Royal Caribbean announced today its 2014 Mediterranean cruise schedule, which brings the total to eight cruise ships that will call Europe home in 2014.   Liberty of the Seas, Navigator of the Seas, Serenade of the Seas, and Splendour of the Seas will sail the Mediterranean and compliment the previously announced Independence of the Seas, Adventure of the Seas, Brilliance of the Seas and Legend of the Seas in Northern Europe.

Royal Caribbean’s 2014 Northern Europe cruises will open for booking on March 20, 2013, followed by its Mediterranean cruises on March 28.

“No one can deliver Europe to families like Royal Caribbean can,” said Lisa Bauer, executive vice president of Global Sales and Marketing for Royal Caribbean International. “Only on Royal Caribbean can vacationers visit multiple destinations to experience the continent’s history, culture and excitement, while sailing aboard our recently revitalized ships that are Designed for WOW. Guests will receive Royal Caribbean’s friendly and engaging GOLD Anchor service from every staff and crew member, and enjoy up to five times more onboard dining options, and more exclusive and exciting entertainment, such as the DreamWorks Experience on Liberty of the Seas or the new spectacular aerial-acrobatic experiences in Legend of the Seas’ four deck-high Centrum.”

Most of Royal Caribbean’s 2014 Europe fleet will have undergone the cruise line’s fleetwide revitalization program to bring their ships upgraded onboard options such as new restaurants, entertainment and upgraded staterooms.

Liberty of the Seas will sail roundtrip from Barcelona on a seven-night, Western Mediterranean itinerary, calling at Provence (Marseilles) and Nice (Villefranche), France; and Florence/Pisa (La Spezia), Rome (Civitavecchia), and Naples/Capri, Italy. The Aug. 10 sailing calls at Cannes, France, instead of Nice. A four-night, roundtrip itinerary departing May 14 will offer vacationers a taste of the Freedom-class experience, with a call at Nice and Florence/Pisa. An eastbound trans-Atlantic sailing on May 1 and westbound on Oct. 26, both 13-night itineraries, will bookend Liberty of the Seas’ Europe season.

Navigator of the Seas will homeport at Rome (Civitavecchia) to sail a seven-night Eastern Mediterranean itinerary, which calls at Sicily (Messina), Italy; Athens (Piraeus) and Chania (Souda), Crete, Greece; and Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey. Alternatively, vacationers have a second option to embark on their seven-night Eastern Mediterranean cruise, sailing roundtrip from Sicily (Messina). Additionally, vacationers can choose a 15-night Galveston to Rome or 14-night Barcelona to Galveston trans-Atlantic cruise, sailing May 4 and Nov. 9, respectively.

acationers also can embark on longer nine- to 12-night Italy, Greek Isles and Turkey cruises from Barcelona from May through August, and Venice from late August through October. From Barcelona, Serenade of the Seas will alternate 12-night Mediterranean Greek Isles and night Mediterranean Venice itineraries the latter featuring an overnight in Venice. From Sept., Serenade of the Seas will homeport in Venice and alternate 10-night Greek Isles and 11-night Greece and Turkey itineraries. Vacationers also can sail into Europe with Serenade of the Seas on a 16-night trans-Atlantic cruise from New Orleans to Barcelona on Apr. 26. Vacationers also can choose a nine-night eastbound sailing from Barcelona to Venice on Aug. 27 and a 10-night westbound return on Oct. 27, takeing guests throughout the Italian Mediterranean and the Adriatic.

For its part, Splendour of the Seas will homeport at Venice for its entire Europe season and alternate seven-night Greek Isles and Greek Isles & Turkey itineraries. The ship will reposition from Sao Paolo, Brazil to Barcelona for a 14-night trans-Atlantic voyage on Apr. 25, and then start its Europe season with an eight-night Italian Mediterranean and Adriatic itinerary from Barcelona to Venice. Splendour of the Seas concludes its Europe season with a seven-night Western Mediterranean cruise from Venice to Barcelona on Nov. 15, before returning to Sao Paolo on Nov. 22 on a 15-night westbound trans-Atlantic itinerary.

Royal Caribbean cruise prices in the Mediterranean will rise by 10% for the summer 2013 cruise season, which is a move to return price levels back to being consistent with what they were in the past.  

The effects of the Costa Concordia disaster forced Royal Caribbean to more aggressively price their cruises to meet the lower demand that was created.  But Royal Caribbean feels Europeans are returning to cruising and thus, the company wants to adjust their prices and schedule accordingly.

Royal Caribbean general manager Gianni Rotondo commented on the change, "At Genoa we have on a ship 3,800 passengers.  After three years in Italy, we can increment rates by 10% because of the fact that the customer that we have acquired must be compelled to book in advance, which removes the risk of reducing prices 45 days prior to departure."

