Royal Caribbean has just embarked on becoming the largest operator at the cruise port in Malaga with a challenge on the horizon of moving 75,000 passengers.

The company opened its third season in Manchester and the second with the ship Adventure of the Seas , a veritable floating city where passengers enjoy experiences such as skating on an ice rink, climbing or attend a show worthy of the billboard Broadway.

This ship was activated an operation that provides up to 28 outputs from the port of Malaga cruise one week until the end of next October.  Malaga thus constitutes the second most important point of embarkation for Spain for Royal Caribbean, behind Barcelona.

The ship Adventure of the Seas has planned seven-night cruise sailing the Mediterranean and visiting cities such as Rome, Pisa / Florence, Ajaccio in Corsica, Malaga and Valencia.  The novelty of the season is that in autumn, the ship carried four-night short breaks from Manchester visiting Lisbon, Madeira and the Canary Islands.

Marc Pedrol, communications director for Royal Caribbean's goal this year is to consolidate Málaga a product that is working well and that has permeated the force.  Pedrol reported that in 2010 the ship moved 63,000 passengers in Malaga, of which 38,000 were Spanish. This year the challenge will reach 75,000 passengers in Malaga, of which half will be Spanish.

An important market in which Royal Caribbean wants to focus this year, with reinforcement of personnel and marketing activities, is the capital of Spain. The idea is to turn the port of Malaga from Madrid who love cruise travel.

Thus, the ship keeps the agreement reached with the railway operator Renfe that allows them to check their luggage at Madrid's Atocha station before boarding the AVE Malaga direction and find the bags in their cabins.

According Pedrol, 'this year we have ahead of departures from Manchester compared to last year and have changed the itineraries in the fall season. We are delighted with the response and hope to continue growing in this city. "

Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas picked up 9 Cubans in a small boat while on their way back to Florida.  

Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez said in a statement that eight men and one woman were spotted in a boat near the northern tip of Cuba at around 2pm on Saturday. The Cubans were brought on board and given food, water and medical treatment.  The United States Coast Guard picked up the Cubans after a few hours.

The rescue was announced to cruise passengers by the ship's Captain while it was happening.

A 17-year-old girl from Pennsylvannia is accusing a Royal Caribbean singer aboard Navigator of the Seas of getting her drunk and then raping her.

The girl's family filed a civil lawsuit against Royal Caribbean in federal court in Miami.  The family also reported the incident to the FBI, but no criminal charges appear to have been filed.

The girl alleges that on March 5, while onboard the Navigator of the Seas, she was listening to a band when the singer invited her to dance.  The singer later ordered several alcoholic drinks at the bar.  In the lawsuit, neither the singer nor the bartender asked to verify the girl's age.  She then says she was taken to the singers room as she was "extremely intoxicated and impaired" and when the man started engaging in sexual activity, the girl regained enough consciousness to want to leave. Once she managed to leave, she was found in the hallway crying by another Royal Caribbean employee who brought her to the medical center for examination.

Cynthia Martinez, a Royal Caribbean spokeswoman, said the incident was immediately reported to the FBI and that a team from the company offered the passenger medical care and counseling, "To date, the company is unaware of any charges being filed against anyone in this matter.  Royal Caribbean maintains strict policies governing employee interaction with guests. Due to the violation of this policy, the musician in question is no longer employed by Royal Caribbean."

Photo by Acapulco News

Royal Caribbean has named Ricardo Amaral as their new Director for Latin America and the Caribbean.  Amaral spent seven years as Royal Caribbean's marketing manager in Brazil and Costa Rica. before taking this new position.

The move is part of a restructuring operation within Royal Caribbean to focus on international markets, which now represent 50% of total revenue.

Amaral has 19 years of experience in the cruise industry, including work in leading companies marketing and sales operations in this segment and its local represenatives. 

The brand new port of Falmouth, Jamaica is bustling with new cruise ship passengers who are visiting the port every week and that has local businesses excited.  So much so that the Trelawny Parish Council is overwhelmed with applications for vendor licenses on days when ships are in port.

Last month the Trelawny Parish Council started encouraging vendors to register after reports of some locals harassing cruise guests.  The council reports that in just four days, over 1000 applications have been submitted.

Falmouth Mayor Colin Gager isn't sure how to proceed, "We are overwhelmed by the number of venders who want to sell craft items and at this point we are not sure how we are going to accommodate all of them".

The original plans by the council called for between 20 and 25 vendors in Water square to be allowed on a rotating basis.  In addition, there would be another 50 allowed on the pier during a day when a cruise ship was docked.

This cool time lapse video shows lots of cruises and features many Royal Caribbean ships such as Jewel of the Seas, Splendour of the Seas & Majesty of the Seas and the Royal Caribbean private island of CocoCay.

Photo by Alexandra Lopes

On Royal Caribbean's official Facebook page and Twitter feed, the company issued a statement denying rumors that the cruise line was possibly going to sell Monarch of the Seas and/or Majesty of the Seas.

There have been inquiries, around rumors, asking if we are selling Majesty of the Seas and/or Monarch of Seas. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is not selling these nor any of its brands' ships.

The statement is in response to recent speculation in South Korean newspapers that Royal Caribbean was going to sell one or both of the ships to cruise ship operator "All That Cruise".

Also of interest was Royal Caribbean's choice to post the information on its Twitter and Facebook page in lieu of traditional means of conveying news.  It confirms Royal Caribbean's commitment to its social media initiatives.

When to actually book your next cruise is sometimes a bigger question than some may think.  Like anything, when you're booking a cruise, you want to make sure you're getting the best deal out there.  You don't want to go on your cruise knowing the guy two staterooms down from you got the same cabin as you for 25% off.  The fact of the matter is pricing for cruises is a very fluid and changing experience but with the right information, you can do your best to know when exactly to book.

Early!

For years Royal Caribbean has urged its customers to book early. It's a mantra that for a while was a nice suggestion but these days it's the truth.  The best prices for cruises on Royal Caribbean are when the cruise line first starts taking bookings.  Prices tend to rise as you get closer and closer to your sailing date, so waiting to book can actually cost you more money.

So why does the price increase as you get closer?  For one, it's a matter of supply and demand.  The more people that book, the less supply there is and therefore, the price rises.  In addition, Royal Caribbean wants people to book early so it can fill up their ships and by giving early birds financial incentive to book early, it helps Royal Caribbean accomplish that goal.

That's not to say that if you don't book 2 years in advance you will pay too much, but you do want to book your cruise as soon as humanly possible, especially once you know which cruise you want.  Remember, you can book your cruise and put down just a deposit which will lock in that price and then you have until final payment to cancel your cruise with full refund.  

The exception

So far the key phrase has been to book early, but there are exceptions.  If you're flexible with your cruise dates and destinations, there are plenty of last minute deals out there.  Royal Caribbean recognizes that in some cases their ships aren't quite full and when it gets close to the sail date, they can lower the price to encourage last minute bookings.  Frankly, there's no telling which cruise and when will offer these.  But if you live close enough to a cruise port that you could drive (and therefore last minute airfare would not be prohibitively expensive), a last minute cruise might be up your alley.

In my experience, the best last minute fares are for times of the year most people can't or wont cruise.  We're talking hurricane season or right before big holidays (with the idea that nobody takes vacation a week or two before a big holiday like Christmas since everyone gets that time already built in off).  There's usually a deal out there at any given time, but the degree of savings can vary greatly.  And of course there's the question of if whatever cruise is on sale even interests you. Basically, waiting for the last minute is a big crap shoot.