The local merchants in Falmouth, Jamaica that hope to sell their crafts to tourists from Royal Caribbean cruise ships are upset that not enough money is being spent by tourists.  Locals say passengers simply are ignoring the merchants and opt to go on Royal Caribbean's excursions or shop at the chain shops on the pier.

Royal Caribbean partnered with Jamaica's port authority to build the $220 million port in Falmouth, where locals were told that they could expect tourists to spend about $100 each.  Locals say that just isn't the case.

"We were promised that we'd be able to show people our Jamaican heritage, sell our crafts. But most of the tourists stay far away from the local people," said Asburga Harwood, an independent tour guide and community historian. "We're on the losing end."

Royal Caribbean brand communications manager H.J. Harrison Liu commented on the criticism, "We don't discourage guests from going into the town of Falmouth, but many of our guests choose a Royal Caribbean excursion to see some of the country's beaches and famous attractions."

According to trade groups, about $2 billion a year is pumped into the economies of the Caribbean by the cruise ship industry.  Critics, however, say that all that money does not produce a lot of revenue for locals because most passengers dine and shop in international chain stores such as Colombian Emeralds or Diamonds International.

According to William Tatham, vice president of Jamaica's port authority, that's because the city is still adapting to its new role as a resort town. He noted that nearly all businesses in the town are aimed at locals, such as hardware suppliers, meat markets and general stores.

"The problem in Falmouth is that the residents are not tourist savvy," Tatham said.

ESPNatSEA announced a new schedule of  ESPN International live network sports viewing-cruise VIP events aboard select Royal Caribbean ships in 2013.

The new events are part of an initiative by ESPN to offer specialized viewing events to sports fans who also want to enjoy a cruise.  The first two inaugural events will be held aboard Royal Caribbean's Jewel of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas.

"Oasis MVP Cruise I" aboard Oasis of the Seas: 7-night cruise round-trip from Ft. Lauderdale to some the hottest Caribbean destination such as Labadee, Falmouth, Jamaica; and Cozumel, Mexico. The biggest football day of the year will be televised live at sea, so be prepared. Dates: February 2 to 9, 2013.

"Jewel MVP Cruise II" aboard Jewel of the Seas: Calling all women soccer fans and football lovers. The biggest day in football is not the only sporting highlight on this 5-night VIP cruise. There will also be a special focus on the international success and rising popularity of women's soccer. This cruise leaves from Tampa, stopping in Key West, Fla. and Cozumel, Mexico. Dates: February 2-7, 2013.

The events will include private VIP cocktail receptions with sport celebrities,behind-the-scenes participation in the production of popular ESPN International programs and sport event viewings.

Participation in both programs will NOT be offered on the cruises. However, interested parties who may have already booked their cruise can contact ESPNatSEA at [email protected] to register for the VIP Experience.

Royal Caribbean director of corporate incentive and charter sales, Lori Cassidy, commented on the partnership, "Royal Caribbean is very pleased to be the host of the two launch events for ESPNatSEA. ESPN and Royal Caribbean have a long history of supporting each other as partners in televised sporting events - for example ESPN International is a sponsor of the Royal 5K running events."

Royal Caribbean offers a wealth of food to try on your next cruise but an emerging trend aboard their ships are specialty restaurants that are not included in the base fare.  These restaurants focus on a particular cuisine or food style for an additional cost.

Cost of specialty restaurants

Royal Caribbean offers two cost structures to pay for their specialty restaurants: cover charge and a la carte.

Many restaurants have a simple cover charge per person to get in and then guests may order as much as they want from the menu (alcoholic beverages would be extra, like they are elsewhere on the ship).  Cover charges can range from a few dollars per person to $75.  Most are between $10-$30 per person.  

Some restaurants offer an a la carte menu, with a small cover charge.  Here, guests pay for admission and then pay an additional fee for each item they order off the menu.  You will typically find this pay structure at Izumi, a sushi restaurant.

Getting into the specialty restaurants

There are two ways to dine in one of the specialty restaurants aboard your Royal Caribbean cruise.  You may make a reservation for the restaurant either before your cruise even begins or during your cruise.  Reservations are a recommended way of ensuring a spot at the restaurant of your choice.  Specialty Restaurants can typically be reserved online up to 4 days before your sail date.  Advanced reservations are limited to parties of six persons or less in all Specialty Restaurants.

Alternatively, you can try simply showing up at the restaurant at the time of your choice and see if there's availability.  Quite often, there will be availability for restaurants to walk up to but popular restaurants may fill up, especially during popular dining hours.

