Royal Caribbean Chairman and CEO Richard Fain posted an update on the construction progress of Allure of the Seas, sister ship to Oasis of the Seas.  Allure is scheduled for delivery on October 28th and it sounds like Royal Caribbean is still on progress to meet that date.  After a visit to the shipyards in Finland, Fain seemed optimistic about the soon to be released vessel.

She is scheduled for delivery on October 28th and the state of her construction was remarkable. I don’t think that I have ever seen a ship at this stage of construction so ready. Despite regular status reports and photographs from the newbuilding team, I was astounded by how far along she was.

Of real interest was something Fain mentioned about "remarks".  Simply put, remarks are little issues that Royal Caribbean needs to address that are caught by the inspection team and can vary in scope from a minor scratch to something major like a broken critical systenm.  Fain mentioned when Oasis of the Seas left the shipyards, she had 6,000 remarks to resolve but surprisingly, Fain and his team think there may be zero remarks to worry about.

That would be virtually unthinkable for a normal ship, but for ALLURE it is an amazing target. The beauty of such a target is not that the remarks are an issue (virtually all the remarks would never be noticed by our guests) but that it frees both teams from having to deal with them and allows them to focus on more important things like making the perfect Mojito.

The 2010/2011 schedule for Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas has been announced and will feature a year-round deployment in Asia.  

Legend of the Seas will have over 60 sailings including seven new itineraries, including an exciting new additions such as Bali, Semarang and Lombok in Indonesia, Osaka, Aomori and Beppu in Japan and Dalian in China.  In addition, Legend of the Seas will feature more overnight stays at popular ports-of-call, that will allow travellers to see more of the region.

Singapore

Legend of the Seas will return to Singapore starting on November 22, 2010 and will offer 3, 4 and 5 night southeast Asian sailings to ports like Malaysia’s Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi as well as Thailand’s Phuket.  Sailings to Singapore will include the popular holidays of Christmas, New Years and Chinese New Year.

In addition there will be new itineraries by Royal Caribbean from Singapore in 2011 such as

• 2 Night Weekend Cruise in January to Malacca, Malaysia, ideal for a short getaway
• 8 Night Indonesia Cruise in February to Bali for an overnight, Semarang and Lombok, for an in-depth exploration of Indonesia
• 7 Night Bali & Semarang Cruise in February to Semarang and Bali for an overnight

Shanghai and Tianjin

Legend of the Seas will move to Shanghai and Tianjin from March to October 2011 and offer cruises to South Korea and Japan that feature almost 10 distinct itineraries such as

• 5 Night Asian Legacies Cruise from Shanghai to Fukuoka, Japan; Busan and Jeju Island, South Korea
• 7 Night Pearls of the Orient Cruise from Shanghai to Osaka (overnight) and Fukuoka, Japan; Busan, South Korea
• 7 Night Kyushu Explorer Cruise from Shanghai to Kagoshima, Beppu and Fukuoka, Japan; Busan, South Korea
• 7 Night Japan & Korea Cruise from Tianjin to Nagasaki and Fukuoka, Japan; Jeju Island and Seoul, South Korea

Yokohama

Back by popular demand, Legend of the Seas will sail from Yokohama in April and May 2011 as well as in September 2011, with itineraries such as

• 8 Night Korea & China Cruise in April calling at Osaka, Japan; Shanghai, China (overnight); Jeju Island and Busan, South Korea
• 9 Night Russia & Hokkaido Cruise in May and September, one way from Yokohama to Shanghai visiting Aomori and Otaru, Japan; Vladivostok, Russia; Busan and Jeju Island, South Korea, ideal for travelers who are extending their stay in Shanghai
• 7 Night Shanghai to Yokohama Cruise in April and 7 Night Tianjin to Yokohama Cruise in September, which are one-way sailings visiting destinations such as Dalian, China; Seoul, South Korea; Beppu and Nagoya, Japan.

Hong Kong

Rounding out Legend of the Seas schedule will be a Hong Kong sailing season in October to November 2011 that will feature destinations such as Vietnam and Taiwan

• 5 Night Gems of Asia Cruise to Kaohsiung, Taichung and Taipei, Taiwan
• 5 Night Indo China Explorer Cruise to Sanya, China; Hue/Danang and Halong Bay, Vietnam

Hurricane Earl is starting to affect some Royal Caribbean ships due to weather in the regions that have scheduled port of call stops.

Enchantment of the Seas is skipping St. Thomas today and instead will stop in Samana, Dominican Republic.  Then on Tuesday, Enchanted of the Seas will stop at Labadee, Haiti. followed by sea days on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday before she returns to Baltimore on Saturday as scheduled.

Oasis of the Seas had a schedule that called for stops in St. Thomas and St Maarten in the Eastern Caribbean but will instead change to a Western Caribbean itinerary and stop in Costa Maya on Wednesday and Cozumel on Thursday.

According to Channel 5 in Belize, investors with ties to Royal Caribbean have acquired land in the Placencia area "for the establishment of a cruise tourism village".

No further news on this development, but the clear consensus among residents of Placencia Village are against it.  

The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a new rule that forbids cruise lines from dumping sewage off the coast of California.  The proposal covers nearly all of California's shoreline and applies to passenger ships larger than 300 tons and to all other oceangoing vessels larger than 300 tons that have sufficient sewage holding tank capacity.

