We have a brand new Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast to share with everyone, so get your downloads going!

Episode 24 is now available for downloading, where we are looking at the categories of Royal Caribbean staterooms.

This week, Matt discusses the categories of Royal Caribbean staterooms, including the differences between the stateroom categories, the good and bad about each, the importance of location, special categories and more.  We also have more listener comments to share with everyone.

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 24.  And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Stitcher or on iTunes!

Take a listen and as always, let us know what you think! Please rate and review the podcast on iTunes and leave your comments below!

Royal Caribbean has announced its list of 2013 Loyal to Royal Travel Agent Partners of the Year for the United States and Canada.

The award recognizes the travel agencies that are among the top performers as well as their "loyalty and commitment to the cruise line."

President's Award for Overall Achievement
World Travel Holdings 
Wilmington, Mass. 

Home-based Partner of the Year 
Cruise Planners-American Express Travel 
Coral Springs, Fla. 

Consortia Partner of the Year 
AAA Travel 
Heathrow, Fla. 

Online Partner of the Year 
Cruise.com 
Dania Beach, Fla. 

Corporate Incentive Partner of the Year 
Buy the Sea 
Plantation, Fla. 

Canada Partner of the Year 
Air Canada Vacations 
Ontario, Canada 

Southeast Region Partner of the Year 
AAA Carolinas 
Charlotte, N.C. 

Northeast Region Partner of the Year 
American Discount Cruises 
Englishtown, N.J. 

Central Region Partner of the Year 
The World of Travel 
Bloomfield, Mich. 

West Region Partner of the Year         
Morris Murdock Travel 
Salt Lake City, Utah 

For better or worse, plenty of groups plan cruises aboard Royal Caribbean cruises.  These group cruises range from just a few cabins to enough people to actually charter an entire cruise ship.  On any given cruise, there may be a few groups onboard with you and often our readers ask how to find out which groups are cruising with you.

To be clear, groups that cruise are not organized by Royal Caribbean but are instead third-party groups.  As an example, this web site is organizing a Royal Caribbean Blog Group Cruise on Quantum of the Seas and very much organizing things on our own.  Groups can be centered around sports teams, affiliations, professions, lifestyles and more.

Larger groups can cause some of the public venues to be closed to the rest of the passengers at different times because they've rented it out. Large groups can congregate in areas, making access difficult for others and they can be loud. These are generalizations and more often they do not cause issues that you will likely notice.

Regardless of which group is cruising, some people want to know about this ahead of time because there may be a personal conflict.  As an example, if a Red Sox fans group cruise was being organized on the same sailing that you're going on and you happen to be a Yankees fan, then perhaps you'd prefer to avoid a cruise with a hundred Red Sox fans.  Alternatively, you'd like to know so you can order Derek Jeter banners to post on your stateroom door.  

How to find groups on your cruise

Royal Caribbean does not list nor will they divulge groups sailing on any itinerary.  It's a matter of privacy in the same way you may not want Royal Caribbean telling others when you are sailing.

Thanks to the Internet, there are ways to find out which groups are sailing or at least most groups sailing.  Doing an internet search will do the trick and here's how.

Go to Google and search for a few different search strings related to your sailing.  Here is the syntax of a few search strings worth trying.

"SHIP NAME" "DATE"
"SHIP NAME" "DATE" group
"Royal Caribbean" "DATE"

The quotes around the words tell google to search for that phrase.  So if your ship is Allure of the Seas, it will search for "Allure of the Seas" as one term rather than the words Allure, of, the, and seas.

Example

Let's use my upcoming Navigator of the Seas cruise as an example.  I'm sailing on February 9, 2014 and this is a good way to figure out who else is going.

I did searches for

• "Navigator of the Seas" "February 9"
• "Navigator of the Seas" "February 9" 2014
• "Navigator of the Seas" "February 9" group
• "Royal Caribbean" "February 9"

You will find a lot of results, most of which aren't relevant but within about five minutes I found 4 groups on our cruise.

• Nik L Beer Band
• 2014 Tex Mex Fandango
• Hemmings Car Lover's Cruise
• Medical seminar: “Medical Errors in Primary Care: Can an Error Reporting System Increase Patient Safety?”

