As we reported earlier this week, Royal Caribbean got the official go-ahead to build a new cruise terminal at Cape Liberty in Bayonne, New Jersey and today we've got more details as to what the facility will entail.

The $70 million terminal will be paid for by Royal Caribbean and includes a 36,000-square-foot check-in terminal, a 60,000-square-foot luggage area, a parking deck, additional parking and berth improvements. Construction will begin this summer and should be completed by October 2014.  Quantum of the Seas is scheduled to have its first cruise out of Cape Liberty in November 2014.

As part of the agreement allowing construction of the cruise terminal, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the marine terminal facility in Bayonne, agreed to extend Royal Caribbean’s operating agreement for the terminal for an additional five years through 2043.

Passenger volume at the Cape Liberty port have been increasing steadily over the past three years, from 393,000 in 2010 to 476,000 in 2012. Once the new cruise terminal is complete, officials expect the passenger volume to increase to about 600,000.

During Royal Caribbean's second quarter financial results conference call, Royal Caribbean Chairman Richard Fain credited an increase in revenue in part due to its newer ships being more efficient and generating revenue at a faster pace.

According to Fain, cruise ships built since 2006 are generating 25% more revenue per berth than their older sister ships.  Moreover, operating costs for older ships are more than 20% higher per berth.

To that point, Fain pointed out that Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas are the most efficient ships in the fleet, with 25% lower fuel consumption per berth than the rest of the fleet.  Fain expects Quantum of the Seas to follow the Oasis-class path by doing even better, and should set a new standard.

Fain also mentioned an emerging technology that Royal Caribbean has been testing with sister-brand Celebrity Cruises that use bubbles to lessen hull friction in the water.  Tiny bubbles stick to the bottom of the ship's hull so the ship literally is sailing on a cushion of air.  The technology is working so well that Fain expects to roll it out to other ships in the fleet, "in due course".

The exact cause of the fire on Grandeur of the Seas that occured in late May 2013 is still unknown but during yesterday's congressional hearing into cruise ship safety, we got some more details.  

In his testimony, US Coast Guard Rear Admiral Joseph Servidio spoke to why the fire became as large as it was.  Admiral Servidio said a deluge system vale, which is a piece of firefighting equipment, was inaccesible because of the fire's location. In addition, an open deck hatch allowed the fire to spread.

Servidio also mentioned that the Coast Guard will be investigating the entire class of Vision-class ships that Grandeur of the Seas is part of, to seek more information.  This includes Legend of the Seas, Splendour of the Seas, Grandeur of the Seas, Enchantment of the Seas, Rhapsody of the Seas, and Vision of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean met with representatives from Haiti's Tourism Ministry to discuss the operation of the cruise line's private destination of Labadee.

In a statement from the ministry, the meeting was focused on access to the resort area, increased integration of the villagers of Labadee in tourist activities and the general development of the region.

Haiti’s Tourism Ministry said a monitoring committee will be created to coordinate policy measure that will aim to increase local development in Labadee, along with improving access to the site.

That committee is set to become operational in mid-August.

Currently about 300 Haitians work at Labadee.

Royal Caribbean reported a second-quarter net income of $24.7 million, or $0.11 per share, which is better than a net loss of $3.7 million last year during the same time.  

Royal Caribbean noted that its earnings during the quarter include an impact of $0.05 per share related to the Grandeur fire and a non-cash charge of $0.07 per share accounting correction related to the company's affinity credit card program.

For the full year outlook, Royal Caribbean's outlook remains essentially unchanged from the previous update in May.  The impact of the Grandeur of the Seas fire and the strengthening of the US dollar have already been accounted for.

Royal Caribbean chairman Richard Fain was happy about the results, "It is rewarding to see things coming together. While the operating environment has been frustrating, our bookings trajectory is looking good and I'm thrilled to see our cost initiatives beginning to pay off. Exploiting this positive momentum will help us take our returns and our profitability to the next level."

