The Costa Concorida disaster has been a hot topic since it happened and there's been a lot of speculation that its lead consumers to cancel their trips out of fear of a similar incident.  But Royal Caribbean thinks its customers recognize the unique nature of this incident.

Royal Caribbean's Senior Vice President of Sales, Vicki Freed, says that Royal Caribbean hasn't seen an increase in cancellations overall, "That’s in big part because the consumer understands this was a very unusual situation, and, if the client has any hesitation, I think the travel professional has a done a great job of reaffirming to them that it’s still fine to take a cruise vacation.”

“There is definitely a value to have the travel agent [during any crisis situation], because the travel agent is the neutral third party,” said Freed. “As trusted advisors, they will give it [the real story] straight to the client because they look at the client for the long term.” She says because agents have no vested interest in the cruise lines, they also can be objective.

In other words, clients trust the agents, and for the agency, keeping clients happy is the most important thing. 

Photo by René Gaehner from Oldenburg, Germany

The Sydney Morning Herald sent a writer to check out Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas cruise from Australia to New Zealand and they seemed to be impressed.

Radiance of the Seas departed Sydney for New Zealand's South Island and Milford Sound.  The water was described as "sapphire-blue" and the area as "an untouched wilderness with towering mountains plunging into a freshwater sound, icy water pouring off the hillsides in dramatic waterfalls and jagged, snowcapped peaks tearing through clouds in search of sunlight."

The cruise was of particular interest since this was Radiance's first trip back to Australia after its revitalization this past June that afforded it many new upgrades.  They described the changes as "the hallmarks of a modern liner, with interesting artworks and a trendy interior design. It also has excellent facilities for children, decent shopping opportunities, entertainment options and plenty to keep adults as busy as they choose."

What about the new restaurants?  The writer claims the new specialty restaurants, such as Izumi, Chops Grille and Rita's Cantina, are all worth the extra money.

In addition the upgraded staterooms offer more.  While they found the rooms a little "compact", they found the stateroom to be nicely appointed with plush furninishings.

You can read the full report of their voyage aboard Radiance of the Seas here.

The CLIA, Passenger Shipping Assocation and the European Cruise Council announced a new muster policy effective immediately that requires mandatory muster drills be held for new passengers before the cruise ship departs from port and Royal Caribbean is onboard.

Royal Caribbean had emailed past and prospective passengers to inform them of the new rules, a message delivered by Royal Caribbean's president Adam Goldstein.

“At Royal Caribbean International, the safety and security of our guests and crew is our highest priority,” wrote Goldstein in his letter to members of the line’s Crown & Anchor Society." 

“Our maritime safety record over our 42-year history illustrates our commitment to the safety of the millions of guests and crew that sail on our ships. The measures we take in the interest of safety are many, often exceeding the regulatory requirements.”

Royal Caribbean had announced earlier this month that it was partnering with Resolve Maritime Academy to help train its staff further its staff.  Beginning the second quarter of 2012, the training will be offered to personnel at Royal Caribbean.  The trainings will take place at Resolve's new Simulation Training Center in Fort Lauderdale.

File this video under "cool".  Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas features a self-correcting billiards table that will adjust itself using a gyroscope when waves impact the cruise ship.

This cruise passenger posted a video of this pool table and it's really impressive how the balls don't move at all despite the ship swaying.  Pretty cool, eh?

Credit to Cnet for alerting us to the video.

Looking for a way to find that spark in your relationship?  Royal Caribbean's recent survey says a cruise vacation is the best way to heat up the romance in your relationship.

In a recent survey that Royal Caribbean commissioned, 90% of Americans said sex was their top activity when they go on a cruise.  In addition, 84% of those that responded said a cruise vacation was the most romantic type of vacation while offering a better value for their dollar.

Four out of five people who took the survey said that a cruise with their partner is more romantic than a land-based vacation and 98% prefer an exotic cruise as a special way to celebrate a special moment or occasion.

