People that are new to cruising many not be aware of the sheer amount of things to do aboard a Royal Caribbean ship and that's why Travel Weekly highlighted some of the best activities on cruise ships today that aren't expected by a new passenger.

Voyager of the Seas' sports deck is something that stands out because there's so much to choose from.  You can go in-line skating, use the jogging track, try the golf simulator and more.  Aboard Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, you can zip line, learn to surf or play basketball.

If entertainment is more your thing, the ice shows in Studio B aboard Voyager of the Seas is another fun option.  In addition, the DreamWorks Experience offers you the chance to meet passengers from Kung Fu Panda or Shrek.  Oasis and Allure of the Seas have an Aqua Theater where athletes perform  acrobatics, trapeze artistry and water ballet.

Royal Caribbean has invited two former Olympic Athletes, Michelle Kwan and Greg Louganis, to compete in a number of physical activities aboard Oasis of the Seas.

Dubbed the Royal Deck-athlon, there will be 10 featured events, such as Flow Rider, Rock Climbing wall, figure skating, zip line, diving, mini-golf and more.

You can follow along the progress with video updates on the Facebook page.  Royal Caribbean is also offering a chance for a free seven night cruise aboard Oasis of the Seas for those that watch the videos.

Each year, the Centers for Disease Control conducts surprise government health inspections to make certain that the cruise ships millions enjoy are safe and clean.  Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas, Jewel of the Seas, Serenade of the Seas and Mariner of the Seas all scored a perfect 100 on their test this year.

The Vessel Sanitation Program is run by the CDC and unannounced inspections will occur twice per year in US ports, with a test that grades each ship on a 100 point scale.  The CDC evaluates cruise ships in 42 areas such as adherence to proper food handling, storage procedures, overall galley cleanliness and pool and spa cleanliness.

This is the third perfect score in a row for Oasis of the Seas while the other ships that scored perfectly have also had perfect scores in the past.

Only a small fraction of the dozens of cruise ships inspected each quarter receive a perfect score.  Most infractions are small in nature and are corrected quickly.

We love seeing talented photographers take some amazing photos while aboard Royal Caribbean ships and Bryan Sargent, a New York City photographer, brought his camera aboard a recent Royal Caribbean cruise aboard Oasis of the Seas.

Check out all of his great photos here.

The Washington Post has posted an in-depth look at Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas' cruise director Ricky Matthews and how Ricky has made the job his own.

“My job is to provide the best entertainment and to keep everyone busy,” said the 39-year-old Jamaican of his position with Royal Caribbean. “I need to be able to make the people move even if they’re sleepy.”

Matthews describes his job as captain, head chef, steward, waiter and comedian. He spends his day overseeing the many activities that are occurring around the ship.  For Matthews, it's all about setting the tone for passengers, "First impressions are important, so he strives to set the proper tone — fun, fun, fun — from the outset. During the first hours of the cruise, he strolls the decks like a one-man pep rally, waving his imaginary party flag. He joshes with guests and charms the female persuasion with endearing greetings of 'Hello, ladies.' They fall under his spell, as do their husbands."

Matthews' schedule with Royal Caribbean is also interesting, he spends two months at a time working for the cruise ship and then receives two months off to visit family or friends.  

He has spent a considerable amount of time working for Royal Caribbean.  Prior to Oasis of the Seas, Matthews worked on Majesty of the Seas, Navigator of the Seas and Serenade of the Seas. He occupied the cruise director chair on Oasis of the Seas from March to June, filling in for another cruise director on holiday.

You can read the entire look at Matthews' daily life aboard Oasis of the Seas and see exactly what his job entails.

O3b Networks announced it has signed a multi-year deal worth multi-millions of dollars to provide Royal Caribbean with high-speed satellite-delivered broadband service.  By the summer of 2013, Oasis of the Seas will benefit from O3b's enhanced connectivity at sea that claims it will be like being connected to fiber at home or in the office.

Royal Caribbean will be the first cruise company to utilize O3b's new maritime offering O3b Maritime, which delivers the reach of satellite and the speed and latency of fiber at a fraction of the cost of conventional providers. O3b is enabling maritime service providers to offer affordable fiber-like capacity across the Caribbean and ocean regions around the world. Providing unparalleled bandwidth, O3b's steerable satellite beams will provide cruise industry passengers ultra-fast Internet communications throughout their voyage.

Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein commented on the deal, "Royal Caribbean is committed to delivering the most contemporary vacation to our guests, and that includes pushing ahead for onboard technological advances that offer the modern conveniences that guests enjoy on land. This milestone agreement with O3b Networks enables us to provide our guests with unprecedented Internet service at sea aboard Oasis of the Seas and potentially in the future aboard other ships in our fleet."

Royal Caribbean's performance of Hairspray will be performed live at the Tony Awards this year.  The cast aboard Oasis of the Seas will take place in the ship's Opal Theater and broadcast live to the show.

Royal Caribbean has been named an official partner of the 66th Annual Tony Awards, which will be part of the live broadcast airing on CBS from the Beacon Theatre in New York City on Sunday, June 10, 2012.

Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein commented on the news, "We couldn't be more excited to partner with the Tony Awards to give the audience a taste of our genuine Broadway productions, which include Saturday Night Fever, as well as the Tony award-winning musicals Hairspray and Chicago: The Musical. These amazing performances, along with a host of other entertainment options including our unparalleled DreamWorks Experience, our dive and aqua shows plus ice skating performances, afford our guests an unparalleled vacation that is second to none."

Royal Caribbean has released their schedule of cruises to the Caribbean for 2013-2014 and are now open for bookings.

Royal Caribbean is planning cruises for Oasis of the Seas, Allure of the Seas, Independence of the Seas, Freedom of the Seas, Navigator of the Seas and Serenade of the Seas to bring a total of 140 sailings across 31 itineraries what will make stops at 20 different ports.

New to the schedule will be cruises out of New Orleans, Lousiana aboard Serenade of the Seas.  The first cruise out of the Big Easy will be a 9-night Caribbean cruise on December 12, 2013 that will stop at Key West, Nassau, Labadee & Ocho Rios.  Following that cruise, Serenade will alternate between 7-night cruises to the Bahamas and Western Caribbean.

It will be business as usual for Oasis and Allure of the seas.  They will continue their popular 7-night western and eastern Caribbean cruises out of Port Everglades, Florida.

Also calling Port Everglades home will be Independence of the Seas, who will offer 6-night cruises to the western and eastern Caribbean.

Freedom of the Seas will continue to operate out of Port Canaveral, Florida and alternate between 7-night eastern and western sailings.  

Finally, Navigator of the Seas will debut in Galveston, Texas with two western Caribbean cruises.  Both are 7-night sailings and one itinerary calling at Falmouth, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel, while the other at Roatan (Honduras), Belize City (Belize) and Cozumel.

One of the largest cruise fan websites, CruiseCritic, has released the results of the 2012 Cruisers' Choice Awards and Royal Caribbean has walked away with a number of prizes for its ships.

Among large cruise ships, Royal Caribbean was nominated in many categories and won the following categories:

• Best For Dining: Serenade of the Seas
• Best for Embarkation: Allure of the Seas
• Best for Entertainment: Oasis of the Seas
• Best for Families: Allure of the Seas
• Best for Fitness: Freedom of the Seas
• Best for Service: Serenade of the Seas