Royal Caribbean notified its passengers via email today that as of March 1, 2013, all passengers would be charged an automatic daily gratuity for the crew members in the dining room and housekeeping that serve are traditionally tipped.

Royal Caribbean will add an automatic daily gratuity of $12.00 USD ($14.25 USD for Suite guests) to the onboard account of each guest to be shared by Dining Services Staff, Stateroom Attendants and Other Housekeeping Services Personnel. This new gratuity replaces the previously optional gratuity guidelines.

Passengers who had previously prepaid their gratuities for their upcoming cruise will not be affected by the change.

This change to force all passengers to automatically pay for gratuities can be viewed from two major viewpoints.  First, proponents of the automatic gratuities will point to the fact there have been passengers in the past who do not tip at all and thus, this will guarantee the hard working Royal Caribbean crew members a fair wage.  On the other hand, critics complain that automatic gratuities will lead to sub-par service if crew members are aware they are getting a tip already.

Royal Caribbean's change mirrors what competitors Carnival , Princess, Cunard, Holland America and Norwegian have already instituted.  

All of the competitor cruise lines do allow passengers to go to the guest relations desk onboard the ship and ask to change the automatic gratuity charges if they feel service is not up to the expected levels.

What do you think of the new automatic gratuities on Royal Caribbean cruises? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Royal Caribbean's Executive Vice President, Global Sales and Marketing, Lisa Bauer, said passengers aboard the new Quantum of the Seas cruise ship would expect to be "wowed" when it enters service next year.

Bauer declined to reveal specific details about the ship but insisted that Quantum of the Seas will, "live up to its name."

Quantum of the Seas is scheduled to enter service in fall 2014 with its sister ship Anthem of the Seas coming online about six months later.

Bauer said the product remains a closely guarded secret.

"What I would say is that people should be prepared to be wowed. The Quantum class ships will live up to its name."

The prospect of a ski slope as one of the onboard features has been suggested. Bauer declined to confirm or deny any plans.

In our third video blog, we preview what there is to do aboard Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas.  We look at the appeal of Freedom of the Seas, as well as discuss our favorite places for dining, entertainment and activities. Joining me on today's episode is Jamie Snyder from CrownCast.

Let us know how you liked the video and any suggestions you have for our cruise!

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Royal Caribbean experienced a record week of local sales in Australia and the cruise giant has reiterated the possibility that it may increase the amount of its cruise ships in the area.

Royal Caribbean executive vice president of global sales and marketing, Lisa Bauer, told media in Sydney yesterday that the Australian cruise market has experience a higher level of growth potential and the company is looking to with through infrastructure challenges so it can expand its cruise operations.

"We see this market in two ways. One is developing cruising for the local market, the ability to home port here and to introduce people to cruising. Secondly, once they understand cruising, to travel to the rest of the world on our ships."

Bauer commented that Australia compliments the Asian cruise market and is a"great market in itself."

"We have not announced anything, but we would like to have the opportunity to bring additional ships here. The market has a lot more potential," Bauer said.

Bauer mentioned that the biggest obstacle for cruise growth in Australia today is that cruising "is for the nearly dead, over fed and newly wed".

"Our challenge for cruising in general is trying to break down those barriers," she said, adding that the average age for its Royal Caribbean ships is fourty-two.

"We partner exceptionally well with the travel agent community to try and get the message out that cruising is not the same with every brand," she continued. "We work hard with agents about matching the right customer with the right brand. That is very important."

Ever since Royal Caribbean announced their new class of ships, originally called Project Sunshine and now officially called Quantum Class, there's been rampant speculation as to where these cruise ships would sail from.  Over the last two to three months, we've received a lot of tips from our readers that the new Quantum of the Seas or Anthem of the Seas will sail out of Port Liberty in Bayonne, New Jersey.

We haven't had any solid proof other than second or third hand reports but today we found two interesting tidbits that could point to where one of these new cruise ships will sail from.

The port of St Maarten in the Eastern Caribbean publishes the schedule of cruise ships that will call on the island at any given time.  For its December 2014 schedule, it lists a stop on December 5 by a ship called "Sunshine", which many believe is a reference to Project Sunshine.  This is followed by other monthly or bi-monthly calls by a ship of the same name.

Moreover, a dedicated fan took the time to compare cruise schedules in St Maarten for the next three years between Explorer of the Seas (the current Royal Caribbean ship based out of New Jersey) and this mystery "Sunshine" ship.

Monday, May 6, 2013 12:15 - 20:00 Explorer of the Seas
Monday, May 20, 2013 12:15 - 20:00 Explorer of the Seas

Monday, May 12, 2014 12:15 - 20:00 Explorer of the Seas
Monday, May 26, 2014 12:15 - 20:00 Explorer of the Seas

Monday, May 11, 2015 12:15 - 20:00 Sunshine
Monday, May 25, 2015 12:15 - 20:00 Sunshine

Adding more fuel to the fire of this rumor is the fact the Royal Gazette, a newspaper in Bermuda, published an article detailing a proposed wharf expansion that would accommodate larger cruise ships. In particular, the paper mentioned, "to determine the docks’ capacities to accommodate the latest cruise ships in production by both the Norwegian Cruise Line and the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line."

Since Explorer of the Seas currently sails out of Port Liberty and offers cruises to Bermuda in addition to the Caribbean, this seems like another indication that Quantum of the Seas or Anthem of the Seas might be based out of New Jersey.

All of this is speculation and we have no "silver bullet" proof quite yet.  Royal Caribbean is still slowly announcing details about the two new cruise ships and we will post news immediately about these two ships as they are announced.

Royal Caribbean has launched a new help phone service in the United Kingdom that is staffed by moms and dads to help travel agents expand their family vacation sales.

Royal Caribbean is calling it the "Royal Mums and Dads advice line" and is operated by parents who work for Royal Caribbean and have experience planning, booking and taking family cruises with their kids.

The Royal Mums and Dads can answer questions from travel agents about selling family cruising, from what is on offer to keep children entertained, to health and safety questions.

Royal Caribbean assures that the all of the staff have cruised recently and there's a wide range of children ages included from young children through teenagers.

Royal Caribbean head of trade sales Nicki Tempest-Mitchell, who has a seven-year old and a 10-month old, commented on the new service, "Trying a new kind of holiday for the first time can be daunting so, by giving parents the reassurance that they can talk to a mum or dad who has already cruised with their children, we hope to share our favourite family holiday memories and provide all the information that a diligent mum or dad would want to know before taking to the ocean waves with their children. We hope to assist agents in converting a sale by offering our own expertise to reassure clients looking at cruising for the first time."

The Royal Mums agents’ advice line is open between 9.30am and 2:30pm every weekday.

Royal Caribbean is monitoring the effects that the large winter blizzard snow storm that is impacting the northeast of the United States.  There are no changes to any cruise ship itineraries yet.

Royal Caribbean International is closely monitoring the severe winter storm affecting much of the East Coast, which will impact travel in the region. Currently, all Royal Caribbean ships are scheduled to depart this weekend as scheduled.

Guests who did not purchase their air transportation through Royal Caribbean and have flights scheduled from the East Coast should contact their airline directly to check on the status of their flight.

If you are sailing this weekend and you feel you will not be able to arrive to your ship before its departure, please call us at 1-800-256-6649 in the U.S., and +1-305-539-4107 internationally.

Royal Caribbean will continue to closely monitor weather conditions and will update this information if there are any changes.