Cozumel, Mexico saw more than 2.9 million cruise passengers in 2010, which is the highest number in the last seven years, according to the state Tourism Department . This figure is the best record in the last seven years which surpassed the 2004 statistics, a period in which they were registered with 2.8 million visitors to the island.  Cozumel lost a great deal of tourists after Hurricane Wilma in 2005.

Helping raise Cozumel's numbers were the arrival in 2010 of Royal Caribbean's twin ships' Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas.  These two ships helped Cozumel beat tourist numbers in the same segment of tourism destinations in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean Sea, said the head of the state Tourism Department

Among other reasons, helping Cozumel's cause to bring back tourists, last year Michel Ronan, vice president of Royal Caribbean complimented Cozumel and Mahahual by  describing the island as a safe cruise destination. This tourism department feels this puts them in the preference of companies to bring their clients.

Add another award to Royal Caribbean's collection.  On Monday in London, England, Travel Weekly honored select companies at a spectacular Globe Travel Awards ceremony.  During the ceremony, Royal Caribbean picked up an award for best mainstream cruise company.

On hand to accept the award was Royal Caribbean's Associate Vice President & General Manager at Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, Jo Rzymowska, "This award shows how important agents are to us. We don't get everything right all the time but what we do is listen to the trade and this award means we get it right".

Bermuda's Supreme Court found a former Royal Caribbean waiter guilty of conspiring to import more than $424,000 worth of cocaine into the country via the ship he was working on, Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas.

Ricardo Stewart, 32, from Jamaica, denies conspiring to bring cocaine into the country.  Prosecutors allege that their plan worked until packages containing 3.9 kg of cocaine were found hidden under a chair in the ship’s disco.

Stewart has maintained he is innocent and claims he barely knew the accomplices he was alleged to have worked with.  Furthermore, he denies being involved in the drug trade.

Given the situation of flood victims of the rains in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Royal Caribbean is gathering donations of food or personal hygiene products that are sent through the Red Cross St. Paul.
Among the items needed most are bottled water, powdered milk, cups and plates and disposable baby diapers of all sizes.
The company will receive donations until Thursday, April 20. Delivery shall be made from 10:00am to  6:00pm hours in the office of Royal Caribbean, located at Alameda Santos, No. 74, 13th floor.

Royal Caribbean is joining two other cruise lines in ending or reducing their travel to Mexico from southern California, a trend that some in the industry attribute the growing violence in the country has scared off tourists.

Royal Caribbean's luxurious Mariner of the Seas departs on Sunday for her last journey from the Port of Los Angeles to the west coast of Mexico, said port spokesman Phillip Sanfield.

The ship then moved his base to Galveston, Texas, offering seven-night trips to the western Caribbean, the company said.

Norwegian and Carnival Cruise Lines are also pulling their ships from the area.But the loss of Mariner of the Seas, Norwegian Star and Carnival Splendor represents most of the cruise ship traffic in Southern California to Mexico, which has been beaten by the violence and slow U.S. economic recovery.

"Certainly, Mexico has some problems," said Sanfield.

Luxury cruises in Southern California have traditionally made stops in Mexican tourist destinations like Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas, which have prevented some of the worst drug violence that has swept Mexico in recent years.

"However, people are taking a broader view (...) to violence in other parts of Mexico," Sanfield said.

An estimated 755,000 cruise passengers passed through the Port of Los Angeles last year, but expects that number to drop to 605,000 in 2011, said the port. Only the Mariner of the Seas transported 320,000 passengers in the port in 2010, and Royal Caribbean has had a presence in place for most of the past 20 years.

"They have been one of the main pillars, and we hope you come back here in the future," Sanfield said. "Each time a cruise ship visits a port in southern California, contributes 1 to $ 2 million to the local economy."

Drug-related violence in Mexico began to grow in 2006, the year that President Felipe Calderon sent the army to fight the cartels. On January 8, in the latest bloodshed that has occurred in a tourist destination in Mexico, 14 decapitated bodies were found in the resort of Acapulco.  The bodies were found near a shopping mall, with handwritten messages signed by the leader of the powerful Sinaloa cartel.

Stewart Chiron, an industry analyst CruiseGuy.com, said that apart from the poor economy, another factor contributing to the decline in travel to Mexico is that passengers are just tired of these routes.

Frommer's travel guide has named Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas as one of the Best Cruise Ships of 2011.  Judges cited Allure and her sister Oasis of the Seas as, "undoubtedly the best entertainment ship at sea, with truly exceptional programming for both adults and kids."

Judges were impressed by many aspects of the Oasis class ships, especially the innovations Royal Caribbean introduced on these vessels, "The biggest innovation is the vessels' split superstructures, with the top eight decks bisected lengthwise by a long canyon that contains an open-air garden and a boardwalk-like entertainment zone. Besides letting light and air into the center of the ship, this makes the whole vessel feel more 3D -- like you're walking the streets of a high-rise city, not shuffling blindly from one horizontal deck to another."

