We've had I Love Lucy themed cruises, heavy metal music cruises and now a cruise honoring a family favorite film, The Christmas Story.  You remember the film, right? It's the one that tells the story of Ralphie and his family's Christmas in Ohio where he tries desperately to get a Red Rider B.B. gun and double dog dares his friend to stick his tongue to a flag pole on a cold winter day.

If that movie really resonated with you, you can join the cast for a cruise during the holidays of 2011. Casting New Lives and Academy Travel present a 4 night western Caribbean cruise on board Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas with the cast members of the The Christmas Story, December, 15 - 19, 2011.

The cast of the film scheduled to be on the ship include

• Scott Schwartz-Flick
• Zack Ward- Scut Farkus
• Yano Anaya- Grover Dill
• Tedde Moore- Miss Shields

Cruise events include

• Best Essay contest “What I want for Christmas”--Judged by “ Miss Shields”
• Decode a “Secret Message” with Little Orphan Annie Decoder Pin
• Mommy’s Little Piggy eating contest
• Kids help Decorate the Christmas Tree
• Special movie screening with the stars
• Autograph sessions
• An opportunity to get all your questions answered from the stars themselves
• Memorabilia Christmas Story Store
• Scavenger hunt on board the ship
• Even a visit from Santa! 

If you happen to be one of the first 10 families to sign up, you will be entered into a drawing to win an autographed Leg Lamp! You can sign up here

Due to weather, the Nassau/Royal Caribbean Fun Run in Paradise that was being put on by Royal Caribbean and ESPN, has been cancelled.  The run was scheduled to take place yesterday morning but Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas could not dock in Nassau due to high seas and windy conditions.

Prior to the race being cancelled, over 100 Royal Caribbean passengers were scheduled to participate, including several competitive running celebrities.  

The Fun Run in Paradise was scheduled to be part of the inaugural Royal 5K St Maarten Lifestyle, Running and Fitness Show which will air January 27 and 28 on the ESPN Caribbean Networks.

There is still a possibility that Allure of the Seas will be able to dock at Nassau later in the cruise itinerary.

While the Brilliance of the Seas was coming to Alexandria, faced extreme weather conditions as strong waves and winds of 70 knots, about twice what was previously forecast. The combination of winds and waves resulted in the ship suffered intense movements.

Injuries were reported in some guests, two of whom suffered serious fractures. The medical facility on board is functioning optimally, and our medical team is diligently attending to the guests involved.

The intense movement of the boat damaged some public areas and caused blackouts in some rooms. Cosmetic damage inside the ship have caused the closing of three public places for the rest of the trip: the beauty salon, the arcade and disco. There was no impact on operating systems or engines, and the vessel maintains its full navigation capability.
Due to inclement weather, the Brilliance of the Seas could not get in Alexandria, going to the next harbor, Valetta, Malta, which will arrive next Tuesday at 7:00 am The ship completed its journey in Barcelona, Spain , on Friday as is scheduled. The subsequent cruises were carried out as scheduled, the ship will not need to go into dry dock, and are already making repairs.

As a gesture of goodwill, and to thank guests Brilliance of the Seas for your understanding during this difficult time, Royal Caribbean International has provided a shipboard credit and a refund of the fee paid for the trip

Royal Caribbean known to have been a terrifying experience for guests and crew, and our officers on board the Brilliance of the Seas will make every effort to ensure that the rest of the journey as pleasant as possible.

The Brilliance of the Seas is conducting a 12-night itinerary departing from Barcelona, Spain, with visits to ports in Sicily (Palermo), Italy, Athens (Piraeus) and Rhodes, Greece, Alexandria, Egypt and Valletta, Malta.  

Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas, the ship that had been struck by a terrible winter storm in the Mediterranean over the weekend, limped to port in Malta on Tuesday morning.

Brilliance of the Seas ran into a nasty storm of the weekend that caused rough seas, something Royal Caribbean called a "serious incident." The 90,000-ton ship swayed as far as 15 degrees in either direction several times. Several passengers reported minor injuries such as bumps and bruises and at least two people suffered broken bones.

Royal Caribbean offered cruisers a $200 credit because of the situation but some cruisers protested the offer and Royal Caribbean caved in, offering a full refund for the value of the cruise.

