It's no secret that Royal Caribbean has been moving many of its ships to Europe in search of higher revenue but Fox Business reports that when companies like Royal Caribbean made their plans for the 2010 cruising season, they did so back in 2008 when they expected a higher demand and stronger Euro than is current here.  While that news isn't great for Royal Caribbean, it is good news for consumers looking for a cruise deal in Europe.

Here are some tips for those looking for a good deal on a European cruise vacation this year

• Avoid cruise itineraries designed for Europeans. They prefer sunny resort destinations like the Canary Islands  (the European version of our Caribbean cruises) over port calls at the culturally significant places that draw Americans.
• If you are going to fly all the way to Europe, you'll want see more – so longer cruises are better.
• Avoid the traditional European vacation season of mid-July through August. You will still find plenty of shopping and tourist services, but with lower prices and shorter lines.
• Airfare from the U.S. usually drops in autumn. 
• Two cruise lines most Americans probably want to avoid (except for bargain hunters) are Costa and MSC Cruises. Both offer beautiful, modern cruise ships, but they market to non-English speaking passengers. Everything on board is presented in five languages -- Italian, French, Spanish and German and then English last. These ships are often bargain-priced, but the novelty wears off quickly. Most Americans prefer ships designed for our own tastes, especially when it comes to food, entertainment and shore tours.

Our friends at Cruise Critic alerted us to the newest cleanliness report on Oasis of the Seas.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a government agency in the United States gave Oasis of the Seas a perfect 100 on its vessel sanitation inspection.  This inspection is a very stringent cruise ship cleanliness exam conducted twice a year and is done by surprise.

There were some minor infractions, but nothing large enough to cause the ship to lose points. An example is at the Buffet Solarium Center Island, "There was no serving utensils for the container of apples or containers of pears.".  Royal Caribbean responded to this by instructing the crew to ensure that there is a utensil for each food container on the buffet.

You can view the report in it's entirety on the CDC website.

Bloomberg BusinessWeek listed four types of boating vacations that you shouldn't miss and for the category of "the family", Oasis of the Seas was named its winner.  BusinessWeek liked the many options that the ship offers as well as the piece of mind of being on board.  They specifically chose the Eastern Caribbean itinerary for Oasis as well.

One key to bringing the brood together is being able to spend time apart. For all their flaws, cruises balance family and free time: You'll find activities aplenty—and containment that eases (some of) your worries about the kids.

I guess BusinessWeek should have called the category "the rich family" because it recommends the Royal Family Suite to stay in ($1,750 per person).

Two-time Canadian silver medallist Vaughn Chipeur has announced he is retiring from competitive figure skating.  Instead of performing in front of judges, the 25 year old will skate in professional shows across Canada before joining the lineup on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship.

In addition to a pair of second-place finishes at the Canadian championships in 2009 and 2010, Chipeur was fourth in 2008 and seventh in 2007. He was 23rd at the Vancouver Winter Olympic this past February.

It isn't clear which ship he will be joining, but it will be likely limited to the fleet of Royal Caribbean ships that have an ice skating rink, the Oasis, Voyager and Freedom class vessels.

Cruise vacations can be great opportunities to see the world and do a lot of interesting and new things, but for some people, they may just simply want a break from the "daily grind" and look to get away from it all.  

Smarter Travel has ranked the best ships for getting away from it all and Royal Caribbean can be found in the list.  Chief among them, Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas is ranked as the "Best Ship to Get Lost In".

Why: The biggest ships are roomy enough to disappear into, with entertainment, sightseeing, sports, and activities to suit every sort of personality. Celebrity Cruises, Cunard, Royal Caribbean, MSC Cruises, Princess, Carnival, and Costa all boast ships measuring more than 100,000 tons that carry thousands of passengers. But, of course, none beats the world's largest passenger vessel, with its capacity for 6,296 passengers and 2,394 crew, seven neighborhoods, 16 passenger decks, nearly two dozen restaurants and bars, plus shops, theatres, and a myriad of other public spaces. The ambience on Oasis of the Seas is cordially anonymous: As one Cruise Critic reviewer put it, it's "simply too vast to inspire connections." You can be introduced to someone early on and never cross paths again—and that really is a plus for the loner. Sister ship Allure of the Seas, whose maiden sailing is December 1, 2010, promises more of the same.

Yesterday there was an unfortunate death in St. Thomas, as a 14 year old cruise passenger from a Carnival Cruise Line ship was on a beach excursion to Coki Beach when she was shot to death after being caught in a crossfire by rival gangs. This has prompted other cruise lines to make decisions about the immediate future of excursions on St. Thomas. 