In addition, Rotondo confirmed that five Italian ports for the upcoming summer season, adding Bari and Naples, "In Naples we can put Liberty of the Seas, the largest cruise ship operating in the Mediterranean, with excellent characteristics of onboard services."

Royal Caribbean has seen a gain in market share in the Mediterranean by 8-10% and further increases could be on the way.  Rotondo believes the final recovery of the cruise market could occur in mid-January, with the restoration of the usual advance booking for the summer holidays in the winter months.  This was the norm before the Concordia incident.

Looking at 2012 compared to 2010, Rotondo says combining 2012 and 2011, Royal Caribbean moved three times more passengers than in 2010 but at a decrease of 10% per fare on average.

There's a report out that claims Royal Caribbean is interested in sending its ships to the port city of Kotor in in southwestern Montenegro.  This Mediterranean port city is an option for Royal Caribbean to send its ships there.

According to the report, Royal Caribbean is considering significantly improving service to Kotor harbor.  

Royal Caribbean announced it will send just nine ships to Europe in 2013, down from 12 ships this year.  Weak bookings in Europe have contributed to Royal Caribbean's decision to reduce its presence there.

The nine ships will offer 276 cruises over 58 itineraries in 2013.  

A third of the ships going to Europe in 2013 will sail out of the United Kingdom, including Independence of the Seas, Adventure of the Seas and Brilliance of the Seas.  The ships will offer cruises to the Baltics, Mediterranean and Canary Islands.  A report from the Passenger Shipping Association shows that more than 40% of British passengers choose to being their cruise from a UK port.

In addition, Legend of the Seas will offer seven-night western Mediterranean itineraries out of Genoa, Italy and visiting Provence (Marseilles), France; and Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, and Valencia, Spain.

Vision of the Seas will alternate seven-night Norwegian cruise to the North Sea and offer cruises to visit the Norwegian Fjords, Russia and other northern European destinations.

Navigator of the Seas will offer seven-night eastern Mediterranean and Greek isle cruises.  Serenade of the Seas will offer 12-night Mediterranean and Greek isle cruises.  Splendour of the Seas will serve the Adriatic sea and Greek isles.  And finally, Liberty of the Seas will offer a selection of five- and seven-night Western Mediterranean cruises from Barcelona.

Royal Caribbean is betting on the Mediterranean by announcing that they plan on expanding their presence in the region.  Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein on a trip to Milan, Italy talked about the cruise line's plans,  "In 2012 we will double our presence in Italy, France and Spain. The economic crisis is certainly not hurting our industry, but the margins for growth in the Mediterranean are still sensitive and so we want to be players to play this game. "

Just to support the development plans, Royal Caribbean is upgrading its fleet. Two new ships are scheduled to start operation in the coming years, being built in German shipyards instead of the Italian Fincantieri Meyer Wert shipyards. Goldstein, however, ultimately did not not close the door to future ships being built in Italy, "We know the value and experience of Fincantieri .  So, as we say, we are 'open minded' and will reevaluate when the opportunity for new orders we will certainly take into account also the opportunities that may come from Italy. "

What seemed like a gamble, when Royal Caribbean ordered and built two ships 220 thousand gross tons, but has been a success. "But this is our strategy," Goldstein says "The customer has any kind of offer to choose independently. So it is the same with ships, with a range of very different size."

Phil Reimer of Canada.com recently took a cruise aboard Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas on a Mediterranean itinerary and wrote about his experience onboard. The cruise was out of Barcelona, Spain and visited ports in France and Italy.

Reimer shared his advice for those visiting Toulon, France and what he enjoyed, "The best place to start in this city of 200,000 is at the La Rotonde fountain, next to a tourist office and with a choice of five roads in the roundabout. If you pick Le Cours Mirabeau, you will quickly run into Les Deux Garcons, a brasserie that dates back to 1792, where Cezanne was a regular and luminaries like Pablo Picasso, Edith Piaf and - I was told - Ernest Hemingway hung out."

In Villefranche, Reimer enjoyed the variety of offerings to be found here, "From this port on the Cote d'Azur, better-known places like Cannes, Nice, Antibes, and Monte Carlo are all within reach. The train and bus stations are 15 minutes from the ship. The bus cost one euro, and in 20 minutes, I was in the heart of Nice."

Once Liberty made her way to Italy, the port of Livorno offered Pisa and Florence and Reimer tried to do both but regreted that decision, "I chose to visit both, but hindsight tells me going straight to Florence would have been a better idea, given the limited time."

For their stop in Rome, Reimer shared his plan for how he tackled this famous city, "From cruise ships, you walk 15 minutes from the Civitavecchia port gate and take the regular train to Rome for nine euros (return). You can get off at Rome's Saint Pietro station and visit the Vatican City to start your tour, or you can stay on to Romo Termini, the main station. The ``hop-on, hop- off'' buses take you right from there to watch your history lessons come to life - and to enjoy."