None of the groups listed here indicate how many people are in each group but certain group cruises do mention how many people attended last year or how many they expect this year.  

I also found some other travel agent listings for my cruise but nothing that really looked like an organized group of any substantial size would be there.  You may point out not every group has a web site but groups that have enough people attending to make it fairly large usually do have a website for getting important information out there and generating sales leads.

The fact is most groups on cruises are tame and everyone, regardless of group, is subject to the same rules Royal Caribbean institutes for all of its guests.  Groups traveling on a cruise isn't limited to just Royal Caribbean cruise line or even cruises in general.  Since some people want to know, now you know how.

We're wrapping up our trip planning process for our upcoming Navigator of the Seas 7-night western Caribbean cruise on February 9, 2014 by taking you along for the planning process.  Today, we're looking at our last port visit in Cozumel, Mexico.

You can read all about the plans we made for our other port stops of Roatan and Belize City too.

Photo by abiodork

Background

Cozumel is a port I've been to many times, perhaps as many times as four or five, and yet I really like it.  I know some people don't care for it that much but I have enjoyed my time there.  

What I like about Cozumel is the value of my money as an American, the food (I love me some Mexican food) and the exploring the city.  In the grand scheme of Caribbean beaches, Cozumel's beaches are middle of the road because they aren't the best or the worst.  So I tend to gravitate towards spending time in the city.

We've done a lot in Cozumel over the years and I'd like to try to hit some favorites while trying something new.  One nice thing about Cozumel is it's a very easy place to explore.  In a perfect world I would rent a car for the day, but Mexico's laws about car rentals and liability scare me too much to be able to enjoy it.

Interestingly, I haven't done the two biggest things Cozumel is well known for: snorkeling or Mayan ruins.  I don't love snorkeling (well, I like snorkeling but I do not like fish) and I've been saving the ruins for something to do someday with my dad (who is not on this cruise).  

The Options

Isla de Pasion

I wanted to see what's new to try in Cozumel and ran across Isla de Pasion after seeing favorable reviews on TripAdvisor.  Basically it's a beautiful private island with unlimited adult beverages and buffet lunch included.

Photo by bayouscrubs

I've done many all-inclusive excursions and generally liked them, although they can be pricey.  A little research found the cost is about $70 per person and more research found that the reviews of food wasn't great.  And since my daughter will be with me, it's not like I can really drink $70 worth of alcohol to get my moneys worth.

The beach definitely looks great and it would be something nice to do perhaps with a group of people.  

Pros: Beautiful beach; Lots of drinks
Cons: Expensive; Will take up most of the day; Reviews of food not great

Chocolateria Isla Bella

If I can, I like to do things in port I know my wife will enjoy and I think a stop at this chocolate shop might be just that.  It's ranked as the number one restaurant on TripAdvisor for Cozumel and that really stood out to me.

Photo by eg2002

From the looks, a stop here could be quick and something to try for not a lot of money.  Because I enjoy exploring Cozumel on foot, it's always nice to have a few things to do to fill up the day and who doesn't enjoy a chocolate break?

Of course, the only way I can really see going here is if I do a city tour and if we opt to do a full day excursion elsewhere, then we won't have time to stop by.  

Pros: Inexpensive; quick stop;  happy wife
Cons: Not the most exciting thing to do; Not going means unhappy wife

Diego's

If I go with the explore the city choice for Cozumel, where we eat for lunch will be a highlight for me.  Every trip to Cozumel I've tried a new restaurant in an effort to find the most authentic local food.  I love Mexican food but I really love authentic Mexican food.  Diego's is listed as #3 on TripAdvisor and the photos and reviews point to this as being an authentic experience.

Photo by Brucrew

It will be hard to top my current favorite Cozumel restaurant for authentic food, Comidas Caseras Tonita, but Diego's looks promising.  Chips, salsa, guacamole and fajitas seem to be big here and I love to try a little of everything.

There are two downsides I can see by trying Diego's. First, on a map it's quite a way from the cruise ship and the main hub of downtown Cozumel.  I don't mind walking but it will be a hike.  Second, there is always the chance the food will not live up to my expectations.  I enjoyed Comidas Caseras Tonita so much last time that other places will have a lot to live up to. 

