
Offer available in the United States and Canada.
We love sharing Royal Caribbean photos with all of our readers and so each week we ask our readers to send us their favorite Royal Caribbean cruise photos to be featured right here on the blog!
First up is this photo of Oceanaria on Allure of the Seas by Harry A. Yerikyan. Great show and love the Aqua Theater!
Next we have this photo from Michael Poole of the beautiful centrum on Enchantment of the Seas. Taken on June 13th 2014. Michael has sent us a lot of photos but this is my favorite so far!
Greta sent us photo of Freedom of the Seas docked in St. Thomas as seen from a ferry headed to St. Johns.
Next we have photo by Steve Ritter from Serenade of the Seas at Tracy Arm Fjord, Sawyer Glacier, in July 2009. The crew decided to capture a large chunk of ice, bring it aboard, and made a beautiful ice sculpture out of it. All this happened while Serenade slowly rotated using her Azipods and thrusters to give everyone a beautiful view of the glacier and surrounding fjords. A wonderful voyage!
Lastly we have this photo of Marie Coschigano posing for a photo while at CocoCay. Who doesn't wish they were on CocoCay right now too?
Is your Royal Caribbean photo not here? Well, send us your favorite Royal Caribbean photos and we will include them in a future Friday Photos post!
Royal Caribbean will hold a conference call on July 24, 2014 at 10am to discuss its second 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.
Recently Royal Caribbean began a new policy of offering complimentary drink vouchers per night to select levels of Crown and Anchor Society members to help offset congestion in its Diamond and Concierge lounges.
Three drink vouchers per day will be applied to each eligible Diamond, Diamond Plus and Pinnacle Club members corresponding SeasPass card to be used to get a free drink at bars on the ship.
One drink may be redeemed at any one time.
Guests who are Diamond, Diamond Plus and Pinnacle Club members.
Between 4:30pm and 8:00pm
Yes, Diamond, Diamond Plus and Pinnacle members can continue to enjoy all the amenities in the Diamond Lounge.
Drink vouchers may not be redeemed in the dining room, specialty restaurants, room service or Windjammer.
Not yet. Royal Caribbean promises they will be rolled out by Fall 2014 but already a number of ships are offering it, including Navigator of the Seas and Freedom of the Seas.
Our newest podcast episode is out to help give you a quick "audio escape" to a Royal Caribbean cruise!
Episode 50 is available for downloading where we have an in-depth comparisson of Royal Caribbean versus Disney Cruise Line.
Authors Len Testa and Laurel Stewart are back from their first Royal Caribbean cruise aboard Allure of the Seas and this week we're comparing the two cruise line experiences and seeing which line does better in various aspects of the cruise experience.
Here’s the podcast page for Episode 50. 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!
Dating sites Match.com and SinglesCruise.com are planning a special Halloween cruise aboard Royal Caribbean for those looking to meet someone special.
Those that book through Match.com or singlescruise.com will have access to special events and a private message board to meet fellow single passengers on their trip.
The first cruise for singles is a Halloween cruise on Allure of the Seas that leaves on October 26 and takes an Eastern Caribbean itinerary. The cruise will feature a costume contest, Halloween-themed events and mixers and other activities, including a singles dinner and speed dating.
For more information, visit singlescruise.com.
Credit to USA Today for alerting us to this event.
Royal Caribbean is offering up to $50 in onboard credit for last-minute summer cruises booked this weekend.
Sailings booked from July 13 through August 31 are eligible but you must book the cruise by Sunday, July 13 at midnight to qualify.
Onboard credit for bookings made this weekend are $25 for interior and ocean view, and $50 for balcony and suite.
Offer is combinable with current standard/full fare rates and restricted rates (for example, Seniors, Residents, Military, BOGO).
Offer available in the United States and Canada.