Photos of Quantum of the Seas' engines being delivered have surfaced on a photographer's web site, who appears to be working for the Meyer Werft shipyard.
Photo courtesy of Ingrid Fiebak Photography
Photo courtesy of Ingrid Fiebak Photography
Photo courtesy of Ingrid Fiebak Photography
The photos are dated for August 23, 2013 and look like the engines are now in place on Quantum of the Seas.
Royal Caribbean fans excitement for Quantum of the Seas has been pretty high since the first details of the ship were announced earlier this year and today we know one more detail about the ship. Specifically, we know one feature that will not be on the brand new ship that is under construction.
In his monthy questions and answers, Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein confirmed there are no plans by Royal Caribbean to add a water slide to Quantum of the Seas.
When asked if Royal Caribbean has any plans to add water slides to any of its ships, Golsteing replied, "At this time we don’t have plans to build water slides; however, we will send this suggestion along to our New Build team."
Quantum of the Seas will begin sailing from the New York area in November 2014. Her sister ship, Anthem of the Seas, and a third Oasis Class ship will begin sailing in 2015 and we have a third Quantum Class ship on order.
Sit back and catch up on this week's Royal Caribbean news. We've gone through and hand-picked some fun articles for you to take a look at in case you missed any of it.
We're big fans of Royal Caribbean's private destination of Labadee and this week we posted an in-depth first timer's guide to this little piece of paradise.
From the different regions of Labadee, to what each beach offers, this is your virtual tour guide to what to do when you arrive here. Just as important as the beaches, we did not neglect to mention to try at least one Labadoozie while you're there!
Here we go, let's dive in!
The third episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is available and we're going BIG, discussing Oasis of the Seas.
Joining us on this week's show is Beci Mahnken of MEI Travel, and we looked at why Oasis of the Seas is so impressive, innovations on the ship and we also shared tips for what not to miss onboard.
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.
Someone created a 1:1 scale replica of Quantum of the Seas in Minecraft.
USA Today has a list of the best fast food at sea, which includes the Boardwalk Dog House.
Cruise Critic has information on everything you need to know about repositioning cruises in 2013.
Royal Caribbean is offering a "Kids Tour Free" offer for its 2014 Europe cruises, where new reservations for 2014 Royal Caribbean European cruises will recieve free shore excursions for kids 12 and under when two adults in the same stateroom book the same excursion. In order to take advantage of the Kids Tour Free offer, guests must purchase their Europe cruise from August 24 through September 30, 2013 and can book their shore excursion through December 15, 2013.
In addition, Royal Caribbean is offering guests $1,000 off any balcony or higher stateroom when they book their seven-night or longer Europe 2014 cruise between August 24 through September 30, 2013 and theirair travel through Royal Caribbean’s ChoiceAir program from August 24 through December 15, 2013. Royal Caribbean is also giving vacationers the opportunity to book their cruise with a 50 percent reduced stateroom deposit.
Guests interested in taking advantage of the “Kids Tour Free” offer should visit RoyalCaribbean.com/KidsTourFree for more information.
Royal Caribbean Executive Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing, Lisa Bauer, commented on the new sale, "As kids head back to school, it’s the perfect time for families to start planning their next vacation, especially when you can take advantage of a value driven offer like Kids Tour Free. Europe cruise vacation is the ideal itinerary to bring text books to life as young minds explore one of our many educational and enriching ports and shore excursions. Plus, the best way for families to enjoy all that Europe has to offer is to combine it with a diverse array of onboard activities from the Flowrider surf simulator and rock climbing wall to a Broadway show and spectacular entertainment for an experience only found on Royal Caribbean."
Each week we invite our readers to send us their favorite Royal Caribbean cruise vacation photos so we can share it with everyone. It's a showcase of the fun that can be had cruising with Royal Caribbean and an opportunity for a quick "fix" in our never-ending yearning for more cruises.
Let's look at this week's photos and get things started.
Our first photo is from Don Harlan, which was taken in Hilo back in June 2013. Palm trees, beautiful ocean and a Royal Caribbean ship? I say perfect picture!
Next is a photo from John McCormack of Rhapsody of the Seas docked in Sydney harbor next to the Sydney Opera House. He says, "you couldn't ask for a prettier port." Can't say I disagree.
In the "wish I was there for this photo" category, Shawn Holmes sent in this photo looking out over the pool deck on the Explorer of the Seas.
This photo by Harry A. Yerikyan from Oasis of the Seas that is looking down on the Boardwalk Carousel isn't bad either.
Next is Patricia Hall taken while cruising on the Brilliance of the Seas with a stop at Naples, Italy. She took the Amalfi Coast tour which included lunch and and of course glasses of wine.
Last, but not least, Don Donahue sent in this photo returning from the scenic CocoCay, heading towards Freedom of the Seas.
Thanks to everyone who sent in their photos this week. Be sure to send your photos in as well by using this form.
