A message on Royal Caribbean's website is warning those scheduled to sail on Monarch of the Seas on July 8th that the anticipated launch of the last space shuttle flight on the same day is expected to create major traffic delays.

Royal Caribbean is recommending its passengers provide ample time to get to the port prior to the 4:30pm departure time.

Furthermore, Royal Caribbean warned it would not delay the departure of Monarch of the Seas due to traffic congestion.  If you're scheduled to be on this cruise, it would be wise to arrive many hours before the required time.

Monarch of the Seas is scheduled to sail out of Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Friday, July 8. The final space shuttle launch is also scheduled for Friday, July 8. Port Canaveral historically experiences heavy traffic volume before and after the shuttle launch. Since the shuttle launch on July 8 is the last launch, the Port is expecting extremely heavy traffic in the area.

We ask that guests who are scheduled to sail on Monarch of the Seas on July 8, provide ample time to arrive at the port for boarding. The ship's 4:30 p.m. departure will not be delayed due to the launch traffic. As a reminder, all guests must be checked in and onboard the ship 60 minutes prior to sail time.

Royal Caribbean Vice President of Commercial Development John Tercek and Chairman of Adjara's government Levan Varshalomidze signed a memorandum of cooperation in the development of the Batumi port to allow the port to accomodate large cruise ships.

Batumi is a seaside city on the Black Sea coast and capital of Adjara, an autonomous republic in southwest Georgia.

Varshalomidze told reporters that together with Royal Caribbean International will do everything to Batumi became more attractive for passengers of cruise ships.

"We will work together to build this port city to international standards and will return the old traditions. Together we are working on putting Batumi in the Black Sea region as the most attractive city for cruise ships," - said President of the Government of Adjara.

According to John Tercek, they familiarized themselves with the tourism potential of the city and the pace of development. "The memorandum creates the possibility of launching the first phase of work. We fully explore the perimeter of the port, the arrangement will provide the infrastructure. We will hold talks with the major cruise companies, to one of the stops of their ships was Batumi," - said a representative of Royal Caribbean International.

This spring, a delegation of Government of Adjara participated in the largest travel trade show in Miami, where they had preliminary discussions.

South African web site IOL took a behind scenes look at Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas to get an idea of how this mega ship operates on a day-to-day basis.

Voyager of the Seas Captain Frank Martensen characterized the ship as, "We're a small town. Well, we're not quite that small. We have employees from 60 countries around the world. Every culture, every religion, every one of the major languages is represented here.”

In terms of the food served, sous-chef Martin Jordan has opinions on what people like, "Americans like large portions with a lot of meat. Germans need to have vegetables. Spaniards only take very little, but go to the buffet half a dozen times. With them, the meal lasts forever."

Stocking Voyager of the Seas for longer cruises can be a challenge according to Simon Wiig, “On trans-Atlantic trips it is a challenge. On the Mediterranean we have at most one full day at sea, but if we run out of cheese in the middle of the Atlantic, who is to get some more?”

Wiig did jest about what could be the biggest problem to run out of, “It would be a small catastrophe to run out of beer or wine in the middle of the Atlantic. That never happened so far though".

Voyager of the Seas stocks 16 tons of beef and almost as much chicken for trans-Atlantic cruises, along with 70 tons of pork. In addition, more than 3 tons of lobster, 10 tonnes of mussels and oysters and 3 tons of salmon are needed.

Esther Nagel is responsible for the laundry needs of the staterooms on Voyager of the Seas and claims "About 15,000 pieces of clothing, everyday,” are laundered by her staff.

Wondering how much a server makes on Voyager of the Seas?  Captain Martensen says, “A good waiter makes $4,000 a month. Tax free!”

If you're looking to get away this summer on a Royal Caribbean cruise, there may be a cruise on sale for you.

The "Bring a Friend" offer allows curent Crown & Anchor Society members to bring guests new to Royal Caribbean with them on a cruise and receive $25 onboard credit per stateroom, up to five rooms per sailing.  You must book by July 31.

Royal Caribbean has placed select ships on sale as well, most notably Voyager of the Seas' Adriatic Sea sailings where the 7-night itineraries in July and August 2011 can get you  $2,000 of ChoiceAir credit for a Suite stateroom, $500 for a Balcony stateroom, $400 for an Ocean View stateroom, and $300 for an Interior stateroom.