Some other survey details

• The vast majority of survey respondents say they left their last cruise feeling more “connected” with their partner (80%), being more in love with their partner (67%) and feeling more attracted to their partner (65%). 
• Nearly three-quarters of respondents say that spending time with their significant other on their most recent cruise improved their relationship.
• Respondents indicated that they are more likely to enjoy a number of romantic activities on a cruise than on a land-based vacation, including watching the sunset (72%), strolling in the moonlight (58%), stargazing (56%) and sharing a romantic dinner à deux (55%).
• Half of the respondents say they are more likely to be intimate on a cruise than on a land-based vacation. And not only is sex more frequent on a cruise vacation, but many (62%) report that the sex on their last cruise was better than normal. Perhaps not surprisingly, night time is the right time, or most popular time of day to be amorous on a cruise (31%), while 28% prefer any time of day – morning, noon or night.
• 24% cite their balcony as the place onboard where they would most like to be intimate – other than their stateroom, of course, and 58% are more likely to pack lingerie or sexy underwear for a cruise than a land-based vacation. For an astounding 90%, sex ranks as the top activity on their cruise itinerary, ahead of sitting by the pool (84%), enjoying nightlife options (83%) and shopping (70%).

Royal Caribbean is trying to take advantage of the survey results and offer the public a free romance package(roses, chocolate covered strawberries and sparkling wine) for those that book a cruise to Bermuda or Europe by February 29.

This survey was conducted online between Jan. 27th and Feb. 1st, 2012, among a national probability sample of 1,000 adults 18 years of age or older who live in the continental United States. Half the sample was respondents who have previously taken a cruise, and the other half was respondents who have not taken a cruise but are interested in taking a future cruise. All respondents indicated that they are currently in a relationship (either married or dating).

Royal Caribbean introduced iPads in every stateroom aboard Splendour of the Seas last year and it's got the IT world talking.  Royal Caribbean was mentioned in Information Week magazine as utilizing tablet computing for business.

One use for tablets is for companies to put them in the hands of their customers, which is what Royal Caribbean is doing on its most recently remodeled cruise ship. Here we're not talking about creating a tablet app for customers, but actually giving them a device to use. A related customer use is encouraging tablet use while they're at your venue, whether it's a resort, baseball game, restaurant, or retail store.

Royal Caribbean this month will put iPads in every stateroom of its revitalized Splendour of the Seas cruise ship. Guests can check daily activities on the ship, book shore excursions, and receive personalized promotions from Royal Caribbean, based on analytics the company runs in real time during a cruise. Royal Caribbean has used interactive TVs to provide that kind of information, but iPads are a more intuitive and enjoyable way for guests to receive it, says CIO Bill Martin.

Royal Caribbean is joining other cruise lines in protesting a new tourist tax that is about to go into effect in Spain.  The new tax would charge cruise operators the same rate of 2.5 Euros that is currently charged to tourists staying in 5 star hotels for every passenger.  

The cruise lines argue it isn't fair since all passengers on the ship will be subject to the same rate as those staying at a 5 star hotel, when clearly not all passengers are in the same type of accommodations.

Francisco Reddel, port manager Mediterranean and Middle East Operations of Royal Caribbean was at the Balearic Cruise Forum 2012 in Palma de Mallorca to join in the chorus of complaints about the new tax law.

Reconstruction of the port of Yalta, Ukraine will begin after it is approved by the Ukraine Law of Sea Ports.  Vice-Premier of Ukraine - Infrastructure Minister Borys Kolesnikov expects this to happen sometime next month as he was speaking at a press conference in Simferopol.

"This is a technical problem. In order to move quickly, you need to pass a law on seaports that will guarantee the rights of investors, " said Boris Kolesnikov. He added: " The law is already in Parliament, on the whole procedure will take about 25-30 days, then return the draft to Royal Caribbean.  

 Royal Caribbean has previously shown a great deal of interest in revitalizing the ports of Yalta and Sevastopol.  Royal Caribbean is looking to compete with other cruise lines for the Black Sea cruise market.  Improving the ports is expected to involve improving the infrastructure of the ports as well as building new restaurants, hotels and other facilities nearby.

Royal Caribbean is planning on sending Splendour of the Seas to Brazil for the Brazilian summer season, starting in December 2012.

Splendour of the Seas will arrive in December 2012 and remain in Brazil for the longest season ever, until April 2013.  

Vision of the Seas will also offer cruises from Brazil, with 10 and 11 night itineraries to the Caribbean between November 2012 and March 2013.