Hurricane Irene is becoming the big story of the 2011 hurricane seas thus far and its projected path is veering east of where meteorologists originally had thought it could go, which is great news for those going on a cruise out of Florida.

While these projections are nothing more than educated guesses, they do give us an idea of the most likely path and the new path has Hurricane Irene moving east of Florida instead of the state taking a more direct hit, as was predicted earlier in the week.  For those embarking on cruises, this means the impact the storm will have on their cruises could be less than previously hinted at.

Royal Caribbean isn't taking any chances and has already altered the itineraries of four of its ships.  Oasis of the Seas, Allure of the Seas, Serenade of the Seas and Freedom of the Seas all are changing up the order in which they will be making their port calls to hopefully avoid the path of the storm.

The bad news is Irene has gone from being likely a Category 2 storm to possibly increasing to a Category 4 before belting Florida and North and South Carolina at the weekend.

It's important to note that the projected path doesn't mean Florida is "out of the woods" yet, but the further east Irene goes, the better it is for those looking forward to a Royal Caribbean cruise this weekend.

Royal Caribbean's partnership with Universal Studios Orlando is expanding to include cruises that go out of Tampa, Florida.

Royal Caribbean announced with Universal Studios that that they will start selling vacation packages that include a stay at Universal Studios Orlando along with a Royal Caribbean cruise.  The packages include three or four-night stays at Universal Studios along with four or five-night cruises on Royal Caribbean's Jewel of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean will be homeporting Jewel of the Seas in November out of Tampa.  

This new deal is in addition to the partnership the two companies already offer for cruises out of Port Canaveral.

For Royal Caribbean, the expanded deal with Universal is another move into Disney's lucrative family-cruise niche. The Miami-based cruise operator last year struck a separate deal with DreamWorks Animation to outfit some of its ships with characters from animated movies such as Shrek and Madagascar, much the way Disney Cruise Line features popular children's characters such as Buzz Lightyear and Donald Duck.

After a thorough agency competition shifts, Royal Caribbean Nordic has chosen Saatchi & Saatchi Norway to be their new ad agency. The Oslo agency will use the Nordic network in the operational work of the various markets. Royal Caribbean has previously been with agencies Shnel & Melnychuck  and Bates.

"We look forward to continuing collaboration with Saatchi & Saatchi. They are in the process convinced that they are the right agency for us now. We have big ambitions, both in Norway and other Nordic countries. Saatchis combination of excellent local agencies and a highly dense network is what we've been looking for", says Head of Marketing at Nordic Ellen Stebekk.

Agency Director Jon Fredrik Sand Engen at Saatchi & Saatchi is more than satisfied.

"This is great fun and exciting. We have all been cruise enthusiasts in a few weeks, and we have already become very fond of Royal Caribbean and its people. Being a developing Royal Caribbean and this market forward is a dream job. In Oslo, we are also proud to be chosen as the main agency for the Nordic countries", he said.

Royal Caribbean is the market leader in Scandinavia, with a market share of about 45 percent and, according to the company, a position in Norway that is stronger than in Sweden, Denmark and Finland.

"Cruise holidays that the form is growing rapidly, but has a lot to go on to take out the potential in all the Nordic markets. In the future we will do more local and regional initiatives. Therefore, we have a good strategic and creative master agency with a strong network, we have found in the Saatchi & Saatchi Norway," says Stebekk.

Officials of the Port Authority Ferrol-San Cibrao have confirmed that, as initially announced, Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas will return to the city of Galicia  on September 26 after docking for the first time on April 25.

The arrival of Independence of the Seas will, as happened in the time before a flood of tourists in just a few hours. This giant cruise ship usually bring more than 4,000 passengers on board, in addition to the compliment of crew members that can also descend upon the city

The September 26th is a Monday, so travelers will find all the retail and hospitality of the city open, which will make their shopping more comfortably than the previous occasion, which fell on a holiday.  This will also be an opportunity to give the tourists a good idea of what the city is really like. 

Tropical Storm Irene has caused Royal Caribbean to change a few cruise itineraries.  Oasis of the Seas will reverse its itinerary and now visit Cozumel first on Monday, Tuesday is a sea day, stop at Falmouth, Jamaica on Wednesday, stop at Labadee on Thursday, sea day again on Friday and return to Fort Lauderdale on Saturday

Freedom of the Seas will also reverse its itinerary and left port today to go to Cozumel first on Tuesday, followed by Grand Cayman on Wednesday, Falmouth on Thursday and Labadee on Friday.

