The summer of 2011 will have some very big cruise ships stopping in Barcelona, Spain and Liberty of the Seas, a Freedom Class ship, will be included. Aside from Oasis and Allure of the Seas, it's the next largest Royal Caribbean ship with a capacity of 3,600 passengers.

The Miami Herald had a quick write up about the things to see in Barcelona, a city known for its beauty, and one of the most popular European cities for Americans to visit in Europe.

Downtown, near the port and especially along the famed walking street Las Ramblas, Barcelona pulses with strolling crowds of all ages. You'll find engaging street entertainers, including mimes dressed like the Tin Man or a flowering plant, each hoping for a contribution. Nearby are outdoor markets, churches, parks, and dozens of fine restaurants.

Liberty of the Seas will sail on Saturdays to Toulon, France; Nice; Civitavecchia and Naples. 

Two-time Canadian silver medallist Vaughn Chipeur has announced he is retiring from competitive figure skating.  Instead of performing in front of judges, the 25 year old will skate in professional shows across Canada before joining the lineup on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship.

In addition to a pair of second-place finishes at the Canadian championships in 2009 and 2010, Chipeur was fourth in 2008 and seventh in 2007. He was 23rd at the Vancouver Winter Olympic this past February.

It isn't clear which ship he will be joining, but it will be likely limited to the fleet of Royal Caribbean ships that have an ice skating rink, the Oasis, Voyager and Freedom class vessels.

We usually only have one photo of the day for each day but this photo was just too cool to pass up.

Photo by Ramón

Oasis of the Seas has been in service since December 2009 and it has taken the world by storm with it's impressive assortment of onboard amenities such as the bigger rock wall, Flowrider, carousel and even a zip line.  It's hard to imagine that Royal Caribbean could have put anything else on it but in fact, at one point there were plans to include a roller coaster and a ferris wheel!

Cruisersconnect cites in a recent article from VG by Rune Thomas Ege, CEO of Royal Caribbean Adam Goldstein mentioned the idea for some of these additions. "Imagine the experience (of riding a roller coaster at sea). You are pulled to the top of the ship, and then the roller coaster takes you along the outside of the ship and down towards the ocean as the ship is moving, it would be really spectacular.”

Sounds pretty cool, but after further review, Royal Caribbean nixed the idea because, "Both the Ferris wheel and the roller coaster would probably turn out really expensive, so for the time being we have not moved on with the ideas.”

Photo by Hacienda Cocina

Another finalist for Royal Caribbean's Culinary Challenge, which looks who will be the next Chef de Cuisine of 150 Central Park, the signature restaurant onboard Allure of the Seas, has been profiled by their hometown newspaper.  Anthony Burd, a chef from Belvidere, Pennsylvania, is one of the six finalists for the competition.

Voting ends on Sunday, July 18 at 11:59 p.m. ET and you can vote once per day.

Royal Caribbean has scheduled its second quarter earnings report for 2010 for July 22, 2010 at 10am eastern. If you're interested in hearing the report live, the call will be available at Royal Caribbean's investor relations web site, www.rclinvestor.com.

If you want to listen to the call by phone, please dial (877) 663-9606 in the US and Canada. International phone calls should be made to (706) 758-4628. There is no passcode or meeting number. A replay of the webcast will be available at the same site for a month following the call.

Earlier this week we profiled Maureen Brandt, one of the contestants in the Culinary Challenge to be the next Chef de Cuisine of 150 Central Park, the signature restaurant onboard Allure of the Seas.  Today we have another profile from one of the contestants, Beth LittleJohn of Durham, North Carolina.   Each chef has a signature dish they are working on and LittleJohn's is preparing an arugula frisée topped with a tempora-fried poached egg.

LittleJohn has been sous chef at Coquette Brasserie, a French restaurant in Raleigh, for a little more than a month. She also has worked at The Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill. She graduated from The Culinary Institute of American in 2006.

Voting ends on Sunday, July 18 at 11:59 p.m. ET and you can vote once per day.

For our readers in the United Kingdom, check out the National Geographic Channel tonight at 9pm, err... 21:00, for a show about Oasis of the Seas called "World Record Cruise Ship". 

Like an entire water-going city, the Oasis of the Seas is the largest cruise ship ever built. But this colossal vessel started on a humble drawing board, when a group of international architects were given a simple brief: to design something completely new. 

Photo by Mike