Total revenues increased to $1.88 billion, from $1.82 billion last year. Analysts expected revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter.  In addition, 19 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report profit of $0.09 per share for the quarter, which Royal Caribbean came out ahead of. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Officials from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have approved a proposal by Royal Caribbean to redevelop the Cape Liberty cruise port in Bayonne, New Jersey.

The Board of Commissioners approved the plan earlier tonight at a meeting.  The purpose of the proposal is to allow the port to handle Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship, Quantum of the Seas, which will arrive in November 2014.

Port Authority Director Bill Baroni commented on the decision, "This new lease extension will bring to Bayonne one of the most modern cruise terminals in the country. Royal Caribbean is going to invest $50 million in the new terminal and two parking facilities for people going out of Bayonne."

Baroni believes Quantum of the Seas will also give Bayonne's economy a boost.

"This new terminal will help create jobs in construction and will have a long term economic benefits on our region.  When a ship like this calls a port that ship brings about $1 million a trip to the city in local economic activity. Once completed, the terminal is expected to bring in 600,000 people every year." 

Baroni did say that Royal Caribbean's proposal still needs to have its finances approved by the Bayonne Local Redevelopment Authority and once that happens, construction will begin in a few months.  The project should be completed by 2014 right before the new cruise ship arrives.

Royal Caribbean will fund the project in conjunction with the city of Bayonne, which would issue $70 million in bonds. 

Once completed, the new terminal will see passenger volume rise by 25 percent to 600,000 per year, according to Baroni.

Speaking at a hearing today on cruise safety by the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation in Washington, Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein promised Royal Caribbean will voluntarily publish more data about crimes on their cruises.

Royal Caribbean is one of three of the largest cruise ship operators appearing before the committee today after U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller introduced legislation yesterday that would require disclosure of the crime data and make the Department of Transportation responsible for consumer protection on cruises.

“We are proud of this initiative and believe that it addresses many of the concerns raised with the limited public reporting required,” by current law, Goldstein said in prepared remarks.

Goldstein said Royal Caribbean will begin posting the expanded data for all of its cruise divisions starting August 1, 2013 and the information will date back to the fourth quarter of 2010.

Royal Caribbean has proposed a plan to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to allow the cruise line to make significant changes to the Cape Liberty cruise terminal in Bayonne, New Jersey that would be needed for the arrival of Quantum of the Seas.

Quantum of the Seas, which is Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship and about to start construction, will be home ported in Bayonne.  The changes Royal Caribbean is proposing are aimed at accommodating the brand new ship, which arrives in late 2014.

The Port Authority's board of commissioners will vote on the plan later today.

Port Commerce director Richard Larrabee says the agency would lose about $1 million a year in rent at the cruise port. But he says that will be more than offset by increased passenger and parking revenue tied to the new ship.

Royal Caribbean has been working hard, along with the rest of the cruise industry, to prepare its cruise ships for new air pollution rules set to go into effect in 2015.  The fear is these new laws will make North American cruises more expensive and so Royal Caribbean has been slowly rolling out a solution to its cruise ships that will aim to be compliant without being too expensive.

The new rules are part of the North American Emissions Control Area (ECA), which surrounds the United States and Canada and extends up to 200 miles offshore.

Royal Caribbean's plan is to add "scrubbers" to their ships.  Scrubbers remove pollutants from engine exhaust as a kind of filter.  The downside to scrubbers is the technology is still a work in progress and requires a variance permit from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Royal Caribbean is planning on installing scrubbers on Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas when they are built.  They've already been testing scrubbers on Liberty of the Seas and Independence of the Seas and the EPA has granted trial exemptions for six Royal Caribbean ships.   In addition, it has authorized an “emissions averaging” solution in certain subregions of the ECA in which Royal can use fuels with differing sulfur levels, as long as the average equivalent sulfur emissions meet the ECA limits.