With 2013 nearly complete, it's time to look back on the year and see which news stories generated the most interest. There's no doubt that 2013 was a busy year for Royal Caribbean and so it's interesting to see which stories rose to the top of people's interest.
This year's top ten list of Royal Caribbean stories is based on our statistics of most viewed stories. There's some stories that made the top ten list that surprised me and others I'm more surprises did not make the list. Let's dive in!
10. Quantum of the Seas model leaked?
Back in Februrary we knew very little about Quantum of the Seas, the brand new cruise ship Royal Caribbean was going to build. So anything that gave us a clue about what she might look like was hot stuff.
Meyer Werft, the shipyard in Germany where Quantum of the Seas was going to be built, leaked a photo of a water model that didn't show a whole lot but did give us an idea of the ship's scale.
It was one of our first confirmed ideas of what we, as guests, could expect on this new ship and it generated a flurry of "is it ugly" discussions.
9. Royal Caribbean officially launches new unlimited alcohol packages
I've often said I could publish nothing but stories about unlimited alcohol packages and there would be a lot people who would read it and so, it makes sense that one of our most viewed Royal Caribbean stories from 2013 has to do with the unlimited alcohol packages.
After rumors circulated for a couple of days, Royal Caribbean quietly launched the updated unlimited alcohol package. I say quietly because for some reason the news wasn't publicized that much by the company. Outside of the fan community, it largely was un-reported but our statistics show people just love reading and discussing these packages.
8. Royal Caribbean to send Oasis of the Seas to Europe in 2014
Ever since Royal Caribbean launched the Oasis-class of ships with Oasis of the Seas, the world has taken notice but the product has remained in North America. Until now.
Royal Caribbean announced that in autumn 2014, it would send Oasis of the Seas across "the pond" to Europe for a few quick itineraries that would coincide with a planned refurbishment.
For Europeans, the prospect of finally being able to try out this brand new ship without flying for many hours seemed like a dream come true and there's been a lot of excitement for this ever since.
7. Full video of the Quantum of the Seas reveal
Did I mention our readers like Quantum of the Seas news? Because here's another Quantum of the Seas news item that got people talking.
When Royal Caribbean announced Quantum of the Seas (more on this further down the list), people were excited for what they saw. Part of the announcement was a produced clip starring Quantum of the Seas' godmother Kristen Chenoweth that was shown for the very first time but people wanted to see more.
We got our grubby little hands on a copy and put it online and sure enough, people wanted to watch it over and over and over again. This video showcased not only what the ship looked like, but also a number of exciting new features and innovations.
6. Royal Caribbean releases 2014-2015 deployment schedule for Summer Caribbean and Northeast
For Royal Caribbean fans, there's no such thing as "too early" when it comes to planning their next Royal Caribbean cruise.
So when we finally got the 2014-2015 deployment schedule, people could start planning which ships would be where and which cruises to start considering.
5. Royal Caribbean institutes automatic gratuity to its cruises for all passengers
If there's a news story this year that generated a lot of heated discussions, it was when Royal Caribbean decided to make gratuities for its crew members an automatic charge every guest would incur.
The idea is based around that voluntary gratuities would sometimes leave well-deserving crew members without a tip for whatever reason. I think everyone agrees Royal Caribbean crew members work very hard and deserve to be compensated.
That's where the divide begins. Some people agree that everyone should tip because in some cultures, tipping is not as prevelant as others. Other people argue that Royal Caribbean should pay the workers more or make the gratuity just a fee attached to the cruise price rather than pretend it's a tip.
Regardless of which side of the argument you believe in, it got people's attention.
4. Royal Caribbean announces new Quantum Class cruise ships and names for first two ships
In February we finally got the announcement of what Royal Caribbean would name the two cruise ships it had previously mentioned were being built.
From the start, Royal Caribbean referred to this new class as "Project Sunshine" but Royal Caribbean revealed the class would be called Quantum class and the first two ships would be Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas.
Interestingly the announcement did nothing to quell the public's desire to know more about these new ships, as you will be able to see by how many Quantum of the Seas news stories made our top 10 list.
3. Royal Caribbean Releases Quantum of the Seas itineraries
When Royal Caribbean finally pulled the covers back a little from Quantum of the Seas, among the other news we discovered was where this ship would be sailing to exactly.
Based out of Bayonne, New Jersey, Quantum of the Seas would offer cruises to various destinations in the Bahamas and Caribbean. The itineraries have since changed slightly (Samana has been dropped), but it started the clock on when we could finally book a Quantum of the Seas cruise.
2. New Royal Caribbean unlimited alcohol packages available for purchase online
It seems like a while ago that Royal Caribbean launched their unlimited alcohol packages for the first time and back in January, guests could start ordering it online before their cruise.
The chief benefit to booking your drink package online is it allows you to break up the cost of your cruise and pay off the drink package earlier and not get hit with a massive bill at the end of your cruise. Well, a less massive bill anyway.
1. Royal Caribbean cruise ship to host 7th annual cougar cruise
I'm not sure why this story has been so popular but evidently there's a lot of people interested in cougar cruises out there.
A private group planned a cougar cruise on Majesty of the Seas, in which older women look to meet young men in hopes of a fruitful romantic relationship. Who are we to judge love, right?
This story being our number one most read story on this site does not surprise me that it generated as many views as it did, but I think we can all agree it's not the most important Royal Caribbean news item of the year by any means.
What made the top ten that surprised you? And what didn't make the top ten that surprised you? Share your thoughts in the comments