The UK newspaper, The Telegraph, recently sent Jane Archer to review Splendour of the Seas after her $53 million revitalization.  Splendour is currently offering seven-night sailings around the Greek islands and Turkey, from Venice through November.

In terms of the new changes to Splendour, Archer thought the money spent helped give the ship new life but thinks, "a few more million should have been directed at paintwork and glass, which were looking very shabby in places."

In addition, the Centrum was retrofitted and given a new role but Archer wasn't that impressed, "As part of the refit, the atrium was renamed Centrum and given a new role as an entertainment area with girders installed above from which aerialists could perform. It has potential but the one show I saw during a seven-night cruise was most disappointing and over in a flash."

Archer also reported that the newly refurbished staterooms do offer new furnishings but the promise of an iPad in every stateroom has thus far only made into the suites onboard.

Royal Caribbean is stopping the practice of sending its passengers luggage tags in the mail prior to its cruises, effecting August 8, 2012.

Instead, bag tags will now be included as a page within the eDoc ticket booklets, which can then be printed and attached by the guest.  The exception will be for Crown & Anchor Society Pinnacle members and Suite guests (Grand Suites and above), who will still receive baggage tags in the mail.

At this time, this change only applies to Royal Caribbean International and not its sister companies Celebrity Cruises or Azamara Club Cruises.

Passengers can still get bag tags at the port they embark at, from the porters that handle the bags.  There's no indication as to why the practice of sending luggage tags in the mail is being stopped, although we can assume there's a cost savings benefit for Royal Caribbean.

You can watch the full episode of "Mighty Ships: Oasis of the Seas" that documents how this Royal Caribbean mega ship operates behind the scenes.

Royal Caribbean UK is offering running enthusiasts the opportunity to start their own Royal Caribbean running team, provided you live in the United Kingdom.

Dubbed, "Royal Caribbean Runners", this new program offers a great way to get fit.  People can form  groups of 10 to 15 people who help and encourage each other through regular runs over a 9 week period.  You can choose to run with an existing Royal Caribbean Runners Group, or start one of your own. If you are new to running then you’ll get lots of help and advice from a trained leader during each run. And we’d also really like to hear from you if you would like to start up a running group of your own.

Royal Caribbean Runners is open to everyone, from more experienced runners to those who can just about manage a short jog to catch the bus.

By signing up, you can receive a Royal Caribbean Runners T-shirt.  Those that start their own running group and recruit 10 or more runners can receive an iPod shuffle.

If you're interested and live in or near Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex and London, you can go to www.runengland.org/royalcaribbeanrunners for more details.

Over the course of 2012 to 2014, several Royal Caribbean ships will visit St. Kitts' Port Zante on their cruises.  These include Adventure of the Seas, Legend of the Seas, Independence of the Seas, Vision of the Seas, Explorer of the Seas, Serenade of the Seas, Brilliance of the Seas and Grandeur of the Seas.

St. Kitts and Nevis’ Minister of Tourism and International Transport, Sen. Richard Skerritt in a statement in the National Assembly said the redeploy the Jewel of the Seas to the Caribbean from May to October 2013 to offer 25 sailings out of San Juan, Puerto Rico will result in 16 additional calls to Port Zante during the summer of 2013, bringing over 33,800 guests.

“Jewel of the Seas will operate with three Southern Caribbean itineraries in the summer and autumn, and two itineraries in the winter and spring 2013-14 seasons. Departing every Saturday, the seven-night, round-trip itineraries include calls at a range of exciting ports throughout our sub-region, including St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Antigua, and the U.S.V.I., as well as St. Maarten, Barbados, Aruba and Curacao,” he said.

Skerritt also mentioned that Adventure of the Seas will return for the winter 2013-14 season to offer even more sailings by Royal Caribbean out of San Juan, alternating two seven-night Southern Caribbean itineraries.
 

Royal Caribbean's Chief Information Officer, Bill Martin, will speak at FSTEC NexGen foodservice technology conference in Miami on September 9-11, 2012.

Martin will give a keynote speech regarding the challenges Royal Caribbean encounters with providing all types of technology solutions on cruise ships.

Martin's speech will take place on September 10 at 8am and is titled, "Technology on the High Seas."  In the speech, Martin will share his experiences overseeing the various types of technology that Royal Caribbean cruise ships utilize, including attracting and incenting guests,supporting various types of food and beverage operations, efficiently handling accommodations, running cutting-edge entertainment productions and providing travelers with the connectivity and tech options they're looking for.

Bill Martin is a 28-year cruise industry veteran and is responsible for shoreside business systems as well as onboard technology. Under his leadership, Royal Caribbean has received various awards from technology media for their innovation in the use of guest technology. Martin has held various executive and management positions in operations, decision support and revenue management during his career.

"We're excited to offer these diverse perspectives on the latest trends in technology," said FSTEC Chairman Rob Grimes.

During the Royal Caribbean second quarter 2012 financial results conference call, Royal Caribbean chairman hinted at the possibility that Royal Caribbean could order a new ship for either Royal Caribbean or its sister company, Celebrity Cruises.

Royal Caribbean Chairman Richard Fain spoke about the possibility, "We clearly are looking at that sort of thing. "I think what we're looking at is, we see that even in this market, we could get some very attractive returns from some of our vessels that have performed well."

"From 2012 through 2016, our berth capacity growth is less than 3%, and in fact, we don't have any ship deliveries in 2013 at all," he said. "But as we said before, we also can't stagnate. Given the long lead time for a new vessel, we're approaching the point where a new order could not be delivered until the middle to late 2016, by which time, we will be enjoying much better profitability and much improved credit metrics."

Royal Caribbean is supporting the recent decision by St. Kitts and Nevis to be a part of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council's network, a leader in environmental sustainability among the cruise industry.

Royal Caribbean, a GTSC patron, is helping sponsor implementation of the new Criteria for Destinations in St. Kitts and Nevis.

Royal Caribbean Vice President for Environmental Stewardship and Global Chief Environmental Officer, Jamie Sweeting,  commented on why the cruise giant is helping sponsor the island, "We feel a responsibility in working with destinations to try to increase the positive and minimize the negative impacts of our visitations."

A cruise company can hold its ships to a high standard of environmental sustainability (Royal Caribbean’s vessels have advanced wastewater purification systems, for instance, and the company is installing exhaust gas scrubbers on some of its smokestacks).

When the final GSTC Criteria for Destinations are in place, they will provide another standard by which Royal Caribbean can judge ports of call.

St. Kitts and Nevis is a good place to start. Many of Royal Caribbean’s voyages to the Southern Caribbean stop at Basseterre, the country’s capital, where guests are able to ride the “sugar train,” visit an original plantation house, trek through lush jungle, or ride a catamaran over to Nevis for a beach barbecue.