Royal Caribbean announced its first ever "Royal 5K" running event to be held in St. Maarten on December 16, 2010.  This race will be open to those cruising aboard Allure of the Seas.

This special race coincides with a cruise itinerary dedicated to running enthusiasts that include vitality-themed activities, such as

• Join fellow runners by exploring the different ports of call with group fun runs
• Meet high profile racing athletes during private meet & greets
• Attend seminars & lectures with high profile athletes
• Receive personal training tips from experts
• Test your speed with a chance to set a world record time at sea
• Recognize everyone's accomplishments with an awards ceremony
• Be entered for a chance to win prizes including a grand prize trip to ESPN Headquarters

The race package costs $50 for adults and $35 for children.  Guests may register onboard the ship or in advance at the Royal 5K site.  Participating guests will receive a commemorative race t-shirt, as well as exclusive access to a post-race reception on board.

“Royal Caribbean is delighted to offer this very special Royal 5K run in St. Maarten to Allure of the Seas’ guests,” said Lisa Bauer, senior vice president, Hotel Operations, Royal Caribbean International. “As part of our commitment to provide guests healthier vacation options, we look for opportunities like these to enhance our Vitality programming onboard and drive awareness of a health-conscious lifestyle. Coupled with an unprecedented line-up of new entertainment aboard Allure of the Seas, guests on this sailing will have a wide spectrum of exciting and heart-pumping options for an amazing cruise vacation.”

If you're a fan of Disney and/or the Disney Parks, there's a Royal Caribbean cruise for you!

Magic Meets, a Disney fan gathering, is holding their annual event onboard Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas, which departs Bayonne, New Jersey for a 5 night cruise to Bermuda on July 16-21, 2011.

The cruise offers Disney fans from online communities a place to gather to share their interest in all things Disney.  Magic Meets has been running for a number of years with the event last year held for for the first time on a cruise, which was on Grandeur of the Seas this past July.

Prices start at $931 per person for an inside cabin (price includes taxes and fees).  You can book a cabin with MEI-Mouse Fan Travel.

On April 29th, 2011, several hundred mom bloggers will board a Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines Majesty of the Seas in Miami to begin their voyage to the Bahamas, as part of the Bloggin’ Mamas Conference & Cruise. Organizers Heather Lopez of Happy Healthy Mom and Caroline Schafer of the Moms On Vacation Travel Club have teamed up to create this one of a kind opportunity for moms to network for both business and pleasure.

Schafer & Lopez took the concept of mom group traveling and combined it with a mom blogger conference after hearing many complaints from moms about having to spend too much money to attend onshore conferences, having to be away from their family, and not really enjoying everything because they were too overwhelmed. According to Heather Lopez, “The cruise environment allows for the controlled scheduling of workshops and social events, and even onshore activities, which makes it easier to ensure that moms will benefit from both the information and the experience. Plus, the moms can bring their kids and spouses, so they get the benefit of a vacation as well.”

Highlights for the event include:

• Engaging workshops conducted by experienced bloggers sharing how bloggers can grow their following, grow their influence, and convert their blogs into profitable endeavors
• Networking opportunities that can help connect faces to their blogs
• Brand 2 Blogger connections, giving moms the opportunity to try out the latest in products for their family
• On shore excursions in the Bahamas
• Workshops scheduled in mid afternoon, rather than morning to allow moms to shop and tour the Bahamas
• Childcare available
• Evening social mixers to bring some more fun onboard
• Invitation Only events for VIP’s
• Swag Bags & Giveaways
• Affordable Package Price & Payment Plan

When Lopez and Schafer first came up with the concept, they immediately assembled an advisory board made up of some of the most influential mom bloggers out there to ensure that all aspects of the event were planned with several viewpoints in mind. Advisory board members include Traci Bisson/ The Mom Entrepreneur, Amy Bellgardt/ Mom Spark and Mom Made That, Holly Hanna/ The Work At Home Woman, Dawn Berryman/ Market Mommy, Toni Bloomfield/ Market Mommies, Abbey Fatica/ Living My MoMent, Lin C/ Blogomomma, and Lucinda Cross/ Corporate Mom DropOuts; reaching a combined total of over 100,000 moms nationwide between them.

The Bloggin’ Mamas Cruise & Conference has already garnered tons of brand interest and will be launching a marketing campaign to promote the event shortly. Megan Calhoun of TwitterMoms agreed to help promote the event to her network of over 25,000 members and Jennifer James of the Mom Bloggers Club & Mom Salon is tentatively scheduled as one of the event’s keynotes. Moms are encouraged to register soon to reserve the current rate.

If you're an "I Love Lucy" fan, then there's a cruise for you.  Fans of the famous television show can now be a part of the week-long "I Love Lucy Diamond Jubilee Cruise".

The cruise, on Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas, will celebrate the "once-in-a-lifetime double-anniversary celebration" on October 15, 2011 (this coincides with the 60th anniversary of the TV show).  The ship will make stops in Labadee , Haiti ; Falmouth , Jamaica ; and Cozumel , Mexico.

Onboard activities include celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the TV series as well as the 100th birthday of its famous star, Lucille Ball. Other events include special banquets, “Lucy”-themed “live” shows, discussions with special guests who knew and worked with the great lady, screenings of her most-loved episodes, trivia contests, and more.

