If you're a country music fan, there are two Royal Caribbean cruises in January 2012 that could be perfect for you.

First up is "Country's Family Reunion and Larry's Country Diner Cruise" aboard Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas that departs January 16, 21012.  This five-night cruise to the Western Caribbean will feature Country Music stars

• Gene Watson,
• Larry Gatlin
• Moe Bandy
• T. Graham Brown
• Barbara Fairchild
• Teea Goans

The cruise will also include activities such as

• 4 live shows (2 CFR shows and 2 LCD shows)
• An exclusive cocktail party to meet the stars
• Opportunities for photos, autographs and signings
• Country music workshop

Another country music cruise is setting sail on January 28, 2012 aboard Voyager of the Seas out of New Orleans. The "Opry Country Classic Cruise" will feature  country music stars such as

• Jean Shepard
• Jeannie Seely
• Jan Howard
• Mandy Barnett
• T.G. Sheppard
• Host: Ralph Emery

Some of the onboard activities are

• private shows where the artists perform their own hits as well as country classics throughout the wee
• country karaoke
• mingle during an exclusive cocktail party
• meet the artists you enjoy

New Zealand officials are excited for the arrival of Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas in 2012 as it's confirmed that the largest ship to ever cruise the region will be making a stop in Dunedin.

It was speculated that Dunedin would be a stop a few weeks ago and with the itineraries announced for Voyager of the Seas' visit to Australia and New Zealand earlier today, people in the Kiwi nation are excited.

Royal Caribbean indicated that the first visit to Dunedin will be on November 17, and will visit the city five more times after that.

Dunedin Chief Executive of Tourism, Hamish Saxton, thinks the cruise industry is doing well and the fact Voyager of the Seas is now going to visit Dunedin is further endorsement of the burgeoning New Zealand cruise market.

"The frequency of the trips to New Zealand and the inclusion of Dunedin is terrific news.

Cruise arrivals are continuing to grow, particularly after some more challenging years, [and] the growth in cruise ship passengers is tremendous." Dunedin had previously coped well with cruise arrivals totalling more than 5000 passengers, Mr Saxton said.

"This ship going to be a spectacular sight in our spectacular harbour."

Royal Caribbean announced last month that Voyager of the Seas would be sailing to Australia for the 2012/2013 season and since then, many fans have wanted to know more details about these sailings so Royal Caribbean has released more details about what we can expect.

Voyager of the Seas will kick off its Australian cruise season on November 23, 2012 and will offer 12 cruises out of Sydney and Fremantle, Australia  This first cruise will begin (and eventually end its run in Australia) with a 14-night repositioning cruise between Singapore and Perth, Australia with stops in Thailand and Vietnam.

Itineraries include four 14-night New Zealand itineraries along with shorter cruises to Tasmania and Fiji.  There's also two 18-night voyages between Fremantle and Sydney, taking in southern Australia along with Milford Sound in New Zealand.

Adam Armstrong, Royal Caribbean's commercial manager, is excited for the debut of Voyager of the Seas down under, "Voyager of the Seas will not only be the biggest ship based here but she also introduces unique concepts never before experienced at sea in the region".

In addition to Voyager of the Seas, Rhapsody of the Seas and the recently refurbished Radiance of the Seas will return to Australia as well for their own set of cruises.

Radiance of the Seas will also operate out of Sydney and Fremantle and offer passengers 10-night cruises to Queensland over the holidays of Christmas and Easter.  They will also offer five night "sampler cruises" to Newcastle and Brisbane.

Rhapsody of the Seas will offer 12 cruises to the South Pacific region along with four 11-night voyages to Tropical Queensland.

South African web site IOL took a behind scenes look at Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas to get an idea of how this mega ship operates on a day-to-day basis.

Voyager of the Seas Captain Frank Martensen characterized the ship as, "We're a small town. Well, we're not quite that small. We have employees from 60 countries around the world. Every culture, every religion, every one of the major languages is represented here.”

In terms of the food served, sous-chef Martin Jordan has opinions on what people like, "Americans like large portions with a lot of meat. Germans need to have vegetables. Spaniards only take very little, but go to the buffet half a dozen times. With them, the meal lasts forever."

Stocking Voyager of the Seas for longer cruises can be a challenge according to Simon Wiig, “On trans-Atlantic trips it is a challenge. On the Mediterranean we have at most one full day at sea, but if we run out of cheese in the middle of the Atlantic, who is to get some more?”

Wiig did jest about what could be the biggest problem to run out of, “It would be a small catastrophe to run out of beer or wine in the middle of the Atlantic. That never happened so far though".