According to CruiseCritic, Royal Caribbean hasn't made their decision yet, "A spokeswoman tells us that the lines do not have any ships in port today, but do tomorrow (Celebrity Solstice). However, a decision has not yet been made regarding tomorrow's tours; we'll keep you posted."

Carnival has cancelled their tours in the area while other cruise lines have not made any decisions yet.

Last month, Royal Caribbean announced it was teaming up with RLJ Companies, Global Building Solutions, LLC and Haiti-based WIN Group to help with the economic reconstruction of Haiti. Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein gave an update on this partnership, saying that "Royal Caribbean will continue to take an active role in Haiti’s long-term rebuilding as promised".

The particular focus in the beginning will be to construct two factories that will build a special kind of structural panel that is hurricane and earthquake resistant, yet economical for applications such as our school project, housing development and other commercial applications.

Bob Johnson, the founder of BET, is working with Royal Caribbean to help with these projects and this partnership is part of a greater goal of Royal Caribbean to help the island nation recover from the mega earthquake that struck the region.  

Canada is proposing a cut in the amount of sulfur that cruise ships may have in their fuel for 2012, which could make cruising to Canada much more expensive for cruise lines.  The current regulations stipulate cruise ships within 200 miles of the Canadian coast can use fuel that is 1.5 to 2.5 percent sulfur. The proposed cuts, set in an agreement with the United States, would demand sharp cuts in sulfur in the next five years with the first ones kicking in in 2012.

Fred Olsen, a British cruise line, said it is considering dropping Halifax as a port of call in 2012, saying the new rules could cost it thousands of dollars a day for each ship in Canadian waters.

The new sulfur limit would be 1 percent by 2012 and 0.1 percent by 2015. 

Fipra, a public relations consultant that actively lobbying on maritime issues in Europe, is busy plucking away European Union officials for their lobbying firm and that has some worried about transparency in the EU administration.  Malta's Joe Borg, the commissioner responsible for maritime affairs and fisheries until last year, has been hired by Fipra and the EU has allowed Borg to work there, citing no evidence of a possible conflict of interest.

Mr Borg is to join his old colleague John Richardson, a former director in the European Commission's "Directorate General Mare," the EU's maritime and fisheries department, who in September 2008 became Fipra's "maritime policy and diplomacy special advisor."

Thus far, a total so far of six of the 13 EU commissioners who retired earlier this year have now gone on to work for banks, lobbying firms, insurance companies and airlines.

This pertains to Royal Caribbean as John RIchardson announced to the EU commission that a client of his will be Royal Caribbean, the second largest cruise company in the world, and the EU reported back "It was considered at that point in time that his envisaged activities would not be incompatible with his former functions."  Making matters more interesting, Fipra's website says that Fipra's chairman, Peter Lehrell, "and his family have a special affection" for the company.

The concern by some is Fipra's close contact with Royal Caribbean and some of their members positions in the European Union could cause conflicts of interest.

Oasis of the Seas, the celebrated largest ship in the world and now seven months old, is still generating enough demand to maintain it's premium prices over other ships in the Royal Caribbean fleet, according to a report by Majestic Research.  In the report, cabins on Oasis of the Seas are selling for 41% more than the rest of the Royal Caribbean fleet during the current quarter.  Even interior cabins, the cheapest option, sell for typically 69% more.

Majestic Research's Matthew Jacob had this to say about the future outlook for Oasis of the Seas, "We expect the ship will continue to generate strong premiums throughout most of 2010, although premiums appear to be leveling off sequentially".

When Oasis of the Seas debuted in 2009, an interior cabin cost 142% more than a cabin on Royal Caribbean's other ships.  Majestic Research reports that the premium dropped to 112% in the first quarter of 2010 and then to 74% in the second quarter of the year.

This trend should continue until December 2010 when Allure of the Seas, Oasis of the Seas' sister ship, debuts.

So this sounds like great news for Royal Caribbean, right?  Well, the bad news is Majestic Research says the higher prices on Oasis come at the cost of cannibalizing the premium for cabins found on the rest of Royal Caribbean's fleet.  

Jacob says Freedom class ships have seen their premium for interior cabins versus the rest of the Royal Caribbean fleet shrink to 4% during the current quarter from 27% during the same quarter last year (the last full quarter prior to the launch of Oasis). Celebrity's Solstice class ships have seen their premiums decline to 22% during the current quarter from 68% during the same quarter a year ago, he says.