Royal Caribbean has come away with two lucrative awards from the annual Cruise Critic Editors' Picks Awards.  The cruise giant was honored by being named the "Best cruise line for Families" for the fourth year in a row.

Cruise Critic commented on Royal Caribbean's dedication to families by describing them as, "With brand partnerships with companies like DreamWorks and Fisher Price, and an astonishing range of onboard activities, from rock-climbing to theater programs, Royal Caribbean offers a superb all-around family cruise experience. "

Royal Caribbean also took home another award after Allure of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas were picked as "Best for Entertainment".  Both ships were picked for the sheer amount of "stuff" to do onboard, "It's not just the scope of entertainment options -- ice skating shows, 3D movies, musicals, jazz and comedy shows in stand-alone clubs -- that set the Oasis-class duo apart. The quality of choices, culled from the Broadway stage and DreamWorks character army, is second-to-none. And we can't forget the AquaTheater; the outdoor amphitheater, which hosts jaw-dropping Cirque-style shows, is the most breathtaking performance venue at sea."

Cruise Critic editors evaluated lines and ships in 25 categories by comparing like-for-like, taking into account the audience to which each line markets, in order to highlight the very best cruise lines and their particular strengths. The annual Cruise Critic Editors' Picks Awards complement the Cruisers' Choice Awards, which are announced in the spring and highlight the cruise ships which receive the highest ratings from reviews posted on Cruise Critic.

Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas is the newest Royal Caribbean ship to feature a Starbucks coffee shop onboard.  Like its sister Allure of the Seas, there's now a Starbucks store on its Promenade.

Royal Caribbean's senior vice president of hotel operations, Lisa Bauer, spoke about the addition, "Starbucks is a huge hit on Allure of the Seas, and the new Starbucks store aboard Oasis of the Seas is sure to be equally as successful".

The new Starbucks is open from 7am to 11pm and will cost extra to passengers who wish to have some coffee from there.

Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas debuted from her new winter port of New Orleans, Louisiana this week.  Voyager of the Seas will sail out of New Orleans from now through April 2012.

The first day of operations in the big easy didn't go as well as planned, as there were reports of issues at the port.   Evidently there were some issues with the newly renovated cruise ship terminal due to the arrival of about 3000 passengers.  The overwhelming issues caused hours-long traffic jams around the port as well as lines that went back into the street from noon until long after 5pm.  In addition, there were check-in computer meltdowns and slow security checkpoints.

Voyager's departure from New Orleans was originally scheduled for 4pm, but was delayed until 8pm.

Royal Caribbean has decided to lower the minimum age to purchase alcoholic drinks onboard its ships to 18 on all of its ships that sail out of Europe, Asia, South America and Australia starting in the Spring of 2012.

The new rule will allow those age 18-20 to purchase alcohol after a parent signs a waiver.

The minimum age to purchase alcohol on cruises out of North America will remain at 21.

The decision by Royal Caribbean was attributed to, "better accommodate the cultural norms in the regions of the world where Royal Caribbean ships sail".

Cruise ship stops have always been a target for port cities because of the economic impact they provide, and Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas proved that theory once again as it's estimated between passengers and crew $500,000 has been infused to the economy of Adelaide, Australia after a recent stop.

Radiance of the Seas, which recently completed an upgrade, was delayed from leaving Fremantle by a day to help passengers that were the victim of Qantas airline grounding.  Forty-nine passengers could not make it to Perth for the beginning of their 18-night cruise to New Zealand and so Radiance spent several days in Adelaide to wait.

Tourism Minister Gail Gago said the direct economic impact from a ship the size of the Radiance over a day was estimated at $500,000, plus an additional amount to account for "a ripple effect".

Royal Caribbean is targeting the Australian cruise market more than ever, which is an up-hill battle since P&O Cruises and Princess Cruises are far more established in the area. Radiance of the Seas is joined by Rhapsody of the Seas this year, with Voyager of the Seas due in next year.

Royal Caribbean's Jewel of the Seas made her inaugural visit to the island of St. Kitts in the Virgin Islands yesterday.

The ship, with a passenger total of 2,070, arrived after stopping in Barbados and docked at the island to allow its passengers a day of site-seeing.  Most of these passengers enjoyed sun bathing, snorkeling, taxi tours and shopping.

Jewel of the Seas is yet another big cruise ship to visit the island and will be part of the estimated 625,000 passengers expected between October 2011 and September 2012.

Photo by Donato D'Addosio S.

A weeks after Royal Caribbean announced that super-chef Michael Schwartz will be taking over the signature specialty restaurant aboard Oasis of the Seas, Schwartz's restaurant is open and we've got our first look at what's cooking.

The Miami NewTimes was able to sample the restaurant's canapes with chef Schwartz and 150 Central Park's chef de cuisine, Jamie Seyba.

Schwartz said the biggest challenge for him was not being able to cook over an open flame because of the cruise line regulations, "I'm a fire guy, so working without flame was really hard at first."