Allure of the Seas will now stop at Nassau, Bahamas on Saturday instead of Monday. The rest of her scheduled stops at St. Thomas (Wednesday) and St. Maarten (Thursday) will take place as planned.

Finally, Serenade of the Seas will have its cruise order changed as well. It left from San Juan, Puerto Rico today and will  visit Aruba on Tuesday, Curacao on Wednesday, St. Kitts  on Friday and St. Thomas on Saturday.

Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein has returned from a trip aboard Oasis of the Seas for an on-site evaluation of what's happening not only aboard the ship but he took a careful look at the operations at Labadee (Royal Caribbean's private island) and Falmouth, Jamaica.

Adam seemed pleased with how Oasis of the Seas was running and thought things were going well.   He did seem to have an issue with the art program aboard Oasis of the Seas, presumably related to the art auctions, "I did state in no uncertain terms that I was less than pleased with certain aspects of our art program."

While on Labadee Adam felt that things went exceedingly well and found the operation at Royal Caribbean's private beach to be top notch.  That being said, he thinks Royal Caribbean can do more to market Labadee and prepare its guests for what's waiting for them, "My takeaway is we need to do an even better job of marketing what Labadee is. I spoke to someone who had visited a number of the cruise industry’s private destinations prior to coming to Labadee. He said he and his people were just not prepared for how much there is at Labadee."

At Falmouth, Adam characterized the progress at the port as "90% done".  He mentioned that the most important task left to do here is to complete construction of the arrival/departure terminal building, which should have been done by now but Adam says it will be done in September.

In terms of merchants, Adam says Royal Caribbean expects 70% of the available retail space to be occupied in the next few weeks.  He also hinted that some new restaurants will be added in the near-future.

Despite the sluggish economy, Royal Caribbean wants to hire 100 new employees by the years end at their Springfield, Oregon center.

Managers at the facility say the cruise industry is still growing and they want people in the area to come work for Royal Caribbean.  The three areas of expertise Royal Caribbean is looking for are new cruise representatives that work with travel agencies, direct sales and customer service. 

Consumer Outreach Manager Anne-Jenell Williams says demand for the Royal Caribbean product is out there still, "Everybody's looking to do the best they can with what they have and one of the benefits of being in the cruise industry is Royal Caribbean continues to be an amazingly good value for vacations so we continue to see a lot of demand for our product and we are planning on continuing to see that grow."

Even better news for those looking for a job are the perks working for Royal Caribbean has to offer.  There's a free gym for employees as well as a a full cafeteria with healthy eating options. Managers say about 21 percent of their staff received promotions last year, which also left more entry level positions open. They plan to get all 100 positions filled by the end of the year

Senator Dennis Meadows of Jamaica's Labor Party lashed out over the lack of development in Falmouth, Jamaica since the port opened to cruises in February 2011.  Falmouth's cruise port is a $7.5 billion endeavor that is a partnership between Jamaica and Royal Caribbean.

"The apparent abandonment of the town since the opening of the cruise ship pier demonstrates the perceived lack of commitment on the part of various government agencies in sustaining the focus on the development of Falmouth."

According to Meadows, businesses in Falmouth have experienced up to a 50 percent fall-off in their revenues since the implementation of the traffic management system in February.

When Falmouth was being planned, there were several projects that were to be included in the finished product including an artisan village, municipal market, and a transport center.

Meadows went on to claim that the people of Falmouth were feeling a sense of abandonment and urged the government agencies in the area to make plans to finish development of the area.

"There is a pervasive sense that the people are subjects of Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines which seem to be the primary focus and the sole beneficiary of the development that has so far taken place, and this is unsustainable."

Royal Caribbean has announced its promotion in Mexico through his Facebook page (Royal Caribbean Mexico) and supported by their Twitter account @royalmx.  Called "Remarks on board", fans can earn points in a Facebook game.  The game will last for 1 month, the idea is to click 'Like' on Royal Caribbean Mexico's Facebook page and once they do they display the instructions and game mechanics. The users or players must form words with letters that get 9 to score points. If the user wants a new set of 9 letters need to invite three friends to click on 'I like' so you can play again. This can be done three times a day. 

Thus, the person who generates the most points during the promotion will win a trip for 2 people in the Caribbean on board one of the ships of the shipping company. To participate in this contest, only have to make a fan of Royal Caribbean Mexico in Facebook, the player who accumulates the most points will win the perfect vacation in the Caribbean, and souvenirs. 

Twitter followers also have the chance to be winners of a trip to the Caribbean twice: @royalmx during the promotion will launch a series of questions over the trademark to correctly answer as many questions in the shortest time. 

