Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving in the United States and elsewhere a relaxing weekend.  If you missed any of the Royal Caribbean news this week, here's our quick way to catch up!

Royal Caribbean dropped the big news on Thursday that Mamma Mia! will be the next Broadway show on Quantum of the Seas.

During the Thanksgiving Day Parade, television commentators made the announcement and Royal Caribbean followed it up confirming the news.  This will be the fourth Broadway show to be added to a Royal Caribbean ship.

The Broadway show news is one more bit of information come out about the brand new cruise ship, although there's still plenty more announcements we can expect to hear about in the next few months.

Royal Caribbean News

• Royal Caribbean is planning a 3-day WOW sale to coincide with CyberMonday starting tomorrow.
• Royal Caribbean has hired a marketing firm to attract younger people to Anthem of the Seas.
• Looking for a Royal Caribbean themed gift? Try one of these Royal Caribbean books!
• Royal Caribbean released a new video all about cruising the western Caribbean.
• What is a courtesy hold?

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The seventeenth episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is available and listener Michael Poole returns to the show to share his experience on Oasis of the Seas.

You may recall on episode 13 Michael previewed his cruise and this week he is back to discuss how his cruise went and review his time.  We will look at the excursions he took, specialty dining experiences and how well the unlimited alcohol package worked for him.

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

Cruise Critic has a list of the CyberMonday cruise deals.

Cruise Hive has the 7 best cruise lines for families this Christmas.

During the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade today, Royal Caribbean announced that the Broadway show Mamma Mia will play onboard its next cruise ship, Quantum of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean made the announcement as part of the Thanksgiving Day parade festivities in New York City.

The addition of Mamma Mia to Quantum of the Seas follows the trend of adding Broadway shows to cruise ships that Royal Caribbean started when it added Hairspray to Oasis of the Seas followed by Chicago to Allure of the Seas.  Royal Caribbean also offers Saturday Night Fever onboard Liberty of the Seas.

Quantum of the Seas will debut in November 2014 and be based out of Cape Liberty, New Jersey.

With Hanukkah beginning tonight and Christmas around the corner, you may be in the market for the perfect gift for that Royal Caribbean super fan on your list.  Sure a cruise is always the best gift, but if you're looking for something less expensive, then how about a taste of Royal Caribbean at home?

Over the years Royal Caribbean has released a number of books as well as paved the way for others in the company to write books.  These are fun looks at the cruise line and a great way to get your Royal Caribbean "fix" if you going on a cruise right now isn't in the cards.

Royal Caribbean International Cookbook

Written by Rudi Sodamin, this first edition is from 2001 and is a collection of recipes from Sodamin's collection.  There are recipes for dishes like osso buco, grilled island strip steak with caramelized onion and rum glaze, the pasta, shrimp, and salmon salad, and the rigatoni pesto.

It's organized to help you put together a whole meal - it goes from appetizers, soups and salads and follows through with pastas, entrees, and desserts.

Buy it on Amazon

SAVOR: The Royal Caribbean International Cookbook (Volume 2)

The next cookbook Royal Caribbean put out was in 2008 and this book is a complilation of recipes from 30 chefs across Royal Caribbean's fleet.  

Like volume one, this book includes 110 recipes for appetizes, main courses and desserts.  In addition, each recipe has a wine recommendation for each dish from the chef.  There's shrimp udon, asian duck, grilled vegetable antipasti and dolcetti alla portofino.

But it on Amazon

Savor; the Royal Caribbean International Cookbook Volume 3

The last cookbook was published in 2010 and is an update to volume two. A little more than half of the recipes in volume three and carry overs from volume two, but there's new recipes with great photos to show you what it will look like.

Buy it on Amazon

Carte du Jour The Restaurants of Royal Caribbean International

This recipe book is more of a coffee table book give its size and great photos of each recipe. Like the other books, it features recipes from across Royal Caribbean's fleet.

Buy it on Amazon

The Captain : Johnny Faevelen : The Fisherman Who Became Captain of the World's Largest Cruise Ship

This book is the story of "Captain Johnny", who lived his dream of becoming the captain of the world's largest cruise ship and his time from a boy in a small fishing village in Norway to achieving his dream.

Having sailed with Captain Johnny on Mariner of the Seas, I know first hand what a great guy he is and his book is an inspiring read about the challenges he faced, as well as the importance of family, and how values like treating others as you wish to be treated.

Buy it on Amazon

Happy Thanksgiving and Hanukkah to all of our podcast listeners! Here's my gift to you, a brand new episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast!

Episode 17 is now available for downloading and it features our listener Michael Poole who shares his experiences on a recent Oasis of the Seas cruise.

In this episode, Michael returns to share with us how his Oasis of the Seas went. Michael joined us on episode 13 when we previewed his cruise so this week we will compare his original plans with how things turned out. It’s a fun look into Michael’s cruise and I think we can all get a sense of what it was like on his cruise.

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 17. 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!

Today's video is all about the destinations in the western Caribbean Royal Caribbean visits.

