Royal Caribbean plans to make 69 stops in Portugal this year, of which 34 are in Lisbon, 24 and 11 in Ponta Delgada, Royal Caribbean Director Francisco Teixeira said this morning on board the Independence of the Seas, the ship that most often visited the capital of Portugal in 2012.

Royal Caribbean will bring a fleet of five ships to Lisbon, with the vast majority being the aforementioned Independence of the Seas, with 25 stops, then it is the Vision of the Seas on five occasions, the revitalized Splendour of the Seas, Brilliance and on two dates and Grandeur of the Seas, which will come once every to Lisbon.

In total, Francisco Teixeira says Royal Caribbean will move about 200,000 tourists through Portugal.

Earlier this month Royal Caribbean launched a promotional campaign in New York's S-line subway, where they decorated the subway cars with Royal Caribbean prints to make it look like a ship.  Today, Royal Caribbean has sent a number of actors to ride the subway line and personalize the promotion.

Photo by Ellen Wilson

Photo by Ellen Wilson

The surfers with the sea shells to their heads are promoting the "Sea is Calling" advertising campaign.  But Royal Caribbean is having a little fun too with some people portraying characters from the Broadway play "Hairspray" that is shown on Oasis of the Seas.

Photo by Claire Tucker

And if that wasn't enough, these Royal Caribbean people are also offering "surf lessons" inside the subway cars.  Only in New York, right?

Fans of the NFL's Baltimore Ravens can get ready for the next season with the third annual AAA Ultimate Ravens Fan Cruise set for July aboard Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas.

The seven-night cruise will take a Western Caribbean itineraru and offer the opportunity to cruise with several current and former Ravens players, such as Dennis Pitta, Paul Kruger, Jonathan Ogden, Qadry Ismail and Billy Cundiff. 

This cruise will also offer onboard activities including

• mingle with the athletes through cocktail parties
• exclusive photo, autograph
• question and answer sessions

Rates for the cruise, July 8-15, start at $1,319 for an interior cabin. An oceanview stateroom with balcony starts at $1,599. The rates include a $25 shipboard credit, Ravens events, complimentary photo and dinner for two at Portofino or Chops Grill.

More details here.

One of the largest cruise fan websites, CruiseCritic, has released the results of the 2012 Cruisers' Choice Awards and Royal Caribbean has walked away with a number of prizes for its ships.

Among large cruise ships, Royal Caribbean was nominated in many categories and won the following categories:

• Best For Dining: Serenade of the Seas
• Best for Embarkation: Allure of the Seas
• Best for Entertainment: Oasis of the Seas
• Best for Families: Allure of the Seas
• Best for Fitness: Freedom of the Seas
• Best for Service: Serenade of the Seas

Fans of Italian television cooking star Alessandro Borghese will have the perfect Royal Caribbean cruise for them in May 2012.  Aboard Navigator of the Seas, Borghese will host a cruise that sails out of Civitavecchia on May 7, 2012 and will visit Messina, Kusadasi (Turkey), Athens (Greece) and Chania (Greece).

The cruise will feature cooking classes, cooking tips and cooking shows for those aboard.

United States Coast Guard reported that a 75 year old cruise passenger had to be evacuated by sea from Royal Caribbean's Jewel of the Seas after he fainted.

The Coast Guard was called at 6:12pm and a 45-foot vessel was sent to take the man and his family to Medical Center of Trinity in Tampa, Florida. The cruise passenger had an irregular heartbeat after he fainted and it was determined by the ship's doctor that the best course of action was to get him off the ship.

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.