Royal Caribbean has announced its winter 2012-2013 sailings for Vision of the Seas, which will include itineraries that visit the Caribbean and Panama Canal.

Vision of the Seas will offer 10 to 15 night itineraries out of Port Everglades, Florida.  One special cruise will leave on December 24, 2012 and include stops in St Kitts, St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Vincent, Martinique and Royal Caribbean’s private island, Labadee.

There are a number of options aboard Vision of the Seas including 10-night Eastern Caribbean sailings that will make calls at Tortola, St. Maarten, Dominica, Antigua, St. Kitts, St. Croix and Martinique, with an 11-night itinerary calling into Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados, Grenada, Bonaire, Aruba, St. Kitts, Dominica and St. Vincent, a maiden port of call for the line.

Two 14-night and two 15-night Panama Canal-transit sailings will also be offered, sailing from Port Everglades and San Diego respectively, along with two trans-Atlantic crossings sailing between Port Everglades and Southampton.

The 14-night westbound voyage will depart on 21 September 2012 from Southampton, calling into Gijo, Vigo, Lisbon and Ponta Delgada with the 13-night eastbound trip sailing from Port Everglades on 17 April 2013 visiting Lisbon, Vigo and Normandy.

For the first time ever, Royal Caribbean is offering cruises to the island of St. Vincent in the Caribbean.  

Vision of the Seas will sail to the island as part of new 11-night itineraries out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Dec. 3, Dec. 24 and Feb. 4, 2013.

The St. Vincent cruise is just one of 19 new itineraries to the Caribbean and Panama Canal cruises that were announced for the 2012-2013 season.  Consumers can also choose from new 10-night Eastern Caribbean ships that include stops at Martinique.

Royal Caribbean's Vice President of Latin American Relations, Michael Ronan, met with Cozumel, Mexico's Mayor Aurelio Joaquin Gonzalez, where Royal Caribbean continues to be impressed by Cozumel's incomparable natural beauty, high safety standards and hospitality offered by the island as well as having one of the best worldwide port infrastructure, which facilitates the operation of mega ships.

Ronan went on to say that rather than looking to reduce cruise routes to Cozumel, Royal Caribbean will keep Cozumel as one of their favorite destinations around the world.

Michael Ronan added that it is not by chance that Cozumel holds a strong leadership at national and international level in cruise arrivals, under which has great natural beauty, is one of the safest destinations, offers high quality and hospitality of its people.

"But also, the island has one of the best port infrastructure in the world and under very special conditions that allow so-called mega-cruise ships, as the" Oasis of the Seas ", to operate smoothly, leading to the arrival of as many tourists to the island. For all that Cozumel is and will remain one of our destinations, "he said.  

Royal Caribbean has decided to not offer its all-you-can-drink alcohol packages that are currently offered aboard Independence of the Seas when she arrives in Florida for a seasonal deployment.

In November 2012, Independence of the Seas will sail out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida for the fall and winter Caribbean sailings.  While home ported in the United States, the alcoholic  beverage packages will not be offered.  Royal Caribbean will continue to offer them while Independence is based in Southampton, England as well as on its transatlantic repositioning cruise from Southampton to Fort Lauderdale.

Royal Caribbean spokesman Harrison Liu discussed the decision, "As Royal Caribbean International is a global cruise brand, our ships' offerings are tailored to the markets from where they draw their guests.  Independence of the Seas [from] Southampton was primarily a British product. When the ship sails in the Caribbean, the onboard offering will be adjusted to cater to a more North American and international clientele, as well as reflect the cultural norms here.  The drinks package will not be expanded to additional ships yet."

The all-you-can-drink packages start at $29 per day and are available on Grandeur of the Seas, Legend of the Seas and Independence of the Seas.  All three of these ships are based outside of the United States.

Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas made its first stop at St Kitts-Nevis on December 30, which St. Kitt's Tourism Minister described as "an historic event".

Rich Skerritt, the Tourism Minister for the island, spoke to The St. Kitts Nevis Observer about the occasion, "Almost the entire population of Nevis can be housed aboard this one vessel. This is a strong indicator of the growth of our relationship with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and the cruise industry in general.  This is also a reminder of our responsibility and the expectations which have been raised of our port to deliver a quality destination experience for cruise passengers and all visitors."

Cruise passenger numbers have increased over the last four years at St. Kitts along with passenger satisfaction levels.  

Allure of the Seas' arrival also drew St. Kitts' Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas, Minister Skerritt and other government officials, who attended a cocktail reception and plaque & key exchange ceremony aboard Allureof the Seas.

