Royal Caribbean has entered into an alliance with Kingfisher Airlines to strengthen its presence in India.

The program will allow Royal Caribbean to offer cruise vacation packages through Kingfisher's membership program.  The airline hopes the new partnership will expand its loyalty program by offering its customers more options such as a Royal Caribbean cruise.

Michael Bayley, executive vice president of Royal Caribbean Cruises wants to get the cruise giant more involved in India, "India is a key market for us, and we look forward to expanding our brand presence there and introducing people to the world of cruising".

The deal is the first strategic alliance in the Asia-Pacific theater where Royal Caribbean has ships sailing out of Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong. Kingfisher Airlines flies to all three of these port cities throughout India and its tour division, Kingfisher Holidays, bundles vacation packages that include both a Royal Caribbean cruise and airfare for the Kingfisher Airlines passengers.

Royal Caribbean will utilize Finland-based Wärtsilä for a five-year maintenance support agreement.  

Wärtsilä, a provider of power systems to the marine industry, will provide its services to Royal Caribbean's fleet of ships including it's subsidiary brands.

The agreement between the two companies calls on Wärtsilä to perform a number of maintenance services including

• fuel consumption optimization
• spare parts logistics optimization
• maintenance planning
• development and testing of engine components
• Advisory service for overhauls an workshop services.

Royal Caribbean has decided to redeploy one of its cruise ships away from Europe.  Navigator of the Seas will head to the Caribbean for the 2011-2012 cruise season and sail out of Port Everglades, Florida.  Navigator will offer various five- to nine-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries beginning on Nov. 20.

Navigator had been scheduled to cruise in the Mediterranean and subsequently canceled a number of of 14-night Mediterranean cruises that had been scheduled between November and April out of Barcelona, Spain.

Before Navigator of the Seas can start its new deployment in the Caribbean, she will embark upon a 14-night trans-Atlantic journey from Rome, Italy to Port Everglades, Florida.

Navigator will return to Europe with an April 14, 2012 cruise that will send it back to Italy.

At the Sicily Travel Expo, Royal Caribbean announced that it will be in Sicily for the first time. In 2011, five vessels will be transitioning to Messina, Sicily which can bring nearly 160,000 passengers.

Palermo will be the first port of call for Grandeur of the Seas May 20, 2011. Mariner of the Seas, in her debut year in the Mediterranean Sea, will touch only once a Palermo October 1. On October 8, it will be Brilliance of the Seas' turn. The cruise season will close the Navigator of the Seas, for the first time in Palermo on October 24.

We've all seen the commercials for Royal Caribbean's newest fleet of ships that feature, among other amazing new onboard amenities, the FlowRider.  The FlowRider is a surfing simulator that uses powerful jets of water to create an artificial wave for guests to (try to) surf on.

Inevitably, guests fall and the rush of water pushes the person to the back where the participant strikes a padded wall.  After a good laugh, they give it another try or let someone else go.  FlowRiders have been part of Royal Caribbean ships for years now but a recent court case may raise a question about their safety.

The case of Charlene Johnson vs. Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd., tells the story of Charlene Johnson took a private lesson on the FlowRider but when she fell, she claims she was violently thrown against the wall and injured herself.  Her lawyer presented evidence that Royal Caribbean had negligently operated the FlowRider such as shortening the distance of the area from where a person falls to the back wall beyond the manufacturers' specifications.

The Federal Judge in the case ruled that despite what Royal Caribbean did, the waiver of liability Ms. Johnson signed before riding cleared Royal Caribbean of any wrong doing and dismissed the case against Royal Caribbean.

So is the FlowRider dangerous?  Judge Moreno, the Chief Judge in the Southern District of Florida, called the FlowRider “inherently dangerous” but the waiver guests sign is enough to proect Royal Caribbean.

What do you think?  Do you think the FlowRider is dangerous? Will you ride it?

Royal Caribbean's Chairman and Chief Executive Richard Fain received a 59% increase in his salary in 2010, which brought his annual paycheck to $8.6 million.

The reason for the increase in pay was mostly due to a cash incentive payment of nearly $4.1 million, about $2.9 million more than the previous year's amount.

Fain's base salary remained the same for the third straight year at $1 million and the cruise line's financial results were better in 2010 than in 2009.