The list of ships only surveyed ships in the Western Hemisphere, so ships in Europe and Asia were not included.

In addition to taking the top honors, a few other Royal Caribbean ships made the "notables" list.  Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas, Brilliance of the Seas, Serenade of the Seas, and Jewel of the Seas were all mentioned for scoring highly. 

Judges enjoyed the Radiance class of Royal Caribbean ships because. "These four sisters combine sleek, seagoing exteriors with nautically themed interiors and acres of windows."

Customs and Border Patrol agents found a stash of $100,000 in drugs hidden in a cruise ship equipment locker.  Drug sniffing dogs discovered the stash on Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas as it returned to Baltimore harbor this past Saturday.

The agents discovered two packages of heroin that weighed a total of one pound, eight ounces, and a 14-ounce package of cocaine on the ship.

CBP spokesman Steve Sapp said authorities don't know whom the drugs belonged to and no one has been arrested. The drugs were found in an area off-limits to passengers, he said.

Enchantment of the Seas was being targeted by Customs and Border Patrol agents because of it's history of drugs being discovered onboard the ship.  Officials are working with Royal Caribbean to find out who these drugs belonged to.

Despite construction delays and worker issues, Jamaican officials are confident that the brand new Falmouth port will be ready for cruisers starting on February 17.

Minister of Transport and Works,  Mike Henry says work stoppage issues at historic Falmouth Cruise Port Development have been settled.  Furthermore, the new port facility will be ready for its revised opening in February.

Originally, Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas was set to dock in Falmouth on January 7th but the project goals were not met and therefore, Navigator was rerouted to Montego Bay, Jamaica.

United Solar, a leading global manufacturer of light-weight, flexible thin-film solar modules and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Energy Conversion Devices, announced today that their UNI-SOLAR® brand photovoltaics have been installed on Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas cruise ship.

Royal Caribbean International launched the Allure of the Seas on December 5 out of Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, with UNI-SOLAR laminates installed by BAM Solar of Miami providing electricity for the ship's shopping district.

"UNI-SOLAR laminates were the only solution that works for such a unique solar application like this," said Andrew Rasken, President of BAM Solar. "We needed lightweight. We needed a solar product that doesn't require surface penetrations, one durable enough that people can walk on, and that will stand up to the rigors of the harsh elements of being at sea. UNI-SOLAR's product versatility, flexibility and numerous unique characteristics of the laminates were the perfect solution for this exclusive and fun application—one which BAM Solar is honored to have been selected to design, manage and install."

This project is BAM Solar's second installation of UNI-SOLAR laminates on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship.

"The first Oasis-class ship, Oasis of the Seas, has had such positive feedback for using solar that we knew we had to do it again with our Oasis' sister ship, Allure of the Seas," said Rasmus Norling, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., Manager of R&D Environmental Technologies and Environmental Stewardship. "Royal Caribbean is devoted to environmental protection and is the industry leader in our commitment to energy sustainability. Solar is one part of that mission."

"United Solar has exciting new product developments in both commercial and residential solar," said Mark Morelli, President and CEO of United Solar's parent company, Energy Conversion Devices. "The use of our laminates on cruise ships is just one more application that has proven to be a great fit for our flexible, light-weight, durable product—powered by UNI-SOLAR. We are very pleased to have partnered with BAM Solar on this very unique installation."

Russian tourist Alex Skokov claims that he was illegally removed from a cruise in the Mediterranean under the pretext of security breaches. He intends to sue the cruise company Royal Caribbean Cruises.

According to Skokov, while onboard Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas on a New Years cruise, he was accused of violating safety rules, and for that he was held for days in detention in the cabin, and then left on the shore in the Athenian harbor of Piraeus.

A Royal Caribbean statement describes the incident, "Skokov was filmed by surveillance camera at the Royal Carribean Brilliance Of The Seas at about 3.50 am 1 January 2011 at a time when he tried to go to the bridge through the door, where it was clearly written:" no entry ". Shortly before, he had twice, between 3.00 and 3.30, visited the Information Desk for the passengers and asked if he could immediately get to the bridge"

Skokov claims it was a mistake, "I knocked - I discovered", - explained the tourist, as he was there, where he was not supposed to be provided.

The Royal Caribbean document states that when Skokov was on the bridge, he was asked to leave, carried to the door and told to return to the cabin. After that Russian safety officers interrogated him twice.

"In both cases, Mr. Skokov admitted that he clearly understands the seriousness of the situation and the reasons for his removal from the vessel. Skokov violated rules of conduct for guests that he signed when boarding the cruise "