A statement by the EPA claims the ban would stop 20 million gallons of sewage from entering California coastal waters.

A spokesperson for the Cruise Lines International Association, which represent the world's major cruise lines including Carnival, Princess, Holland America, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises, tells USA TODAY its members as a policy never release sewage within three miles of coastal waters. Moreover, says the association's Lanie Fagan, a California state law already bans the practice.

The current laws of international maritime law do allow for the discharge of untreated sewage by ships at least 12 miles from a shoreline.

This new rule will allow for 60 days of comment before going for a vote.

Royal Caribbean released its 2009 Stewardship Report yesterday and in it, quite a bit of information regarding the cruise line's environmentally conscious initiatives were outlined in it. Chief among them was Royal Caribbean cut fuel consumption by 3.7 percent in 2009 thanks to better designed ships, smarter sailing practices and energy efficiency measures that include installing solar window film in every ship in the fleet.

In 2009, roughly 4 million passengers traveled on a Royal Caribbean ship to 400 destinations and according to the report, 

The reduction of 3.7 percent less fuel per available passenger cruise day (APCD) beat a year-over-year reduction goal of 2 percent and consuming about 30,000 metric tons less in fuel than planned. Royal Caribbean compared this reduction in pollution to taking 13,000 mid-sized sedans off the road for a year.  Royal Caribbean boasted that since 2007, it has reduced fuel consumption by 7 percent per available passenger cruise day.

Royal Caribbean's immediate goal is to reduce fuel consumption per APCD by at least 2.5 percent each year and plans to set higher targets as new technologies develop.

Chairman and CEO Richard Fain commented in the report, "In our daily operations, we face two primary energy challenges: How to efficiently utilize clean, secure and affordable energy, and how to minimize our impact on the environment related to our air emissions and greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint."

Royal Caribbean is planning on sending in the summer of 2011 as many cruise ships to Europe as ever before. Eleven ships will be in operation in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe, the company said in Frankfurt, Germany.

That's three more ships than in the current summer season 2010. Also announced, the Brilliance of the Seas in the winter season 2011/12  will be reinstated in the Persian Gulf. The first tour to/from Dubai begins in November 2011 and that two months earlier than in the coming winter season.

The port authority in Malaga, Spain reported in the months of June, July and August this year, a total of 44,030 passengers disembarked in the port, representing an increase of 9,169 percent over the same period last year.  Additionally, a total of 45,717 people embarked on a cruise ship from the port, a 11,105 percent increase over the same period of 2009.

Cruise companies like Royal Caribbean have been responsible for the increase in traffic to the city.

Royal Caribbean has released its second annual Stewardship Report that highlights Royal Caribbean's safety, security, medical/public health and environmental efforts.

The 2009 Stewardship Report provides insight into Royal Caribbean's strategy in the areas of energy and air emissions, water and wastewater, waste and chemical management, community involvement and conservation, destinations and education.

Highlights of the report include an overview of the Save the Waves program that Royal Caribbean has been running since 1992 to help be more environmentally conscious in their fleet operations.

You can view the report here

Royal Caribbean announced today details of another new venue that will call Allure of the Seas home – the very first Britto Concept store at sea by pop culture icon, Romero Britto.

The new Britto Store onboard Allure of the Seas will be located in Central Park and will be "an engaging and interactive space for guests to enjoy the color, innovation and spirit which encapsulates Britto's art".  In the store, you will find display artwork as well as smaller collectible pieces and sculptures of varying sizes.  Outside the store and just in front of the entrance, Britto's well-known butterflies will be placed around the gardens of Central Park to welcome guests into the store.

In addition, Britto will be creating two original pieces that will be exclusive to Royal Caribbean for guests to purchase.  The first is a custom painting which will be available as canvas Giclees, and the second will be a Royal Caribbean-inspired teddy bear. Romero Britto himself will attend Allure of the Seas' inaugural sailing on December 5, 2010, providing Britto fans a unique opportunity to interact with the artist in painting parties, autograph sessions and meet and greet events

Britto and Royal Caribbean have a history of working together, having started back in 2003 on Mariner of the Seas when the artist designed the pool deck for the then-brand new ship.

Within the store, which will be outfitted in black and white as a contrast to Britto's exceptionally colorful artwork, guests will have the opportunity to learn about the artist himself from a documentary of Britto's accomplishments as well as participate in wine and champagne events, art discussions, and other activities related to Romero Britto. A wide array of artwork, posters, giftware, collectibles and luggage will be available for purchase, ranging from original and limited edition Giclees, to tableware such as teapots and coasters; collectible figurines and sculptures; stationery; umbrellas; children's books; pet toys and much more. A modern day pop culture icon, Romero Britto creates contemporary masterpieces that evoke a spirit of hope and convey a sense of warmth. Embraced by the international community, Britto's paintings and sculptures are currently featured on five continents in more than 100 galleries worldwide. His original artwork, dubbed "the art of healing," brings together bright colors and playful themes with compositional elements of Cubism. Britto's artwork conveys an honesty that reflects his desire to use colors which exude happiness. His belief that "art should be accessible to all, and enjoyed by people of all ages" is a key reason his artwork appeals to art lovers ages eight to eighty.