In a proxy filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Royal Caribbean stated, "Executives were rewarded for their contributions to this positive performance through payment of performance based annual bonuses above target levels".

The other four executives for Royal Caribbean saw their 2010 bottom lines rise as well from 18.5% to 48.9% thanks to increases in cash incentives.  Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's CEO Adam Goldstein saw the biggest increase, who received $4 million and was second to Fain in total compensation for the year.

Royal Caribbean won a 2011 RFID Journal Award for Best Use of RFID to Enhance a Product or Service.  The award was for Royal Caribbean's use of RFID technology to enable guests to prepay for unlimited soft drinks, and to then serve themselves fountain beverages without having to wait on a service bar line.

Royal Caribbean's RFID readers are built into the soda fountains that have antennas installed in the drip trays. 

Royal Caribbean's director of fleet beverage operations Bob Midyette claims each beverage container has a built-in near-field EPC Gen 2 RFID inlay from Alien Technology.  Back-end software confirms the guest's ID number and allows the fountain to dispense a 16-ounce drink.

"The system allows us to improve service to our guests," Midyette explains, "and enhance sales with something that feels like magic."

Royal Caribbean Associate Vice President & General Manager Jo Rzymowska said that booking trends in the United Kingdom are the slowest in the six years since she joined the company.  Rzymowska believes Britons are waiting longer than usual to book their summer holidays.

Speaking at the launch of a new travel agent training website in London last night, Rzymowska thinks people are just waiting until it's closer to their vacations to book, “This year the booking trends have been the latest in my six years in tenure,” she said. “There are definitely people who haven’t booked their summer holiday yet who are holding out.”

So why the slow down?  Rzymowska believes it's a combination of recent global events and concerns of economic uncertainty.

The good news for Royal Caribbean is that despite the reluctance of some to book, sales for 2011 are still up and Rzymowska thinks the rest of the year will be good as well.

Royal Caribbean is launching a new honeymoon registry so that friends and family can purchase gifts for a newly wed couple on their cruise honeymoon vacation.

Some of the options available include paying for dinner at a specialty restaurant onboard their ship, a couple's massage, purchasing an excursion, or just helping pay for the cost of the cruise.

The new honeymoon registry can be reached at http://www.RoyalCaribbeanHoneymoon.com

More than 1,000 volunteers associated with Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will spend this Saturday painting and landscaping their South Florida community as part of the company's 14th annual G.I.V.E. Day.

G.I.V.E., which stands for "Get Involved Volunteer Everywhere," is a community service event that brings together Royal Caribbean employees, their families, friends, vendors and business partners to assist non-profit organizations and improve the quality of life in their local communities. The volunteers will be painting and landscaping three South Florida locations - Covenant House in Fort Lauderdale, Children's Harbor in Pembroke Pines and the Holocaust Memorial on Miami Beach.

"As one of the largest employers in South Florida, we are committed to supporting and helping our local communities. It is part of our Corporate Social Responsibility," said Michele Nadeem, vice president of Global Corporate Communications, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. "We believe that the personal satisfaction and fun of assisting our neighbors on G.I.V.E. Day will help inspire our employees to pursue volunteer and public service opportunities throughout the year."

Covenant House Florida serves runaway, homeless and at-risk youth under 21, including teen parents and their children in South Florida. Without a fresh coat of paint in over 15 years, this facility is a perfect location for G.I.V.E. Day volunteers. Since there is also a dire need for shade on the property, volunteers will be landscaping the site as well.

Children's Harbor in Pembroke Pines provides residential services for foster children in a family-style setting, and community based services for the prevention and intervention of abuse and neglect. The five homes on site are in need of painting, and volunteers will also assist in cleaning up and landscaping the children's playground area.

The Holocaust Memorial on Miami Beach was dedicated and opened to the public in 1990. The Memorial is composed of a large plaza of Jerusalem stone and a large lily pond set against a backdrop of green forest. Volunteers will landscape the area around the educational center, as well as paint the memorial's lamp posts.

Now in its 14th year, G.I.V.E. Day is an example of how the more than 40,000 Royal Caribbean employees give back to their communities around the world, by donating thousands of volunteer hours to assist their communities with neighborhood development, civic drives, environmental improvement and disaster recovery. Similar G.I.V.E. Day events are also being planned for and will take place in Wichita, Kansas; Anchorage, Alaska; Seattle, Washington; and Springfield, Oregon.