This week hasn't been kind to Royal Caribbean's sister companies from the media front. A passenger on Azamara Club Cruises was left behind in Turkey after breaking a hip and a Celebrity Cruises ship had to cancel the rest of its Alaska cruise season due to problems with its propulsion. All this has the media foaming at the mouth and bringing up every catastrophe at sea since Titanic. Frankly, in thise case I don't think it's justified.
The cruise industry is far from perfect and Royal Caribbean has made its fair share of mistakes but in this case, I really don't blame the company. Because Azamara and Celebrity are owned by Royal Caribbean, Royal Caribbean gets lumped in with headlines like "Now It’s Royal Caribbean’s Turn To Make The Whole Cruise Industry Look Bad" or "Royal Caribbean strands injured American in Turkey".
In each of these cases, I understand why what happened, happened and I think Royal Caribbean made the right decision. In the case of Azamara, I know if I hurt myself or get lost, the cruise ship will leave without me. It's why on any excursion I take I get back to the ship a few hours early so it's not even a remote possibility. But when the unthinkable happens and this poor passengers breaks a hip, unfortunately the ship must go on but they did the right thing by leaving them in a hospital rather than a glorified nurse station onboard the ship.
In the case of Celebrity cruises, the ship cannot move and opted to stay in port to try to make repairs, but when that looked bad, the company decided to cancel the remainder of the cruises for the season in Alaska. They didn't try to push the envelope and see what happened if the ship would leave and risk leaving the ship adrift. Rather, they did the right thing by forgoing profit and making sure the ship got fixed. But of course, the media quickly points to this is "another broken cruise ship".
Let's not forget the media loves stories like this because it's a rating bonanza. They put out ridiculously inflamatory headlines to get viewers/clicks and then scare everyone with these horror stories. And then they list every ship that's ever had problems at sea.
Frankly, I think what we need to recognize as Royal Caribbean fans is that while the news affects our sister companies, it's still a blemish on the crown and anchor's reputation and blown out of proportion, as per usual. This the kind of media hype that makes these stories seem far worse than they are and given the circumstances, I believe Royal Caribbean did the right thing.
The preceeding is an op-ed by Royal Caribbean Blog blogger Matt Hochberg.
Royal Caribbean has made a name for itself by offering fun things to do onboard its ships, especially things that are unique and new to the cruise industry. When Oasis of the Seas was built, among the many innovations that WOW'ed guests, was something elegant and simple: a carousel.
Located in the Boardwalk neighborhood on Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, is the first ever carousel-at-sea. Hand-crafted and especially designed by Carousel Works for Royal Caribbean International, this full-sized, traditional carousel is truly one-of-a-kind.
Given that the Boardwalk area is inspired by the nostalgic seaside boardwalks of the past, it's a modern tribute to a time gone by. The carousel uses turn-of-the-century carousel designs as its basis down to the very last detail. Even the original artwork scenery panels located on the carousel’s eight Rounding Boards feature custom painted scenes to highlight the wistfulness of life on the historic boardwalks.
In addition to the great history, the carousel is just plain fun for kids and adults. Eighteen figures are suspended from stainless steel poles along with one ADA accessible chariot that were created from poplar wood populate the carousel. There are eleven carousel horses that follow a tradition carousel design, including one intricately designed Royal Caribbean lead armored horse, that even features the crown and anchor logo. Designers also included other animals such as a zebra, giraffe, jaguar elephant, lion and even a crowned frog prince. The stationary chariot on Oasis of the Seas is an elegant peacock, while the stationary chariot on Allure of the Seas is an elegantly adorned traditional carriage.
Be sure to also check out the carousel at night because like the fairs of the past, nighttime is when these rides really shine when they are all lit up.
No cruise on an Oasis-class ship is complete without at least one ride on the carousel, with perhaps an ice cream cone to compliment it. Handlebar moustache and flapper skirt optional.
Royal Caribbean is among a number of bidders who are hoping to secure a contract to build a new cruise terminal in Lisbon, Portugal.
Three consortiums of companies have submitted bids to get the project. The concept behind the project is to transform Lisbon from a cruise stop to a place where cruises start and end their cruises from. In addition, increasing the number of tourists that cruise into Portugal.
This year, the port of Lisbon expects 561,000 tourists from cruise ships. The new cruise terminal would look to raise that total to between 800,000 and 1 million tourists per year.
The new terminal will be built in Santa Apolonia and will cost about 22 million euros. The winning bidder will begin construction early next year so that the terminal can be ready sometime in 2015.
Each of the bidders will be invited to meet with officials in early September to formally submit their proposals. The contract will be awarded by the end of the year.
To celebrate the television drama "Greys Anatomy" completing 200 episodes, show creator Shonda Rhimes rewarded the crew with a free Royal Caribbean cruise.
Happiness is giving everyone on the crew at @greysabc a @royalcaribbean cruise. Blessed to have 200 episodes! … http://t.co/JieHdwbVhh
— shonda rhimes (@shondarhimes) August 19, 2013
Along with Executive Producer Mark Gordon, the cast and crew of the show each received a free trip on a Royal Caribbean cruise.
Not a bad way to celebrate!