Voyager of the Seas stocks 16 tons of beef and almost as much chicken for trans-Atlantic cruises, along with 70 tons of pork. In addition, more than 3 tons of lobster, 10 tonnes of mussels and oysters and 3 tons of salmon are needed.

Esther Nagel is responsible for the laundry needs of the staterooms on Voyager of the Seas and claims "About 15,000 pieces of clothing, everyday,” are laundered by her staff.

Wondering how much a server makes on Voyager of the Seas?  Captain Martensen says, “A good waiter makes $4,000 a month. Tax free!”

If you're looking to get away this summer on a Royal Caribbean cruise, there may be a cruise on sale for you.

The "Bring a Friend" offer allows curent Crown & Anchor Society members to bring guests new to Royal Caribbean with them on a cruise and receive $25 onboard credit per stateroom, up to five rooms per sailing.  You must book by July 31.

Royal Caribbean has placed select ships on sale as well, most notably Voyager of the Seas' Adriatic Sea sailings where the 7-night itineraries in July and August 2011 can get you  $2,000 of ChoiceAir credit for a Suite stateroom, $500 for a Balcony stateroom, $400 for an Ocean View stateroom, and $300 for an Interior stateroom.

In addition, there are deals on four, five and seven night sailings in the Western Caribbean on Jewel of the Seas, Voyager of the Seas and Mariner of the Seas.  These ships sail out of Tampa, New Orleans and Galveston and prices start at $896 per quad-occupancy stateroom from November 2011 through April 2012.

Seven night cruises to Alaska on the Radiance of the Seas are also available at $649 per guest from August 5 through September 9, 2011.

Italian Coast Guard responded to a report of a heart attack aboard Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas, located 27 miles from the port of Ancona.  The passenger, a person from Cyprus, suffered the heart attack while the ship was headed to Venice, Italy.

The Coast Guard Operations Centre in Ancona asked the Captain of the ship to anchor, interrupting the journey, so they could transfer the passenger to a Coast Guard patrol boat. 

Following the transfer, an ambulance has took the patient to a hospital for treatment. Following the incident, Voyager of the Seas was able to start sailing towards the north once more.

Photo by ravennanotizie.it

There is a big party today at the port of Ravenna, Italy to celebrate the inauguration of the new cruise terminal , which partner Royal Caribbean has a hand in .    After the ceremony to open the new cruise terminal, authorities and journalists boarded Voyager of the Seas, the first of the  Voyager Class ships in Royal Caribbean's fleet , which this year will be calling 20 times in the port of Romagna, for a total of nearly 77,000 passenger movements.

On the other side of the dock is Brilliance of the Seas, one of four elegant Radiance class from Royal Caribbean.

Voyager of the Seas is the big news this year in the Adriatic where she is positioned for the first time in Italy, from Venice. Voyager of the Seas offers weekly cruises with stops in Koper, Ravenna, Bari and Dubrovnik and overnight at Venice.  In the Adriatic, Voyager of the Seas joins Splendour of the Seas , which sails between Greek Islands and Turkey with more than 10 and 11 nights departing from Venice, and confirms the growing interest in Royal Caribbean towards the Italian market.

Voyager of the Seas is therefore not the only ship of the group to touch Ravenna: Brilliance of the Seas will sail through the Mare Nostrum for the whole" summer.

Voyager of the Seas played host while in Venice on Saturday to announce "Opera on Ice", an unique initiative planned for October 1 in Verona, Italy.

Opera on Ice is designed to display great Opera music through the magic of skating  .Accompanied by the Orchestra and Chorus of the Arena di Verona, artists will perform the music of Don Giovanni, Aida, Carmen, Romeo and Juliet, Turandot and Tosca.

Carolina Kostner will be the godmother who will share the track with the greatest representatives of the sport, including Olympic champion Stephane Lambiel

Last week Royal Caribbean made the big news that its Voyager of the Seas ship will be based out of Sydney, Australia for five months in 2012 and while a list of port calls is expected next month, news has come that very likely Dunedin, New Zealand will be among the stops according to the Otago Daily Times.

Voyager of the Seas will be the largest cruise ship to ever visit New Zealand, surpassing the previous record of the Queen Mary 2's 3056 passengers.

The move by Royal Caribbean to move Voyager of the Seas to Australia and New Zealand is to help meet the increasing cruise demand of the region, according to Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein, "there are clear opportunities in the China and Australia markets, which are key areas for Royal Caribbean International's global development".