Royal Caribbean General Manager of Nordic and Baltic region, Roar Meidal,  reports that 86 percent more Nordic tourists go on Mediterranean Sea cruises this year, of which 58 per cent more Norwegians

"We are very pleased that the Nordic people finally seem to realize the great benefits of the cruise has to offer as a holiday. We like to think that cruise offers the best of two worlds: on the one hand, an all-inclusive, relaxing holiday in the sun, on the other hand, a cultural experience with stops at ports such as Rome, Sicily, Athens, Santorini, Rhodes, Istanbul and Jerusalem," says Meidal.

Statistics show that Norwegian passengers account for the largest increase, by as much as 58 percent of the total increase.  Swedes are in second place with 23 percent increase, while both the Danes and the Finns can boast of a 10 percent increase. The preferred holiday is a 7-day cruise with some of Royal Caribbean's largest and most innovative ships, such as the Liberty of the Seas. 

Royal Caribbean will be taking part in the Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum, scheduled to take place 21-22 June 2011 at the Onassis Cultural Centre in Athens.  In preparation for the event, Royal Caribbean's Senior Vice President Craig Milan spoke a little about the company's view on the Eastern Mediterannean region.

“The Eastern Mediterranean has become increasingly popular for all three of RCI’s brands, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Azamara, prior to the political upheaval in many of the countries of North Africa this year, and we had been shifting more capacity to the region. However, these events have impacted on the demand for all sailings in the East Mediterranean, not only those which had scheduled calls in Egypt. We are hopeful that the demand improves as we move into 2012 and as such, we did not proceed with any changes in our planning for the next season. Looking towards the future, we have seen opportunity to develop some of the newer and smaller ports to enhance our itineraries in this area, especially in connection with the overcrowding that we are experiencing in Santorini and Mykonos. "

"The Black Sea is also interesting and we see opportunities for growth. Azamara at present has a limited number of sailings which are doing well. We would like to add some sailings for Royal and or Celebrity for 2013.”

Royal Caribbean Vice President John Tercek also commented by adding, "As we move forward, we are also keen to develop source markets for our products, with Greece and Turkey playing a leading role as operational hubs”.

A positive start to the season for Splendour of the Seas, her first year season cruising from Venice and she is ready to go. Splendour of the Seas is the first ship of Royal Caribbean's fleet to dock at the port of Venice in 2011 and opened a major new cruise season for the brand.

At Movimenterà alone, nearly 60,000 passengers embarked from the port of Venice 29 times for 10 and 11-night cruises to Greece and Croatia until November 2011. Voyager of the Seas arrives on May 21, Brilliance of the Seas May 25. From April to November, there will be seven ships of Royal Caribbean that pass through the capital of Veneto, for a total of 113 airports and handling over 320,000 passengers.

"Year after year, Venice increasingly consolidates its leading role in planning for Royal Caribbean - says Lina Mazucco, CEO Cruises Ltd RCL Italy -. 2011 in particular will be a golden year for the former Maritime Republic, which will nearly double the flow of Royal Caribbean cruise: from about 170,000 last year, we expect to reach over 320,000 this year. "

Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Sea arrived for her new Mediterranean itineraries for the first time in Italy.  The ship arrived in the early hours of the morning to Civitavecchia, where she will be home for the entire 2011 season, until the end of October.

During the "Italian baptism," the ribbon-cutting ceremony has been entrusted to champion Fiona May. Mariner of the Seas was also the scene of a unique event, "Run for Royal", the first 3km never sailed on a cruise ship, which involved five runners.

Yesterday in Civitavecchia, in the presence of a large group of journalists, travel agents, port authorities and sports stars and entertainers, there was an Italian baptism of Mariner of the Seas, the new queen of the Royal Caribbean's Mediterranean Fleet, for the first time in the Mare Nostrum.

The ship's godmother of the event was Fiona May, an Italian athlete, twice world champion of long jump, welcomed on his arrival the ship was established in 2003.

Lina Mazzucco, general manager Royal Caribbean Italy, explains the choice: " In a lively and passionate character and style of Fiona, we recognized the spirit of Mariner of the Seas, a ship full of character, dedicated to the Italians, lovers of sport and a holiday at the same time dynamic and healthy, which makes the wishes of the family. Its elegance, femininity and perseverance in life as in sport, we did see in her the perfect spokesperson for this amazing ship . "

For the first time ever in the history of the company, the ship will depart from Genoa Royal - apart from Civitavecchia - and will offer seven-night cruises to the guests that will touch Cannes, Ajaccio, Barcelona, ​​Palma de Mallorca.