Royal Caribbean announced the launch of Caribbean cruises on sale for the 2012-2013 season. 13 of the 22-ships, including the flagship Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, will offer tourists cruise the islands of the Caribbean. During the winter season of 2012-2013 cruises will depart on voyages lasting from 4 to 12 nights. Part of cruises now available for booking, the remaining will be available starting next week.

According to Royal Caribbean's Vice President for marketing Betsya O'Rourke, travel on Royal Caribbean ships are ideal for families and couples of all ages, leaving a lifelong pleasant memories. "The experienced staff of our modern ships ready to provide passenger service of the highest class, and entertainment will leave the impression of a bright holiday during the entire trip."

In 2012, Oasis of the Seas, Allure of the Seas and Freedom of the Seas will continue their routes in Western and Eastern Caribbean of 7 nights. Every weekend, Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas will depart from Fort Lauderdale (Florida), while Freedom of the Seas will begin its voyage from Port Canaveral. Also from Port Canaveral to begin its voyage Monarch of the Seas. Her path will run through the Bahamas on a private island of Royal Caribbean CocoCay. The same route will go Majesty of the Seas, but only from Miami. Both cruises have a duration of 4 nights.

During Winter 2012-2013, Brilliance of the Seas will offer 8-day cruises to the southern Caribbean from San Juan (Puerto Rico). Explorer of the Seas and Enchantment of the Seas also will be sent round from Bayonne (NJ) and Baltimore in a Caribbean cruise. Explorer of the Seas in the coming season will offer a trip to the Bahamas for 7 nights, as well as 9 and 11-night cruises in the eastern and southern Caribbean. Additionally, in mid-April 2013 it will be possible to take the opportunity to spend 5 or 6 nights in a voyage to Bermuda. The schedule of ship Enchantment of the Seas - Cruise on 9 nights in the eastern part of the sea and 12 nights on the islands of the southern basin.

Routes for the Mariner of the Seas will serve the Gulf of Mexico starting from the port of Galveston. Jewel of the Seas will continue to cruise out of Tampa (Florida), who will alternate routes to the Mexican island of Cozumel and Grand Cayman with a visit to Key West and Cozumel. Both cruises are designed for 5 nights. Finally, Liberty of the Seas from Port Everglades will offer crises in the western Caribbean Sea on 4 and 5 nights.

Royal Caribbean sent an email to its Crown and Anchor Society Members alerting them to the next WOW Sale that will occur on May 3 and 4, 2011.

The sale is good on any Royal Caribbean sale and includes

• Receive up to $200 to spend onboard
• Get 50% reduced deposit
• Good on any itinerary departing on or after August 1, 2011
• Includes our newest and most innovative ships, Allure of the Seas® and Oasis of the Seas®

Royal Caribbean is planning on offering direct cruise connection from London's Stansted airport in June by utilizing British Airways charter flights to make a connection to Venice, Italy.

These flights will connect to a seven-night Adriatic sailing on Voyager of the Seas.

Jo Rzymowska, Royal Caribbean's United Kingdom and Ireland general manger, says the move comes in response to guest demand, “Feedback from cruise travellers tells us that convenient flight connections are a factor when selecting their next cruise experience.

“Around 6.7 million people live in Stansted’s main catchment area, putting our cruise connections onto the doorstep of millions of potential customers.  

“The new service will deliver an efficient route for thousands of UK cruisers to begin their holiday immediately on the day of departure”.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. received recognition for its shipboard "Building On Talent" leadership development program during this year's Seatrade Awards Ceremonial Dinner. The ceremony, which took place at the Guildhall in London on April 14, 2011, included over 350 of the maritime industry's key players, and celebrated the outstanding contributions made over the last year for safe, efficient and environmentally friendly shipping. During the awards gala, the Royal Caribbean was presented the "Investment in People" award.

"This special recognition is truly a testament to Royal Caribbean's continued dedication to nurturing our company's talent and creating our leaders of tomorrow," said Maria Del Busto, vice president, global chief and human resources officer, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. "By strategically managing our talent, and thoughtfully planning the successors of our key leadership roles, Royal Caribbean will be better positioned for the future."

Created in partnership between Royal Caribbean executives and Human Resources, "Building on Talent" is a multi-dimensional leadership development initiative. "Building on Talent" identifies high-potential leaders and develops bench strength so leaders can potentially assume multiple roles throughout the organization. The program's reach is global, both shipboard and shoreside, and cascades from senior executive to professional levels.

"The fleet 'Building on Talent' program has allowed us to identify high potential Marine and Hotel officers, and help them develop their leadership skills and position them for more senior positions," said Svein Taklo, vice president, Marine Operations, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. "We are honored that Seatrade has recognized our investment in our employees, as well as our commitment to developing our officers' skills and talents."

The Seatrade Awards were presented by Guest of Honor HRH The Princess Royal. The awards program rewards new ideas and concepts that have proved themselves in early operational use and awarding those at the forefront of new thinking. The independent judging panel chaired by Efthimios Mitropoulos, Secretary-General of the IMO, selected the winners of the 2011 awards.  

Royal Caribbean will offer showings of Dreamwork Animations newest film "Kung Fu Panda 2" on some of their newest ships.

Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas, Oasis of the Seas, Freedom of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas will have the new film playing onboard from June through August 2011. In addition, there will be  a series of red-carpet premieres aboard each ship, which will be celebrated onboard Oasis of the Seas on June 4, Freedom of the Seas and Allure of the Seas on June 5, and Liberty of the Seas on June 18.

In coordination with the new film, Royal Caribbean is rolling out a new promotion called “Pandamonium,” which is a cruise promotion aimed at families who are looking to cruise this summer.  The package is available onboard the four Royal Caribbean ships that feature the DreamWorks Experience, and includes VIP seating at one of the onboard “Kung Fu Panda 2” premieres, exclusive meet and greets with DreamWorks Animation characters, two soft drink packages, two cupcakes from the Cupcake Cupboard, a complimentary family photo and a chance for guests to build their own Pets at Sea plush animal. The Pandamonium package can be booked using the promotional code YNOTxxPO.

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 announced John Targaglia's Off-Broadway family musical "ImaginOcean" will debut on Freedom of the Seas starting in May 2011.

ImaginOcean will be the fourth Royal Caribbean ship to perform the show, joining Oasis, Allure and Liberty of the Seas.

Tartaglia was excited to bring his show to another Royal Caribbean ship, "ImaginOcean made its debut on Oasis of the Seas where it ran for several months prior to opening at New World Stages in New York in the spring of 2010. Our goal as the producers of this show continues to focus on making this universal family musical accessible to as many people as possible -- on land and at sea -- and we are thrilled to continue our relationship with Royal Caribbean and install our fourth production on Freedom of the Seas next month."

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.