Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas made her first visit to the island of Bermuda over the weekend and was welcomed with a special ceremony.

Photo by Bernews

It's customary to welcome new vessels that visit a port for the first time and for Liberty of the Seas, a short ceremony was held on May 9th onboard the ship.  

During the ceremony, a traditional maritime plaque was exchanged.

Bermuda's Minister of Tourism Development and Transport, Shawn Crockwell, spoke about the occasion, “This ship is simply stunning and definitely lives up to its reputation – designed with pure pleasure in mind. She features an abundance of phenomenal onboard experiences; there is something here for everyone.”

“She is beautiful and we are delighted that you chose Bermuda as a destination this summer, giving your guests an opportunity to experience our beauty, our charm and the warmth and friendliness of our people,” added Minister Crockwell.​

The United States Coast Guard is searching for a Royal Caribbean cruise passenger went overboard from Liberty of the Seas yesterday near the Florida Keys.

The Coast Guard was alerted on Sunday night that a male passenger from Liberty of the Seas had gone overboard about 20 miles off Marathon, Florida.

The Coast Guard said that a helicopter, two Canadian Coast Guard ships and a Coast Guard cutter were assisting in the search. Liberty of the Seas also assisted in the search before continuing on its planned itinerary.

Royal Caribbean said in a statement that security cameras showed the passenger had climbed over a railing. It added that the cruise ended early Monday in Port Everglades, Florida, as planned.

A guest on Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas is reporting the ship is experiencing propulsion problems that is forcing the ship to travel at a reduced speed.

As a result of the slower speed, the ship has chandelled a scheduled port stop in Ocho Rios, Jamaica and will instead head back home to Fort Lauderdale.

The report has not been confirmed by Royal Caribbean yet but the guest did indicate Royal Caribbean is issuing an onboard credit of $100 for inside staterooms and $200 for balcony staterooms for the inconvenience.

Liberty of the Seas is not the first Royal Caribbean ship to experience problems like this. In December 2014 Freedom of the Seas had propulsion problems; In March 2014 Adventure of the Seas had propulsion problems; and in November 2013 Allure of the Seas had propulsion problems.  In the case of all these problems, the propulsion system had to be repaired in port as part of a drydock.

Hat tip to Cruise Fever for alerting us to the story.

Condé Nast Traveler released its list of the top spas around the world and in the case of the best spas for cruise ships, three of Royal Caribbean's onboard spas made their Top 25 list.

Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas (9), Grandeur of the Seas (16) and Allure of the Seas (20) all ranked in the top 25.  The list of the best spas ranked them by treatments, staff & facilities.

The polls results came from Condé Nast Traveler readers who shared their findings with the web site over the course of the year.

Our friend Beci from MEI-Travel took a cruise on Liberty of the Seas last month and shared these great photos with all of us from her cruise.  Here's a quick look around the ship!

Inside Johnny Rocket's

Pool play area

Special wine dispensers in Vintages

Looking down the Royal Promenade

Christmas decorations on Royal Promenade

Boxing ring in gym

Swinging chairs on pool deck

Solarium pool

Pool deck

Casino

Schooner Bar

Looking up at the elevators

FlowRider

Vintages Wine Bar

Looking down from elevators

Hoof & Claw bar

Cupcake Cupboard

Cupcakes!

Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein spoke in Milan, Italy yesterday about new investments, ships, airports and important partnerships.

"For years Italy has played a strategic role in the planning of Royal Caribbean International: Since 2005 we have more than doubled the ports of embarkation in the area, adding to Civitavecchia and Venice also Genoa, Messina and Naples. The arrival of a ship like Liberty of the Seas, which next season will embark from the port of Naples, confirms the company's commitment towards the Italian market, " Goldstein said.  " Even in 2013 Royal Caribbean International will pay particular regard to Italian guests with a special offer on board: from excursions, offering food and beverage, staff of dedicated service, all in an international environment that meets the needs of Italian. "

Coinciding with Goldstein was the debut of two new Royal Caribbean ships in Italy.  Liberty of the Seas will go toItaly for the first time and offer 7-night cruises out of Naples to the Western Caribbean while Legend of the Seas will take the place of Mariner of the Seas and offer 7-night Western Mediterranean cruises out of Civitavecchia and from Genoa to France and Spain.

"The ships dedicated to the Italian market in 2013 are the most innovative in the fleet," adds John Rotondo, CEO of Royal Caribbean, Italy "In 2013 there will be 5 ports of embarkation and 13 ports of call in Italy for four ships of the fleet Royal Caribbean International, for a total of 18 ports, 330 airports and more than 850,000 passenger movements, a further indication of the fact that Italy is a very important basin for. "

A Green Tech Marine GTM R15 compact exhaust gas scrubber recently installed aboard Royal Caribbean's cruise ship Liberty of the Seas has received a MARPOL "Statement of Compliance" certificate from DNV.

This scrubber has shown that the measurements of exhaust gas emission and wash water criteria have been shown to be well below the required limits stated in the MEPC guideline 184(59). This will ensure Liberty of the Seas is compliant with the 0.1 percent sulfur limit that will be required in ECAs from 2015.

Beyond the efficient removal of SOx and other particles, the GTM R15 offers a number of advantages over other scrubbers, such as its minimal footprint requirement and low weight. It is also energy efficient, requiring virtually no external chemicals and allowing for installation during operation.

The GTM R15 that Green Tech Marine and Royal Caribbean are pilot testing was installed onboard Liberty of the Seas while the ship was in service. The compact design required no extra space as the scrubber replaced the ship's exhaust silencer.

Prior to the shipboard pilot, a preliminary scrubber test was performed shore side in Norway for 11 months. After several visits to analyze the scrubber's performance, Royal Caribbean committed to a pilot test.

Over the next 4-6 months Green Tech will continue to test the GTM R15 onboard Liberty of the Seas to demonstrate that the scrubber can be operated continuously over a sustained period of time and maintain the same positive results as the initial tests achieved.