Rough seas caused minor injuries and some damage to Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas over the weekend.  A winter storm sent 30 foot waves against the cruise ship and caused some minor problems.

The ship rolled violently as the storm's huge waves crashed into the hull, throwing furniture, passengers and the ship's christmas tree around and breaking some interior glass.

The Brilliance of the Seas was supposed to be on a  12 day cruise that took it from Spain to Italy, then on to Greece, and finally Egypt. Due to the storm, Brilliance will now head back toward Malta.

File this story in the "Hard to be believe it's true" category.  Finland's National Board of Customs is reporting that the delivery of Allure of the Seas from STX's Turku Shipyard to Royal Caribbean helped contribute to Finland's trade balance ending up about a billion euros in the black.

STX claims that Allure of the Seas is the most valuable individual export product ever delivered from Finland.  The improvement in the trade balance is the first time Finland's trade balance has been in the black for the first 10 months of this year.

At the end of the third quarter, the trade balance was still 225 million euros in the red but the delivery of Allure helped fix that imbalance.

Royal Caribbean raised the amount it suggests its guests tip its staff onboard its ships to 20%

Royal Caribbean will start the new gratuity recommendations for cruises that depart on or after July 1, 2011.  At that time, passengers will be asked to tip $11.65 per day, up from $9.75 that was previously recommended.

Gratuities onboard are optional, but passengers who choose to prepay their gratuities will be forced to pay the higher rate.

The brand new 32-acre Falmouth port in Jamaica will finally open next month.  The construction of the port has been a $220-million project developed by Royal Caribbean in partnership with the Port Authority of Jamaica.  

The first ship to dock will be Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas, and her guests will have access to walking tours of the 240-year-old town, as well as access to 60 attractions in the surrounding area and in Ocho Rio and Montego Bay.

Royal Caribbean Chairman Richard Fain is trying to learn to surf again at the fourth annual "Chairman's Challenge" aboard the Flowride Surf Simulator.

We had the opportunity to interview Padraic Connelly, a performer on Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas, who is best known onboard the ship for playing the role of Wilbur Turnblad in "Hairspray".

Tell us a little about yourself, such as where you're from and how you got into the entertainment industry
I'm originally from Daytona Beach, FL. I first started doing musical theater at Flagler Palm Coast High School, where I had three incredibly inspirational directors. I ended up at the University of Florida as a Theater major, and while I was there I began performing and teaching with UF's Theatre Strike Force, which is the school's official improv group. After college, I moved with my two best friends (who, coincidentally, are now performing with The Second City on NCL's Dawn) and started performing at the IO Theater in Wrigleyville. When I'm not on a cruise ship, I'm doing a show called Whirled News Tonight ( http://www.whirlednewstonight.com ) which has been running continuously for the last seven years with almost the entire original cast.

• Favorite restaurant on Oasis of the Seas
  Tie. Giovanni's Table for lunch, Solarium Bistro and Giovanni's for dinner. I cannot get enough of the risotto at Giovanni's or the pumpkin soup at Solarium!
• Preferred drinks on a cruise ship
  It all depends on the mood! If we're sitting in the Schooner bar, listening to Ed or Paul play, nothing beats a Manhattan on the rocks. If it's a party on the pool deck, you have to grab a Bushwhacker. And for watching a show or people watching on the Royal Promenade, it's tough to beat a margarita on the rocks or a simple scotch and soda! And for the next morning, several of the ship's venues serve fresh-squeezed orange juice. LOTS of fresh-squeezed orange juice.... thank goodness....
• Favorite port of call to visit
  Puerto Costa Maya on the Western Route for its INCREDIBLE food (don't miss the catch of the day or the fresh salsas and guacamole at Maya Bar) and the Mayan ruin tours. If you're heading to the Chacchoben ruins, ask for Luis, who's an amazing guide. On the Eastern Route, you absolutely can't beat St. Maarten. Whether you stay on the Dutch side in Philipsburg or head over to Marigot for a few hours, you'll have a blast!
• Favorite song on the radio/iPod today
  I hate to admit it, but Cee Lo Green's "F*** You" has been topping my playlist lately (along with the rest of the album).