Pros: Authentic food; inexpensive; good reviews
Cons: Far away from city center; How good the food is remains to be determined.

Mezcalitos Restaurant & Beach Bar

Inevitably, a beach break in Cozumel is a must and we've tried a number of beaches in the past in Cozumel, including Paradise Beach and Playa Palancar.  Mezcalitos is a beach bar on the east side of the island that sounds like the perfect combination of relaxation, uncrowded and a little bit authentic.

Photo by Hawkfish

What appeals to me about Mezcalitos is it's off the beat path.  In fact, this bar has no electricity but is pretty to look at and may be a good place to get a little bit of a beach break plus some food and drink.  When we were in Bikini Beach in St. Maarten, I liked having a restaurant, bar and beach tightly integrated and this sounds like more of the same.

The downside to Mezcalitos is the surf appears to be much stronger, which may be an issue since I have a 3 year old.  Granted, she has fun playing in the sand where the waves come in so it's not th end of the world.  Also, it's a bit of a drive to the east coast and once again will require a taxi fare.

Pros: Great scenery; Good food; Relaxing atmosphere; Good reviews
Cons: Relatively far away from cruise ship; Surf is strong(er)

The Decision

After considering our options, we ended up choosing.... Chocolateria Isla Bella + Diego's + Mezcalitos.

The great and bad thing about Cozumel is there are so many choices of what to do, more so than any other island we are visiting on this cruise.  With so many good choices, it's hard to just pick one or two.

What I love about Cozumel is how easy it is to explore the city and the island.  I think our basic plan will be to explore San Miguel and try the chocolateria, shop and have lunch at Diego's before taking a cab to Mezcalitos for the afternoon.

I think what we have here is a good, open ended day with opportunities to try something different if it comes up.  While Isla de Pasion looks great, in Cozumel I know how much there is to choose so I'd prefer to sample as much as I can rather than spend my day in just one place.

There's a new video that shows a few of the Quantum of the Seas bow sections being towed into the German shipyard where Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship is being built.  

Cruise Ind reports that two of Quantum of the Seas' bow sections were outsourced to be constructed at Marine Projects Ltd. in Poland. 

Quantum of the Seas will officially launch in Fall 2014 and be based in New Jersey.

Hope you had a great week (maybe one week closer to your next Royal Caribbean cruise?) and you had a chance to keep up with what's new with Royal Caribbean this week. But if not, here's a roundup of this week's news.

This big news this week is Royal Caribbean's CEO Adam Goldstein spoke to CNBC about what Royal Caribbean and the cruise industry have been doing to keep passengers safe.

Goldstein says the negative events of the last two to three years have been "an anomoly" and in his more than two decades at Royal Caribbean, safety has always been a big priority.  

"And so there's no question in our minds, in my mind, that the last two or three years have been an anomaly, and that given the foundation of discipline and attention to detail, the cruise industry will resume its long-term very safe track record. "

Royal Caribbean News

• Royal Caribbean is offering up to $400 on 2014 cruises as part of a new promotion.
• Royal Caribbean named a new director of sales for the UK and Ireland.
• Check out our guide to Royal Caribbean's best stage shows.
• Cathelco will provide the hull and seawater pipework system protection for Quantum of the Seas.
• Speaking of Quantum of the Seas, here are the top 5 things we really want to know about the ship.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The twenty third episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available and we're previewing a listener's cruise on Liberty of the Seas.

In this episode, Matt is joined by Chad from Kentucky, who is sailing on Liberty of the Seas this week.  Todd shares why he booked his first Royal Caribbean cruise, his plans for things to do onboard and what he hopes to do when they visit ports.  Matt also has lots of great listener emails, tweets and Facebook posts to share.

Please feel free to subscribe via iTunes or RSS, and head over to rate and review the podcast on iTunes if you can! We’d appreciate it.

Royal Caribbean Around the Internet

The Motley Fool thinks Royal Caribbean's stock is looking good, thanks to Quantum of the Seas anticipation.

CruiseRadio has a new podcast episode with a review of Allure of the Seas.

The Economist claims Royal Caribbean and Carnival's market share has dropped from 77% to 72% in last few years.

Sherry Laskin has an introduction to nine popular cruise lines, including Royal Caribbean.

