Cruising with Royal Caribbean – Royal’s best luxury ships

If Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas and Navigator class of ships weren’t big and luxurious enough, with action packed venues and floating toys like the Flowrider simulated surf machine in the stern, and the Royal Promenade that resembles the Mall of America with a five story atrium filled with shops, bars and pubs, plus a Rock climbing wall up the ship stack and an ice skating rink at sea, behold the latest – Quantum class –The Anthem of the Seas and Ovation. Royal’s Oasis class includes of Oasis of the Seas, Harmony and Allure. Soon to launch in 2020 are the Odyssey and then the Wonder of the Seas 2021.

Royal Caribbean’s Quantum ships are huge, accommodating 4,905 guests in some of the most posh and spacious staterooms yet. The Anthem cruises along at 22 knots with stabilizers for the 16 decks worth of passengers on board, 4 bow thrusters at 4,694 horse power each, for a docking this luxury liner thats 3 football fields.

Royal Caribbean’s Quantum-class ships offers Royal Caribbean’s largest and most advanced staterooms ever, including 1,570 balcony, 147 outside, and 373 virtual balconies for the interior cabins.

Virtual Balcony Staterooms offer expansive real-time views of the ocean and your next port of call on window like screen, so forget your previous perceptions of dark interior cabins. You get an ocean view projected into your suite, sweet! I still want my balcony – but cool innovation.

Another cool addition to the Anthem is the Two70 gathering space, this multi-level great room offers a 270degree panorama with floor-to-ceiling glass walls encompassing three floors cathedral style. The sports SeaPlex is the biggest indoor sports arena on water ever constructed with bumper cars, flying trapeze and roller skating.

For crazy cruise ship activities, the RipCord by iFly is the first skydiving at sea, a Plexiglass pressurized tube allows newbie skydivers and champs to free fall and fly in clear vacuum. The North Star is a jewel shaped glass space capsule that extends with a huge electronic arm providing you a bird’s eye view of the ship and beyond as the arm glides above and beyond the ship 300 feet in the air for unrivaled aerial views.

We love the Freedom of the Sea, from the beautiful Royal Promenade to the cool cantilevered hot tubs and the gracious Junior suites. Is bigger better? Royal Caribbean certainly seems to think so. And they haven’t had the cruise ship disasters that competitor Carnival and Costa have. We’ll see how these big boats float. Meanwhile, look for deals on earlier ships like the Brilliance of the Sea and Navigator which recently underwent a $150 million renovation (with our favorite Viking Crown lounge).

See our Reviews of Cruising
Tips for the Best Luxury Cruise
Royal Caribbean Guide to Cruising
Azamara Cruise in the Adriatic
Cruising aboard MSC Divina
Cruise Ship Spa and Salon Pricing