In addition, there are deals on four, five and seven night sailings in the Western Caribbean on Jewel of the Seas, Voyager of the Seas and Mariner of the Seas.  These ships sail out of Tampa, New Orleans and Galveston and prices start at $896 per quad-occupancy stateroom from November 2011 through April 2012.

Seven night cruises to Alaska on the Radiance of the Seas are also available at $649 per guest from August 5 through September 9, 2011.

Valdo Spumante, a leading winery in Italy, has partnered with Royal Caribbean to bring its wines aboard their ships.  The label "Veneto" winery will be offered by the glass in the Champagne Bar across Royal Caribbean's fleet.

Pierluigi Bolla, president of Valdo Spumante was excited about the deal, "Business, international fame and prestige. On the Royal Caribbean ships we will find a perfect fusion. Needless to say, this agreement takes us a strong value in all points of view: that the cruise industry is a thriving market which, if properly manned, may enable the company to `reap excellent results." 

Royal Caribbean is planning on sending Rhapsody of the Seas into drydock following the 2011-2012 Australian cruise season for a multi-million dollar revamp.

Work on overhauling the ship will take three to four weeks in March 2012 in what Royal Caribbean is calling a "major revitalisation".

Adam Armstrong, Royal Caribbean's Australia commercial manager described the changes, "This will be major revitalisation. We will be extensively reworking the entire ship. Cabins, entertainment and dining will all be completely renovated.”

Armstrong added that while the Rhapsody will still look like her old self when the work is done, she will boast “a few more special pieces”

Royal Caribbean has signed a deal with Spanish shipbuilding firm Navantia to revitalize three of its ships in Cadiz, Spain.

A delegation of nine people from  Royal Caribbean visited the Cadiz shipyard on June 21 and 22 to settle the contract that allow the maintenance and modernization of three ships at dock in the capital. The delegation was led by Revitalization program director, Petteri Keso, as well as the director of fleet maintenance in Europe, Tracy Murrell.

Royal Caribbean representatives inspected for two days the Navantia facilities and warehouses, where more than 450 containers come with the equipment necessary to tackle the repairs.

Navantia believes they helped sign Royal Caribbean thanks to their experience working on other cruise ships such as  Norwegian Jade, NCL America, Milenium, Celebrity Cruises, and the Grand Voyager, the Grand Mistral and Grand Celebration of Iberocruceros.

This history has served, among other things, to capture the interest of Royal Caribbean's represenatives. The represenatives from Royal Caribbean have also confirmed the first ship to enter the Cadiz shipyard will be Splendour of the Seas to recieve major repairs and modernization.  Splendour will arrive in November to undergo a modernization plan that includes the habitability of the ship, "which will be completely renovated."

Royal Caribbean has also reserved time for the repair of two other ships, which will undergo a revitalization plan.  Then in May 2012 Grandeur of the Seas will enter the dock followed by Serenade of the Seas in November.

Royal Caribbean is launching a new art program dubbed, Art on Royal, on all 22 of its cruise ships.

Art on Royal integrates art-inspired events with tours, seminars, and auctions and features selected artists from the Royal Caribbean Art Collection.  There will also an opportunity to view and purchase a one-of-a-kind piece of their choice featured in the gallery.  This includes signature Royal Caribbean artsits such as Romero Britto and Thomas Kinkade.

This new art program was developed originally for Oasis of the Seas with partner Art Actually.  Art on Royal is currently available on Adventure of the Seas and Navigator of the Seas, and will be on more ships by the end of the year.

American health inspectors from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently inspected Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas as part of its Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP).  The good news is Oasis of the Seas scored a perfect 100 on the test.

The inspection took place on May 28, 2011 and the CDC says a score of 86 or higher is satisfactory, so Oasis' score of 100 is a great achievment.  The VSP is aimed at ensuring cruise ships are clean and healthy for guests to enjoy, "assists the cruise ship industry to prevent and control the introduction, transmission, and spread of gastrointestinal (GI) illnesses on cruise ships".

Oasis did suffer a few minor violations, which are common to have on most ships, and were corrected.  None of the violations were enough to bring Oasis' total score down after inspectors finished looking over the ship.