Adam Goldstein's Blog post last week speaks about the importance to Royal Caribbean of shipyard visits.

Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein spoke with CNBC about safety in the cruise industry as part of an effort to set the record straight.  

Royal Caribbean has had some negative attention lately after two cruise passengers went overboard from their cruises.

In an exclusive intereview with CNBC, Goldstein spoke about the work Royal Caribbean's crew does every day to provide a safe cruise experience for its guests, "I having been in this cruise business for over 25 years now, my frame of reference is two and a half decades of an, extraordinarily safe of track record of great duration. Tremendous attention to detail and training that prepares the crew and the officers to do everything that they need to do from to delivering satisfaction to the guests to being extremely safe and environmentally responsible. "

"And so there's no question in our minds, in my mind, that the last two or three years have been an anomaly, and that given the foundation of discipline and attention to detail, the cruise industry will resume its long-term very safe track record. "

Goldstein's reaction to the negative news forced Royal Caribbean and the whole cruise industry to change how it looks at the guest experience, "It was very off base and we don't want to see it anymore. The cruise industry, as a whole, has stepped forward as worked together in a different and better way than before the sequence of incidents. We are much more proactive as an industry on the safety front. 

"The second thing though that we took from the sequence of incidents that occured in the industry is to do even more to ensure guest comfort while we were keeping them safe. We looked for redundancy of comfort systems, making sure the air conditioning, the heating, the toilet systems, the food provision, everything could continue even under very difficult circumstances. "

"And we've made progress in that regard, and i think the whole industry has."

If you're ready for a mental escape to a Royal Caribbean cruise, then you're at the right place because we have some great Royal Caribbean photos our readers have sent in.  Each week we ask our readers to send us their best Royal Caribbean photos to showcase right here on the blog so be sure to send yours in too!

Let's see the photos we have for this week.

First up is a photo from Kayla, taken in Skagway, Alaska as part of her Rhapsody fo the Seas cruise. Kayla wrote, "I have never seen such beautiful scenery!"  I have to agree, this looks like an amazing view.

If I gave out prizes for these photos (and I don't), this photo by Gary Garcia would win because it's a fantastic photo of Liberty of the Seas in Cozumel, Mexico with a full rainbow behind her.  Wow!

Salem Sue sent us this next photo of the al fresco dining area of Chops on Oasis of the Seas, overlooking Central Park and the Rising Tide Bar.  Central Park is such an amazing feat and I never get tired of admiring how pretty it looks.

Next we have a photo by Jane Gabrielle and it's of guest and crew with zombie face paint on for a "Thriller" dance lesson.  Jane notes she was the onboard face painter and so was responsible for painting the cast.  You can now all imagine me doing the Thriller dance as I post this photo.

Our next photo is of one of my favorite places to visit.  Stephanie Fike sent in this photo of El Morro in San Juan, Puerto Rico, taken on the way out of the channel on Explorer of the Seas.

Johnpaulla sent us this photo from Mariner of the Seas for the New Year's balloon drop.  He notes there were hundreds of balloons slung up for the 2014 New Year count-down along the Royal Promenade onboard the Mariner of the Seas.  

Is your photo missing from here?  Well, send all your Royal Caribbean photos in right nowand we can use it for upcoming Friday Photo blog posts! 

Last week we posted Royal Caribbean's Wave season deal of offering up to $300 in onboard credit for cruises in 2014 for cruises to Bahamas, Bermuda, Caribbean & Transatlantic Sailings.  Royal Caribbean now has a deal for those looking to cruise to Europe in 2014, with up to $400 in onboard credit.

Book a 6-night or longer Europe sailings in 2013 and receive up to $400 in onboard credit per stateroom.  You must book by February 28, 2014.

• Oceanview staterooms will get $175 per stateroom
• Balcony staterooms will get $250 per stateroom
• Suite staterooms will get $400 per stateroom

For cruises outside of Europe, subtract $100 and refer to this original posting.

This onboard credit offer is valid on cruises booked between January 1 and February 28, 2014.  Cruise must be 6-nights or longer on sailings departing March 1 - December 31, 2014, excluding Quantum of the Seas. Promo Code: YOURWOW is required and must be presented at time of booking.