What are the specialty restaurants available?

The specialty restaurants vary from ship to ship across Royal Caribbean's fleet but here is a list of all the restaurants available

• Chops Grille (Steakhouse)
• Portofino (Italian)
• Johnny Rockets (American)
• 150 Central Park (American)
• Izumi (Sushi)
• Solarium Bistro (American)
• Giovanni's Table (Italian)
• Samba Grill (Brazilian Steakhouse)
• Rita's Cantina (Mexican)
• Seafood Shack (Seafood)

Are the specialty restaurants worth it?

Many passengers we speak to generally enjoy the food at the specialty restaurants.  It's not to say that if you don't dine there, you will be disappointed with the complimentary food on the ship.  Rather, specialty restaurants are a perk that you can opt to pay for in the same way some people find it enjoyable buy a massage or gamble in the casino.

Generally speaking, the food at specialty restaurants can be of a finer quality than the complimentary food but personal tastes will vary.  Specialty restaurants are a great way to have a fun night out or celebrate special occasions. 

Royal Caribbean is launching a sale on select cruises on Tuesday, October 9th with a preview for Crown and Anchor Society members on Monday, October 8th.

The sale is on select cruises between October and November 2012 that look to be a means of filling up some cruises that have more cabins available than Royal Caribbean would like.

Included in the sale are itineraries aboard Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas. There's also cruises to the Mediterranean, transatlantic, Bermuda, the Bahamas a lot to the Caribbean.

The sale is for new bookings and is not combinable with any promotional offers with the exception of Crown and Anchor benefits and onboard booking bonus.  A valid Crown & Anchor Society Loyalty number is required to book any sailing during the Crown and Anchor preview sale event and must accompany any reservation.

You can view the full list of cruises on sale here.

According to America World City  Inc, the Finnish government has agreed to provide financial backing for Royal Caribbean to build a third Oasis class ship at STX's Turku shipyard for around one billion euros.

"The Government of Finland has agreed to fund a third of Royal Caribbean cruise ship in order," said the America World City in a statement.

Finnvera, the Finnish state-owned specialized credit institution, did not comment in any way on Friday because the law prohibits them to discuss financial target confidentiality.

Turun Sanomat reported on Friday that the government's deliberations with Royal Caribbean for the cruise ship order financing will probably be postponed next week. Economic Policy of the Cabinet meeting schedules and agendas are secret.

Basically, Finnvera gives the buyer money for burrowing & guarantees the loan repayment period.  The Finnish government granted 3.0 billion euros in September in funding to Finnvera. This allows a new form of export credit financing, for the benefit of Finnish export companies to compete.

We reported on Wednesday that a newspaper in Finland claims Royal Caribbean was getting ready to order a third Oasis-class cruise ship from STX Finland's Turku Shipyard.

Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez responded to the report by saying, "It's a rumor.  We don't comment on rumors."

Martinez also added to a request by USA Today, "As we have done in the past, if/when we have something to announce, we will do so through an official company press release."

The rumored ship order stipulates that Royal Caribbean is looking for financial assistance from the Finnish government to help pay for the ship order.

If the rumor proves to be true, the third ship would be sister to Oasis and Allure of the Seas.  It would also be the third ship Royal Caribbean currently has on order, with two other smaller ships known as "Project Sunshine" under construction in Germany.

Royal Caribbean announced it will have 21 stops in Lisbon, Portugal in 2013.

Francisco Teixeira, director of Royal Caribbean's partner in Portugal Melair, spoke about the new 2013-2014 schedules, "Lisbon is a city attractive for companies and passengers, is a nearby city safe, we have lots of sunshine and it's nice", said Francisco Teixeira, noting that for 2013 is expected to increase cruises departing from England, so there will be an increased frequency of vessels in scale. 

Royal Caribbean will bring about 72,000 tourists, with Independence of the Seas and Adventure of the Seas bringing passengers from England on a regular basis.  Between these two ships, about 62,000 visitors will be represented.

In a blog post by Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein, two announcements were made that were direct results of passenger feedback.

First up was the request by Royal Caribbean fans for more Panama Canal cruises. Goldstein announced that Vision of the Seas was slated to originally offer Caribbean cruises will instead sail a set of Panama Canal cruises in the fall and spring.  The new Panama canal cruises will augment the other long Caribbean sailings already on the books.  

In addition, Goldstein announced that Royal Caribbean will offer gluten-free beer by the end of the year in all of its Irish pubs across the fleet.