If you're an aspiring actor and have a love for cruising, perhaps your dream job opportunity is finally here.  Royal Caribbean is holding auditions in Chicago, IL August 16-18 for its Hairspray show on Oasis of the Seas.  Auditions take place at Lou Conte Dance Studio.

The auditions, being held by Royal Caribbean Productions, are looking for Professional Singers, Dancers and Improvisational Comedic Actors to perform in its Hairspray show as well as another show on Oasis of the Seas, "Come Fly With Me".

Singers - Come prepared with your best 16 - 32 bars of 2 contrasting up-tempos: 1st style Musical Theater (a la Hairspray) and 2nd, a Contemporary Pop/R&B piece. Sheet music is required in the proper key. Singers will also be taught a movement combination.

Dancers - (not required to sing) - We are casting versatile dancers who are athletic with strong technique in ballet and jazz. Tap dancing and dancers who have aerial skills a plus, however not required.

Improvisational Comedic Actors - We are casting Improvisational Comedic Actors with at least 2 years performance experience. Play age range 30 - 40 yrs old (see below). Teaching experience a plus. Come prepared to improvise and read sides from the musical Hairspray.

They will also be casting for all 21 ships.

AUGUST 16TH
9:00AM - Singer Open Call Sign-in
9:30AM - Singer Open Call Auditions

AUGUST 17TH
9:00AM - Singer Callbacks
3:00PM - Improvisational Comedian/Actor Audition (please plan to stay for
the afternoon)

AUGUST 18TH
9:00AM - Dancer Sign-in
9:30AM - Dancer Audition

Casting Improvisational Comedian/Actors to fill the following roles:

VELMA VON TUSSLE
Female, Caucasian, plays 40s, may look younger. A former beauty
queen. Upscale, attractive, and prejudiced snob who always wants
her daughter in the spotlight.

PRUDY PINGLETON
Female, Caucasian, Actress plays various zany roles including Prudy
Pingleton, uptight and small-minded mother. Also plays a sadistic
high school gym teacher. Must be a sharp, funny, inventive character.

WILBUR TURNBLAD
Male, Caucasian, plays 40s - 50s. A working class inventor. Sweet, goofy,
childlike personality. Funny, good character singer (vocal ability
preferable and not necessary.) Also plays various zany roles including a
condescending high school principal; a flamboyant fashion boutique owner; a
cop. Must be an inventive character actor. We will be casting Singers to
fill the following roles:

EDNA TURNBLAD (STARRING ROLE/COMEDIAN/BASS-BARITONE)
Male to play female, Caucasian, large physique, plays 40s-50s. Sincere and
honest, not camp drag. Strong acting and comic ability a must. 60's
Baltimore housewife, "larger-than-life" character actor with singing
ability to convincingly play mother of Tracy.

TRACY TURNBLAD (STARRING ROLE/SINGER/ MEZZO)
Female, Caucasian, 5'3' or shorter, to play high school age. Must be
heavyset. Outgoing, unstoppable, goodhearted with vibrant, lovable,
spirited personality. Loves to dance. Strong pop belt singer and great
mover.

LINK LARKIN (SINGER/HIGH BARITONE)
Male, Caucasian, to play high school age. Handsome, sexy, clean-cut,
goodhearted, down-to-earth. The heartthrob of the local TV teen dance show.
Strong pop singer and great mover.

MOTORMOUTH MAYBELLE (SINGER)
Female, African-American, plays 40s - 50s. Seaweed and Little Inez's
mother. Queen of Baltimore Soul, a radio DJ. Powerful and inspiring, with
infectious, brassy personality. Strong, soulful, gospel/pop singer.

CORNY COLLINS (SINGER/TENOR)
Male, Caucasian, plays 30s. Host of the local TV teen dance show.
Handsome, charming, engaging, smooth. Strong pop singer, movement a plus.

SEAWEED J. STUBBS (SINGER/TENOR)
Male, African-American, to play high school age; Penny's boyfriend. Cool,
sexy, street smart, goodhearted. Strong, soulful, tenor pop singer and
great mover.

PENNY PINGLETON (SINGER/HIGH BELT)
Female, Caucasian, to play high school age. Ditzy, neurotic, devoted best
friend of Tracy. Very funny with good physique. Pop singer with strong
belt, good mover.

LITTLE INEZ (SINGER/HIGH BELT)
Female, African-American, plays young, Seaweed's lovable little sister.
Spunky, tough, streetwise, outgoing, older than her years. Soulful voice,
strong belt, great mover.

AMBER VON TUSSLE
(This role will be cast out of the dancers. It is a speaking role with
non-singing requirements)