If this is of interest you can book by contacting Barb Shulman ([email protected]) 619.548.1289 Toll Free 877.278.9386 or Danielle Marsh ([email protected]) 864.228.7992 Toll Free 866.403.1318

If you're looking for a cougar cruise, there's a new one that has been announced, but you will need to get to Spain to experience this one.  Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas will depart from Barcelona and cruise April 16-21, 2011. 

This cruise comes after cougar cruises have been banned by the three largest cruise lines in Australia, and also by Carnival, the world's largest cruise line, in the USA.

"We are pleased that Royal Caribbean will be hosting our European Cougar Cruise," says Rich Gosse, Executive Producer of http://www.cougarevents.com. "While it is perfectly acceptable for middle-aged men to date women their daughter's age, women don't have the same privilege. After the tremendous success of the world's first International Cougar Cruise, December 2009, aboard Carnival, we were shocked that they refused to allow another. If there had been problems on the first Cougar Cruise we would understand being banned. But hundreds of our cougars and cubs onboard were well-behaved, and there were absolutely no problems. We expect the same will be true with the European Cougar Cruise."

Interested in going on the cougar cruise? You can book it by going to http://www.SinglesTravelCompany.com

If you affiliate yourself with the Tea Party movement, then there's a Royal Caribbean cruise for you.  Conservative publishing site WorldNet Daily is sponsoring a special cruise dubbed "The WND Tea Party at Sea" to be held aboard Liberty of the Seas September 19-26, 2010.

This cruise will feature teaching sessions by Joseph Farah, Alan Keyes, Jerome Corsi, David Kupelian, and Aaron Klein, all of whom are contributors to WorldNet Daily, a site with politically conservative tenancies.

The cruise follows the WorldNet Daily "Taking America Back" conference, a three-day extravaganza at Miami's Doral Resort and Spa (home of the Blue Monster golf course). The conference spans Constitution Day, Sept. 17, and features a current elected representative, Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.); a couple of formers, Jeremiah Denton (R-Ala.) and Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.); and a couple GOP hopefuls (Floridians Allen West, seeking a House seat, and Alexander Snitker, running for Senate). And, for all of you who have been wondering, "Where's Ann Coulter lately?", the conservative commentator will be on board, too.

If September 2010 doesn't work for you, there's another cruise being held by the same organizing group in January 2011 for "true patriots who are passionately committed to the principles of liberty and freedom as granted to us by the Founding Fathers."  This cruise will feature Keyes as well as former Georgia congressman Bob Barr and Gary DeMar, founder of American Vision.

Do you consider yourself a foodie?  Or maybe you're just a fan of great food?  Well, Royal Caribbean is launching a new series of themed cruises that is right up your alley. There will be 12 specialty voyages onboard Freedom of the Seas that are part of the cruise line’s “Epicurean Discovery” series.

Designed for culinary enthusiasts, the package features a variety of special events throughout the week devoted to cuisine and fine dining.

Each cruise is by a different celebrity chef for the cruise. Here is the schedule of celebrity chefs:

• Chef Cindy Hutson - September 19, 2010 
• Chef Johnny Vinczencz - October 3, 2010
• Chef Tim Andriola - October 17, 2010
• Chef Carlos Fernandez - October 31, 2010
• Chef Lauren De Rouen - November 7, 2010
• Chef Roberto Treviño November 14, 2010
• TBD - December 5, 2010
• TBD - December 12, 2010
• Chef Michael Schwartz - January 2, 2011
• Chef Nick Weber - January 9, 2011
• Chef Spike Mendelsohn - February 6, 2011
• TBD - February 20, 2011

By booking into this package, here are the exclusive options you can look forward to:

• Participate in Exclusive Culinary Experiences
• Enjoy a Cocktail Reception Meet & Greet Photo Opportunity with Celebrity Chefs
• Receive Special In-Suite Gifts
• Private Dining Experience with Celebrity Chef in our Specialty Restaurants
• Take a VIP Behind the Scenes Tour of our Private Galley
• Sample Appetizers in a Private Tapas Welcome
• Savor Succulent Vintages in a Special Wine Tasting Event
• Attend a Question & Answer Session with Celebrity Chef and Ship's Executive Chef
• Receive a Special Kit with Photos, Recipes, Menus and Guest Chef Signature
• Learn Cooking Tips from the Pros
• Take Home a Commemorative Epicurean Discovery Apron & Chef's Hat
   

The Epicurean Discovery is available exclusively to guests booking suite accommodations or higher.  Price begins at $1,874 per person, based on double occupancy.

Quick note for anyone sailing on Liberty of the Seas, comedian Lewis Black will be headlining a seven-day cruise on Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas on Nov. 7, sailing out of Miami.

Joining Lewis will be some other comedians including

• John Pinette
• Dom Irrera
• Kathleen Madigan
• John Bowman
• Larry Wilmore
• Ted Alexandro
• Joe Grifasi
• Mark Linn-Baker
• Vic Henley

For fans of cruising and heavy metal music, there is news that a special concert will be held on Majesty of the Seas that will sail Monday, January 24, 2011.  The cruise is called  "70000 Tons Of Metal" and has been dubbed "the world's biggest floating heavy metal festival".  This themed cruise will feature a number of metal acts.  These include..

• agent steel
• amon amarth
• death angel
• epica
• exodus
• fear factory
• finntroll
• forbidden
• moonspell
• obituary
• raven
• saxon
• sodom
• sonata arctica
• stratovarius
• swashbuckle
• testament
• trouble
• uli jon roth
• witchburner

More bands will be announced and a total of 40 acts have been promised.