With it being the end of 2011, we thought it proper to look back on the biggest stories related to Royal Caribbean in 2011, as determined by our readers.  These ten stories were the ten most viewed posts here on RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com and should be entertaining to see which story generated the most buzz!

1. Hurricane Irene
2. Two country music themed cruises in January 2012
3. Will Royal Caribbean's new Project Sunshine ship be more crowded than ever?
4. Rock Legends cruise ready to go
5. Royal Caribbean to roll out All-You-Can-Drink Packages
6. Frommer's names Allure of the Seas best ship of 2011
7. Royal Caribbean announces new 2012 cruises to Bermuda and North East USA
8. Extreme weather damages Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas
9. Taylor Swift to perform on Allure of the Seas on Friday
10. Royal Caribbean orders new ship for 2014 delivery

Those were the biggest stories based on page views, but here's our editors picks for the biggest stories of 2011

1. Royal Caribbean confirms new ship coming
2. Falmouth port officially opens with ceremony
3. Royal Caribbean planning major cruise fleet upgrade
4. Royal Caribbean will send Voyager of the Seas to China
5. Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas leaves San Juan early and strands passengers

What do you think was the biggest Royal Caribbean story of 2011?

Royal Caribbean has won five awards at the Travel Weekly 2011 Readers Choice Awards, held at the Plaza Hotel in New York City.  Royal Caribbean's sister company Celebrity Cruise Line won an addition three awards as well.

• Best Cruise Line: Domestic – Royal Caribbean International
• Best Cruise Line: Caribbean – Royal Caribbean International
• Best Cruise Ship: Rookie – Royal Caribbean International Allure of the Seas
• Best Cruise Line: Sales & Service – Royal Caribbean International
• Best Cruise Line: Overall – Royal Caribbean International

Royal Caribbean Senior Vice President of Sales, Vicki Freed, accepted the awards on behalf of the company.  Also accepting the coveted “Best Cruise Line; Sales & Service Award” on behalf of Royal Caribbean along with Ms. Freed was Joanne Schimelman, Vice President Sales and National Accounts.

Royal Caribbean's mega ship the Allure of the Seas is going to visit the island of St. Kitts.

Sunday will offer passengers an unique 9-night itinerary that will deviate from the usual pattern Allure of the Seas visits and will include docking in Basseterre, St. Kitts on December 30.

Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein described the visit to St. Kitts in a recent blog post as a variation on the typical itineraries that Royal Caribbean will offer from time to time.  Royal Caribbean spokesman Harrison Liu calls the visit "uniquely special", as there are no other calls to St. Kitts planned for Allure of its sister ship Oasis of the Seas.

In celebration, the island is planning a festive welcome for Allure of the Seas.  The celebration will include St. Kitts and Nevis' prime minister, tourism minister and other top officials will be greeting the ship.

Dozens of infractions on a recent Centers for Disease Control inspection earned Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas a failing score of 85 out of 100 on its November 18 vessel sanitation inspection.

The inspection was unannounced and Monarch barely missed passing by one point (86).

Monarch was cited for among other infractions

• fruit flies were mentioned 11 times (found in bulkheads, by preparation counters, and in and around the buffet during live service)
• Soiled plates in the clean buffet stack
• missing safety signage

The inspection also revealed that Monarch of the Seas had not adopted new standards from the CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program's (VSP) Operations Manual, which include carrying a test kit for measuring alkalinity in the swimming pools and posting poolside safety signs warning passengers not to use the facilities if they are "experiencing diarrhea, vomiting, or fever" and encouraging them to shower before entering the facility.

Royal Caribbean issued a statement in which it was "extremely disappointed" to learn that Monarch only received an 85 during its last inspection. The line added that it is working closely with the proper authorities to "correct and remedy the deficiencies found aboard Monarch that caused the low score," and that it was "confident that Monarch of the Seas would receive a passing score when the ship was re-inspected." We've reached out to Royal Caribbean and the CDC to determine if and when the ship was re-tested. We'll keep you posted.

Royal Caribbean's Managing Director of Australia, Gavin Smith, is calling once again on authorities at the Cairns, Australia to dredge the shipping channel  and the swing basin.

Smith said that while Rhapsody of the Seas was able to safely traverse the Trinity Inlet, it was "at the limit and edge of its physical capabilities".  He said that Royal Caribbean would prefer the dredging take place to allow for easier and safer crossings as well as allow larger ships, such as Radiance of the Seas, to dock at the cruise terminal.

Currently, Radiance of the Seas is required to anchor off Port Douglas when she arrives in February 2012.

Earlier in the year, Smith had asked for the channel to be dredged to allow the ship to dock even in poor weather conditions. Royal Caribbean prefers to dock rather than moor and force its passengers to be transported via tenders ashore.