The Port of Barcelona will welcome on Saturday the largest cruise ship in its history and the largest in the Mediterranean: Liberty of the Seas. Liberty of the Seas is 339 meters long and can accommodate over 4,300 passengers and 1,400 crew members.

The ship is the third largest in the world and will operate from Terminal B Pier Townhouse to September period when Cruise made four, five and seven-night Mediterranean Barcelona port.

The ship has peculiarities as a surf simulator, a climbing wall, basketball court and ice, a theater for 1,350 spectators, 10 restaurants, 16 bars, basketball courts, mini golf, gym and spa, as well as an internal drive shopping longer than a football field.

At the Sicily Travel Expo, Royal Caribbean announced that it will be in Sicily for the first time. In 2011, five vessels will be transitioning to Messina, Sicily which can bring nearly 160,000 passengers.

Palermo will be the first port of call for Grandeur of the Seas May 20, 2011. Mariner of the Seas, in her debut year in the Mediterranean Sea, will touch only once a Palermo October 1. On October 8, it will be Brilliance of the Seas' turn. The cruise season will close the Navigator of the Seas, for the first time in Palermo on October 24.

The Port of Valencia, Spain reached 37% of cruise passengers in 2009, putting it in fifth place in Spain's national ranking, after Barcelona, ​​Palma de Mallorca, Malaga and Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

With the arrival of Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas , the port receives 4,300 passengers and the Valencia Tourism Foundation has made ​​a special welcome, including on tastings of horchata.

The biggest cruise of the berth so far in Valencia, with 339 meters (more than three football fields in length), contains inside all sorts of attractions for passengers, suites, cabins three types, restaurants, swimming pools, pubs, nightclubs, shopping mall, casino and several sporting facilities, mini golf and boxing rings included.

We've all seen the commercials for Royal Caribbean's newest fleet of ships that feature, among other amazing new onboard amenities, the FlowRider.  The FlowRider is a surfing simulator that uses powerful jets of water to create an artificial wave for guests to (try to) surf on.

Inevitably, guests fall and the rush of water pushes the person to the back where the participant strikes a padded wall.  After a good laugh, they give it another try or let someone else go.  FlowRiders have been part of Royal Caribbean ships for years now but a recent court case may raise a question about their safety.

The case of Charlene Johnson vs. Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd., tells the story of Charlene Johnson took a private lesson on the FlowRider but when she fell, she claims she was violently thrown against the wall and injured herself.  Her lawyer presented evidence that Royal Caribbean had negligently operated the FlowRider such as shortening the distance of the area from where a person falls to the back wall beyond the manufacturers' specifications.

The Federal Judge in the case ruled that despite what Royal Caribbean did, the waiver of liability Ms. Johnson signed before riding cleared Royal Caribbean of any wrong doing and dismissed the case against Royal Caribbean.

So is the FlowRider dangerous?  Judge Moreno, the Chief Judge in the Southern District of Florida, called the FlowRider “inherently dangerous” but the waiver guests sign is enough to proect Royal Caribbean.

What do you think?  Do you think the FlowRider is dangerous? Will you ride it?

Royal Caribbean's Chairman and Chief Executive Richard Fain received a 59% increase in his salary in 2010, which brought his annual paycheck to $8.6 million.

The reason for the increase in pay was mostly due to a cash incentive payment of nearly $4.1 million, about $2.9 million more than the previous year's amount.

Fain's base salary remained the same for the third straight year at $1 million and the cruise line's financial results were better in 2010 than in 2009.

In a proxy filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Royal Caribbean stated, "Executives were rewarded for their contributions to this positive performance through payment of performance based annual bonuses above target levels".

The other four executives for Royal Caribbean saw their 2010 bottom lines rise as well from 18.5% to 48.9% thanks to increases in cash incentives.  Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's CEO Adam Goldstein saw the biggest increase, who received $4 million and was second to Fain in total compensation for the year.

Royal Caribbean won a 2011 RFID Journal Award for Best Use of RFID to Enhance a Product or Service.  The award was for Royal Caribbean's use of RFID technology to enable guests to prepay for unlimited soft drinks, and to then serve themselves fountain beverages without having to wait on a service bar line.

Royal Caribbean's RFID readers are built into the soda fountains that have antennas installed in the drip trays. 

Royal Caribbean's director of fleet beverage operations Bob Midyette claims each beverage container has a built-in near-field EPC Gen 2 RFID inlay from Alien Technology.  Back-end software confirms the guest's ID number and allows the fountain to dispense a 16-ounce drink.

"The system allows us to improve service to our guests," Midyette explains, "and enhance sales with something that feels like magic."

Thirty members of an end of the world religious group spent the day in Bermuda urging locals to beg for forgiveness before the end of the world occurs.

The New York based group, traveling on Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas, believes the end of the world will occur on May 21, 2011.

Royal Caribbean Associate Vice President & General Manager Jo Rzymowska said that booking trends in the United Kingdom are the slowest in the six years since she joined the company.  Rzymowska believes Britons are waiting longer than usual to book their summer holidays.

Speaking at the launch of a new travel agent training website in London last night, Rzymowska thinks people are just waiting until it's closer to their vacations to book, “This year the booking trends have been the latest in my six years in tenure,” she said. “There are definitely people who haven’t booked their summer holiday yet who are holding out.”

So why the slow down?  Rzymowska believes it's a combination of recent global events and concerns of economic uncertainty.

The good news for Royal Caribbean is that despite the reluctance of some to book, sales for 2011 are still up and Rzymowska thinks the rest of the year will be good as well.

Photo by Baltimore Sun