Quite often when you are shopping for the right Royal Caribbean cruise, you will want to mull over if the cruise you find is the right one for you as well as other considerations to be able to take the time off.  But what happens when you find a great deal on a cruise or the perfect cabin but can't commit to booking yet?  Royal Caribbean offers courtesy holds.

A courtesy hold is a complimentary 24-hour period where you can lock in your desired stateroom and price without putting any money down.  It assures you that your cabin and price will be saved for exactly 24-hours to give you some more time to decide without missing out on what you found.

Anyone can place a courtesy hold, and if you are booking on your own, there's an option on the Royal Caribbean web site to do so, as well as if you call Royal Caribbean directly.  Additionally, travel agents can place courtest holds on your behalf.

Between when you place the hold and 24 hours later, you must pay at least the deposit price to keep your cabin as well as price.  You can optionally pay the full cruise price as well if the cruise you are considering is still outside of the finaly payment date.

After 24 hours, if you have not made any payment, your courtesy hold will expire.  You can create a new courtesy hold after your first hold expired, however you may be subject to new pricing and the cabin you selected may be taken by someone else in the time between placing a new hold.

An important concept to understand about courtesy holds is that in Royal Caribbean's computer system, a courtesy hold is a de facto reservation.  Meaning, if you place a courtesy hold and then tomorrow there is a new sale that is only for new reservations, technically speaking your courtesy hold is an existing reservation and you would not qualify.

Courtesy holds are a great way to give yourself a little more time to decide on which cruise is right for you without risking losing out on a great stateroom and/or price.

Royal Caribbean announced today that it is joining the Black Friday craze and starting on Monday, December 2, 2014 a 3-day sale will kick off that offer consumers up to $200 onboard credit per stateroom and enjoy 50 percent reduced deposit at the time of booking.

For all new individual bookings, made from December 2 through 4, 2013, and for all sailings (excluding Quantum of the Seas) departing on or after January 1, 2014, vacationers can enjoy 50-percent reduced deposit at the time of booking and receive up to $200 onboard credit per stateroom to spend during their cruise. Eligible guests will receive $50 onboard credit per stateroom for itineraries of five nights or shorter, $100 onboard credit per stateroom for itineraries ranging from six to nine nights, and $200 onboard credit per stateroom on itineraries of 10 nights or longer. 

• Cruises of 5 nights or shorter
  • $50 onboard credit per stateroom
  • $50 reduced deposit per stateroom
• Cruises of 6 to 9 nights
  • $100 onboard credit per stateroom
  • $125 reduced deposit per stateroom
• Cruises of 10 nights or longer
  • $200 onboard credit per stateroom
  • $225 reduced deposit per stateroom

More information on the sale can be found at http://www.royalcaribbean.com/WOWSale or you can fill out the form below and have our travel agent sponsor contact you directly.

Royal Caribbean has hired marketing firm TVC in an effort to reach a younger audience in the United Kingdom.  Royal Caribbean's new cruise ship Anthem of the Seas will be based in Southampton and the hiring is in conjunction with the announcement.

The project work will build up to the new ship sailing out from Southampton in April 2015, with couples and families among the key younger groups targeted.

TVC client service director James Myers believes his company can help Royal Caribbean reach a new group of people, "The brief is about reaching a new audience, and reaching people who would not normally consider cruising."

The six-figure deal will use music to evoke "holidays and good times" to help Royal Caribbean expand its share of the UK cruise market.

"Reaching a new audience is seen as difficult, so we're trying to help dispel the myth that a cruise holiday may not be the coolest, most credible way to spend a holiday."

It was a busy week for Royal Caribbean, culminating with news that the second ship in the Quantum-class, Anthem of the Seas, will be based in Southampton, UK when she debuts in spring 2015.

Royal Caribbean made the big announcement at a special event in London on Thursday, signaling its intentions to up the stakes in the competition for the British cruise market.

While Anthem of the Seas will spend her summers in England, she will head back to Fort Lauderdale for the winter months.  Royal Caribbean also said Anthem of the Seas will replace Independence of the Seas, although itineraries for both ships are still to be announced.

We can expect itineraries to go on sale in early 2014, along with more announcements about entertainment onboard.

Royal Caribbean News

• There's the possibility Quantum of the Seas could be too big for Bermuda's dock.
• Anthem of the Seas had her first block put in place.
• Royal Caribbean has a new television commercial out.  What do you think of it?
• We got a sneek peak at Royal Caribbean's new Thanksgiving Day Parade float.
• Royal Caribbean's first ship, Song of Norway, was sold for scrap metal.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

Have you checked out the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast yet? Our newest episode is out previewing Quantum of the Seas!

Royal Caribbean's next cruise ship is already getting people excited over what's in store, so this week Matt lists everything we know about the ship as well as a few rumors of things we think are coming too.

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

Cruise And Ferry asked Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein about Anthem of the Seas' entertainment options.

Travel Weekly confirmed trade relations inspired Royal Caribbean's decision to put Anthem of the Seas in England.

South Florida Parenting thinks Vision of the Seas' revitalization have expanded family offerings onboard.