Royal Caribbean will hold a conference call on February 4, 2013 at 10am to discuss its fourth quarter 2013 financial results.

The call will be available on-line at the company's investor relations web site, www.rclinvestor.com. To listen to the call by phone, please dial (877) 663-9606 in the US and Canada. International phone calls should be made to (706) 758-4628. There is no passcode or meeting number. A replay of the webcast will be available at the same site for a month following the call.

In an interview with Marketplace, Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein talked about how cruise vacations are a luxury vacation for the rest of us.

More than 10 million Americans take a cruise for their vacations and it represents a good value for consumers still.

"The United States is still clearly the No. 1... market for cruisers in the world," Goldstein told Marketplace. "There are about 20 million people a year in the world taking a cruise right now and 11 or 12 [million] come from the United States."

"It's definitely become more available, when I got into the business in 1988 we aspired to be a mainstream vacation," Goldstein said. "It's definitely become more accessible but what the last few years of challenges, economically, have posed to us is the need to really get across the value message of what is included in the cruise purchase."

The value of a cruise is a big deal, considering industry market research firm Cruise Market Watch says the typical ticket price for a cruise passenger is $1311 whereas a 2010 American Express survey found the average American family will spend $4,000 on a vacation including airfare.

"First of all, we draw pretty broadly, obviously we offer upscale vacations," Goldstein said. "We are looking at household income of probably something like $75,000 and up generally speaking. The vast majority of our cruisers I would say would be middle and upper-middle class."

The Australian raised concern over the price of a Royal Caribbean cruise for Australians compared to other nationalities.  In the example, a 14-night cruise from Sydney to Auckland was quoted at $1900 per person for someone in Australia while a US-based travel agency online gave a quote of $1100 per person for the same cruise.

Royal Caribbean Australia managing director Gavin Smith addressed the issue and surmises the pricing disparities are a lot like the cost of Evian mineral water, "It is manufactured in France, but it is priced differently around the world."

Smith says generally speaking, the community living closes to the departure port of a cruise will pay the lowest price because they can travel with shorter lead time.

 "A Voyager of the Seas cruise [out of Australia] is cheaper for an Australian than for an American because we are trying to drive volume locally, [so] we adjust the price.

"It is not a deliberate intent by the cruise lines to price differentially between markets.

"We don't encourage Australians to book through non-Australian websites ... if you book through a foreign travel agent, you don't enjoy the [same] consumer protection," he concludes.

Royal Caribbean is offering its brand new premium alcoholic drink package for two on select cruises when you book a balcony or higher category stateroom.

You can choose from one of these four trans-Atlantic sailings to qualify for the free drink package

• Navigator of the Seas’ 15-night sailing from New Orleans to Rome (Civitavecchia), Rome on April 6
• Independence of the Seas’ 13-night sailing from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. to Southampton, U.K. on April 7 
• Brilliance of the Seas’ 11-night sailing from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Lisbon, Portugal on April 13
• Adventure of the Seas’ 14-night sailing from San Juan to Southampton on April 21  

The alcohol drink package usually costs $55 per person, per day. The premium beverage package includes house wines, beers under $6.25 each, fountain sodas, and well, call and premium brands of liquors and frozen drinks at restaurants, bars and lounges when open.  

The offer is only for residents of the United States and Canada on new bookings made between January 24 and February 15, 2013, in balcony and higher category staterooms.

As part of Royal Caribbean's Revitalization program to upgrade all of its cruise ships to include amenities first introduced on the Oasis of the Seas, Independence o the Seas has recently been scheduled to have its upgrade take place in April 2013.

Independence of the Seas will receive

• Outdoor movie screen
• Cupcake Cupboard
• Digital Signage
• Pervasive Wi-Fi
• Nursery 
• Giovanni’s Table specialty restaurant

The $7 million refurbishment will take two weeks, at which point Royal Caribbean will deploy Independence of the Seas to Southampton, England where on May 2, 2013 she will begin her summer season.  Some of the itineraries offered include some new shorter sailings such as a two-night cruise to Le Havre for Paris and three-night cruises to Le Havre for Paris and Zeebrugge for Bruges. 

InformationWeek spoke with Royal Caribbean's Chief Information Officer Bill Martin about how the cruise line uses iPads aboard its cruise ships.  For a while now, Royal Caribbean has offered iPads for guest use in select suite staterooms. 

The iPads let guests order room service, make reservations for events on and off the ship, watch movies from the onboard movie library, and receive customized offers for onboard spas and restaurants.

Martin spoke about how currently Royal Caribbean opts to swap out iPads in the same way they change bed sheets.  The "old" iPad is swapped out for a fresh one that is ready to go, while the "old" iPad is taken to an IT office onshore and completely re-imaged.  This is done to ensure any photos or changes made by the previous guest aren't seen by the next guest.

Martin indicated that while this operation is sufficient for now, the cruise line wants to eliminate offering iPads and instead develop apps for guest use.  

"So many people have these now. And we're starting to see other mobile devices come into the picture, not just Apple's" Martin said.

Royal Caribbean wants to provide the app only and for all devices, including iPads, Kindles or Android.

Martin has been relying on outside developers for tablet apps and development. But the company is "going to have to bring some of that in house," he says, so that it doesn't have to contract outside for every project and can call a vendor's bluff when needed.

Martin also talked about the need for WiFi throughout the ship and for better onboard internet.  He acknowledges that 75 cents per minute for internet "sounds ridiculous" so Royal Caribbean's recent deals with O3b will help with that problem as well.

In the 2012 readers poll for Best Large Cruise Ships in the world by Condé Nast Traveler, six Royal Caribbean cruise ships received recognition.

Of the top 20, the six Royal Caribbean ships to make list were (with rank in the poll next to it)

• Oasis of the Seas (9)
• Liberty of the Seas (10)
• Independence of the Seas (12)
• Freedom of the Seas (13)
• Allure of the Seas (16)
• Voyager of the Seas (20)

The Royal Caribbean ships to make the list are among the largest cruise ships in the world and also among the newest.  Nearly all of them are based in the United States with Independence of the Seas and Voyager of the Seas spending part of their time in Europe and Asia respectively.

Royal Caribbean is holding auditions for Saturday Night Fever, which is shown on Liberty of the Seas.  The auditions will begin in February in cities such as New York, London and Hollywood, Florida.

Royal Caribbean Productions is casting roles for, which include Bobby C, Annette, Stephanie Mangano, Tony Manero, Gus, Double J, Flo Manero, and Monty/Frank Sr. There are also auditions for other minor roles such as dancers and singers.

If you're interested in auditioning, you can find out more information about auditions by going to the Royal Caribbean Productions page for a full list of dates and locations.

Saturday Night Fever is a Broadway play that is inspired by the 1977 film of the same name that focuses on Tony Manero, a Brooklyn youth whose weekend is spent at the local discotheque.